roserpina, who had emerged from the kitchen, with a bowl of food in her hands, quickly shot her daughter, the only one who resembled her, a quelling look.“Jamie! Don’t talk to our guests like that!”And handing the bowl to Karina who had entered behind her, she glided over to Bianca and said,“Come child, you can sit beside me.”Bianca felt close to tears but Tara had come up beside her and sank onto a chair, reaching out to her comfortingly.‘No Mamma. She can sit here, with Karina and me,” said the young woman.Proserpina, who had been bending over her husband, serving him some food, looked up, her wide brown eyes puzzled. Then she nodded. Sitting beside the Don on a good day had a detrimental effect on one’s appetite. And this child was distraught! Proserpina’s place was always on the right-hand side of her husband. She would be under the Don’s silent scrutiny and it would make her feel horrible!The Don’s sharp grey eyes, which reminded Bianca of glaciers, had been following the
The atmosphere on the airfield was tense; Serena Kingston was out of the car, ignoring the rain as she got into position, her army training kicking into place as she tried to figure out how to shoot the man without harming the girl. Louis Delano was beside her, cocking his gun, a feeling of desperation rising in him. Any false movement might trigger off the frantic man who had his gun on the unfortunate child. Anna was sagging, unable to stand, her head lolling back. Drugged, thought Van Dyke. For Joe Cahill, the rain streaming down, over his head, down his long black raincoat, had hauled the poor child up and was using her as a shield, his gun to her temple.The large Jeep had pulled to an abrupt stop and men tumbled out. The blonde, lean St Just, his gun in his hand was running forward as he shouted, his voice faint over the sound of the rain.“Cahill, Joe! Man, don’t do this!”And then as Cahill shook his head and yelled,“Stop right there, St Just, or I shall shoot this little c*
Bianca had not slept all night long. Sitting in the armchair beside the long French windows in her room, she stared out at the beautiful rolling lawns and the small fairy lights scattered around them and sighed.What was happening to Anna?And her Masters…?When the phone rang, she jumped up and ran to the bed where she had left it .O’Grady’s face appeared on the screen, as handsome and vital as ever, his black hair mussed, eyes gleaming.His expression said it all and, in that instant, she knew that her sister had been saved by the men she loved.She was already crying in happiness as he spoke, gently, his voice reaching out to caress her,“Bianca, lass…”He sounded like honey and she leant against the wall, looking at him. “Here’s someone who wants to see you,” he added and turned his charm on the person sitting beside him.ANNA!!!Biaca almost screamed in joy.Her sister was sobbing openly, her face bruised, looking haggard and pale . But she was alive!!Bianca managed to say so
The next morning, Bianca arrived at the hospital. She had been over the moon with the news, bursting to tell Heather and when she met Proserpina at breakfast, she blurted,“Please, can I stop by the hospital? I want to meet my mother…”The look of undiminished joy on her face made Proserpina smile. But thinking of how the sister had behaved cruelly to Bianca, Proserpina paused, thinking. The Don’s wife had a meeting with her academic team later in the morning and she was dressed to leave for it in a simple skirt suit. Bianca thought that the woman looked gorgeous in a burgundy twill wide lapel suit. She had a curvy figure and the skirt dramatically clung to her hips.But Proserpina had been thinking. The protective mother hen in her reared it’s head.“I’ll get Serena to come with you,” she said, after some thought, because Serena was between work at the moment and was expected to join them for lunch at the mansion in the afternoon.Proserpina found her much easier to get along with t
They arrived at Hollowford late in the evening. Bianca had been on edge all day, waiting to meet her sister.And of course, her Masters…She blushed as her mind wandered over the different things they would do to her; with her full consent, of course, for both O’Grady and St Just had never ill-used her. They cared for her feelings, as was obvious with how they had stepped forward to rescue Anna. Serena Kingston, who had proved to be surprisingly friendly, for all her tough exterior, had described how the siblings had taken Cahill off guard. Bianca had felt her heart pounding as she listened.Earlier, Proserpina had wisely declared that Anna could stay the night here, at the mansion, before returning to the hospital the next morning.”Hospitals have visiting hours,” she pointed out gently and Binaca sighed. True. Her stepmother needed to rest, as her Italian beau had pointed out in the afternoon, a little reproachfully. For Heather had been so relived, she had wept a lot, till the nur
O’Grady was pacing up and down, shirtless. His muscular physique with the wiry dark chest hairs, made him look like a superb specimen of a male animal, thought St Just who was watching him. The blonde sibling was lounging on the bed, also shirtless, but he appeared to be cool as always.They were waiting for their Pet, hoping against hope that she would be able to sneak out from next door while her sister slumbered on.Unlike his Irish half-brother who looked like he was about to explode.“Do you think she’ll come?” asked O’Grady, looking towards his brother like a hopeful puppy and St Just grinned.He wasn’t happy but the expression on his brother’s face made him think; Liam O’Grady might be a feared Don in his circle, a killer, an excellent pugilist, a sharp businessman…But little Bianca Cruz seemed to have reduced him to a love-sick puppy, craving her love…Finn St Just sat forward as the thought struck him. He frowned at his brother.“Are you in LOVE with our Pet, O’Grady?” he as
