Melanie’s POV I got out of the house to find the driver who I've come to know as Ralph waiting for me in front of the car. "Good morning, Miss Jones," he greeted. “Good morning, Ralph,” I responded, walking towards him and I paused in front of the opened back seat. “Is something wrong?” Ralph asked, sensing my hesitation. “This is too much,” I whispered loud enough for him to hear me. “What is too much?” “This car! It’s too ostentatious,” I replied. “Isn’t there another vehicle you could possibly drive me in? Something less flashy.” He looked a bit taken aback by my outburst but he was quick to recover and I could swear he seemed amused. The boss instructed me to drive you in this car," he replied. “I’m an intern, Ralph. A freaking intern! How do you think my co-workers would react when they find out I’m being chau
Melanie’s POV “Whoa there! You look like you’re about to commit murder,” Hayley commented when she saw me approaching the nurses’ station. “Sorry, it’s just Lydia,” I said and Hayley frowned at the mention of her name. “She’s really such a pain in the ass, huh?” “You have no idea,” I murmured. “Ignore her, she just derives pleasure in being a bitch,” Hayley said. I wished I could, but fate was so freaking cruel sometimes. “I just need to concentrate on work,” I said. “Speaking of work, I don’t think my patient is going to make it,” Hayley said. I knew the patient she was referring to but I still said, “The trauma patient who’s in a coma?” She nodded. She was a woman in her early thirties who was brought in as a result of a car accident. What’s worse was that the driver, who had a heart attack while b
Melanie’s POV I’ve never been the most sociable person. I was somewhat of a shy person. Case in point, I had one close friend throughout high school. Her name was Hannah. We did almost everything together and I even considered her my best friend. But she got into UCLA and although we made a promise to keep in touch, Hannah suddenly stopped picking my calls and responding to my texts. I wasn’t so dumb that I couldn’t read the message she was trying to pass along. She had moved on and probably made cooler friends in Los Angeles so she no longer had need for me. Since then, I’ve been very careful not to get too close to people. We might be friendly but I always maintained healthy boundaries in order to avoid sending mixed signals. Sure, it wasn't the best way to live and I sometimes felt lonely but it was better than subjecting myself to the possibility of another rejection. The few dates I
Melanie’s POV I just shot myself in the foot but I didn't care. It was obvious Nurse Betty just wanted to spew her venom at me and I was no longer having any of it. Without saying another word, I turned and left her stunned in the break room. The moment I opened the door, I saw other staff scampering away and trying so hard to look like they weren’t paying attention tto what had just gone down. “What did she want?” Hayley asked when I got back. “You should know by now,” I answered. She frowned. “That bitch, Lydia has spread her lies to our CNO,” she said. I nodded in response not having enough strength to banter with her. "I've heard stories of how Nurse Betty was unfair but I never paid much mind to it because I didn't work closely with her, now I believe it wholeheartedly." “It’s no big deal,” I said and her eyes bulged ou
Adriano’s POV “How’s our new physician doing?” Nik asked. I swear sometimes he forgets I’m his boss and not just his friend. “She’s fine,” I answered blankly. “Now why did you barge into my office?” “I just came to see my friend,” was Nik’s jovial response but I knew that wasn’t all there was to it. “This is working hours so tell me exactly why you’re here,” I said. “It’s about, Marcus,” he said. “I found out he wasn’t working alone after all.” I nodded. We had already suspected that so it was no longer news. “Is that all? You don’t have any more news of his associates?" "I haven't been able to identify who it is but word on the street is they're Russian," Nik answered. Adriano didn’t like the sound of that. A number of Russians have tried to take over their territory over the years but none have been successful.
Melanie’s POV I should have known that Alice wasn’t the type to hover. When she knocked on my door a few minutes prior, I told her I wanted to be left alone so the fact that she was knocking louder on my bedroom door after only a few minutes frustrated me. But imagine my shock when I found Adriano standing on the other side of my bedroom door. Well, technically all the rooms in the house belonged to him but who cares, he couldn’t live in all of them. He raised an amused brow at me. “Are you going to answer my question or keep staring at me?” he asked. I recovered from my shock and glared at him. “What do you want?” I asked. “I want to know what the hell happened to make you want to starve yourself in my house,” he answered. I scoffed. How dare he? “I’m afraid you don’t have any right to tell me when I can eat,” I said.
