"Connor!" I scream. Everything begins to pulse and constrict and my inner walls clamp tighter around him. I lift my head up, my hair whipping forward and covering his chest in a dark waterfall. My hands splay over his chest and as the aftershocks continue to pulse through me,Connor spins me around onto my back, lifts my leg and thrusts hard, pounding into me.A moment later, he explodes, filling me and we're both panting hard as trembles rack through our connected bodies. Then he carefully drops to the side, mindful of his arm, and trying to get his breathing under control again.Once he does, Connor slips out of bed and returns a moment later with a washcloth. Very gently, he wipes between my legs then gets rid of the washcloth and climbs back into bed with me.After Connor pulls me into his arms, I lift his left hand and pull it against my chest. He tenses slightly, probably because of the scar there, but I need him to know that I love him and accept every part of him."Feel that?"
The next day comes fast and I couldn't be happier because I'm about to marry the woman I love. We planned on holding the tiny ceremony with just us and Roberto.But my nosy sister found out when she burst into my house looking for Trish. When she saw me and Roberto standing there wearing suits and the priest nearby, she demanded to know what was going on.And when Finley wants an answer, you better deliver because that girl won't back down.Roberto and I exchange a look and then I say, "I'm marrying Trish.""Now?" she exclaims in disbelief."Now," I confirm."And you weren't going to invite me?"When I hear the hurt in her voice, I hesitate."And what about mom and Ry? They'd want to be here."Maybe my little sister has a point. I don't want any hurt feelings, but I don't want them to be uncomfortable, either. "What do you think?" I ask Roberto."Well, I think Fin has a point," Roberto says, echoing my thoughts. "And, let's face it, you both can use as much support right now as you ca
My family rushes over and I watch as they all hug Trish and wish us every congratulations."You have a lot of explaining to do, Connor Mennetti," my mother says. Then she turns soft eyes on Trish. "You're pregnant?"Trish nods and my mom starts crying. "I'm so very happy for you both. This is such a blessing and I hope it will help to finally heal the rift between our families."I sure as hell hope so, too. But if her family still wants to hate me then so be it. I have Trish and that's all that matters.My mom puts an arm around Trish and the two start chatting as we leave the garden and head into the house. I have a feeling that they're going to become good friends, At the last minute, my mom also called her personal chef to come over and whip something up for us. A fast celebratory wedding dinner, she'd said.Once we're all seated at the table, I look around and I'm so happy my family is here, supporting us. I momentarily miss my dad, but maybe it's for the best that he missed this
Six Months Later...I used to think dealing with my father was the most difficult thing in the world since marrying Connor, but giving birth has trumped the grumpy, demanding and unforgiving Matthais Volkanov.After nearly 24 hours of labor, I finally gave birth to a perfect, handsome, healthy baby boy. Connor stayed by my side the entire time, encouraging me, feeding me ice chips and running out to update the family on my progress.At one point, I burst into tears and didn't think I could do it. I was exhausted, overwhelmed and desperate to get our baby out of my poor body. That's when Connor pressed a kiss to my temple and whispered, "Your mom and Solana just arrived."Shock rocked through me. Even though I wanted to see them, my delivery was too difficult to add more stress. But Connor brought me messages from them and just knowing they were out there in the waiting room filled my heart with a joy and hope that had been missing since I'd left home.Their presence also fueled me to
Twenty-two-year-old Solana Volkanov is more or less a prisoner in her own home. Decades and numerous dangerous encounters with the rival Mennetti family has made her strict, cold, calculating father limit her interactions with the outside world, most painfully with her older sister, Trisha, who stubbornly married a Mennetti against his wishes.There is one rule she's to obey while in the house.Keep out of the basement.Rylan Mennetti didn't know how exactly he ended up as a captive to a family he's been brought up to loathe and wish to eliminate. But when the sweet, naive Solana Volkanov stumbles upon him in the dark, dreary basement, he knows instantly that she's his ticket to escaping the terrible fate her father has planned out for him.They see each other in secret, falling more and more for each other, but when the veil gets lifted, and Solana realizes his true intentions, she's in trouble.Rylan Mennetti is gone, leaving her with a pregnancy that reminds her everyday of her stu
"I'm so sorry, Trish. I didn't want to tell you, but you have to know how he's behaving and the horrible things he's saying."Trish sits down next to me on a stool and slides my tea over. "It's certainly not your fault. If he wants to be petty and continue this asinine rivalry, even at the cost of losing his relationship with me and his grandson, then so be it. There's nothing I can do about it."Her words make me sad, but she's right. What can we possibly do? Feeling helpless, I can't stop the tears that start falling from my eyes. "It's getting harder and harder to sneak away," I tell her, turning the mug around and watching the steam rise. "He's increased security and they're everywhere.""This is all my fault. I've caused so much chaos since falling in love with Connor. But I don't regret it. He's the love of my life.""I know and I'm so happy for you.""I'm sorry to put you through so much sneaking around, though." Trish takes a sip of tea then sighs. "I hate to say it, but maybe