When Bianca crept back to her room, she was exhausted. O’Grady came with her, his arm around her waist, holding her up.“Ah, pet,” he said in a soft, tender tone and she wanted to lean into him, spend the night in his arms. But…She kissed him quickly and opened the door slowly.Luckily, the doors in the Delano mansion did not creak.Bianca stood for a while, holding her breath, staring at the dark shape of her sister who was dead to the world. Poor Anna was dead to the world, exhausted, no doubt.She smiled as she tiptoed to the washroom and took a quick shower, giggling to herself as he saw the marks made by her Masters on her body.They had been aware of the small window of time they had, but her Masters had pleasured themselves, taking care to bring her to the heights of pleasure too, in that short space of time. But she had been too on edge to stay and bathe with them.Lord, but she loved them…When she snuggled down in bed, beside her sister, she smiled, looking out at the moonl
It was the Don who made the Mafia brothers make the momentous decision.Later, they thought that he had, in his aggressive way, forced their hands.He had summoned them to his room for a meeting that morning before they left for the hospital, to meet Bianca’s mother. The idea was to leave for Hunter’s Folly before evening. Bianca would stay here for a couple of days before joining them.The white-haired Don, his massive musculature belying his advancing years, was in the study, his Woman perched on his lap when the younger Mafia men entered. They had been kissing ardently, like young teenagers making out, thought Liam O’Grady in astonishment when they entered. The Don’s hand was on his wife’s heavy breast, kneading as he kissed her relentlessly.Proserpina scrambled off her husband’s lap, her beautiful face pink, and quickly smoothened her hair and hastily rearranged her clothes. Her blouse was open, St Just noted in interest but his gaze stilled as he felt the Mafia Don’s cold eyes
St. Just was being shifted to a private room, the most luxurious, on O’Grady’s demands that afternoon.He came awake to see Bianca and Liam O’Grady by his bedside, peering at him, anxiety on their faces. Bianca gave a sob and pressed her fist to her mouth as St. Just’s tawny eyes fluttered open and he grinned weakly.“Am I in Heaven?” he growled, his voice hoarse from disuse and as he looked at his half-brother, he added, pretending to groan.“Nah, can’t be. This f*cker would not be there!”O'Grady stepped to him and held his hand in a fierce grip as he growled, an arm around Bianca, who was weeping silently.“As pleasant as ever, eh Saint?”And then he grinned, his handsome face splitting in an expression of joy.St. Just smiled and shut his eyes, drifting back to sleep. This was what Heaven was, he thought with a small smile.*Bianca had been sent off to university, as she was chafing at the bit and wanted to resume her studies. She was also torn between staying at St Just’s bedsi
Bianca’s examination came back with no untoward discoveries. She was fine, the doctor assured them, save for a sprained wrist and a few scratches and cuts to her hands. But apart from the abrasions, she was good to go, as the cheerful doctor declared. Besides, most importantly, the baby was fine. O’Grady sighed in relief and looked at his pet. She was yawning widely and he felt a strange sense of protectiveness towards her. Bianca had been planning to go down to meet her sisters and stepmother, Heather, the next day; she had told them about her pregnancy and Heather had at first been a little perplexed and not so happy.But later, mainly due to the influence of her daughters who thought that Bianca was the coolest person on earth, she had come round. Besides, there was also, as Bianca declared archly, the way Bet and Anna tended to regard O’Grady. In their teenage gaze, he was like a superhero who might just sprout wings and fly out the window, Bianca said drily. The adulation was h
Proserpina looked across at the doorway, sighing. She was in the enormous nursery at her mansion, beside Piers’ two sons, one on her lap, cuddling her, his thumb in his mouth, the other, Luc, already asleep. Her own sons, Gabrielle and Alexander, were giggling as they made funny sounds, mimicking the characters in the book she had been reading to them.Tara’s babies were also asleep, as was Claude’s little girl. Ria’s little one was also sleeping peacefully.Camille said with a huge grin, “Full house, tonight,” before she headed downstairs to bed. Proserpina had been worried when Hila had come to her to ask her to keep her sons here. “Where they will be safe,” she had said.That had been after Piers had gently informed his mother that Hila was leaving to scout for the person who was behind the deaths of so many of the Mafia Don’ associates. Placing his hands on his mother’s shoulders, Piers had looked at her tenderly and said,“We’ll all be safe, Mumma. And don’t fret.”The air seeme
