ROME SIGHED before pulling out the keys from Margaux's bra. He was clenching his jaw painfully as he stopped himself from dipping his fingers back into the soft place where they were.He was trying to be cool when he scooped her from the car's hood and dumped her carelessly on the shotgun seat. She flinched with a slurred cuss, but he deadpanned her and slammed the door on her beautiful face.'God, she's torture, he thought before marching around the car and slumping into the driver's seat. His feet weren't even heating up on the gas yet when he forcefully stepped on it and made the car jet out of the parking lot.He drove like a madman. Everything he saw that night was red. The veins on his wrist were even warning him to burst with how he had been controlling himself. ‘I'll do a killing spree next time you dance in public like that—’"Pull oveh.""Shut up.""Pull oveh Sheven Eleven!"He kicked the brakes without warning and heard a loud thud on the dashboard. His frustration was writ
OPEN FIRE. That was how it was as soon as the hotel door closed. Margaux's grunt was halted when the man before her immediately kissed her mouth. Not a scream, nor even a word. Nothing at all. Just..."Ohh..." she moaned inside his mouth when he bit her lower lips. He was kissing her so aggressively, and all she could do was hold on to the arms caging her.He was a mad kisser—a goddamn expert. And even if he was painfully crushing her lips, she couldn't help but want him more.Her body was reacting to him like iron filings to a magnet. She couldn't help but glue herself to him and mimic how wild he was claiming her. When his bare palm crawled from her waist up to her breast, her body instantly arched to give him more of her, unquestioning and unashamed.He grinned against her mouth, and she drunkenly smiled back with her eyes closed. She pressed her breast harder against his palm. 'Damn! This feels so good...'"Who owns this breast, woman?""My husband." she moaned when he began rolli
IT HAD BEEN TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES since she opened her eyes and found herself dead on the spot. It was a glorious death, though— lying in the middle of a Victorian four-post bed, blankly staring at the expensive chandelier, and being surrounded by a satin bed sheet that must have cost a fortune. The room simply fits a queen. It was just unfortunate that the queen gracing the place was none other than the 'Queen of...' "Scum!" Margaux muttered the word a little too loudly before trashing the comforter above her. Her hands immediately caught her head when it ached. Dizzy is good. Being disoriented is good. But that was only until the initial hangover subsided. She bit her lip when fragmented memories of last night flooded her. More so, upon noticing the wedding ring that was left on her finger. She let out an empty laugh. 'He already ran away! He must have run as if AIDS was after him upon seeing you this morning. Were you really expecting him to wait for you to wake up? You're nothi
"FINDINGS?" [None, Maestro. It’s complicated. I’m still trying to decipher the Alla Mia Amata—] Just like the other nights, Rome found himself shutting his lapel mic off at Lucille. It had been days since he sent her the scanned copy of the music sheet, and each day that passed frustrated him more. He could feel that the paper had something to do with his mission. For Pete’s sake! It was even titled "Alla Mia Amata". How on earth could he be wrong? His jaw was clenched when he looked at Alejandro’s bookshelf again. After adjusting his night-vision glasses, he started scanning all the other books and documents there one by one. He had been religiously sneaking into that room every night, secretly rummaging through his cabinets, and even unlocking his vaults. He had already done everything! But where was the code? 'This is getting fucked up...' Rome shook his head, knowing that being there could be just another waste of time. Nonetheless, he still pulled an old folder from the shelf
MARGAUX WASN'T SURE what happened after she fell on her knees. She was on the ground one second, and the next, she was already back beside the treehouse. Did Rome carry her there? She couldn't tell. All that she could sense was the rough wood behind her and Rome's heady scent as he pinned her to that tree. "Are you drunk?" She shook her head. His breath against her ear was like liquid fire, and her womanhood clenched just at the sound of his voice. 'Back out, Margaux. This is a horrible idea—Oh!' Her thoughts stopped when Rome groped one of her breasts. Shock mingled with desire inside her, making her eyes flutter. 'Ohhh... Shit!’ He clipped her nipple between his fingers and began massaging her. "Who's groping your breast, cara?" He leaned his forehead on hers, and she shivered at how his amber eyes poked holes in her soul. His breath smelled like mint. Hers must be reeking of alcohol. How fair was that? "Answer." He thrust his hips forward, rubbing her fold with the front o
CRAP. What else could best describe sitting in the dark while listening to Alejandro's masterpiece for the hundredth time? It was ten in the evening, and Rome felt like it was going to explode any second. [Did you hear that, Maestro?] "What?" [This part.] Rome heard Lucille's fingers tapping on her computer. She rewound the piece and played a particular segment from it. Same old. He heard nothing but a man trying to kill his piano, not even a symphony or anything he could relate to. [Listen to this part carefully...] "I'm fucking tone-deaf, Lucille!" [Please. Just this one.] "Shut up." He was angry when he stood up from his chair and marched to the open window. He needed to breathe. They had been wasting so much time in search of the Amati. Alejandro might be coming home soon, and he still didn't have any credible leads. He would need to kill the old man as soon as he came. Killing was easy, but it was the add-on assignment that was not. He palmed his face in frustration. "
