"You must be wondering why I've called you all in here," Dimitri says solemnly, his gaze penetrating each of us as he looks around the room. Clasping his hand before him, he smirks when his gaze lands on Niko, who's not paying attention as he chews gum in the corner of the room. "It seems I now have secrets that need to remain hidden, a promise that I have recently realised I have no intention of keeping. Emma," he talks loudly for us all to hear. His tone is demanding and powerful. Our gazes meet as I turn my attention to him as he calls my name."Yes?""You'll need to keep your men in line and ensure they keep the blood pact your father and I had a secret. It's imperative to your relationship that you do this.""Blood pact? Okay—" I frown."Bianca," he turns to her ignoring my question, calling her name with malice. "You, dear child, must also keep those secrets silent. You'll be answering to me from now on. So you see, that's why I need to keep you in my organisation. I cannot trus
Luca Emma walks unsteadily out of my office as I stay back with Bianca, who is quite frankly growing to be a thorn dug deep in my side. I can't believe she'll be living here after all. And I cannot fathom Niko's upset at being demanded to marry her. He does owe my father, though, and when you owe a debt, it can be cashed in at any given moment, like a pendulum swinging above your head, slowly dropping until one day, it falls like a guillotine ready to end your life. Niko begged for his father's life, and much as my father has allowed Bianca to live, he allowed Costa to live. But in return, Niko swore to silence and knew he owed my father. I'm sure he thought that he'd never have to repay that token—yet the day has come, and his words bind him from years ago. He'll argue, I know he will, but in the end, he will do as asked because that's the future he chose. And I can do nothing about it, even if I wanted to help Niko. "Up," I spit at Bianca, walking towards her with my hand out,
Closing the door behind me softly, I ensure to take down the few dressing gowns off the back of the door, dumping them on the chair by the desk. I intend to use the mirror; I want to watch her watch me fuck her. Her attention barely flits from her book as I stalk towards the bed, and even less so when I start to strip with a serious face and dark eyes ready to devour her. Her disinterest mildly annoys me, but I don't allow it to dampen my mood fully. Smirking, I grab her ankle, pulling softly. Her body falls flat, her book forgotten, as she giggles with her arms flailing. "Luca?" She questions, my name coming out more of a breath than a spoken word. I drag her down the bed enough so that I see she's wearing nothing to cover her pussy. Fuck, my mouth waters. "I want you, wife!" "Have me then," she replies, biting her lip as if she's got exactly what she wanted. Ah, did she dress like this, hoping I wanted her? Well, it worked, more than worked. I would have preferred to find
"Please, Luca. More—." "Tell me how you want it?" "You, in—inside me," she stammers. "My fingers?" I ask, moving them back and forth, watching her arousal stretch between us as I tease her once again. "No..." "Then what?" "Your—." "My?" "Cock. I want your cock," she tells me quietly. Ashamedly. "I love your blush, Bambina. But you need to embrace your sexuality. I like my girls dirty." "I'm your only girl," she scowls. "I like you dirty," I correct myself, reaching for her. Aiding her into the doggy position, I face her at the bedroom door. Then I take my place behind her. I watch her in the mirror as she realises there's a reflection of us before us. I smile, knowing she's probably way out of her comfort zone. "You're going to watch me fuck you, and I want to see your eyes when you come," I stipulate. She nods, keeping her eyes on me as I fist my cock ready to line up at her entrance. She scrunches the bedsheet as I push my way inside slowly, her mouth parting. Her tee
Emma "What a lovely family reunion, yes? Have you missed your genitori, Emma?" "Yes," I nod. "We've missed you. Haven't we, Beatrice?" "Ye—ssss," my mother stammers. "You must be wondering why you're here like this. On my cell floor, Emma?" "Did I do something wrong?" I ask. "Not per se, but essentially. Yes." My father passes the gun to Bianca; she eagerly takes it, adjusting her hold clumsily before pointing it at our mother's head. Footsteps force my gaze from my mother to my father as he approaches me. He bends down, crouching low before me. Reaching out, he strokes my cheek. "Così ingenuo, così stupido," so naive, so stupid, he tells me. "Papa," his name comes out as I begin to beg. "Ah, always such a disappointment, Emma. Senza valore," worthless he tuts. "Mi dispiace, papà," I apologise. He cradles my cheek, lifting my face from my knees. For a moment, we locked gazes, and I felt his disdain filter through me. And then he rears back, and I presume he
Continued : "Pensi che non possa anticipare ogni tua mossa, Emma? Sono stato io ad addestrarti. So come pensi, quando pensi, idiota." Do you think I cannot anticipate your every move, Emma? I was the one to train you. I know how you think, when you think, idiot, he snarls. "Sei vile," you're vile. I note, making the mistake of looking down at my mother at our feet, where she lies lifeless. My father's hand wraps around my throat, and he steps towards me so we're flush against one another. I bat his arm, and he backhands me around the cheek. I push my hand at his throat, vying to move his head back in an attempt to have him release his hold, yet he squeezes my throat until I need to let go, gasping for breath. Smirking, he moves us back, panicking me enough to make me lash out frantically as my back hits the wall behind me. I knee him between the legs. Hitting him with enough force to create ample pain to loosen his hold. I dart to the side, but he recovers far too quickly. S
