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
EmmaFour days have passed by in utter bliss, and even as I stare at Luca sleeping beside me this morning, I still feel the need to pinch myself at the thought that, one, we're married, and two, it seems to be blissful.He's stayed in bed with me the last three mornings, sleeping far past his usual six am wake up, and I know I should be honoured that he's taking this time to be with me, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. The fear I have is palpable. Being in the mafia makes me cognisant that bliss isn't a thing, and yet here we are blissfully happy with one another.Reaching to stroke his cheek, I can't help but smile. The skin there is prickly with the four-day-old beard growth, which funnily enough suits him, and I've told him as much, and he's agreed to keep it if that's what I want. He's been so amenable that it's unreal, yet I don't fully trust anything he's said and done because all I can ask is, why?Despite our marriage being typically normal, things in the mafia don
"You're a target now, you know this, Emma. I won't allow you to go wherever he wants you to go. I can't lose you, Emma... I love you...""I love you, too," I almost choked. God, I've been craving to hear those little words from his mouth since our wedding night. But I can't let my emotions rule me. "Please love me enough to know this is what's needed of me, and I'll be back. Sooner than you think.""No, get someone else to do it. Fuck, I'll go instead of you, Emma.""This is family business, you're not a Rossi.""Then he should go himself," he mutters angrily. Throwing his hands up in the air as his body language starts to become hostile. He marches away from me as I stand mute and stuck to the spot. He then marches back. His hands are fisted, and his eyes are dark and angry."You're N.O.T. going!""You cannot stop me, Luca. This is my choice; besides, if not me, then it'll be Bianca, and I can't put her through that!" I yell to him in desperation.But even though I'm trying to protec
EmmaI'm silent for longer than Niko likes, but I don't know what to say, so I recite my escape with precision. He hisses when I tell him I reeled in the help of three of our men, but I think his annoyance is for the one in particular who helped me leave."You've assured his death in your little game of escape, queen. How does that feel, knowing you've sentenced him to that because of your stupidity?""If I weren't locked in a room with no way out, I wouldn't have needed help at all—Luca's my husband, not my keeper. You can't expect me to sit like a princess in my ivory tower. I have responsibilities, ones I cannot escape.""Your responsibilities now lie with your husband, or have you forgotten the mafia etiquette?" He sighs. "Do you not find it... a coincidence that your father has you leave the country on the same day you pledge yourself to the Moretta name? Or are you that gullible that you hadn't thought about that?" he whispers lowly.I glance at Matteo again and find he's lookin
"Mass!" I yell as I enter the house; he's there waiting for me as if knowing I would be calling upon him. Perhaps he did; it is his camera rotation this afternoon, even though he only got home late last night after taking out Pierce. "She got away, didn't she?" He asks me with a sly grin. "Have you had her followed, or have you failed to keep her within eyeshot as I demanded?" I hiss in annoyance. Mass looks at me with feigned ignorance, clutching his chest as he pretends to absorb my annoyance. "We have a car on their tail and a car waiting at the airport, as per Niko's request," he reveals. "So he got away with her?" I ask, angered a little. Not that I should be upset she has him with her; at least her back will be covered whilst she tries to kill my arms dealer on her father's whim, and on that thought, having Niko there to protect our arms dealer if the need arises is another plus for him having gotten away with her. Then again, thinking back over the way he's been looking
Luca "Emma, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have locked you in here," I mumble, ashamed as I think over what I had done not forty minutes ago while walking into our bedroom. I could have handled that meltdown with a vast difference, yet here I am, making mistakes at the first fucking hurdle. I shouldn't have locked her away like this, but I saw her stubbornness out to play, and I feared the worst, not giving her a chance to show her loyalty. Yet even as I scold myself internally, my admonishment dies as I stand in the bedroom doorway, the open balcony doors revealing Emma's escape route. I don't need to look around the room to know she's escaped the bedroom, but I do chastise myself internally because I never thought to lock the balcony door. Despite myself a smirk surfaces on my face, Emma is tenacious. Something I'll enjoy punishing her for when I get my hands on her. Something she'll soon learn is a favourite pastime of mine inside the bedroom. Peering outside and over the railing, I
"Luca's livid," Niko interrupts me again, his eyes flicking up as I raise my gaze to him again."You're texting him whilst we're in the air, in an aircraft?""There's WiFi; it's called iMessage..." he retorts with a small laugh. Yet his demeanour changes quickly when he realises I'm horrified."I wouldn't put you at risk, queen. Why'd you think I took your place? We can't have you harmed before you take your place beside Luca at the head of our family. And we sure can't risk your ability to give us our next reigning Moretta.""Is that all you people think about, an heir? I'm worth more than my wombs ability to create a child for the next generation," I spit angrily."That'll be your most cardinal job, queen. The ability to ensure the bloodline continues is no joke. The respect earned from such a task is next to exemplary. Think about it: you're the only one able to give us the little kids that we'll all cherish. Why do you sit and underestimate the importance of such a task?" "I don'
EmmaI'm silent for longer than Niko likes, but I don't know what to say, so I recite my escape with precision. He hisses when I tell him I reeled in the help of three of our men, but I think his annoyance is for the one in particular who helped me leave."You've assured his death in your little game of escape, queen. How does that feel, knowing you've sentenced him to that because of your stupidity?""If I weren't locked in a room with no way out, I wouldn't have needed help at all—Luca's my husband, not my keeper. You can't expect me to sit like a princess in my ivory tower. I have responsibilities, ones I cannot escape.""Your responsibilities now lie with your husband, or have you forgotten the mafia etiquette?" He sighs. "Do you not find it... a coincidence that your father has you leave the country on the same day you pledge yourself to the Moretta name? Or are you that gullible that you hadn't thought about that?" he whispers lowly.I glance at Matteo again and find he's lookin
"You're a target now, you know this, Emma. I won't allow you to go wherever he wants you to go. I can't lose you, Emma... I love you...""I love you, too," I almost choked. God, I've been craving to hear those little words from his mouth since our wedding night. But I can't let my emotions rule me. "Please love me enough to know this is what's needed of me, and I'll be back. Sooner than you think.""No, get someone else to do it. Fuck, I'll go instead of you, Emma.""This is family business, you're not a Rossi.""Then he should go himself," he mutters angrily. Throwing his hands up in the air as his body language starts to become hostile. He marches away from me as I stand mute and stuck to the spot. He then marches back. His hands are fisted, and his eyes are dark and angry."You're N.O.T. going!""You cannot stop me, Luca. This is my choice; besides, if not me, then it'll be Bianca, and I can't put her through that!" I yell to him in desperation.But even though I'm trying to protec
EmmaFour days have passed by in utter bliss, and even as I stare at Luca sleeping beside me this morning, I still feel the need to pinch myself at the thought that, one, we're married, and two, it seems to be blissful.He's stayed in bed with me the last three mornings, sleeping far past his usual six am wake up, and I know I should be honoured that he's taking this time to be with me, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. The fear I have is palpable. Being in the mafia makes me cognisant that bliss isn't a thing, and yet here we are blissfully happy with one another.Reaching to stroke his cheek, I can't help but smile. The skin there is prickly with the four-day-old beard growth, which funnily enough suits him, and I've told him as much, and he's agreed to keep it if that's what I want. He's been so amenable that it's unreal, yet I don't fully trust anything he's said and done because all I can ask is, why?Despite our marriage being typically normal, things in the mafia don
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
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
"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?"