LucaIt has been a little over an hour since guests started arriving at my compound, and I can feel my anxiety levels rising. As someone who values safety and security above all else, the thought of exposing my well-guarded haven to the potential dangers of the mafia way of life is almost too much to bear, which is precisely why no one is allowed in the house, for fear they mark down the blueprint of the house for future reference. As you can imagine, every passing moment feels like an eternity as I weigh the risks and devise a plan to keep everyone who matters to me safe. As I bask in the warmth of my guests' congratulations on my upcoming nuptials, I can't help but feel a sense of pride welling up within me. Each person who smiles at me and takes a moment to express their admiration for my home fills me with a sense of satisfaction and contentment. Their kind words somehow validate all the hard work and effort I've put into making my life what it is today. And so, as I look around
"Boss?" Niko's voice has me dragging my gaze from the Rossi women back to the place I've taken to standing. I'm now in a position to watch Emma walk to her fate—to me. And I couldn't be happier with the turnout as everyone takes their seat as per the event planner's instructions."Everything secure?" I ask, holding my hands behind my back. I penetrate my guests with a blank stare, ensuring they all know I'm here and I'm watching."Everything's secure; the gates are closed. I also gave Emma your gifts.""Did she like them?" I ask with an arched brow."She called out that you didn't choose them yourself," he smirks."And how would she know that?" I asked, perturbed."I didn't lie," he shrugs."Lucky I have another gift for post-ceremony, then, isn't it?" I roll my eyes, annoyed.Of course, Emma would call out that I never chose those pearls myself.Must she challenge me at every turn of our lives?"She asked me to give you this," Niko surprises me, his fingers passing something into my
EmmaItalian weddings are more for the people than the couple, or that's my summary of today anyway.I've stood beside Luca all evening as people ate and then partied while the music blared only to lower for the speeches that weren't anything special—just a few words wishing us a good marriage and a long reign. A long line of couples queued to talk to us where business deals were appraised or thrown around as some sort of wedding present, which Luca lapped at like a starved man.I'm tired and emotionally worn, yet excited that it's finally time to leave behind everyone else to spend time just Luca and me.Right now, I wonder if a small inconsequential wedding that Luca offered might have been the way to go.His hand has cradled mine all evening, so when he leaves me to speak to Niko, I stand dutifully to the side, yet I can hear his every word. And though I turn to face the small gathering inside the tent, I listen avidly."I want them all off the property by half an hour. The weddin
I can't break my gaze away from him; I can't make myself break this connection he's quietly creating, and as I stand here in this impossibly beautiful but uncomfortable dress, I think I might be suffering from a lack of oxygen."Your gift surprised me," he mumbles, looking down at his hand where the necklace sits. "I can't believe you kept it. I thought you would have forgotten something like this when you packed in a hurry.""I packed nothing, only those sentimental necklaces and bracelets and my photo album of us," I breathe quietly."Why?""The only thing I wanted to take with me was you; I wasn't allowed, so I took the only things I had of you.""I hate that my father had you sent away—.""But...""Hush! I know. Fuck, Emma. I should never have blamed you, but it was easier to hate you when I allowed my mind to convince itself that you were the traitor. I've never loved anyone but you, and it hurts to know you left. For a while there, I thought you might have died, that your father
Luca Can a man pant like a dog?That's what it feels like I'm doing at this very moment as I breathe heavily against Emma's neck.You could say I'm unimpressed with my lack of control, the need to make love and mark Emma having ruled my body way too quickly as I allowed a spontaneous orgasm to wrack my body after weeks of abstaining.But I'm not a man done after one round. Instead, I take the time just to hold Emma's relaxed body to mine, her fingernails scraping against my skull as she hums that sweet lullaby my mother sang to us on many occasions.I can sense her smiling aura, a silent happiness seeping from her every pore as it pours into my own emotions."How are you feeling, Emma?" I ask."Happy...""I mean down here, Emma. Are you sore?""No. I don't think my body has got the memo that it's over; I'm still pulsating with...pleasure."I concur with her musing; her body is still strumming with excitement. It's in the way her legs are shaking. Her eyes laced with passion. And als
"Good morning," Niko interrupts my thoughts."You wanted to see me?" I answer unhappily."Yes, your father has set the ceremony for four nights time. He has requested both yours and Emma's attendance.""You didn't automatically accept?" I ask, sighing as I look at the clock on the wall behind him.It's seven am, and I should be rousing Emma from her post-orgasmic sleep to take her again. Yet, here I am attending this pointless meeting with my number two because of his lack of foresight to accept the invitation to Emma's acceptance ceremony."I did accept, but I must inform you of your last task," Niko grimaces."And what shall that be, praise tell me?""Pierce Addisol, his death is your last commitment before your father agrees to begin the passing of his title.""He wants me to kill the head of the New York syndicate?""He's being trialled for unknown reasons; his death is cleaner than the possibility of his mouth running wild.""And he wants this done within the next three nights?"