"Arrivederci," goodbye, Bianca hushes as the gun burns red as I stare the oncoming bullet in the eye. Gasping awake, I bolt upright in the bed, clinging to the sheets around me as my eyes adjust to the dark room that aided my nightmare. My breaths come jagged, and my mind reels from my dreams' alternate universe. One second—one decision. That's all it would have taken for me to be lying dead in that room alongside my parents. My sister isherein our compound, a risk to every man in this home. It's a risk to me. Who knows what's going through her mind right now? And what's worse, she's marrying Niko, a man who owns a whole fucking arsenal of guns in his walk-in closet. Looking back at Luca, I notice his steady and shallow breathing. Will she kill to stand beside him? Has Dimitri's decisions given Bianca the access to Luca that I wanted to avoid giving her? A wave of nausea takes me at the thought of her being so close to Luca. I've never had to worry like this before
Continued: "Soon, she'll be my wife. I won't let her take him from you, not that he deserves you,” he tells me. "I'm sorry you've been brought into this mess," I sigh. "Could be worse; I could be marrying a girl I have no fucking interest in." "You like her?" "I did before she hurt you. Perhaps that'll come back, perhaps it won't. Either way, she belongs to me now, and I won't leave room for childish behaviour. She'll grow up real fucking fast. You don't need to worry, Queen." "You're not planning on fighting Dimitri over this?" "I owe him, and we need her to keep things secret. It's the only way I won't put myself before everyone else in this compound." "Before me, you mean?" "Before you..." "She seems resourceful; you should keep an eye on her," I admit. "She seems pretty depleted at the moment, regretful even. She hasn't stopped crying all night; the sounds are giving me a headache." "I used to think I knew her, but there's a side to her I've never met. May
"I must go, Father, if that's all.""It isn't," he tells me fleetingly. "I have a job coming up. Densel has called a meeting; I'm not invited. I need eyes and ears for the meeting. I need someone inside.""When did that happen?""Just last night," he confirms. "I've had word that he's making movement. I'm unsure what his aim is, but we must get on top of this before word gets out." He frets."That's what you think this is about? Father, no one knows about Emma. I've ensured that. This has to be about Bianca. Franko was adamant Bianca belonged to him. Rossi must have struck a deal. I haven't discovered what was promised or if she was in exchange for something, but I will. Honestly, I think it weird he'd promise Bianca at all. She was to be the next Don; marrying her to someone low like Densel would have been my last choice.""We all have our preferences," my father cites. "Get me someone on the inside. Someone he wouldn't expect. He has to trust them.""I know a few people. Let me call
Luca"Why is Emma completing your jobs?" my father asks me as we speak over the phone. The pretence was about business landing this afternoon, but the longer we spoke, the more he worked to ask me something. The jobs have been slow since Emma took in the drugs, I think because my father realised my intentions, but I haven't complained. The less time we spend on jobs, the more time we have in the bedroom—or kitchen, perhaps even the gardens, as I take her after a slow walk and in-depth talk.Things have been improving between Emma and me, and I can't complain."Ah, you noticed that, did you?" I tease. Gripping a cigarette out of the drawer on my office desk, I bring it to my mouth and light it as my father remains quiet on the other end of the phone."Noticed?" He snaps. "Oh, I've noticed your slackness, Luca. It's the talk of the heirs. Word has it the future is changing at your hands, and everyone's for it.""Well, that's good; I don't need to work hard to get everyone to travel on
Walking me to the bed, he places me down softly at the end of the mattress, leaning with me as he deposits me on my back. His arms lay on either side of my head as we kiss passionately, his tongue swiping against my own as we share the saliva living in our mouths. My hands find their way into his hair, fisting gently as a wave of pleasure flits through my lower stomach, making me attempt to close my legs finding that it's an impossibility with him between them. Luca takes that as his cue to laugh before pulling back, taking his lips and tongue to kiss down my throat, between my breasts. Overmy stomach."One day soon, this tummy will swell with our child, and I'll worship you at your feet for giving me my second reason to live," he whispers against the taught skin of my tummy."Your first?" I breathe."You, of course, Amore Mio.""Soon," I say with avid hope, jumping back to the thought of a child living within me. I think that's something we both want now, something I can be thankful
Emma"Luca—," I drag out as he slams me into our bedroom door carelessly. The night was a success, and I've officially agreed to work for his name much as I promised to remain by his side at our wedding, not that there was ever any cause for concern regarding protecting Luca's legacy. It's always been at the forefront of my mind; I've never needed convincing."Fuck you're so enticing, Bambina. Why did we fight for all those weeks?" He asks me as he kisses up the column of my neck beneath my chin, only to pull away and start on the opposite side of my neck from my clavicle to my ear. His beard ruffs against my skin, sending slight tingles through my neck."It was—fun," I admit shyly because, amid the heartbreak, I found some solace in connecting with Luca after so many years apart, even if it was unfavourably. "Oh, it was?" He asks, pulling back to stare at me with an incredulous look of confusion, but his hands never leave my waist, his fingers flexing as he says his following words.
