Rafe tried to concentrate throughout the presentation, but with Talia seated right next to him, her scent washing over him, it was near impossible. He couldn’t understand why the hell he was reacting so strongly to her—or it. What was it? It wasn’t flowery nor a brand he could easily recognize, but it was very much designed to entice a man. He was reacting way too strongly towards her for it to be anything else. It wasn’t like he was a curious, horny teenage boy. Rafe has always prided himself for being in control, especially of his emotions, and now that control was being threatened and it shook him to the very core. It was that damn scent. Surely she must know that? She must know the effect her perfume had on men? The kind of frenzy it instigated? He was tempted to look at the man seated next to her and ask him if he was having the same problem. It couldn’t possibly be just him getting drugged by that scent.
And that stupid pen she had in
Talia had hummed throughout the entire meeting. Sitting so close to DeLuca had her mind going back to that dream about him and his mouth between her legs. It didn’t help that he kept on side eye spying on her. She’d wondered from time to time if they were meant to be reproaching glances because her knees just wouldn’t stop bouncing! But he would have said something; he wasn’t exactly the type to spare someone’s feelings and avoid public humiliation. Poor Harry had been sweating from the moment DeLuca had entered the boardroom. How she had even found herself sitting next to him was a mystery to her. Usually, there was just one seat at the head of the boardroom table, but the place had been so packed with executives, she’d been forced to shift to sitting behind DeLuca. When she saw all the suits file in, she’d forced herself to smother a laugh. She was willing to bet her left kidney they were beyond curious about what DeLuca was up to and how it would affect them. It was finance, the mo
“Don’t you have anything to say?” he demanded a little louder, making her flinch. “I was notified of the meeting just this morning. And right after Mr. DeLuca hung up, I called Henry to let him know.” “Why didn’t you call me?” he screeched, drawing the attention of those walking by them. Fabulous! There was nothing Talia hated more than public attention, especially if she was being scolded. “I did. I even sent a text,” Talia responded with strained patience. She’d called him right after she’d called Henry to tell him about the meeting. It wasn’t her fault he never picked up, nor was it her fault he didn’t read the text message. He had the habit of never reading texts, playing the old school card of texts being a younglings thing. Ha! I wonder how that excuse passed with the suits, she thought with a snide inner laugh. But then again, nothing was stopping him from blaming it all on her. Talia watched as Mr. Per
Startled, she sucked in a breath, her heart beating a tattoo in her chest, but she still couldn’t move. She refused to. Her breath came faster and her left hand went up to her neck, rubbing down to the exposed part of her upper chest then back up again to her neck as she forced herself to take deep and even calming breaths.She went rigid when she felt his body brush up against her back. The breath from his lips was right at her left ear. She swallowed hard, eyes tightly shut; she held herself perfectly still. His forehead brushed against the side of her head, from her chin to her cheek and up to her temple. His lips quickly and lightly swept over her earlobe. Her knees buckled then and she bit down hard on her lower lip.“Talia,” he whispered heatedly into her ear.She swayed on her feet. She felt his hands on her waist. A light pressure followed as his fingers pressed into the sides of her abdomen, his thumbs into her back in a light squeeze.
Talia stared at the screen not sure if she was reading the words right. Her throat tightened and her heart pounded hard against her ribs as she looked in disbelief at the words on the page. After several more seconds of reading and re-reading the email, with the mouse in her right hand, she clicked refresh but nothing changed when she read through it again. The words on the screen remained the same. Her hands grew clammy as she clenched and unclenched them, tension like a circuit ran up and down her body, through her arms and down her legs repeatedly. Surely those words couldn’t mean what they said. She thought to herself seeking comfort as the words settled heavily on her head, the reality too great for her to admit. There must be a mistake, there had to be. No, no, she was reading the words wrong, that had to be it.“Carrie,” Talia called over her shoulder, a slight tremor in her voice, “come here real quick. Just for a sec.”“What
Rafe sat at the yacht’s bow sofa, a glass of whiskey in one hand and his head filled with thoughts of Talia.She must have gotten the email by now, he thought to himself, flooded with a mix of guilt and shame.For the first time in his life, Rafe had run from a fight. Knowing Talia’s reaction and refusing to face it had chased him out of the office early. He had also for the first time in his life knocked off work early and, making it worse, not for the most honorable of reasons. He had taken the cowards way out and scheduled the email to go out an hour after he had left the office, all to avoid the confrontation that was sure to come. The shame, also due to another cowardly act, had him reject her project proposal without even opening the cover page to read it.He sighed heavily, rubbing his free hand over his face. She haunted him, in his sleep and in his waking hours. He closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn’t count with both hands
