ALESSANDRO I would have to get in contact with Ghost soon and schedule the next three dates I would require services. That actually improved my mood slightly. For some reason, I liked corresponding with Ghost. I found the humor that shone through those short messages entertained me.The next morning when I woke up, I felt at peace for the first time in over three years. I checked my phone to see if Lorena or Ella had reached out to anyone. Nothing, not a single email or text went out. I logged into the security system and accessed the cameras in her son’s room. By the time I was done with meetings and handling all the business I had missed over the last few days, Lorena had already gone to bed, along with her son.The room I designated for Matteo came up on my phone screen, and I found Lorena’s sleeping form. Her brown colored hair spread across the pillow, making her skin appear even paler than it really was. I fucking hated that hair color. She still looked beautiful, but someth
ALESSANDRO She brought milk over to him.“Here you go, little guy.” She placed the sippy cup in front of him. It would seem it didn’t take her long to buy all the stuff a kid needs.“Grazie.” I had to give it to Lorena, the boy had manners.“Maria, thank you for getting all the stuff we need for Matteo.”“No problem. It is nice having little ones in the house again.”I flinched. Maria has been with us since my cousin and I were children. Glancing at my aunt, I didn’t see the usual soul shattering sorrow on her face. Instead, there was hope in her wrinkles.“Yes, she will stay, Aunt,” I answered my aunt’s earlier question in Italian. I didn’t know how I would keep Lorena with us, but I’d find a way. If I had to chain her to this house, I’d ensure she remained in this household for as long as my aunt lived. And if I had to get rid of Matteo’s father... Fuck it, I would. Everybody had a price.The next few minutes we all sat in silence. Matteo drank his milk, his eyes slightly droopy
ALESSANDRO “And where are you going to go?” I taunted her. “Back to the Calvino empire.”Angry red blotches marked the skin on her chest and her breathing slightly labored. I pissed her off. Good.“Alessandro.” I didn’t miss the warning in my aunt’s voice, but I never wavered my eyes from my wife. Her whole posture tensed, her gaze burning with hate.Ignoring my aunt, I continued. “Don’t even contemplate calling them. This time, I’ll know before you betray me.”“Fuck. You.” Sitting rigidly, her spine stiff, the look my wife gave me was a clear indication of how much she despised me. I remembered back to our early days of marriage. We fought back then too, but we only did it when alone, without witnesses. Even when I taunted her, she always refused to bait around my aunt worried she’d get upset. Clearly, she no longer had those qualms.Ella walked in at that moment, breaking up the glaring contest my wife and I had going on.“Morning,” Ella murmured and handed my wife her phone. A l
ALESSANDRO “My kind of woman then,” I muttered.“Yeah, and he mentioned that she should have been delivered years ago,” he added. The information didn’t make any sense, but we’d have Luca check into it.We went through a few more details and called it a day. Enzo left, meeting Luca somewhere outside the city, and I wanted to rush back home. Instead, I had one more meeting to take care of. Reluctantly, I had to admit to myself that knowing my wife was in my home soothed me.It hasn’t been even a day since Lorena returned… correction, since I dragged her back, and I wanted to be wherever she was. Last night I found myself wishing she was in my room. I didn’t even care if she let me fuck her, I just wanted her within my sight. I wasn’t surprised she didn’t sleep in our bedroom, but damn if it wasn’t disappointing. Talk about being a drooling, lovestruck lover boy.Yes, I slept better than any other night since my wife disappeared, but I also spent the entire night fantasizing about
ALESSANDRO “Were you able to crack the firewall?” I questioned him. No wonder our tracer on both their devices showed no activity. They were both hiding all their transactions behind layers of firewalls.“Almost there.” If I wasn’t so agitated and needed to know what my wife was doing, I’d laugh. Massimo fucking hated that those two were giving him run for his money. He was actually impressed and planned on using some of its set up to upgrade our own security system.“Where is Roberto?” I questioned him.“He was with your aunt for about five minutes and then headed for the city. He said he had to take care of some shit.” Frowning, I wondered what shit he would have to take care of. I didn’t send him to take care of anything for me. I glanced at the screen again, forgetting Roberto, and Massimo continued as if he could read my mind. “Lorena has been messing around on the laptop and Ella sunbathed and swam all morning.”“And the boy?”“ Zia took him to a playground.” I raised my ey
LORENAI stood still, Alessandro’s warm palm against my back. I hated how it made my skin burn, the tingling sensation shooting throughout my body, my blood sizzling with need.It is not for his touch, I tried to convince myself. It was a natural reaction to have a physical reaction after feeling man’s hand on me after so many years.I had to fight the urge to close my eyes and lean back into his touch. My heart thundered in my chest, excitement and adrenaline mixing together. Alessandro Moravia would end up costing me more than my life if I lowered my guard. I’d stick around till the annulment came through, then we would run and never look back.“I have to say, Ales,” I started, although my voice was slightly high-pitched. “You suck as a pool boy. I’ve had so much better. So either scratch the spot or step away from me.”“Scared, Tesoro?” he whispered the question into my ear. His breath was hot, igniting my blood with each syllable.That was the most terrifying part. I didn’t feel