“Very well, Franko. Perhaps you'll be my first enemy. How joyous," Emma laughs manically.So sexy..."You bitch, you haven't got that title yet. It belongs to Bianca; go lay down under your husband and stay in your place!""Enough," I growl unhappily. "Emma is the next Don Rossi. She'll be taking over in my name. All assets will pass between us, and we will rule with an iron fist over both cartels," I tell him, walking closer to where I grab his shoulder. Squeezing down, I have him turning into a bitch himself. "If I ever hear you talk to my wife like that again, you'llbe fertiliser formy plants.""Stop," Maria Densel, his mother, cried as I make him kneel at my feet."Do you understand, Franko?" I ask, ignoring her as I press hard on his clavicle."Yes," he spits through clenched teeth. "Very good, stay the fuck away from my wife and sister-in-law. And keep far, far away from me."Walking away, I note every damned person staring my way. They all look shocked that I'm letting the man
My father's home is filled with black-coat men who appraise Emma hanging on my arm and silent women who wish to be her. I watch with a clenched jaw and tick in my muscles as they look at her from head to toe with need or envy.I hate these men, hate that I have to work alongside them, but needs must, and I'd rather be breathing than dead in a ditch somewhere. And regarding the women, they should be jealous.I move my hold from Emma's hand to her waist, pulling her into my side as I attempt to stake a claim on her. But honestly, with the cartel, your wife never belongs to you, not really. This is one of the main reasons I'm choosing to have her lead. It'll be me in the firing line, so to speak, which is a vast improvement over potentially having her taken in an attempt to use her as leverage. My father's face flashes in the corner of the room illuminated by the many chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and my mother held closely to him, much as I'm holding Emma. His eyes appraise us
Luca"You look—ravishing," I whisper against the side of Emma's throat as I kiss my way down the column of her neck. She's freshly showered and tastes sweet like her body wash, which still resided in my bathroom cabinet even all these years later. It's sweet, like marshmallows, and reminds me of the old Emma. The one that smelt delicious out in the breeze. Nowadays, she uses a more floral body wash when she isn't stealing mine. She's wearing a full-length gown in deep emerald green. It splits up her right leg, opening at the thigh whenever she moves. A silent invitation if I've ever seen one. It makes me want to strip her and do unspeakable things until we fall asleep. But she's needed downstairs, and I'll be damned if she misses this ceremony for the second time in a row. We're at my parents' home, and she's in my childhood bedroom. The decor is the same, and my things remain untouched. A photo of us as teenagers stuck by her sits in the mirror before us. I stare back at us, admiri
Glancing upfront, my eyes clash with Mass's in the rearview mirror. Concern etches his face for me, something I wish he hadn't shown me. I glance out the window for the drive over to the airstrip. It's only a short fifteen minutes, the very same one I ran off to with Niko when I escaped the house Luca tried so desperately to cage me into. God, things have changed so much in such a short amount of time. As we pull onto the tarmac, I note the plane, a few cars, and four crates are being moved to be unloaded from the small private plane on the strip. "You go, I have a phone call to make," Luca encourages as Mass walks around the car to open my door for me.Though he takes out his phone, I presume he's making excuses for me to do the work. He's told me umpteen times that I must make a name for myself to prove my abilities. And I know this is all in the name of proving I'm capable, but the daunting task of revealing our wishes to his father seems overwhelming.Walking in step beside Mas
Emma Over the next week, Luca has an increasing number of jobs circulating from his father compared to the weeks before. I think this has to do with the two-week rule of marital bliss that any heir is given post-wedding before the run-up to their takeover. We are now spending the majority of our time driving around to docks and airstrips to intake the likes of drugs, weapons and girls.Luca has been deferring all decisions to me, even with his father's disgust, but I've been making them, and Luca has been acting on my suggestions. Dimitri's a very clever man, and there's no way he hasn't gotten wind of something shifting between Luca and me. I hope he doesn't take the news so badly that he makes a rash decision regarding my life because the possibility is high, especially in this line of work.This evening, we have a dinner at Dimitri's. Several of the Don will be in attendance, as I'm pledging myself to the Moretta name. This should have happened some time ago, but I ran off to Ge