Lifting my hand to catch the bartender's attention, I motion for another pint of Guinness. I prefer whiskey, but I have all night to drink and don't need to find myself shit-faced in less than twenty minutes. Still though, my plan tonight is to get stinking drunk because I have no idea what else to do. Ever since my father, Nolan Mennetti, was gunned down by the Volkanov family, I've felt lost. Spinning out of control and without answers.My dad and I weren't overly close, but that doesn't mean I want to see him six-feet under, dead because of a rivals' bullet. He was our family's leader and patriarch. Growing up, I always thought he was larger than life, so strong and undefeatable. I never thought anyone would be able to take my father down, but I was wrong.Those Volkanov scum stole the life from him far too early.As a result, I've been helping my older brother, Connor, get the business side of things under control. We all have—me, Roberto and Finley. There are four of us and my mo
My inhibitions are low, so when Joey says I look vaguely familiar and asks what my last name is, I don't hesitate to say, "Mennetti."I should've kept my mouth shut, but I'm three sheets to the wind by this point. I don't remember the last time I've been this drunk."Ah, okay, that explains it. I used to have a cousin that worked for your father," Joey continues.I nod, not really caring or connecting any threat yet to these two fun-loving drunks. At this point, I just want to forget all of the bullshit going on around me and enjoy this night out on the town.Eventually, the whiskey and jokes dry up. My new friends look just as wasted as I am and we stumble outside in search of taxis. That's when everything changes. Their easygoing smiles morph into glares and suddenly Joey is behind me, pulling my arms into a vise-like hold while Tommy begins punching the holy hell out of me like I'm some kind of punching bag.Cursing, I try to twist away, but my world tilts and, to be honest, I can
"Welcome to the family, Luca. Officially," Connor adds, his champagne flute extended, and we all chuckle. The toast makes my heart happy because for the first time, what's happening between our families is genuine.Looking down the table, I take a moment to soak in what I see—endless smiling faces and a fierce love that brings tears to my eyes. Except for Matthias, Anna and Giovanni, everyone is here and it's amazing.We're at the hotel, celebrating in the attached restaurant. My brothers sit with their wives and my two nephews are being held by their glowing mothers. Trish and Connor are incredible parents and I hope to follow in their footsteps one day. Same with Solana and Rylan who is healing up quite nicely and being fussed over constantly by his adoring wife. Roberto and Adeline will be having their own little one soon enough and the way he looks at her makes my heart tumble.My mother sits beside Harrison Shepherd who's been welcomed into our dysfunctional chaos with open arms.
The intensity of her sucking increases and even though I'm trying to be good and not blow, it's getting damn hard. "Fuck, Finley," I swear. It's all too much and the moment she hums and those little vibrations skate up my aching length, I grab her shoulders and pull her up."I wasn't done," she says with a frown.Fighting for control, a muscle flexes in my jaw as I turn her toward the tub and help her step inside. "I want to come inside that sweet pussy, baby girl. And you're going to take my cock deep inside you and ride it hard. Can you do that for me?"She licks her lips in answer and I nearly blow my wad.Lowering myself into the tub, I guide Finley down to straddle me, and rest my arms along the porcelain edges. She takes a moment to get situated then shifts forward, spreading her legs wider. I drop a hand into the warm water, grasp my throbbing cock and push at her entrance. "Take it all," I encourage her. "Every last inch."With a soft moan, Finley starts to sink down, her body
After losing the assholes enforcers, the drive back to the city is uneventful. And that's fine by me. I've had enough adventure to last a lifetime. From this point forward, all I want is to focus all of my attention on Finley and make her the happiest woman in the world. I know I have some more apologizing to do, but right now, I just want to make it up to her.And my plan is to start with multiple orgasms. Butter her up a little first then pour my heart out and beg for her forgiveness. Hopefully, it's a good plan.I've lost what little faith and trust I had in Matthias, so I tell Roberto to drop us off at the hotel where their mother is staying."But I want to stay with you," Finley murmurs softly. She's curled up on my lap and my mouth edges up."You will. Don't worry, I'm not letting you out of my sight. I just don't want to go back to the apartment my father gave us. I'll never trust him again and we'll get our own place soon, tesoro."When Roberto finally pulls the Jeep up to the
