Of Monsters, Men, & Moles

Of Monsters, Men, & Moles NATALIA LAMB J. S. COOPER Copyright © 2023 by Natalia Lamb and J. S. Cooper All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Contents Blurb Prologue 1. Antonio 2. Callie 3. Antonio 4. Callie 5. Antonio 6. Callie 7. Antonio 8. Callie 9. Antonio 10. Callie 11. Antonio 12. Callie 13. Antonio 14. Callie 15. Antonio 16. Callie 17. Antonio 18. Callie 19. Antonio 20. Callie 21. Antonio 22. Callie 23. Antonio 24. Callie 25. Antonio 26. Callie 27. Antonio 28. Callie 29. Antonio 30. Callie About the Author Blurb There was once a lamb and a big bad wolf. He’s looking for a wife and she’s looking for an adventure. To wolf Antonio Marchesi it was all about winning. Poor little lamb Callie Rowney didn’t even realize it was a game. As a mafia boss, I’m meant to marry someone in my world. Someone that knows what it’s like to run the world. To aid in my betrothal, my father sets up a ball and invites all the eligible women from across the country. One of them will become Mrs. Antonio Marchesi. She will be my wife. We won’t be in love, but she will play her role. Then I see the brunette in the red dress hiding in the corner of the room, trying to avoid me. She was the same woman I’d seen in the garden with her book. She’s sweet, innocent, a lamb. I want her. She’s totally inappropriate for the role of mafia wife. She’s not from my world. Yet I can’t stop my eyes from keenly following her around. And on the stroke of midnight, I make my way to talk to her, but she disappears into the night. * * * My roommate invited me to a party. I didn’t realize it was for a mafia boss that was looking to select a wife. There were hundreds of women there, hoping to win the honor, but he’s not my idea of a Prince Charming. He’s tall, arrogant, cold, austere, and the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life. They call him Antonio “The Wolf” Marchesi, and the name sends a shiver down my spine. I decided to leave the party before my real identity was discovered. I climbed down a tree, slipped, and he caught me at the bottom. He held me like he didn’t want to let go. He’s the head of the Marchesi Famligia: notorious, calculating, heartless. He gets everything he wants, and yet she might prove to be the one person he can’t have. Prologue Cold air filled the room, but it didn’t cool me down. My eyes searched the claustrophobic room for an exit, but I couldn’t see a door. What seemed like hundreds of dark-red rose petals were scattered on the king-size bed that sat in the middle of the room. I held one of the long flowerless stems in my hand tightly, running my fingers up and down carelessly. “Ouch,” I muttered as a sharp thorn pricked my skin; I looked down to see blood running onto the viridian green stalk. “Hurt yourself, little lamb?” The words were caring, but the voice was distinctly predatory. “Nope,” I snapped, turning to look at him with angry eyes. “Let me go.” “That didn’t sound very polite.” His lips twitched as he walked over to me, his tall, muscular body teasing me with its perfection. “What’s the magic word?” “Fuck off.” I blinked at him, and he laughed. The distinct smell of whiskey rolled off of his tongue as he moved in closer to me, his eyes seeming darker as they came closer. “Wrong.” He grabbed my bleeding finger and held it to his eyes to observe the prick. My heart raced as his rough, warm hands covered mine. I hated that he made me feel this way. “Try again, little lamb.” “Stop calling me that. I’m not a lamb. I don’t go baa.” “I know.” He raised my hand to his mouth, and all air left my body as he sucked on my finger. His tongue wrapped around my skin, and his eyes never left mine as he cleaned the small cut. “Antonio,” I gasped as I attempted to push him away. My palm splayed against his crisp white shirt. I could feel his heart racing as I stared up at him. His brown eyes were like pools of passion waiting to draw me in and never let me go. I was already sinking and knew that before long I’d never be able to leave. His face was full of overgrown stubble, and his hair was unkempt. He didn’t look like a man that was about to get married. “All better now?” His tongue released my finger, and he examined it again as if he was a scientist looking through a microscope and searching for an elusive bacteria or specimen. “Did you see the dress?” He pointed in the corner to the beautiful white, strapless gown that hung from a burnished gold rail. “It’s for you.” He sounded pleased as if the words should make me happy. “Why?” I stepped away from him, my eyes surveying the room again. There had to be a door somewhere. Why couldn’t I see it? “It’s a wedding gown.” He grinned, a spiteful look on his face. Neither his words nor his demeanor pierced my heart. I was accustomed to his mannerisms now. I had my own steel shield locked tightly around my heart, and he would never be able to find the key. “I can see that.” I walked over to the bed and sat down. My legs were tired, and I needed some rest. That had been a mistake as he followed me over to the bed. “Did