LucaI grab for Emma as she squeals like a teenage girl again. We're running through the gardens outside the house. The breeze whips her hair around me as I turn her around to kiss her as the need overtakes me. Our lips move upon one another in a rush, neither of us being able to let the other go as she giggles, and I groan deep in my throat. This morning is all but forgotten, and I've heard nothing from Niko concerning whether my father has demanded I must do as I'm told regarding the charge of not but one but two men. That didn't slip my notice, Niko's cheeky slip that there was another's death left in my hands upon ridding the most known ruler of one of the biggest New York syndicates.Pierce Addisol is an American gang member turned ruler known for his smuggling and heavy-handed punishments that he metes out without due reasoning.For this reason, he's been on my father's shit list for some time, and though he holds secrets we never want to get out, a truce has always been adhe
Emma's movement snaps me out of the memory. Yes, you could say I've been putting off that dire conversation for fear that our wedding day was ruined before it even happened. "Shall we join them?" Emma asks me, breaking away from our kiss, facing the house and our men training."It's our honeymoon; there's no need to train.""Perhaps I want to, Luca. I enjoy it," she tells me, dropping my hand as she walks towards the house and our men.I smirk, shaking my head that she seems just as unable to turn off that side of her. But in honesty, her need to train has me worried also.What does she think will happen?Why does she need to train anyway? It's not as if her father intends for her to take over the Rossi name, which is just another thing I need to investigate. "Emma!""Yes, Luca?" She turns to face me, continuing to walk backwards effortlessly. "Are you afraid to lose again?""Oh, Bambina, all bets are off now that I own your body. Didn't you know? A woman's body can be traitorous wh
Continued:"Majority should rule, no?" I frown."If only that's how it worked. Elders still have a say, and Dimitri won't go against those he worked alongside. I hate to tell you, but the men he worked closely with hold a place in his heart. Dimitri is nothing if not loyal to those who served him and alongside him.""So where do I fit into this and Bianca?""Dimitri might seem like a, ah, what do you English call it? A vicious man, but he's honestly just living up to the man his father wished him to be. Like me, you are Dimitri's good deed. A way into the pearly gates if they are indeed real. He's kept you close because he feels the need to protect you. Same for the girl, Dimitri takes the blame for her father's death, and now he has given her to you and you to her as a way to make amends.""It's a forced marriage," I spit in disbelief."A convenient forced marriage that has brought you happiness you would never have allowed yourself, you mean? I'm sure the girl was the same, and that
NikoWe exit very slowly and cautiously, holding our weapons out to protect us and ensuring we move with precision to best protect our lives as we both take opposite sides in an attempt to cover the front of us.Luckily, no one's around, or at least it seems that way as we remain quiet and assessing."Okay, talk to me, Sven," I sigh as I let my guard down enough to move out of the doorway so Sven could close it behind us. The chill of the night air hits my naked skin, causing me to shiver."I shouldn't," he tells me before pulling out a smoke for himself. He lights it and then offers me the box, holding it open as I take one for myself. Passing me the lighter, I smirk before I take it and light up the smoke, inhaling the nicotine with fervour. It quite literally feels like I've been starved of nicotine of late."We can do this the easy way—.""I've worked for Dimitri since before his father passed over his title. I was just a lowly orphan with no family after the previous Don took my
Continued: "We're going outside," he tells me quietly, almost as if he's speaking numbly. It's as if he knows I'm going to object, yethe's not going tochange his mind. "You won't change your mind, will you?" "We have no choice. I need to make a plan, and I need information before we make any decisions." "Then you should know she was here with Benji. I don't know why, but he was here for her," I reveal, reaching inside my bra to bring the piece of paper out. I slip it into his hand, and he frowns. "You won't be long?" I ask. "I'll be as quick as I can, Bee." With that, he kissed me tenderly before passing me one of his guns, and then he encouraged me back to the sofa, which was the most uncomfortable chair I had ever sat on in my life. And then he and Sven left through the door we entered through. I watched Alexandra with keen interest as she shook herself and the chair she sat on when the door showed her the route to freedom. "Are you in a relationship with him?" I asked,
BiancaSo we're in hiding, great, except for the fact that there's no food or much water and only one bedroom come living area, leaving us with the only option but to share space with one another.That first hour was filled with tense silence. We sat in a circle, staring at one another as we judged each other.I guess none of us had a clue of what to say, leaving the only sounds coming from Alexandra as she hissed annoyance at being tied to another chair while simultaneously trying to release herself. She couldn't, of course. Sven ensured she wasn't able to breathe, let alone escape. Soon, though, the trivia of being trapped down here had me wandering around the space as I paced back and forth in an attempt to kill my anxiety. And my movement had first Sven agitated and then Alexandra."You'll have to surface at some point; they'll be waiting," she tells me. Or at least she looks to me as she speaks. It's as if she's solely talking to me, yet she never actually addressed me. Anxiet