Adriano’s POVI remained in my study late into the night.I was still too agitated to go to sleep. I shouldn’t have fucking asked her what she wanted me to do with them. I should have known better.Melanie was too fucking innocent to hurt even a bug, even if that bug stings her one too many times. I, on the other hand, would have quashed the bug before they even had a chance to sting me.This just made me realize just how different we were. She was light while I was my soul was encased in so much darkness.If I had a conscience, I would have let her go after she momentarily lost her temper. But I’ve killed way too many people to worry about my conscience.She just needed a little time to come around and even if she never came around, it doesn’t matter.A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts and Alice walked it carrying a tray.“I’m busy, Alice,” I said, knowing exactly why she came into my study.“You need to eat, sir,” she said, setting the tray on my desk.“I’ll eat late
Melanie’s POVThe hairs on my neck tingled and I turned to see the elevator doors closing.For some reason, I felt like I was being watched but I quickly shook off the thought.There was no way Adriano could have reneged on our agreement not to have me watched.Or could he?“Are you okay?” Hayley asked.I turned back to her.“Oh, yeah I’m fine. I just thought I saw someone,” I said.“Expecting anyone in particular?”I shook my head. "No, I guess it's just my mind playing tricks on me. By the way, what were you saying earlier?"“I said you look like you’ve got enough sleep last night. I don’t see the worry lines that were on your face yesterday,” she said.And she wasn’t wrong. Considering the fact that I was plagued with thoughts of Adriano last night, I surprisingly had a good night’s sleep.Plus, I apologized to Alice for my behavior last night and she showed me she had forgiven me by making me the most delicious breakfast.Even Ralph didn't look at me with as much concern as he did
Melanie’s POVHayley was eyeing me with a smirk on her face when I got to work the next day.Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one. I was getting multiple stares from different people as I walked in.“Girl!!! You’re like a hospital celebrity with the way people have been talking about you and your man since you both traipsed out of here yesterday,” she said.“I don’t care, they can stare all they want,” I said.Hayley regarded me with a strange expression. “That’s a first for you,” she said.“What do you mean?” I asked.“The Melanie I know would be looking bothered and trying not to look in people’s eyes because of how embarrassed she is,” Hayley explained."Well, let's just say that I'm no longer that girl," I replied.“Oh, you definitely aren’t and I’m sure I have Adriano to thank for that,” she said. “Plus, you have that freshly fucked glow about you which means it’s going to be hard
Adriano’s POVTo say I was in a good mood would be an understatement. I was over the fucking moon.Even the thought of what I had to do today did nothing to dim my mood. It turned out that my good mood was plastered on my face for everyone to see.“I can see that your relationship is on the right track,” Nik teased.“Not that you’ll understand since you have no one,” I retorted.“Oh, don’t worry, boss. I have enough fun to keep me happy and I don’t need anyone,” he replied.He was the only fucker that seemed happy at the prospect of torturing someone. That’s why I keep him around. That and the fact he’s good at other things as well.“You also need to stop killing our possible, business associates,” I told him.Nik was in charge of negotiating possible business deals with other groups. We were currently in the middle of negotiating a new arms deal and this morning, I learned that the meeting, Nik was s
Melanie’s POVI woke up tangled up in Adriano’s arms, feeling deliciously sore.Last night was hands down, the best night of my life. It turned out that, Adriano was an insatiable beast in the sheets judging by the number of times we had sex. At some point, I even stopped counting my orgasms.I wasn’t a virgin, but being with the way, Adriano handled me, I might as well have been one.I felt a kiss on my head.“Good morning, little nurse,” he said in his hoarse morning voice.“Good morning,” I replied. “I’m going to need a lot of coffee to get through this day.”“Why?” he asked.“Because a certain young man couldn’t get his hands off me long enough for me to get a decent amount of sleep,” I said.“I’m not going to apologize for that, little nurse, because you enjoyed every single moment of it,” he said.That’s right. I did.“Do you want to call in sick from work today?”
