AryanaI was lying in bed, still reeling over what happened last night. It had been…intense. Very intense. I couldn't believe that I had almost forgotten the feel of his touch on my body. It was as if Alexander was a drug. One contact and the intoxication were instant. I could still feel his touch lingering on my body, inside and out. Somehow, the sex we had yesterday was better than our one-night stand. I couldn't believe I hadn't been craving bodily contact with him throughout our stay here.Now that my brain wasn't fogged by desire, I wasn't sure if it had been the right thing to do. I was now aware that I liked him. I had always known that I had developed a crush on Alexander. Still, because of my bitterness at being trapped here, I had pushed it away and hadn't wanted to acknowledge it.But after witnessing how he took care of me afterward, I could no longer continue lying to myself. I didn't know what I wanted to do concerning my feelings. It wasn't as if I had fallen in love wi
I was slightly surprised that Alexander's close men had come here at night. I didn't bother asking what they had come for since Alexander was already going to explain."After I had discovered you had left the house," Alexander shot me a disapproving look which I had the grace to look chagrined at. "I had immediately phoned my fratello to inform him of your disappearance, but you had returned before I could say anything. Worried, he and Marcello wanted to come but couldn't because they had been engaged in something they couldn't leave."Alexander inhaled deeply and clenched his hands briefly. "You know that there is a traitor in our midst, and my father was aware?"I nodded my head. I had been there when the three Italian men had discussed it. I saw his jaw tighten and knew he wasn't aware that his father had known about it and refused to inform him."Well, my father had a meeting to attend to, and on the way, their car had suddenly diverted off track. The driver had thought himself cl
AlexanderEver since the day we gave in to our urges three weeks ago, with Aryana comforting me about my father the following morning, the distance between us had reduced. We spoke and laughed more, though I caught Aryana looking hesitant a few times. What she was conflicted about, I didn’t know, but I didn’t want to question it.Another thing to note about the progress of our relationship was how we flirted with each other. It seemed there was no point in hiding how much we desired each other. Now, there were lingering touches anytime we touched and meaningful gazes each time our eyes met.There was no doubt that I had fallen for Aryana. I was falling deeper and deeper for her, but I was still unsure if it could be called love. After all, I had never been in love before. The only love I’ve ever experienced was my love for my father and my twoFratelli, Tony, and Marcello, but it was different. My love for my father differed from my love for Tony and Marcello.In the same way, what I f
Aryana stated in a firm tone and held my hand.Her grip was reassuring, and her words made me tear up. It occasionally plagued my thoughts when I saw my father looking melancholy when staring at pictures of my mother. Sometimes, it made me wonder what my father would have been like if my mother had still been alive, how it would have been to have both my parents at my side.I cleared my throat to dispel the blockage and continued speaking.“He only ever loved my mother, and his actions proved it. Since her death, he has never touched another woman.”There was an expression of awe on Ayana’s face. It must have been a shift in perspective for her. The idea that people had of us that were in the mafia was not all wrong but not completely accurate. Yes, we did things that completely went against the law. Yes, we had the power to do much of what we wanted, but we weren’t as heartless as they made us out to be. While our morals didn’t align with the society run by law and order, we did have
AryanaI wouldn’t say I liked thinking about my childhood. It wasn't particularly traumatizing, but it didn't fill me with good emotions, so I didn't see the point in reminiscing. When Alexander asked me about my childhood, I didn't hesitate because I could not talk about it, but because I didn't know where to start. So many years had passed since my mother decided she didn't want me anymore and dumped me at an orphanage. With so much time passed, I was no longer affected by the past and had moved on."My father left my mom and me when I was seven. I can't remember much, but I recall several shouting sessions between them. All I know is that one day, my father upped and left. He never came back."I gave Alexander a reassuring smile when I saw how disgruntled he looked at the small revelation."After he left, it was like there had been a switch, and my mum became very irritable. Back then, I was too young to understand the struggles and responsibilities of an adult, so I never understo
"The orphanage wasn't so bad. At least they showed me more care than my mother did in seven years. When I was twelve, my adoptive parents, Walter and Amy Dane, finally adopted me. They could not have children of their own, which prompted them to go to an orphanage. I was lucky they came to the one I was residing at. They cared for me and treated me well. It was as if I was their child. They lavished me with so much love and affection." As I recounted the past, I could feel my lips stretching into a wide, fond smile. Thinking about them always brought a smile to my face but sadly…"Unfortunately, my adoptive mother died shortly after I graduated from high school," I said, my smile turning sad."I'm so sorry." Alexander apologized. He tightened his grasp on my hand in a show of silent comfort.I shot him an entertained look. This was the second time he apologized for something he wasn't even aware of. What was this silly man apologizing for?"You need to stop apologizing for something y