Talia stirred, turning onto her belly and burrowing further in the soft plush pillows under her cheek. She didn’t want to wake up. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so well and so comfortably. It felt like she was laying in a bed of clouds. Had her mother been here? She didn’t remember her beddings being so soft and wonderful. Just as she was drifting off back to sleep, the bed swayed from side to side under her and Talia froze. What was that? Was that an earthquake? No, earthquakes didn’t sway, they shook, loudly, and when was the last time there was an earthquake in Boston?Talia opened her eyes then, blinking a few times to clear her vision. She tilted her head a little in wonder, pushing her chin further into the pillow. Since when was the wall so close to her bed?Were those shutters?She turned her head to face the other side. That window did not look familiar.Shouldn’t there be a build
Twenty minutes later, Talia made her way out of the room. In the short corridor, straight ahead the open door allowed her to see into another bedroom. That bed appeared to be just as large as the one she had occupied.Was that his room? The nosey part of her wanted to go in for a little tour. She had thought that the one she was using was his because it smelled of him. But then again, he had been in there a few times when he looked after her. As she walked ahead a few steps, on her right was another room but with two single beds. The yacht was like a small luxurious three bedroom apartment, she could see its appeal. Why stay in a hotel when he had such a beautiful space? And even better — depending on who was asked — he could take his floating home anywhere in the wide, quiet ocean. Just thinking about her noisy neighbors, the loud car horns, and the kids playing in the alley, she could definitely see the appeal. If she wasn’t so afraid of being sur
She jerked frontward when he tugged her forward by their clasped hands to follow behind him, and as he was explaining, whatever it was that he was explaining, she watched the emotions play on his face. His eyes lit up, his grin spread from ear to ear and his free hand waved around as he pointed behind them at what he called the aft, unchecked and like he had not a care in the world. When he was this animated, he looked… human. She could see now why he preferred the yacht over the hotel.Freedom.He was free to be himself, his true self without having to put on a front for anyone, always guarded, always watchful, always predatory, and, depending on the situation, ready to defend or attack. Talia wondered if he even realized that at that moment, he was doing none of that. Did he know he was acting differently than normal? Did he recognize that he had two completely opposite personas?It must be exhausting. How does he handle it?Considering
Rafe walked into his home feeling very pleased with himself. His revenge was finally complete, and soon the Rossi and DeLuca names would be nothing. They would disappear like an unfounded rumor. And then he’d rebuild the DeLuca name clean of all his father’s evil. He patted Angelo on the back. “Come cugino, let’s celebrate!” Angelo shook his head. “Rafe, there is nothing to celebrate—” Rafe raised his hand and cut him off as he walked towards the bar sitting at the far end of the living room. “Not now, Angelo. You can be my conscious tomorrow morning after I’ve drunk my scotch, kissed my sons, and made passionate love to my wife.” “I can see the first two happening, but I’m not sure about the last.” Rafe turned to his wife’s voice with a smile. She looked lovely leaning against the doorway with a radiant smile on her face. He couldn’t believe the same woman had almost died two months ago. How am I so lucky? He beckoned her with two fingers and she strutted towards him. When she
Talia felt sorry for her. The woman was caught between her husband’s crime and her son’s revenge. She hadn’t deluded herself as to think Rafe would let it go just because she’d asked him to. She knew he was up to something, just not something so extreme. But it shouldn’t shock her. When he thought she’d cheated on him with Renaldo and Alex, he’d left her destitute. He’d taken everything except the house which she’d just finished paying off with half of her savings.She knew Rafe’s wrath when he was wronged, all too well. She didn’t envy them.“Why is Gabriella here?”“Alex is my brother,” she responded with a maliciously satisfied look on her face.Talia took a deep breath to calm her. She still had nightmares about him. She could hear his voice, as he taunted her, promising to do disgusting things to her. Each time, she woke up with Rafe rocking her in his arms, and
Months later…Talia waited until they were a few feet away from the nursery before she spoke. “You know you don’t have to come back to Boston with me.”Carrie pouted. “How can I not? You’re my best friend, and I love you.”“But you love him too.”She nodded with a heavy sigh.Who would have thought Carrie and Angelo would fall for each other? They were complete opposites with nothing in common. He was always serious, and Carrie was only serious at work, the rest of the time Talia always wondered if she was auditioning for court jester.But their friends with benefits relationship that had begun when she was in a coma, knowing Carrie maybe before—Carrie had always used sex to forget situations that scared her, ever since her parents’ died in a car accident—had blossomed into a serious relationship. They were genuinely happy together. And that was to end just bec