Continued:"No, I'm here. Right where I should be. I'm here for you, Bianca. Only you.""You can't heal these ugly parts of me," she tells me desperately, but I hear more than her telling me something. I listen to her convincing herself she can't be healed. She's so wrong."I don't care; I accept them. I accept all of you, Bee.""Why?" she asks in a quiet and frightened tone. Her disbelief is flavoursome, and I hate it. I think long and hard about my answer, but it comes down to one thing. "Because I can," I tell her with a look that I hope transpires everything I'm not saying.Because I love you should have been the words that left my mouth, but it's the wrong time to say such things, especially when the feeling is so new and appeared so quickly that even I'm tripping over this emotion I've run from all my life."I'm ugly, horribly ugly inside, Niko.""And I'll love those ugly parts just the same; now, do you want to talk about it or save that conversation for later?"She looks ast
NikoSven and I meticulously strip what little clothing Alexandra had on, but we find nothing that could account for a tracking device.Even so, we check every crevice of her body and still come up empty-handed before replacing the clothing to give her some sense of decency. If I'm honest, I tackle the task with indifference, but in honesty, I feel sick to my stomach doing such a task. At first, she shook like a leaf, but her true identity showed itself when her quivering lip turned into a malicious smile when we realised she didn't have an evident tracking device."Perhaps you should look elsewhere," she sneered at me with enough malice to prove she's gone entirely fucking rogue. This is not the woman I remember; she sure isn't the loved-up woman who followed Mitchels every word. "I should kill you now, leave your dead body for them to find. Perhaps that would leave the message that I'm not to be played with," I hiss back with equal fervour, but I knew I was only playing into her g
Continued:My entrance is dramatic, and I twist my ankle. Barely containing the yelp of pain as hands steady me. "Careful," Niko warns as his hands grab my shoulders. Righting me, he strokes my cheek and kisses my forehead. Then he leaves me, moving for Alexandra, who is sitting on one of the kitchen stalls in the middle of the kitchen. I watch Niko closely tie her to the stall, ensuring her hands and legs are immobile.I'm itching to turn every light off and cut out all light for anyone searching for something to guide their way here, to me.The seconds tick by until he's finished, and I slap every light switch to swamp us in darkness when he begins to stand."Bee?" He questions me as the house falls into darkness. The silence around us stretches out only as far as Alexandra's laugh allows. She knows, god, she knows that they're coming. "Isaw lightout at sea," I whisper to Niko. "She's guiding them here. I'm sure of it!" I tell him desperately, knowing he probably won't believe m
BiancaThings are escalating so quickly, and I'm at a complete loss for words. I don't know what to do with the information safely stowed away in my bra. It is burning my skin. It's begging me to reveal it, knowing deep down that we need to acknowledge the fact that a Densel was seemingly working against one of their own with the likes of another man's wife, who just so happens to be one of the top three rulers of our kind.I'm sure Niko could make more heads over the tail of it himself, but I don't want to give away the game for Alexandra only to win with the upper hand. Because she knows, she knows what Benji was doing there, and she might be the fucking key for the downfall headed our way. Now, whether Benji is the one she is hinting at or if she is hinting at Mitchel is above me right now.Anxiety rolls through me, and a sixth sense begs me to accept the truth. They were working together, but for what and why? And more importantly, who?So, I defer. I accused her of cheating des
Continued: Sighing and gritting my teeth in annoyance, I begin to unbutton my shirt in a hurry. Shifting it off my shoulders, I hold it out to Alexandra with a stern look of annoyance, willing her to take it without saying thank you. Sven chuckles from the back of the boat. He's far enough away that his chuckle comes at me quietly, but I hear it anyway as I make eye contact with him. He never did appreciate having morals. "Thank you," Alexandra eagerly takes my shirt, wrapping it around herself, proving she was trying her damned hardest to conceal the fact she was indeed very cold. I train my gaze away from her lack of attire, aware that my staring might well upset Bianca, and I far from want to create that distance between us. Not after we've come so far in our relationship. "I think you need to start talking, Alexandra," I finally demand with a low undertone, my voice as menacing as I can make it. I want to instil as much fear as I can to successfully seek the answers I need. Bu