AlexanderMy hand curled around Aryana's neck, and I dragged her down, taking her lips into a searing kiss. Our bodies were hot, and our breaths were coming out short. There were scathing emotions in the kiss, with a need so unquenchable we didn't even know what we were looking for. Still, there was no urge to reach any conclusion. The craving was aflame. Our teeth clattered, tongues were bitten, and lips were worshiped. It was a race, the pace of which kept fastening. Our upper halves rocked back and forth as we kissed on my bed.This was the first time that Aryana entered my room. I would have given her more time to look around on a normal day, but the lust clouding my mind marked it as abnormal.I nipped at Aryana's skin, and she moaned. My thrill intensified at summoning the moan out of her mouth. Aryana's knees hit the back of my bed, and her eyes found mine, which I was sure were rounded with lust, especially with how my locks were falling on my forehead. I ran my hand down her
I broke the kiss, and we stared at each other momentarily, breathless in anticipation. I dipped his head and nuzzled at her cleavage as I slid down the thin strap of her bra until it got caught in the crook of her elbow. I pulled down one cup of her bra, exposing her breast to the air-conditioned room.Licking my lips, I watched her nipple harden as she let out a high-pitched whimper."Fuck. Alexander." Aryana moaned.I shared the same sentiments as her. Though lingering touches and fleeting glances were a sign that we had moved forward in our relationship, it couldn't be compared to the actual deed. Unfortunately, neither of us had been ready to make the first move, not wanting to shatter the fragile string we kept in place.I settled between her legs, slotting a hand and eagerly pushing a thigh to the side. Their chests slap together. My clothed shaft came in contact with the copious juices leaking out of her, and I growled at the hotness of it.I then rolled my hips into Aryana's h
AlexanderA year have passed since the end of the war between my family and the Saconne family. Everyone was at peace. The Romano family was prospering with the added territory of the Saconnes we had divided amongst the other three great families.We were in good times now. Aryana had given birth to our son and he was adorable. He had my gray eyes, which I had also gotten from my father and Aryana’s golden-brown hair. I can still remember the day she went into labor. I had been so afraid and uncertain of what to do. Give me a gun or a knife, and I could kill anyone you wanted to, but give me a pregnant Aryana who was in labor? I was lost.I could still remember the emotions that threatened to overflow when an exhausted but overjoyed Aryana placed our son in my arms for the first time. Despite how wrinkly skin, he was beautiful.After recuperating, Aryana completed her master’s degree in Psychology. It had been a little bit difficult to see her stress over completing projects before de
“I was unconscious for two weeks?” Alexander was astonished, but I ignored his question because I just needed to tell him about my feelings in case this was all temporary.“And seeing how you would never wake up, I was lonely and scared, and I thought about all the times we had spent together, and I realized that I had fallen in love with you, but I didn’t know why I couldn’t say it, and then I regretted it and-,”Dry lips blocked the rest of my words from coming out. I didn’t hesitate to kiss back. It was amazing! I didn’t care that his lips were parched or that he hadn’t brushed his teeth in two weeks. I only watched him kissing me back, something he could do because he was awake!We slowly drifted apart.“Hi,” I whispered, afraid I would start rambling again.“Hi.” He said back to me. We stared deeply at each other, cataloging our features as if afraid we would forget with time.“I missed you.”“I missed you too.”I smiled widely, the first smile I had given in two weeks, and leane
AryanaTwo weeks.Two weeks had passed since Tony and Marcelo returned with an unconscious Alexander, covered in his blood. It’s been two weeks since Alexander promised me everything would be all right, since he promised he would come back. Technically, he didn’t lie. He did come back. Just not the way I had expected. It’s been two weeks since I last heard his voice, Since Alexander was last conscious.I missed him. I missed his voice. I missed his smiles and his grins. I missed seeing his gray eyes. I forgot how warm his embrace was. I missed the feeling of his lips on my body. I missed everything.To think that his last words to me had been to reassure and comfort me, and I couldn’t even tell him that I loved him. That was right. In watching over his prone body for the past two weeks, I came to the realization that I did, in fact, love Alexander. I couldn’t believe it had taken him falling into a coma for me to realize my feelings.How had I been so blind? Why had I continued to dou