MARGAUX'S BODY TURNED INTO A MASS of need as soon as Rome's mouth met hers. Biting her lower lips, she opened herself to welcome him more.Just like on the night he became her official outlet, he kissed her with hunger, ravishing her while gripping her hips and pinning her down.For a split second, she asked herself why Rome always tasted like sweet mint. It was even impossible for her to turn down his kisses. Too sweet to resist.'Really, Margaux? Even better than Greg's—'Her thoughts were halted when Rome harshly flipped her body above the bed, making her hang on it with her knees touching the floor. She huffed when his palm pressed her down even more against the soft sheets, making her look like prey under his mercy. "Oh, God...""I can't give you foreplay at this rate, cara ."'Of course you cannot!' Margaux closed her eyes with her thoughts upon hearing his tortured voice. He began kissing her nape and shoulders.Rushing, Rome slipped one of his arms under her belly and caresse
"EYES ON ME, WIFE..."Margaux was forced to stop scanning the function hall when a strong arm snaked around her waist. She felt both irritation and warmth creeping through her when the man beside her tugged her forcefully, closing the space between their bodies.Trying not to look up at him, she discreetly wiggled her way out of his hold and smiled at another guest they passed by. She knew by then that bringing Rome to that celebration was indeed a bad idea.As expected, all eyes were on them as soon as they walked into that place. She couldn't blame them since she intended to shock everyone by bringing a very handsome man as her husband.She saw some of her old friends, familiar faces, and even well-known celebrities with whom their family had connections standing in the crowd. The function room was choked with the number of guests. However, not even one soul dared to approach her as she walked around.How could they when she was gracefully walking around with a 'Doberman' behind her
The sun was soft as it shone over Reiti, Paso, Italy. Just like all the good days inside that villa, the gentle waves hitting the shore could be seen from where the Don sat. The mild breeze was playing with his hair as he silently sipped his wine. Soft white curtains were swaying on every open window too, making them look as if they were dancing peacefully with the mild tune he was humming. Alla mia Amata, of course."Papa?"Alejandro pretended not to see the tiny boy climbing on his lap. Instead, he covered his face harder with the newspaper in his hands, as if he were busy reading it. Nonetheless, his senses were at full alert, and he discreetly lowered one of his legs down to make sure that the child would have something to grab on to and wouldn't fall. Only God could describe how the child's mother turned into a monster whenever the child got hurt."Papa...""I'm reading, Romano," he said, dragging the child's name, copying how the baby dragged his. "Lots of news lately that could
It was the worst battle he had fought. A war where he couldn't tell who was with him and who wasn't. A battle where he had to keep firing his gun while holding his cara and staring death in the face simultaneously.He lost count of the number of bullets his body took for her. His whole body was numbing, but then he just couldn't let go.His mind was empty, unable to recognize who his enemies were. Alejandro's soldiers were fighting like a group of hungry beasts. The group that broke through the gate minutes ago, which he had recognized as Marco's, was just as ferocious.He noticed one of the groups protecting him when he rushed to the parking lot. Some of its soldiers caught bullets for him, willingly giving their lives to assure that he would get where he needed to.He was in so much pain. But it wasn't because of the random bullets digging into his flesh. He knew that pain so well. It wasn't for him, but for Margaux. It was for the child barely holding on inside her.The whole world
"MARGAUX..."Alberta's voice didn't reach her ears when the now-familiar stab crushed her nerves again. Automatically, her hand found the back of her hips, trying to keep them from splitting in two. The drop of sweat that fell on her fist, resting on her lap, looked blurry. Her tummy was in pain—so much pain that she had to burst out of breath to stop herself from groaning."Are you alright?""Are you done talking?" She tightly closed her eyes. She saw double, and it was the last thing she needed."I said, I'm sorry."She didn't reply. She understood what the old woman, kneeling and crying before her, was saying, but then it just wouldn't entirely register with her. More so when everything in her mind was Rome and him alone. All she remembered was that Alberta mentioned something like 'the Don's son and mother.' Or was it mother that she said?Whatever it was, she felt her heart crunch painfully hearing it, but not half as much as the one she was trying to tolerate while sitting there