“Come on, wake up already!”Talia attempted to move her head away from the incessant chanting in her ear. What the hell did Carrie want?She tried to open her eyes, but they felt so heavy. She struggled until she finally got them to obey and quickly closed them again when she saw Carrie’s happy face looming above her.“Here, open your mouth and drink.”Talia didn’t argue. She felt like she had cotton stuffed in her mouth and down her throat. The cool liquid felt heavenly as she swallowed her first sip.She opened her eyes again and looked at Carrie’s smiling face. “I’m having a nightmare,” she whispered hoarsely.Carrie snorted. “No, we’ve been having a nightmare. It’s about damn time you woke up, you selfish bitch!”Talia’s mouth fell open. “What did I do?”“You were in a coma for a month, that’s what you
“This is a bad idea, Rafe. Think about what you are about to do,” Angelo repeated as he pulled into the driveway of the DeLuca mansion. “You’re not in the right state of mind.”Rafe fisted his hands, pressing them to his thighs to keep from reaching for his cousin and ripping his tongue out. He’d been repeating those words like a broken record since the moment Rafe woke up and blurted out his intention. When he wouldn’t relent and had demanded for his car keys, Angelo finally gave in, offering to drive him to his destination. Though his rage was burning strong and growing with every second, his body was still weak from shock.Never in his life had Rafe ever blacked out, besides that one time he had a panic attack over a year ago. The fear of losing Talia was so strong, it had robbed him of all his senses. It was like his mind and body agreed to shut down and hide because he couldn’t handle the thought of Talia dying.
Rafe stumbled into the ward and found Carrie pacing the floor. Her face was wet with tears, and his heart jerked.Please, God, let them be alright!“Carrie, where is she?” he rasped.Carrie looked at him for a long while before she spoke. “You need to convince her to let them do it! You just have to!” she cried, fresh tears rolling down her stricken face.Rafe took a breath to calm himself before he grasped Carrie’s shoulders. “Convince her to do what?”“Signore DeLuca?”Rafe looked up at the doctor who stood behind Carrie. He swallowed the fear and nodded.“How is she?” he asked, a tremor in his voice.The doctor sighed visibly with relief before he moved closer. “Her blood pressure is climbing dangerously high, and she refuses to let us deliver the babies.”For a second, Rafe had held the hope that that look of relief
“Say that again, he did what?” Carrie’s eyes bugged out of their sockets, ready to fall into her lap. Talia understood her reaction, she was still in shock.“Besides falling asleep in my bed and leaving me with no choice but to sleep next to him? He woke up this morning and went about his business like everything was normal and nothing had happened between us.”She pointed to the island that separated the kitchen from the living room, “He sat across from me, had his breakfast, asked about my plans for the day. Then he reminded me to stay off my feet as much as possible and then left saying ‘see you in the evening’ and if I wanted him to bring something for dinner!”Carrie blinked shaking her head. “Take a breath.”Talia did as instructed, feeling some of the anxiety leave her. She felt like she was in the twilight zone. There was this anxious fear at the familiarity of the wh
After a few seconds of silence, she decided to just ask again instead of just wondering, “What are you doing here Rafe?”His eyes opened then. After a beat or two he said, “it’s my home.”“Not for the time being it’s not. And I thought this was just one of your properties, don’t you live with your family?”He snorted, then sipped at the mug.This was one thing Talia always found unnerving when they worked together and even more when they dated. He didn’t talk much, only when he felt like he needed to. The rest of the time, it was as if they were to read his silence and understand what he wanted. It frustrated her at work but also posed a challenge. She wanted to be the indispensable employee who could decipher the boss’ silence and deliver results that he wanted. He was demanding, strict with high expectations but fair. That was why she fell for him, a character from her favorite romance no
Cool it hormones. Pregnancy had her emotions on overdrive, including—a recent development—her libido.What was he still doing here? She turned and her eye caught his belt, it lay on the far end of the couch with his suit jacket socks and watch. He’d gotten comfortable, which meant he’d had no intention of going anywhere after he’d tucked her into bed. The alcohol made sure of it. But, he just lived a short elevator ride down, surely he would have been able to make it?“What are you doing here Rafe?”He raised—no, he pulled up one arm, judging by how heavy it looked as he raised it—and pointed to the ceiling, with one finger, his hand bobbing as his wrist struggled to hold it up.“Carrie moved in,” he said with a slight slur.She sighed, exasperated, “Yes, I know. She’s in the spare bedroom.”Talia didn’t like dealing with drunks, no matte