LORENAForty-eight hours. That was all it took. Barely two days, and I wanted to murder my husband more than anything else.I was so furious I saw red. I barely stepped foot into his house, and he already dominated my life and my schedule. First at the pool, he swarmed me with his presence. Then demanded I change my hair color. Who in the hell did he think he was? But I bit my tongue and made the appointment. For the same day, just as he demanded. It was back to its black mane.Of course, I would never admit to him that I liked it better this way too. I never used permanent hair color so the hairdresser was able to strip the color off without major damage to my hair and did an amazing job bringing it back to my natural color. Or as close as possible to it because honestly, after all that time, it was hard to remember the exact shade of it. It felt good to have it cut and freshened up.Next, he designated Matteo’s room closer to his own bedroom rather than Ella’s and where I intende
LORENA He was on his feet and hovering over me in my next breath.Before I got a chance to process him getting to me so fast, he continued in a calm voice, a storm brewing behind those hazel eyes. “Now, Lorena, We don’t want to be rude to our guests. Be a good wife and say hi.”“No.”“Do I need to take you outside and put you across my knees?”“Fuck. You. Husband.”His lip tilted up as if my rebellion pleased him. We stood toe to toe, his hard body too close to mine. I could smell this cologne, mixture of citrus and cedar, and feel the heat coming off him. The heat I craved last time I spent in New York.“We’ll do that later,” he cooed softly, but there was a hard gleam in his eyes.“You can do that later by yourself.” It was stupid to challenge him, taunt him. But the reasonable part of me disappeared and only my anger, agitation, and need to hurt him were left. “I want my own room.”“No.” I didn’t realize my feet had taken backward steps, and suddenly I found myself against the wa
ALESSANDRO “Play the footage.” The fury was Arctic cold in my veins.3 years ago“Oh my God, Lorena. Are you-” Vomiting sounds came through, followed by throwing up. Confusion hit me. Was she sick? “Are you pregnant?”“I’m done, Ella.” Lorena’s voice shook. I was the worst bastard. There was my confirmation that Matteo was mine. No wonder she hated my guts. She should. I wouldn’t blame her if she killed me; I would let her, too. “I’m done being everyone’s pawn. I’m leaving tonight.”“But your Father-”“Will have me killed, one way or the other. He already controls my inheritance. And that’s not enough for him. He’s going to sell us. We have to run.”“Does Alessandro know about the pregnancy?”A bitter laugh came through the air. “I was going to tell him at dinner.”“You could call him.”“I never want to see him again. As far as I’m concerned, they can all kill each other. I’m leaving and never looking back.”“Are you sure?”“Absolutely.”“Your uncle and the Santos family will hunt u
ALESSANDRO “On our way to an annulment. You know the definition of annulment? Marriage never happened. So please, for the love of God, stop saying you are my husband.”She turned her back to leave when I grabbed her forearm, getting into her face. “You can’t go out looking like that!” I growled low.“You just said I looked stunning. What is your problem, Ales?” she hissed. “Just because you dragged me back to get what you wanted, it doesn’t mean my life stops. I have things to take care of. So please don’t make this more difficult.”“What things?” The moment I asked, I could see on her face she regretted her words.“Let go of me, Alessandro.” She tugged on her arm, trying to get the grip loosened. Her skin flushed and there was a hint of panic in her eyes.“Where?”“Where what?”“Where are you going?”“None of your business.”“One of my drivers will take you.”“No.”“Yes.”“No.”“Yes, end of discussion. Otherwise, you are going nowhere.” I have had enough of her rebellion. “I won
ALESSANDRO “ Her grandparents asked my family if they would take care of his granddaughter in the event anything happened to him and his wife.my Zio(uncle)agreed. Two days later they were both dead. She said she fought Calvino for guardianship of Lorena, but failed. Since then, she kept an eye on her whenever she could.”“Did they die before or after your uncle?”“Her folks died a few months before.”“Is there a connection?”“If there is one, my aunt didn’t bring it up.” Although, I had to admit it, there seemed to be a lot of connections between Lorena’s family and mine. Even without taking our marriage into account. “I think you are right,” Enzo agreed. “Lorena’s value to Calvino was big enough for him to kill and go after the Moravia family if your aunt tried to get Lorena under her protection. Just think, she was the promised damsel, worth millions from her mother’s side and combine that with her pedigree and beauty…”He didn’t have to finish. My wife suffered under her famil
ALESSANDRO Obviously, Lorena had men too. She had no issues taking it all the way. After all, she got knocked up. Jealousy burned through my veins that she’d care about another man so much to have his child. When we got married, she insisted on not having children. It would seem she just didn’t want them with me.Who was the father? I already had Massimo digging for a name. The girls’ passports and Matteo’s were all fake, high quality fake passports.Could we somehow overcome the fact that I tried to fuck a number of faceless, nameless women trying to get over her? Could I get over the fact she had another man’s baby?These were some large obstacles. Not to mention the trust issues we both had.“Did you get the name of the kid’s father yet?” Lorena’s question pulled me out of my thousand questions.“What makes you think I’m looking for the name?”He laughed. “I know you, Alessandro. You are digging for that shit like your life depends on it.”I took a deep breath. There was no sens
ALESSANDRO “How is it going with your wife?” Enzo questioned me. After getting his shipment back yesterday and our dinner, we all went our own ways. We had legitimate businesses to run, and not so legitimate ones. More importantly, I wanted to work on my marriage to Lorena as well as getting a security detail to keep her protected from Santos Snr and Santos jnr and her family.My eyes have been locked on the view outside my window where Lorena played with Matteo and Ella in the pool. She didn’t know I was back home. Her carefree laugh carried through the open window, and I watched her hold Matteo by his waist, teaching him to swim.My aunt, Matteo and Lorena spent yesterday afternoon at the beach. When they got back, they both decided it was time for Matteo to learn how to swim. Hence today, Lorena, Ella, and my Zia dedicated all their day to swimming lessons.“You are doing it,” her happy voice carried through the breeze, amidst the water splashing. “Good job, baby.”“Sì, Matteo.