THE VILLA WAS BUZZING at five in the morning. The scent of food combined with flowers was lingering in the air. The tables—hundreds of them—were carefully wrapped in meticulous white linens. The maids were like bees running back and forth, carrying plates and silverware. Violinists, called out at the most unholy time of the day, were cramming to learn the best and most beautiful music they would ever play: the Alla Mia Amata."You missed the timing; it would mean something different." The Don was in the middle of the crowd, looking down at the poor violinist."S-señor?""It's for my son. Perfect it," he ordered in a cold voice. His amber eyes were piercing, silently warning the musician to get the proper tempo or else it would be the last piece he would play. "You have to perfect it," he gritted, making the musician's knee shake at once with the terror that engulfed him."Y-Yes, señor." The musician barely opened his mouth, reaching for the paper before him to read the complicated n
MICE PLAY IN THE ABSENCE OF CATS. Same as how the envious smaller gods play in the absence of bigger gods. This part happened somewhere between sacred nights and mornings."The Montenegro child has already shown up." A young man gently pushed a pawn across the chessboard. Then, stopping his move right next to the White Queen, he settled the piece and looked up at his competitor."Oh, she did?" His playmate, an older man in his seventies, countered that move by moving the White Queen to eliminate the pawn.That made the young man chuckle. Languidly, he pressed his back against the leather seat he was sitting on. "Yes, Papa. The soldiers found her.""Molto bien..." Satisfaction flooded the old man's voice. He mirrored what his son did. He stretched his back and relaxed, grabbing the wine glass on the table. One sip, and he then asked, "How about God? Did he already show up?""Not yet, papa," the younger man answered, giving his father a brief look before gazing back at the chessboard. "
It was hard to tell if hell was actually a burning place. At three in the morning, hell looked nothing like what the Bible said. It was just pitch black with phone rings and voices.[Hello? She's on her way, God.]"Good."[Should I send the soldiers to meet her?]"Don't. Wait for her to enter our territory."[God?]"He will run after her. Wait for it."...'DRIVING TO THE VILLA. Will talk to Dad. Be back tonight. Love, Margaux'A three-sentence note on the mirror, a little heart smiley, and her name written using her red lipstick were all it took for Rome's mind to melt into broken letters.He was tired, and her arms were warm, so he slept. He should not have.Who would have thought that it would take only a short while for her to slip between his fingers? Like sand seeping down and falling where she shouldn't be?'You lured her...' He blinked his eyes, trying to balance himself as he reached for her name. His fingers were trembling when they touched the cold mirror, hoping that it
DARKNESS.Not a single drop of light illuminated the heavens that night—not the moon or even a single star. There was nothing except for silent voices talking in pitch-black."He saw us watching him, didn't he?"[He is smarter than I expect, God.]"Of course, he is!" Pride dripped from that unknown voice as the speaker chuckled. "He is the one and only Romano, after all."[Okay... So what's your next order?]"Drag them back." The god yawned, sounding a bit bored, before adding, "Make sure that the Amati is there once I come..."...ALBERTA WAS CALLING...No, it was better to say that she was bombarding Margaux with her calls. Hundreds of them in the past twelve hours. Nonstop.'Should I tell Rome?' Lifting her eyes from the vibrating phone on her hand, she looked up and scanned the unfamiliar room before her—unpainted walls, grey, and way less colorful than the skin of its late owner, Tat."Why are you just staying there? Why don't you come here?"She jerked upon hearing the man sit
GOD WAS MOVING. He was moving his chess pieces so accurately, and no one could tell what was next."Burn it," he ordered before sipping wine from his glass. His voice was calm, just like the wide ocean before him. Santorini mornings had always been perfect anyway, more so, his mansion there. Whitewashed houses line the most beautiful mountain in the world, meeting the blue Aegean waters as they calmly hit the shore.It was heaven with a demon living in it."Burn it down and..." the God chuckled while letting the sweet breeze mess with his graying hair. "... break his other leg. Make sure that he wouldn't have anywhere else to go."...'Cazzata!'Rome's cuss remained unspoken as he watched his headquarters, 'The Romans', burn through nine different TV screens. Thick, dark smoke was rising from the same building he had worked so hard for. From the aerial shot taken by the news channel, he could see the showcase of his bar getting licked by fire. His people were screaming and getting t
"I want to see you both in that dress, Cara."Rome felt his chest tighten just by calling her. Could he tell her what was pressing him down on that bed? Or could he at least tell her what was choking him while begging her to wear that dress again? He hoped he could. "Please...""I-I don't have that dress anymore."'This is horrible...' He closed his eyes. Finally finding the energy to move his head. He opened his eyes again and looked at her. He saw Margaux looking back at him over her beautiful shoulder. His gaze then glided down her back, mingling a bit longer on the hollow of her spine, before settling on her hips.Involuntarily, the corner of his lips lifted, although that smile didn't reach his sad amber eyes. 'My baby's growing fast.'"Stop smiling like that while staring at my butt, Caro."Margaux's irritated voice aired, forcing him to look up at her face. The same beautiful face he would love to kiss the rest of his life if he were lucky enough to have some more time left.'L