Jana Rudenko looked around herself. She had landed in the United States under the guise of a woman who was part of a group tour, complete with falsified documents and a fake passport. She even had a fake husband along for company, a man who had once been a killer but now served her as her bodyguard.The fictional Mrs Liga Edgars, for that, was the identity she had taken for herself, also had a story to back her up. She had been a dour-faced widow who had been coerced to go on the trip by her children, with her newlywed second husband. But Jana had stepped in and stolen the real Mrs Edgar’s identity after having gotten rid of the real lady in question. Mrs Liga Edgar had been of Belgian ancestry, as her passport said, Now the false Mrs Edgar looked around as she accompanied the other eager tourists who were heading to the terminal.She hung back and her fictional husband, the good Mr. Edgars, slowed down too.“Stay with me,” she commanded in a low voice and he nodded. They joined t
Bianca was beside the window overlooking St Just’s bed, her eyes intently fixed on his as his lids fluttered. She looked around to her other lover, Liam O’Grady who stood behind her, hands in his pocket, his jacket open as he studied his brother’s pale face.They were on the other side of the thick glass pane.“He’s…getting better, isn’t he O’Grady?” she asked tremulously and he smiled tiredly. Now that his brother was in hospital, O’Grady spent most of his time shuttling between the casinos, the loan offices on High Street and the hospital. He looked forward to seeing Bianca at the end of the day, to fold his arms around her and be enveloped in her embrace, her lips on his.But this evening, the doctor had looked a little tense when he came to the hospital.“He’s contracted an infection,” the doctor had said grimly and went on,” We need to shift him.”And at Bianca’s alarmed look, he added kindly,“To the ICU, young lady.”Bianca had slumped down on the seat, close to tears and O’Gra
Many years agoFather Pavel Rudenko looked at his sister who was weeping wretchedly. The brothers had gone to meet their newly widowed sister. As a man of the cloth, the Monk had accompanied Dmitri Rudenko. “Take my son, take this monster, my brother,” she had begged with hands clasped before her, as she wept,“I cannot handle him anymore…”Her husband had been an abusive man; the boy was following in his footsteps, a cold-hearted brute who was terrorising his mother and sister.The Monk had stood silently and looked at his nephew, the son of his only sister, a half-sister, but still, his blood. Dmitri Rudenko had walked to him, gripping his chin firmly and he studied the teenager.“Duska?” he had queried and the boy had looked at the sinister-looking man, slim as a reed, with his menacing eyes.“Yes, uncle,” he had said, a feeling of exhilaration arising in him.That was how he had been left in the care of Dmitri Rudenko, the man who was regarded as a dangerous warlord, a gun-runne
Danielle, thought Proserpina as she sat in the large limo gliding over the streets silently, covering the distance as soon as possible. The woman who had seen her from the time she was the young, naïve, innocent mistress of Lucien Delano; the one who had become the bulwark of her life at a time when Proserpina was torn between leaving the Mafia Don for good…Proserpina had been with her Mafia Don when the call from Louis had come. The Don’s demeanour had altered in a flash.He had pulled her into his arms and growled,‘I have to leave, Woman. Danielle…” Breaking off, he had been scowling as he turned to make a call to Schwartz on the intercom, for James Schwartz had a set of rooms, a suite of his own, in the Delano mansion.But Proserpina’s small hand on his arm arrested him.In a firm voice, she said,“I’m coming too.” He swung around to slam her, to insist she stay home. But the determined look on his little Woman’s face made him stop. His Proserpina had grown, and how!She had be
Perhaps, the relief of knowing that St Just was out of surgery, and more importantly, that he was not going to leave them, added to their excitement.They made it to the bed for O’Grady was adamant, scooping her up in his arms and wrapping her in a towel as he carried her to the bed.“My child will not be manhandled, I refuse to f*ck his mother in the shower cubicle,” he grunted as he laid her down on the bed carefully.Bianca pouted crossly, reaching up to grab his head, and kissing him frantically.O’Grady chuckled as he knelt over her, his powerful arms supporting him as he looked down at her eager, flushed face.“You’re demanding, little Pet,” he teased,” Ask your Master nicely and we’ll see what you get.”She arched her back in response and he inhaled the smell of her arousal, his hard staff, stiff with desire, leaking profusely onto her thighs now.“Ah, Sweet Jaysus,” he groaned and lowered his head, kissing her fiercely, their tongues engaged in a combat that was as old as time
The surgeon stepped out, his face grey and looking exhausted. Six hours had elapsed. He stood and looked at the sea of anxious faces, Bianca in her lover’s arms, clutching him tightly, almost afraid to breathe.The surgeon smiled tiredly.“ It went off well. St Just’s out of surgery.”Disregarding the look of horror on his face, O’Grady strode over and enfolded the man in a bear hug.Bianca was sobbing in relief, her arms around Rani and Serena as she wept in abandon.They helped her to sit down, and she held her face in her hands, saying over and over again,‘Thank you, God, thank you…!”Rani knelt down on the ground before her and said in her heavily accented sweet voice,‘Here, drink this, drink some water, Bianca.”Serena was on the seat beside her, holding her shoulders.The Delano boys, Claude, Louis and Dom were beside the overwhelmed-looking doctor.‘He’ll still need rest, a lot of rest,” warned the surgeon before he managed to walk away.O’Grady’s eyes were shining with tears