SEX AFTER THE STORM“You are going to be the end of me”~LAUREN’S POV~Alexandro’s gaze locked onto mine, his dark eyes fuming with intent. I felt it in the way he moved, intentional and hungry, like a predator closing in on its prey. I wasn’t scared, though. I was anything but. My heart pounded in anticipation, my skin tingling as he stepped closer, his presence taking over the space.Before I could second-guess myself, he had me pressed against the cool granite of the kitchen counter. His hands were strong, his touch firm but not rough. He kissed me, his lips demanding yet tender, as if he were claiming something he had always known was his. The kiss deepened, his tongue tracing the seam of my lips, and I opened for him without hesitation. His taste was intoxicating—a mix of mint and something uniquely his, something that made my knees weak.His lips trailed down my jawline, nipping at my earlobe before moving to my neck. I leaned my head back, exposing more skin, and he took f
AFTER THE STORM"Some conversations are best had with skin and silence."~ LAUREN'S POV ~The elevator ride to our penthouse felt like forever.Alexandro stood behind me, close enough that I could feel the heat given off from his body, smell the remaining scent of gunpowder mixed with his cologne. Every breath I took was filled with him, and my pulse hadn't slowed since we had left the restaurant.When the doors finally opened, I practically stumbled into our foyer, my hands shaking as I reached down to slip off my heels. The simple act of removing my shoes felt like shedding armor, like finally allowing myself to breathe after holding it in for hours.I pulled the elastic from my hair, letting the dark waves cascade down my back as I twisted them into a messy bun. My fingers were still trembling—from adrenaline, from fear, from the way Alexandro was watching me like I was something precious he had almost lost.The soft click of the door closing echoed through the space, followed b
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW "Sometimes salvation comes with bruised knuckles and Spanish curses." ~ LAUREN'S POV ~ The world had exploded into chaos, and I couldn't tell up from down. Gunshots echoed through the restaurant like thunder, mixing with shouting in multiple languages and the crash of overturned furniture. Emergency lighting cast everything in hellish red shadows, making the scene look like something from a nightmare. Through the mayhem, a strong hand clamped over my mouth from behind, cutting off my scream before it could escape. Panic shot through me like electricity as whoever had grabbed me began dragging me backward, away from the gunfight. I thrashed against my captor, my heart hammering so hard I thought it might burst. My zip-tied hands were useless, but I kicked and twisted with everything I had, trying to break free. Through the smoke and chaos, I caught a glimpse of Mario diving behind an overturned table, his weapon drawn and returning fire. Vikt
THE HUNTER BECOMES THE HUNTED"Sometimes the prey grows teeth."~ LAUREN'S POV ~The storage room Julian had locked me in reeked of bleach and something metallic that I didn't want to identify. My wrists were raw from struggling against the zip ties binding them behind my back, and my pencil skirt had torn during my attempts to find any weakness in my makeshift prison.But I had found something better than an escape route.I had found a way to turn the tables.For the past hour, I had been forced to listen to voices filtering through the thin walls….Julian's smooth charm taking turns with Viktor's Russian-accented commands. They thought they were allies, but their conversation revealed the truth.They were using each other.Julian wanted Viktor to destroy Alexandro so he could seize Castello Enterprises without competition. Viktor wanted Julian's resources to destroy the Castello name, then planned to get rid of Julian and reclaim his son.Neither man planned to honor their partners
THE DEVIL'S FEAST"Some family dinners end in bloodshed."~ ALEXANDRO'S POV ~The private dining room at The Devil's Table looked like something from a nightmare.Viktor Kuznetsov sat at the head of an elegant mahogany table, casually cutting into a perfectly cooked steak as if the corpse spread out beside his chair was merely a problematic piece of furniture. Blood had pooled beneath the dead man's shattered skull, bleeding into the expensive Persian rug with creative accuracy.Five armed men stood positioned behind Viktor's chair like deadly guardians, their hands resting on hidden weapons, eyes tracking my every movement with hunting focus.But what made my stomach turn was not the everyday violence or the threatening display of force…it was the young brunette sitting frozen beside Viktor, her shirt torn open to expose her breasts, tears streaming down her terrified face as she tried to make herself invisible.She couldn't have been older than twenty-two."Alexandro, my son," Vikt
BLOOD AND VENGEANCE"Some men hunt prey. Others hunt predators."~ ALEXANDRO'S POV ~The fluorescent lights of the federal interrogation room had given me a headache that felt like someone was driving railroad spikes through my skull. Three hours of the same questions, the same accusations, the same pathetic attempts to connect me to crimes I hadn't committed.Agent Hendrick had tried every trick in his playbook—good cop, bad cop, silent treatment, aggressive confrontation. None of it worked because I had been playing this game since before he knew how to properly hold a gun."Your warehouse explosion killed three men," he had said for the hundredth time, leaning across the metal table like closeness would somehow make me confess. "We have evidence suggesting this wasn't an accident.""Then arrest me or let me go," I had replied each time, my voice never changing tone or inflection. "Your evidence is circumstantial at best, and we both know it."The leaked video they had received wa