Without looking back at Nelly, Talia cleared her throat then cheerfully said, “See you later Nelly.” She hurried away, crossing the street without even looking. She wanted to duck and hide at that point. She really disliked it when people were in her business, as minute as it may be, especially people she didn’t know so well.Then why didn’t you just say no? Or play dumb? She harrumphed as she raised her right hip to the door so that the keycard in her front pocket could scan her in. Was the phone tree already activated in the building? All asking where the Ferrari had suddenly come from and in whose apartment the owner had passed the night? Had nosey Mrs. King already knocked on her door, ready to spy inside? Talia stomped her way to the elevator, grumped for the few minutes it took to her floor and stomped her way off and to her door. She placed the bags down then searched through them for her wallet, phone and keys. She’d dropped her
She watched him from where she stood, leaning against the sink as he quietly ate his sandwich. Rafe, the Rafael DeLuca II, award winning, well known and respected billionaire business mogul had run away from home and the pressures there. It wasn’t work, she was sure of it. Why else would he come here and terrorize his employees? He could do that just fine back in Italy. There was something at home that had made him say ‘enough, get out now before you suffocate’ and now here he was, half naked, eating a bacon sandwich in her tiny apartment. He ran away and he was still running. Was this a stop or a temporary respite as she just happened to be the one who could help him solve not one but two problems: insomnia and erectile dysfunction? Don’t think about that! She stepped back and did a quick turn on her right foot, her right hand reaching for the fridge door, pulling it open with her momentum. She stuck her head into it and let the cold freezer air hit her in the face. Just the sight of
Rafe sat on the couch at the helm of the yacht and watched as vessel after vessel pulled out of the harbor and sailed towards the setting sun to enjoy the night out in the open ocean. He should have been one of them, in fact, he would have already been out there if not for the sudden bout of laziness. He smiled against the rim of his brand glass as he remembered why he felt so lazy. His body was completely unwound and lax, like jelly had been fused in with his bones and muscles. When was the last time he’d felt tired and relaxed at the same time? Sadly, he couldn’t remember. He couldn’t even remember the last time his mind was so silent, without one hurried panic thought rushing through it. When had he stopped living like a human being and started existing like a robot? He ran his hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. Being a DeLuca would do that to a person. No, his younger brother Renaldo wasn’t so knotted up like he was. He lived an easy life, an envious one too. All he did wa
Naturally he denied it vehemently. He was Rafael DeLuca II, he didn’t have panic attacks. There was nothing wrong with his sanity, but he knew deep down that it was a possibility. The shame that came from that drove him to adopt his old pastime. Needing a distraction, he bedded every willing woman he could get his hands on, hoping that with each girl, he would find some escape, a way to forget the cage that was his life and his failing mental state. Just for a little while, he wanted to feel carnal pleasure, dopamine that would keep him high for as long as he needed it before his next fix. But that soon stopped working, then his dick followed suit. He could only conclude that his penis was tired of the faceless and easy vagina diving. With a deprecating smile he admitted to himself — now he was able to admit that — that hadn’t been the reason. Whatever he had been looking for in all those random nights, he hadn’t found it, that is, until Talia McKenna. Why was she differ
“Babe, isn’t hair day next month?” Carrie asked as they facetimed. Talia stared at the phone screen where she had it propped up against a cup on the dining table as she opened a bottle of wine.“I needed to get the sweat washed out,” she answered absent mindedly as she screwed the wine opener into the cork.“Why? You don’t exactly exercise, lucky bitch,” she hissed. Talia snorted a laugh as she pulled on the wine opener. “Or did you suddenly decide to get a gym membership?”Talia froze, elbow up in the air, realizing then what she had let slip. For some reason, her friend could sniff out the tea in the slightest comment then the Spanish inquisition would begin. She leaned out of the camera focus for a moment and internally screamed as she mouthed ‘Oh my god, what’s wrong with you?’ She couldn’t just say ‘Yes, I did’ because they both knew Talia had an aversion to the
“I don’t follow.”Yeah, Talia was just as confused. In the hours they spent having marathon sex, there were moments she felt him with her, like their souls were meddling, flying together. Then there were moments where she felt like he wasn’t there. He would be looking right at her as he moved inside her but he wasn’t present. He could have been anywhere and with someone else while he was physically with her. At those instances, when she met his blank gaze, she too would be pulled out of the moment as questions bombarded her head only to get chased away by a soul shattering orgasm. Present or not, the man knew how to pleasure a woman. Oh yeah, she thought self-deprecatingly, by his own confession she was one of many, so his skills in that area were honed.Though she was feeling a little betrayed and used, she couldn’t help but think about the reason why. The distant deer caught in headlights look in his eyes as he mumbled incoherently
She placed the now empty glass on the table and turned to face him with a scrutinizing gaze. If he was so aware of her reservations, why the hell had unilaterally decided that moving into her shoebox of an apartment, where she couldn’t avoid him, was a genius response to her evicting him just the day before after having this very same conversation?Suddenly, he was right in front of her, not pressed against her but caging her. She took a step back, her back bumping against the counter that made up part of the kitchen. His feet didn’t move from where he stood but his arms came to rest palm flat on top of the counter, bracketing her. He leaned forward, over her, his lips inches away from her forehead. Her breath snagged in her throat as she was made aware, yet again, how big he was. Muscled in a lean kind of way, wide shoulders and a large chest that she would have loved to cuddle against in a different circumstance and corded thick arms that made her fingers itch w
He’s using you, use him back. Carrie’s words echoed in her mind. When she’d said that Talia had refused to sleep her project into international success. But, as Carrie said, it was clear she was the only one getting emotional over their sleeping together. So why shouldn’t she get what she wanted for this arrangement too? He was clearly using her weakness for him to his advantage, she might as well come out of the other end with more than just a broken heart. Decided, she followed him into the room. It irked her that he was already laying on the bed naked, as if knowing she would come.Fine! Shoving her shorts down she said, “This is the last time we are doing this. Next time you come here it’s to sleep. Deal?”Hands behind his head, a smug smile on his lips he said, “You sound like you are about to have a root canal.”“Same process. Deal or no deal?”“If it makes you
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