Ginevra He stays incredibly close to me, his breath fanning my skin as he observes me meticulously. I feel myself melting as I unclasp my bra with shaky hands, hypnotized by his gaze. He follows my every move while I slip my bra off and I hear him breathing in sharply as I hook my thumbs into the border of my panties and pull them down, enjoying his eagerness fully. As I stand before him completely exposed, he takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second. His piercing blue eyes lock with mine again, having my heart skip a beat. “How many times do I have to show you what you really desire?” I smile innocently as I look at him through the mirror. “Apparently, endlessly.” Finally, his cold expression morphs into a sly grin. His lips descend on my yearning skin, covering my neck and shoulders with featherlight kisses and I close my eyes, enjoying them fully. I feel him wrap his arms around me, moving his fingers up my stomach, grabbing my breasts gently. “Don’t close your eyes
Ginevra We stand silently for a moment, ready to leave the room, and I let my hands glide over my dress again, as if to flatten it. The bad feeling in my stomach that settled in after we dressed ourselves is not nearly as strong as the feeling of butterflies Ruggerio triggered in me. As I stand there playing with my fingers, Ruggerio takes a step to take my hand into his. “Ready?” I try to cover my anxious feelings and smile at him. “Sure.” “They won’t be able to see that you just had sex, nor smell it.” He grins, making me blush. How can he always read my thoughts? “Just act normally.” I nod and he is about to open the door as I take a step between him and the wall, making him close it again. “Wait. I-” Taking a deep breath, I look up at him and go on with a low voice. “I never thanked you for the Daini-Button you gave me. But it’s actually really cute. So, thank you.” He leans in and captures my lips in a slow kiss. I throw my hands around his neck and pull him closer, not k
Ginevra “Hey, hi. Could I steal you away for a minute?” Ruggerio continues to play his part phenomenally, gracing me with a cold expression while the people standing around him look at me with wide eyes. I clear my throat committed not to lose my courage. “Don’t worry, it’s strictly business related.” He clicks his tongue despairingly and turns to give his glass to a beautiful woman standing next to him. She is still mustering me puzzled with her blue eyes, as he talks to her. “Can you hold this for me, ma? I’ll be right back. Thank you.” I steer him through a long hallway at the side of the hall and into a small room that seems to be a boudoir of some sort. Turning around, I see him looking at me expectantly, wearing a wide grin. “No, Ru. My family is about to leave the party and I just wanted to say goodbye properly.” “Sure!” He mocks me with one of his gorgeous smiles, and I shake my head, not able to retain my own. “Stop it, I’m serious.” “I’ll let you go if you have le
Ginevra If I hear any of them telling someone ‘I love you’ one more time… “It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” My sister whispers to me with a big smile and I nod, mirroring it. I’m still disappointed that Ruggerio didn’t call me as he had promised me to. I check my phone repeatedly but have to stop eventually, as it is getting too obvious and my sister thinks I’m nervously wanting to go home. The moment we get out of the movie theatre, my sister rummages through her purse. “Are you sure that you don’t need me to drive you to your car?” “No, love. It’s just a few minutes down the block. I think I can manage.” She smiles while putting her hair back behind her ear. “Also, I should be the one looking out for you as I’m older than you, remember?” Her husband, sitting in the waiting car in front of the theatre, honks his horn and Roberta turns around, gesturing him to be patient. “OK. Have a good night then.” “You too, love.” I squeeze her tight as she hugs me, and she waves one last ti
Ginevra“Ms. Silverstar, good evening.”The young concierge is standing in front of Ruggerio’s apartment building as he welcomes me with a broad smile.“Good evening.” He opens the door for me and proceeds to snatch something behind his reception desk. With fast steps, he walks past me to get to the elevator. I catch up with him, step into the elevator and thank him politely. He gets in after me, to activate the screen of the car and hands me the card with another happy smile.“This is for you, Ma’am. Have a pleasant night.”My attention is still captured by the shiny card that I remember from our get away to Napa, as I notice the doors are already closing.“Have a good night too, sir.” I manage to shout between the closing doors and lean back as the elevator begins to climb up to the penthouse.My heart is already racing as the doors open back up with a ding, disclosing a small hall with ebony-wood walls. I step out to reach the massive door and ponder if I should just get in with th
Ginevra Ruggerio’s preoccupied expression falls completely and gets replaced by a displeased one. His eyes darken as he growls, “You are what?” “My father has already asked his family to join us, and they were elated too, naturally.” I roll my eyes, plopping the carrot in my mouth. He stares at me incredulously as I munch on my food and add, “Funny thing, actually. Didn’t you tell me you wanted to go to Rome? Because I think we will go there as well.” I breathe out in a fake enthusiasm while he keeps staring at me. “You are fucking with me right now, aren’t you?” I nod repeatedly, pressing my lips together to suppress myself wanting to grin widely. “Oh, thank God.” He exhales and I giggle, “That’s your punishment for scheming this behind my back. With my own brother!” “I was about to have a heart attack.” I tsk, bringing my wine glass to my lips. “So overly dramatic.” His sly smirk reappearing has me freezing mid-movement. “What?” He gestures to the table with his head as he c