Melanie’s POVAdriano’s lips were on mine, warm and commanding, and every time they moved, I felt like I was unraveling piece by piece. His hand slid up my back, strong and steady, pulling me closer until there was no space between us. The soft leather of the couch pressed against my skin, cool and grounding, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside me.I opened my eyes for a moment, catching a glimpse of him. His sharp jawline, the dark stubble brushing against my skin, and the intensity in his gaze always made me feel like I was the only thing in his world.I could barely breathe, but I didn’t care. Every kiss was like a promise, dark, intense, and utterly consuming. His fingers tangled in my hair, tugging gently as he tilted my head back, exposing my neck to him. He trailed kisses along my jawline, slow and deliberate, his breath hot against my skin. I arched into him, my fingers clutching at his shoulders as his lips trailed
Adriano’s POVThe soft light of the living room barely cut through the weight of the night as I watched her. I blinked thinking I might have imagined the words I heard earlier.Melanie stood a few feet away, still in her jeans and that worn leather jacket she seemed to love so much. I noticed because ever since the cold rolled in, she had been wearing more of that jacket. She looked like trouble and comfort rolled into one, the kind of combination that could destroy a man if he wasn’t careful and I’ve never really been careful around my girl. In fact, I was fast losing the patience I thought I was holding on to and if she was messing with me, I would be pissed.Now, though, something had shifted. Her eyes met mine, and I knew we were past the point of trying to avoid the sexual tension that existed in perpetuity between us.“Kiss me,” she said softly, but there was nothing timid in her tone. It wasn’t a question or even a
Melanie’s POVAdriano led me into the restaurant and we were led towards a private booth. The servers were very polite and a little too eager to server but it was to be expected.The man booked the whole restaurant to take his girlfriend on a date. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he was influential.The food was amazing!I had a hard time deciding between two dishes but I ended up going for the chicken cacciatore while, Adriano ordered the second dish I was considering for himself.I tried not to swoon at how attentive he was to me because I know for a fact that he ordered that dish because of me but I didn’t want to draw attention to it.And as I suspected, when our food arrived and we began eating, he asked me if I wanted to try a bite of his food and somehow, half of his parmesan ended up on my plate.Thank God he ordered enough servings.The conversation also flowed freely all
Melanie’s POVI clocked out and ran to change out of my scrubs, ignoring the numerous eyes that were on me. Some were staring at me with approval but most of them had looks of jealousy and envy, like I somehow stole what belonged to them.Well, that was none of my business. The fact was, Adriano is my man and they can look all they want but can't have him. So that was one way to look at it. Besides, I wasn't a stranger to being stared at.I changed out of my regular clothes and when I got out. She was glaring at daggers at me but there was no mistaking the envy in her eyes when she saw, Adriano earlier.I smiled at her. Take that you petty, conniving, bitch. Yes, you can think you're all that and try to take away surgeries from me but you'll never have my man.I got to the nurses’ station, half expecting to meet, Hayley alone but to my surprise, she was engrossed in a conversation with, Adriano and they were laughing.
Melanie’s POV“Ugh… you guys are so cute it’s disgusting,” Aria said, once again interrupting our moment.“Shut up, Ari!” Adriano barked at her.“Whatever, I’m going to be with, Alice in the kitchen so wrap this up because we’re all having dinner together and I don’t want you making googly eyes at each other at the dinner table,” she said.“You still haven’t said it, Melanie,” Adriano said when we were finally alone. “I need to hear you say it.”“You need to hear me call you, baby?” He nodded. “Yes, I do because you’re mine and I’m yours. Every part of me belongs to you. So I’m your baby and it feels fucking good to hear you admit it.”I would have laughed if he wasn't being incredibly sweet. A grown-ass man was happy I called him, baby. Now that was a first.“Still, you shouldn’t have yelled at your sister that way,” I told him."She can handle it besides how do you expect me to let out
Melanie’s POVAdriano and I spent the day watching movies and munching on junk food after he finished the entire jar of cookies I made for him.I’d never seen someone that obsessed with cookies and it’s actually funny to see, Adriano react that way to the cookies.I must admit that it made me feel good that he loved my baking, now it got me wanting to do more. Maybe bake a pie or some muffins. I might start a bit easier and go with brownies instead but we'll see.When we got tired of staying indoors, he suggested we go out for a walk around the grounds and I gladly agreed.I had never really wandered around the house except the insides. I knew that the staff quarters were also in the compound but I'd never been there, and neither do I know how they live over there. It turned out the quarters were an array of bungalows for the staff.That way everyone had their privacy. There was also a large kitchen. Apparently, th