My knees give out and I drop down to the rooftop patio, shaking so hard. The sound of pounding boots fills the air and I immediately tense—until I see Luca. He sweeps out onto the terrace, pulls me up and I sag against him."Thank Christ," he murmurs, pressing a string of kisses against my temple. "C'mon, we need to go."We lace fingers and jog back through the storage room then down the three flights of steps."How did you get away? Where are my brothers? Rylan? Is he okay?" I manage to ask."We overpowered some enforcer scum," he tells me. "Rylan was grazed by a bullet, but he's okay, and your brothers are loading him up into the Jeep right now.""I-I killed him," I murmur, still feeling a little shell-shocked."Don't think about it," he says, sliding an arm around my shoulders and holding me close. "You did what you had to do."I send up a little prayer that Desmond's twisted body is lying on the side driveway and not here in the front because I don't ever want to see it again. Luc
Luca seems to be on the same page. "Do you really think you can get away with this?" he asks. "Matthias is coming for you and there isn't a soul more ruthless than him. He won't rest until you're no longer a threat.""He's right," I add. "Matthias will fight you until his last breath.""You think I'm scared of Matthias?" Desmond scoffs. "After I take care of you, he's next. I've already hired the hitman to take him out."Luca and I exchange a quick look. Is he telling the truth? I have no idea, but it's definitely possible. We need to get away from Desmond, but how? Suddenly, two huge enforcers appear and Desmond motions to us."Grab them," he orders.My heart sinks as I'm yanked away from Luca and the enforcer forces me to walk toward the house. I have no idea what Desmond is planning, but I'm really starting to worry about my brothers. Where are they?I find out the answer as soon as we enter the house. Connor and Roberto are each sitting in a chair, tied up, and it looks like they
My eyes snap open and I carefully move my arms and legs. All good, no breaks. I have no idea how I'm still in one piece and all I can do is thank my lucky stars. Then I call out for Luca."Luca..." Turning onto my side, I look for him, but my eyes are still trying to focus after being knocked silly. Coughing from the smoke, I struggle to pull myself up into a sitting position, squinting through the thick billows of ash and black clouds. Finally, I spot Luca a hundred or so feet away from me.He's lying on the grass and not moving."Oh, God, no." Is he hurt? Or worse? Heart in my throat, stomach dropping in dread, I pull myself to my feet and stumble over to him. Falling down beside him, I lay my hands on his chest and lean down. "Luca?"When he doesn't respond, everything in me sinks hard and fast. Panic sets in and my fingers curl, grabbing hold of his shirt and shaking. "Luca!" I hiss.This can't be happening. He came to rescue me, told me he loved me and would never leave me...and
"We have a big fucking problem!" Luca snaps into his comms unit. "Stay away from here. Desmond has the barn rigged with explosives and I need to get Finley untied! Stall him!"My heart plunges. Connor and Roberto abruptly stop walking after Luca warns them that they're heading straight into a trap. Which, of course, is going to let Desmond know that something is up. But, thank God, Connor seems to play it off smoothly as he reengages Desmond in conversation.But, I know my brothers will only be able to stall for so long before Desmond realizes something is going on. He's too damn smart and ruthless.Luca stays low, working frantically on my bindings and I'm twisting, pulling and turning until my scraped wrists start bleeding."Fuck!" Luca glances up and I see fear and worry flash through his molasses eyes. Connor and Roberto have turned back around and continue talking to Desmond again, still stalling, and I don't see Rylan anywhere.Suddenly, chaos erupts up by the house and we look
By the time we get to the compound, I'm on the edge of my seat and ready to get this done. I want my woman back in my arms where she belongs and I'll do anything to make it happen.Roberto drives around to the rear of the property and lets me and Rylan out. We're splitting up so we can keep an eye on things better. I slide the tiny communications unit into my ear and we test them quickly. Everything appears to be in working order and Roberto gives us a salute."Stay in touch," Connor says."Roger that," Rylan responds and I give a sharp nod.The Jeep drives away and Connor and Roberto head to the front gate. The plan is for them to meet up with Desmond while Ry and I will stay under the radar, keeping a close eye on things. If Desmond deviates from the plan or tries to be sneaky in any way, we'll be ready."Ready?" Rylan asks."Let's do this."We move through the woods and sneak onto the property. From here, the plan is to split up and move to opposite sides of the large rear yard."S
Sweeping around the corner, our plan foremost in my brain, we walk straight into two enforcers and immediately jump them. They aren't expecting us and we use the element of surprise to our advantage. It's four against two and, even though the guys are big, they don't expect us to come flying out of the blackness and attack like wraiths.Roberto and Rylan quickly overpower the guard on the left while Connor and I take down the burly guy on the right. I tackle him at the knees and he drops hard while Connor slugs him with a fist to the face. We work well together and I pop up, lift my gun and slam it down against the base of the enforcer's skull. He drops like a brick and Connor gives me a nod.Glancing over, I see Roberto just finished doing the same thing.Once the guards are taken care of, or at least momentarily out of the picture, I stalk over to the cell and see Sean Flannigan cowering in there like the weasel he is and always will be. Looking down, I see the cell door is locked.