Distance murmurs and a rhythmic soft beat slowly pulled me to my consciousness. A warm, firm grip around my body cocooned me to its warmth like a protective shield. Intoxicating masculine crisp cologne surrounded my senses. Syl… I took a desperate breath to take more of his scent in. The rhythmic soft beats were his heartbeats as I was wrapped in his arms. Sensing my movement, his head snapped to me. Red dark icy blue eyes alert. Big calloused hand was soon to cup my cheek. "Cuore mio? Baby? You are…you are awake?" Hoarse deep voice was filled with desperation. My eyelids were heavy. A darkness was forcing me to shut my eyes again. But I wanted to talk to him, watch him… I parted my lips. But a sharp pain shot through my head. My brows pinched together. "Sandra? Talk to me, baby. Are you alright? Are you in pain?" He pulled me more into him, his face was inches away from me. An agony mixed with concern and rage etched into his features. Even if I could barely keep my eyes o
"I'm full." I pushed away the spoon he held before my lips. His eyes narrowed. "You are not. You haven't eaten anything since noon. Now finish it, then I will feed you your medicine.""I can take them myself," I grumbled, trying to move away from his lap. But that damn strong arm kept me firm against him. After our conversation, he began to treat me like a child. He changed my clothes, forced me to drink a glass of juice and when I wanted to go to the bathroom, he carried me to it. And to my utter embarrassment, he refused to leave me alone in the bathroom. He was perfectly fine seeing me pee. The nerve of this man!After a thousand pleadings with a red face from embarrassment, I made his grumbling ass stand at the door with his back to me while I did my thing. And now he made me sit on his lap and fed me the soup Maria brought for me as per his order. True to his word, he wasn't letting me out of his sight even for a second. He even ignored his phone calls and voice messages. I
"I said no…" "Syl," I cut him off, attracting his narrowed gaze to me. "You must know from Ron that she is not well. Maybe it's important. Otherwise she wouldn't want to meet me personally."I wanted to tell Syl about my doubt, but I stopped myself. I wanted to confront Diana first. Only she could tell me what Vincenzo was doing at her building. Something told me he was there for her. "I'm not letting her see you, definitely not alone. You know her nature, she dislikes you."Shaking my head, I got up from the bed. And he immediately wrapped his arm around me, holding me against him. I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine, Syl. I won't fall. And about Diana's nature, I can just handle her fine. Don't worry. After all, this won't be the first time we will have a personal conversation." He let out a grunt. "I will be there with you if you're that eager to see her."I untangled myself from his arms. His lips pursed at the distance. "No. I'm going there alone. You can attend some phone calls in t
Under the shadow of the car, his hand crawled under my dress. A shaky breath left me with his sensual kisses across my neck. Even if my legs were tightly shut while I sat on his lap, his hand forced them apart and took a perverted entry. I gasped at a rough squeeze in my inner thigh. "Syl! What are you doing? The driver can watch us!" My eyes went to the driver, who drove through the street carefully with a stiff posture. In the mirror, I could see his flushed cheeks. My own warmed at that. My caveman let out a groan, nuzzling my chest. "He won't dare to look, cuore mio. Let me feel you, it was painful enough to not have you last night."My chest thudded. Hot desire rushed through my veins as I whispered. "At least let us reach the villa first. Then you can do whatever you want."But his hands didn't abide by my suggestion. They continued to roam over my curves, sneaking to forbidden areas. "Stop! Don't behave like a caveman" I hissed in a low voice, but he only pulled me close b
Laid before us was a photo of his family framed with golden edges. The members of his family smiled brightly at the camera, except my man. He had an almost non-visible smile on. As per Maria, it was taken on Syl and Enrique's eighteenth birthday. They clicked a family photo of them four. It was a beautiful memory. But like every other memory, he had hidden it inside Enrique's old room. I glanced at him, his silence bothered me. A coldeness covered his irises as he stared at the photo. Jaw tight. Without saying a word, he turned around to leave, but I grabbed his elbow before wrapping my arms around him. "It's such a beautiful photo. Don't you think you should hang it in the living room or your bedroom?" "Sandra," he warned. Voice thick. "They are in a better place, Syl. They would want you to talk about them, smile at their memories and cherish the moments you spent with them. Not hide their memories in the darkest corner of your mansion," I said softly. "Today is your birt
"I think you should talk to the boss regarding this matter, Ms. Brooks." Ron appeared at the doorstep, nodding at the men who were moving boxes inside as a sign to leave. Once they were gone, he turned to me. One of his arms was wrapped in a shoulder sling while the side of his forehead was bruised. "Ron? What are you doing here? You should take a leave and rest," I said. "Are you alright though?"He nodded. "I'm good, Ms. Brooks. Thank you. Don't you worry, taking a rest won't keep my mind at peace. So I better work hard to make sure I continue to keep my job."Guilt washed over me. After all, he was in this position because of me. "I'm sorry, Ron. You had to face his wrath once again because of me. And the accident…" "Don't embarrass me, Miss. It was my duty to protect you." A warmth flashed across his old eyes. "You're like a daughter to me, I would do anything to keep you safe. I should be the one to apologize for not being able to stop whatever happened that day. And about bos
The gentle breeze blew past my hair, letting the water of the lake ripple in waves. The moonlight dazzled upon it under the starry night. I took a deep breath, taking in the earthy scent of the woods and the lake. But my insides didn't calm down. After calling His Highness's ass for the hundredth time, I was now sitting on the bench near the lake behind the villa and cursing at him. Here I was dying out of tension, panicking over his safety, and he didn't even think to let me know his whereabouts. I wanted to know if he already grabbed Marko and did what he planned. If he knew where Vincenzo was. I wanted to know what was happening there.On the other hand, Beth's wedding was approaching. I needed to convince Syl to let me attend. I couldn't just miss my best friend's wedding no matter who she was getting tied to. Maybe I could take him with me too? That way he would be assured that I was safe? I called him again, but to no avail. He didn't receive my call. "Fucking pig!" Sudde
Once we got out of the chopper, several men with strong built and cold features trailed behind us. My Italian guided me through the rooftop door to an elevator while Ron followed closely behind. He was already here when we arrived.Though the building was old and in a secluded place, the elevator and helipad was up to date. A place to deal with the Italian royal billionaire's secret matters. The moment we reached our destination, Oliver met us on the way. Through an empty dark corridor, he led us where they had kept Marko. Once we were in front of a set of dark wooden doors, Syl stopped in his tracks. I met his hesitant and concerned gaze. I gave him a nod. "I will be fine." Leaving a long pensive look, he wrapped his arm around my waist in a protective manner and nodded at Oliver to open the doors. And when the doors were opened, we entered a small room. A stale smell with a feel of suffocation hit me. And what shocked me was the man, Marko, hunched over on a wooden chair in th