LORENA Both his hands pushed under my ass and he lifted my hips, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of my ass as he fucked me with his tongue. It was as if he needed me on his tongue, something reverent in the way he was devouring me.“Oh. My. God.” I moaned, digging my hands into his thick, dark hair, his name slipping from my lips as his tongue swirled over my clit before sucking. “Alessandro ,” I breathed. “More. Oh, God. Please.”His deep noises as he devoured me drove me crazy with lust. I peeled my eyes open and met his smoldering gaze, burning me with his own heat. He watched me as he lapped me steadily, fingering me faster and harder, until I was wanton putty under his touch.In and out. In and out. Loud moans echoed through the silence of the night, as I rocked my hips against his face shamelessly. His one hand reached up and pinched my swollen clit, then immediately brushed his tongue over it.“Fuck.” Pleasure rippled through me, my core shaking as my husband conti
LORENA He had on jeans and an unbuttoned white shirt. He must have pulled them on when he went searching for me. Or maybe he had some business to take care of. It didn’t matter.Pushing his shirt off of his shoulders, I let it fall soundlessly onto the floor and his magnificent chest on full display. I pressed a kiss to his lips and closed my eyes, savoring the taste of him, committing it to memory. His heart jackhammered under my touch, matching my own pulse.Nobody before him ever compared. And there would be nobody after him - ever. I trailed my lips over his tanned olive skin, down his neck. My hands reached for his belt, my fingers fumbling with it and his jean buttons, eager to get rid of his clothes. Soon his pants followed the pile of clothes discarded on the floor. I continued the trail down his chiseled abs.He might have been forty, much older than me, but nobody could deny Alessandro had a body of a god. I nudged him backwards. With each step he took, I took a step f
LORENA Giving Ella a side glance, I nodded. We’d be ready to run tomorrow night, after we killed my mother and father. She lifted herself onto her feet, and I followed her suit. Zia was too old to try and sit down at the edge of the pool.“Goodnight, Zia,” she muttered and leaned over to place a kiss onto her wrinkled cheek. It was her goodbye. She left both of us behind as she went into the house.“We both have jet lag,” I answered her earlier question. “We couldn’t sleep.” My lies were bitter. “Matteo had a good time at the beach.”It was my attempt to change the course of our discussion.“He is a good boy,” I murmured, smiling. Talking about him always made him smile.At least Zia loved him. Even not knowing Matteo was Moravia , both Alessandro and Zia were good to him. Once they got their confirmation, I knew without a doubt Matteo would be loved and protected. Zia loved him already.“Zia, can you promise me something?”“What’s that, daughter?”My throat was squeezing, making i
LORENA I headed downstairs, to the pool area where I told Ella to meet me. The moment I stepped outside, the cool September air hit my flushed face. For a moment, I halted my step, closed my eyes, and listened to the stillness of the night while the air cooled my hot skin. If only I could freeze time and leave us in this cocoon. It might not be a realistic cocoon, but it was better than the reality.I opened my eyes and noted Ella already seated by the pool, waiting for me, her small frame sitting on the edge of the pool with her feet dangling off of it.“Hey,” I greeted her and sat down next to her, mirroring her position.Throwing me a side glance, she gave me a small smile. “You look like you tumbled through bedsheets with a certain husband of yours.” Her shoulder nudged me lightly, her tone teasing.I rolled my eyes. “Didn’t you tell me to take advantage of the fact that I was under the same roof as him?”A soft chuckle escaped her. “I sure did, although I didn’t think you’d ta