Liam O’Grady was pounding his opponent relentlessly during one of his many practice sessions at the gym.All his frustration and desperation had watered down to this; he spent most of his time in the ring, preparing for the Big Fight which was to happen in the newly built Club at Hunter’s Folly. He had given up women. Full stop. Just like that, he did not feel the need to take a woman to bed. At first, during the first few weeks after Bianca had left them, he had tried. Brought women home, tried to visit the places where high class escorts indulged every whim and fancy of the gentlemen who turned up. But even at the fanciest joint of all, the one in Thomastown, which belonged to Alexander Van Dyke, not all the high-class women could make him feel anything. True, he had sex with a couple but it was like, he thought dolefully, as mundane and unexciting as brushing his teeth or wearing his socks.Mechanical. No pleasure was involved at all.The big blonde Van Dyke had eyed him wryly w
Bianca was still sitting on the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks when Serena marched in. From afar, she had heard the argument between Louis and his fiancée as the redhead shouted at him, rebuking him roundly for being insensitive.“Don’t you see, Louis,” she had been saying, her voice rising in anger,” Bianca is not the villain here…”And Louis's deep baritone, so similar to the deep tones of the Mafia Don, as he sneered when he replied,“What do you want me to believe, Serena? That she’s some kind of victim?’He had huffed in disbelief.The girl on the floor covered her ears. No.She was not a victim. She had survived!Her decision to agree to what the Mafia brothers had suggested, had been her own. Completely voluntary. Yes, life had thrown lemons at her, but she had fought, and had managed to make a success out of what she had been given.Her grades at University were also good and her professors had begun to take notice of the petite, quiet chestnut-headed girl who was s
Bianca opened her mouth in an involuntary O as the cab swept up the long curving drive and pulled up at the entrance. Shangri La was all about flashy, in your face, alright. But the place also exuded a grandeur, an opulence that left her gasping. Money had flowed in copious quantities, obviously, she thought as she stepped out when a door attendant rushed to open the door and helped her out. It was opulent, it was the playhouse of millionaires. And tonight, little Bianca Cruz, was here, invited by none other than the wife of the man who owned this fantastic place.Serena was standing beside her, an amused, indulgent smile playing about her beautifully shaped mouth as she watched Bianca.“I know, ‘ she said smiling,” it’s extravagant, but a once-in-a-lifetime experience to visit.”She turned away but Bianca heard her softly whispered words,“And stay to play…”Her brow crinkled in confusion but Bianca managed to keep in step with the taller woman as they entered. The inside was equally
Piers Delano was dancing with his wife, Hila Zaidi. They moved their bodies slowly, pressed to each other. She was as tall as him, and his lean body thrummed with passion as he held her close, inhaling her scent. She had been watching O’Grady push his way across to the door through which Serena had led the little girl the Irishman had been sharing with his brother.Her brow arched as she said,“He looks like he wants something, Piers.” Her husband smiled his handsome face with the blonde hair that was always falling on his forehead, flopping across it now, making him look boyish. Hila looked at him steadily, tracing his strong features with her eyes silently.She loved him with all her heart, this young Mafia Don of hers, who was as ruthless as his father but gentler too.He loved her, he thought again as she held his gaze steadily. Her eyes narrowed as she said,“Whatever, Pretty Piers. But no more kids, ok?”He threw back his head and roared with laughter. She had known what he w
Bianca stood, pole axed, staring from one to the other of the men she loved with all her heart. They had pre-empted her. She had been about to ask them to back off, to ask them to make up their minds about the relationship they wanted with her. And now, they had gone ahead and PROPOSED?O’ Grady looked aat his brother uneasily.Why was she hesitating at all?St Just took a step closer.“If it’s time you need, sugar, we will wait.”And O’Grady rumbled,“We are going to wait. You can take as much time as you want.”And then, he added, sheepishly,‘But may be not so long. A man would like to start a family, you see.”Both St Just and Bianca turned to look at him, horror and stupefaction on their faces.“ What did you…” began Bianca as St Just turned away and rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes rolling. Typical of O’Grady, he thought. Stepping in and putting his big foot where his mouth should be!But Bianca was laughing, suddenly, peal after peal of tinkling laughter. She leant back a
Liam O’Grady was beaming as Claude Delano strode over.“What’s up bro?’ grinned, the Delano scion, his wide handsome face breaking into a knowing smirk,‘You look like the one…: he winked as O’Grady chuckled heartily.“I love that lass,” growled O’Grady, shedding his normal reserve when it came to discussing the women he was bedding.“She’s the one for me. For us.” Claude’s eyes widened at the prospect of sharing a woman for life. He glanced uneasily at Karina who turned and shot him an icy stare as though aware of his thoughts. he shook his head. If he tried that with Karina, he would be playing Russian Roulette.Or looking down the wrong end of a loaded gun, with his father at the other end. He swallowed his drink quickly, the very thought of his Pappa’s wrath making him sweat nervously.“Man, you got a fight on Friday, remember?” he reminded the Irishman who was feeling very benevolent at the moment as he watched Bianca on the dance floor with St Just.‘Ah, I’ve got this,” said O
In the car, as they drove back, with her Masters on either side of her, Bianca could feel the tension oozing out from them. Both men were as tense as tight violin strings, she thought distractedly.She shivered and buried her face in St Just’s jacket. He glanced down and wrapped her in his arms, meeting O’Grady’s eyes over the top of her head.O’Grady mouthed soundlessly,“BED.”St Just nodded, kissing the wild brown curls.They had returned to the villa she had stayed in when she first joined them, a palatial bungalow, with top-notch security.The Masters had wanted to ensure that she was safe, with them. “No more pussyfooting” as O’Grady had said bluntly, “She stays with us.”They led her upstairs, stripping her gently. She looked from one to the other as they kissed her, passing her to each other as they stripped, silently.Then, they were in bed.“On your hands and knees, my love,” growled O’Grady softly, his erection in his hand as he looked at her rounded body lovingly.She smi
Bianca came awake , a feeling of panic growing in her heart and she sat up, her long brown hair a tousled mess. She looked around her. Gradually she settled, taking deep breaths of relief.Of course, Bianca told herself, she was with her Masters!She was in the huge bed; in the villa she had visited once long ago. She could hear O’Grady singing lustily, but dreadfully offkey from the shower and she giggled. He sang atrociously but he sang anyway.With a dimpled grin, she walked across and pushed open the washroom door. He was waving an arm as he scrubbed shampoo on his hair, and she grinned as she stepped in behind him and clasped his strong waist, her small hand sneaking to his member.O’Grady grunted in surprise, then, shipping his head around, he growled,“Ah, Pet.”And then, kissing the tip of her nose, he asked softly,“Are you alright?”She met his eyes and felt her heart turn over. He wanted to know if St Just and he had been too rough on her. Shaking her head, she kissed his
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