Ruggerio The moment I wake up, I feel the best I’ve ever felt. The first thing my fucked up brain registers is her perfume. And God, how I love it. I bury my nose in her hair and take another deep breath while pulling her even closer to me. That’s what has become of me. A fucking creep. Feeling her stir, I press a single kiss on her neck, making her sigh. It seems like her hot skin is calling out to me and I lift her hair to cover her neck and shoulders in featherlight kisses. As she wakes up, she turns around slowly, looking at me still in a daze. “Good morning, babe.” “Good morning, Ru. I am so tired. Why did you wake me?” She mumbles before she turns around to face me. She nestles into me, and I bring my hand up, caressing her back. She hums approvingly and I entangle my fingers into her hair, scooping it off her shoulder. I hug her tight and bite into her creamy skin gently, making her mewl lowly. “No, Ru. You are going to leave another mark.” She says, nearly whispering
Ruggerio “Can you wait a second?” I gesture to Arabella who is about to leave my office, while Gianni shouts over the phone that there’s no problem for him to wait. “Is it settled?” Arabella flashes me a big smile and nods. “Yes, Mr. Montecco confirmed your appointment a few moments ago.” “Great, thanks.” I say to her before returning to talk with my man in Rome that is still rumbling on the phone. “Gianni, I said not the villa in the Monti Parioli quarter.” “But it is so beautiful, dottò. It’s your father’s favorite property.” I sigh at him for being far too enthusiastic. “I know. But my father won’t travel with us. Also, my guests are special and Elisabetta prefers the city center anyway.” I hear Gianni laughing at the other end of the phone as he gives in. “OK. OK. OK. I’ll prepare the residence in the Centro Storico for you and your special guests then.” “Thank you very much, Gianni.” I smile as I add. “Maybe you could prepare the house in Anguillara Sabazia as well while
My lovely readers I hope you enjoyed my debut novel and the extra chapters. I am very happy to have been able to share this incredible journey with you and am currently looking into the possibility of doing a spin-off about Elisabetta and Alexander. If it will work out, you’ll know :D Be certain to follow me on the socials by finding me with my full name to get all my updates. In the meantime, I will leave that little sneak peek of my planned sequel below. Much love, Shelagh ’s business, the twins want to go to New York and regain the legacy their parents lost by marrying for love. After traveling to New York under false pretenses, they are ready to take what would belong to them as a birthright. But as soon as they find themselves between the Monteccos and Capolettis in the huge metropolis, they find out soon enough about where thei
Federico “Good afternoon, Mr. Montecco. How was your flight?” Alfredo greets me with a smile as he holds open the door of the limousine. “It was alright, Alfredo. Thank you very much.” I take a deep breath as I settle into the backseat, and Alfredo drives off. It’s not that I’m not looking forward to finally seeing my sister again, but work and the planning of my upcoming trip are taking a toll on me, making me want to just drop everything and depart a month prior than scheduled. Locking my phone after answering a few emails I got during the flight, I put it back into my inside pocket and open the newspaper I was trying to read all along. But of course, I don’t get too far as we seem to reach the mansion my sister is living in with her husband at lightning speed. “Thank you, Alfredo,” I say, as he opens the door for me and goes to fetch my luggage. I have barely stepped out of the car as I see the entrance of the beautiful home before me open and my sister steps outside with a s
Elisabetta “What the hell?!” Ginevra says as we drag her into the room with her wedding dress.It had been a struggle to bring her onto a plane, and through New York. I guess that the fact that we had everything private, like the jet and the chauffeurs, saved us from a lot of trouble.We had originally planned to drug her with some light sleep-inducing drug. But suddenly, Nina was against it and made us change our plans. So, we figured out the tactic of telling her that Ruggerio had left, leaving her at the altar, in order to get her onto a plane to New York. But as we started to tell her that she lost it completely.She kept screaming that she didn’t believe us and that she wanted to speak to him.Naturally, we couldn’t have her speak to him.As he was indeed waiting for her at the altar.So, plan C kicked in.Even if it should be called plan P, as it rose from the panic we felt at that moment.We overpowered her, and while our staff took all the packed things we needed to take with