Having found out the truth, there was no point in delaying matters. The only reason why Tom had been so successful in beating us down was because of Alfonso. Without Alfonso, what power did Tom have? Tom was already in a tight corner, and seeing how desperate he was to have sent Alfonso to kidnap Aryana, I could sense the end of this pointless war coming to a head.“I should kill you for your betrayal and send you on your way to meet my father, where you will spend your afterlife begging him for forgiveness, but I won’t. Not yet. What you’re going to do now is, you are going to tell Tom that you have Aryana, and he should meet you where we tell you to say. Do you understand?”The resignation was written all over Alfonso’s face. He knew he was done for. He had sealed his fate the day he decided to betray my family.“Are you sure it’ll be fine?” Aryana pulled me aside and asked. “What if he-”“Nothing will happen, I promise you.” I comforted her. “This will be the end, and we’ll finally
AlexanderWhy? I couldn’t believe it. I almost hadn’t wanted to believe it when Felice had taunted the knowledge in my face while kneeling on my feet moments before his death. Seeing my enemy at my feet greatly irritated me, laughing like a mad person instead of cowering and begging like I had wanted him to.Nonetheless, the information struck me like a bolt of lightning. A traitor in our midst had supplied the Saconnes with information about our trade routes so they would know where to hit. The traitor was also responsible for reporting my father’s location. Because of him, my father died. I was filled with rage. We had welcomed that traitor into our midst and had treated him like our family, and he repaid us like this?What pained me the most was who the most likely suspect could be. Marcelo and Tony had discussed this when I told them. We went over different possibilities and clues we could have missed.For the traitor to be reporting my father’s whereabouts meant he was high up in
My eyes widened in surprise.Elio Saconne was one of the brothers of Tom Saconne, the Don of the Saconne family. Marcelo had explained a little about the dynamics of the mafia families. Tom Saconne was the oldest of three brothers. After him were his two younger brothers, Elio and Felice Saconne. Despite how impulsive Tom appeared, it was a known fact that he doted on his brothers though I had doubts on whether he actually doted on them or if it was simply that he let them do whatever they wanted, precisely because he didn’t care about them.Alexander killing Elio meant a ray of sunshine for the Romano family as the war finally turned in their favor. It also told that Alexander was proving himself to his family members. Killing Elio was equivalent to cutting off a limb of the Saconnes. It was good news. I allowed myself to drag my eyes over Alexander and observe his features, spotting no happiness or pride in his feat. It had been quite a long time since I last saw him.I barely see A
AryanaWatching how the men under the Romano family cheered for Alexander settled the unease that had appeared ever since Marcelo told me what was happening. I was aware that this didn’t mean that they had forgiven Alexander. It meant that they would give him a chance to prove himself. I wondered if we hadn’t slept together or if I had allowed him to go back to grab a condom from his car back then, would this have happened? There would have been no need for Alexander to go into hiding. He would have stayed here with his family. His father probably wouldn’t have died, and these men wouldn’t have doubted Alexander’s loyalty to his family.I wished they wouldn’t be harsh on Alexander as it hadn’t been his fault. It wasn’t as if he had wanted to leave. He had argued with his father, but in the end, he’d had no choice but to obey his father’s orders. But I knew that wasn’t how the mafia operated.I watched in curiosity as they went on to perform the ceremony that would mark Alexander as th
“How are your injuries? I heard they’re better.” I changed the topic. I didn’t want to immerse myself in my longing for my father.“It’s getting better. You need not worry.” He patted my shoulder.“I know you need time to think about handling what will happen in a few minutes. I’m sure Tony told you about the displeasure of our men.”My eyebrows slightly furrowed at the words ‘our men,’ but he continued speaking before I could contemplate it. I decided that it must have been a blunder. After all, he was an old family member who served on my father’s side. It must have been a blunder.“I only came to tell you that I am here. I watched you grow from a baby to the man you are. You have my support.”I smiled, thankful for his support. He again gripped my shoulder, momentarily tightening his hold on me before letting go with another smile, exiting the study, and leaving me back to my thoughts.I let my mind wander as the time the men under the Romano banner would arrive slowly grew closer.
AlexanderReturning to Manhattan filled me with so many emotions. Memories of my father slammed strain me with so much force that I stopped in my tracks, earning glances from Tony, Marcello, and Aryana. I waved their concern away and stepped into the building that once housed my father, and meters in arms had arrived this morning to drive Aryana and me back to Manhattan. The ride back had been tense and quiet. The atmosphere between Aryana and me was strained. Since I told her I loved her last night and she didn’t reply, we didn’t know how to act in each other's presence. Even though I said she didn’t need to say it back, it didn’t mean I hadn’t been hurt. I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t say it back.Didn’t she love me? Had I read her emotions wrong? It was clear that she had feelings for me. Was it that her feelings for me were not as deep as mine, or was it too early for her? I scoffed bitterly to myself. It didn’t matter what. I couldn’t force her to return her feelings for