Francesco “Did you hear from any of them?” Ruggerio asks me for the umpteenth time.“Yes, Ru. Nina just texted me. Your spouse is still alive.” I check my watch before flashing my grumpy best friend a grin.He looks ready to rip my head off my shoulders, but I will let it slip as he is losing his mind at how nervous he is.“Ready, bro?” I ask him, and he closes his eyes while taking a deep breath.“Yes!” He says, clearing his throat.I slap his arms, getting him to pull onto his sleeves again. He clicks his tongue as I chuckle at how cute he is.Wanting to look perfect for his bride.“Let’s go!”With another deep breath, we walk down the stairs and out of the gateway to reach the wedding venue with the hugely built patio where empty chairs and a floral bow are already waiting. It is breathtaking because of the view of a vineyard, but also because of its lovely decorations.It would have been the perfect place for them to get married.My heartbeat skyrockets as I am still unsure how h
ElisabettaRuggerio distorts his face, and again it is Nina who is the first to speak. “I guess they are still convinced that she is pregnant. Or hoping that it is the case by now…”Silence falls upon us as we stare at Hissy and Nina with a shocked expression.“She would lose the baby. Especially, as we are highly superstitious when it comes to these kind of things.” Hissy adds, getting us to stare at the packages gutted.Nina tears herself out of her trance, and whispers. “I have to talk to her.”As she disappears into the house, I turn to my brother who is already clenching his jaw. His stare doesn’t leave the door where Nina just disappeared through, even as I talk to him. “Ruru, don’t worry. We will get rid of them. But you should go now. Don’t let her think that you are worried as she will get more anxious.”By lying my hand on his arm, I lean in to get into his line of sight. He nods slowly, and before he gets steered away by Frank, he reaches into his pocket. Handing me a folde
Elisabetta It is rather comical how they had to tear my brother off that ladder to get him away from Ginevra that we are still laughing about it the next morning.Ginevra wipes the tears from her eyes and sighs. “Giving him a ladder has really been a bad idea.”“Ah, don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it. You had to be dragged in as well.” We laugh as Nina mocks Ginevra jokingly. “You are both so mental. It’s disturbing but also incredibly cute.”Ginevra pulls Nina close, pressing her grinning face against Nina’s cheek.Seeing Ruggerio and the interaction with him must have done her incredibly well. I am glad to see her in an easygoing mood as I had thought a few times that she seemed troubled because she was pale and apparently felt sick.And I guess that two days before your special day, it is just going to be worse.At one point, we even had trouble getting her to eat something, which worried Nina especially. But she kept saying that she was too nervous to eat and that she didn’t want
Fortunately, the next few days are hectic, keeping me from thinking too much about what happened. Or how it broke my heart. As the guests for the wedding start to arrive, we are too busy with the final preparations to even find a moment to talk when we meet at the venue. But he still keeps standing as closely as possible to me. Making me feel the worst pain I have ever experienced before. I guess that rejecting his offer broke my heart much worse than his first rejection as I asked him about what he felt for me on our first date. Or the things he told me in Paris about how we were just compatible when it came to fucking. Taking a deep breath, I follow one of the minions of the wedding planner crew to arrange the flowers on the patio of the rehearsal dinner. We are turning the vases and picking at the flowers without any sense as I hear him clear his throat behind me. He is really getting on my nerves with this quirk of his. “What do you want?” I ask annoyed without even raisin
As soon as I straightened back up again, I get lifted off my feet and carried into the adjoining room with the whirlpool. “What are you doing?!” I squeal, punching his chest. “Let me down.” “I just want a bit of privacy.” He answers with clenched teeth, as he puts me down. He closes the door behind us, and I cross my arms over my chest. “You have some nerves.” “Do I?” He smirks but lifts a brow as he looks behind me. “Why isn’t that thing going?” Shrugging, I look back at the empty tube shortly before turning back to look at him. “We never use this.” He hums, and passes me, starting to fill the whirlpool. “We are going to use it now.” “You are kidding, right?” I ask, clicking my tongue, but he is already undressing. Turning my head away from him, blushing like a little girl, I suddenly feel him tugging at my jersey. “I’d never kid about the possibility of seeing you naked.” “You must have lost your mind!” I say, making him chuckle. “Come on, Annie. I’ll keep my hands to mysel
Turning to Elisabetta and Hissy, I get back into my excitement about the upcoming ceremony.“And the dress?” Hissy asks in a whisper.Elisabetta pouts her lips. “I don’t know if it is going to work, but I managed to book a small room by the venue where we can do the change and all the make-ups.”“Oh, I can’t wait.” Hissy squeals, making me giggle.“She is going to cry so much these days. She is going to love it!” I chime in, and the two women nod with a broad smile.Successfully dodging another attempt from Frank to finally have our “talk”, I walk ahead of the two ladies as they continue to chatter along.As we finally get back to our vacation home, Ginevra is already standing behind the door, looking like she is about to burst.“And how was it?”I hug her, swaying slightly. “Oh, it is perfect. It looks soooo beautiful. The flowers and the view. It’s going to be fantastic.”“For real?” She asks, wiping a small tear from her eye. “I’m so glad. I’m so nervous.”“You look pale, babes. Do