Nico's POV —"Who is the kid's father?" I ask. I keep one hand on the steering, easily navigating through the traffic and speeding down the highway. I leave the second hand on her thighs simply because it belongs there. Something about her draws me in. The way she shivers every time I touch her, the way she flinches from me like she's scared that I'm going to harm her, and yet she draws closer to me. The way I have her completely at my mercy she's so innocent now that it's driving me completely crazy. And once again I have to wrestle for control with my mind. The beast in me wants to be let loose. I could barely control him and my desires whenever she was in sight. Part of me what to take her right there, claim her as mine. But if I do that, I'm not sure that I can keep my promise to not hurt her. And so I compensate myself by just running my hand up her thighs in a sensual rhythm that will have to do for now until we both agree that she wants me I can feel her hesitating, not wa
Jasmine's POVI walk down the hall of the hotel, a box clutched under my hand as I make my way to the Manager's office. A few minutes ago, I received a package for the manager. While people don't usually leave packages in front of the hotel and usually make it through to him themselves, it isn't exactly out of the ordinary either.And so, sometimes I do go and hand him his orders myself, as I already work at the front desk.As I make my way up the elevator, it clicks open. I heave a sigh when I see that no one is there. The truth is that I'm still giddy from yesterday with Nico Ferrari.He might have taken me against my will in his car, but then again, I find myself not regretting any moment.The more I try to pull out, the more I find myself falling deeper into his intricately crafted net that seems to be designed to get me trapped in his words.The door of the elevator slides open, indicating that I am already at the top floor where the Manager's office is.A man in an Italian suit
JASMINE'S POVA job offer in one of Nico's companies.Just before I was done with my shift and about to call it a day and go home, my phone beeps with a notification. I look down to see that it is an alert.I clamp a hand over my mouth, gasping softly. I stare at the five figures in shock. The manager really wasn't joking about my raise, but this is even way over a fifty percent increase. And is this what he means by an early payment before the end of the day?A chill runs through me when I remember that Nico is the one solely behind this. I can't help but wonder what the hell he is up to now.Isn't it clear? A voice in my head replies.The amount is more than enough to cover all my bills for the next couple of months and take care of Michael. Even if I didn’t let him see the child, Nico is still doing what he could to take care of us.Be smart, the manager's words echo in my head.I walk down the pedestrian way and exit the hotel.I take the public transport back as usual.Even when
Nico’s POV"What do you think she's going to say?" Fabio asks as he slips into the seat next to me.I shift a little, putting just enough distance between us on the large sofa. I don't even glance in his direction; instead, my eyes are focused on the window that overlooks the side of the room.We are on the highest floor in one of the lounges. A single flight of stairs leads up to the rooftop, but I have no intention of going there right now.This window gives me a great view of the driveway down below, and I can see clearly as Jasmine walks out of the hotel, seeming rather in a hurry.It takes all of my self-restraint not to let my intrusive thoughts win over; otherwise, I would have pulled out a pair of binoculars and gone full stalker mode on her.Unfortunately for me, before I can think of anything else, she disappears through the gates of the hotel."Well?" Fabio repeats next to me. It takes me a while to register that he's even there in the first place."What do you want?" I ask
Nico's POV"We are going to LA?" Fabio repeats. He and the rest of the men in the room are staring at me in utter shock.I shift uncomfortably in my seat. They just have to make it hard for all of us.Once again, we are all gathered in the penthouse for an impromptu meeting that arose after the call with my father."Yes," I say. "I'm pretty sure I was damn clear the first time."Someone is trying to sabotage and destabilize us. Until we find out who it is, we have to do our best to make sure the Ferrari family is safe.Silence falls over the room as they take it in. I have already briefed them on everything that happened, just as my father recounted to me.The case was actually quite simple.A group of motherfuckers decided to toy with us, but for some reason, they were too much of a coward to face us directly. So, they had this brilliant brainwave and decided to attack my father instead."Blade, what's the update?" I ask, turning to the blond, hefty guy in our group."All our cargo i
Jasmine POVIt is exactly 10:00 a.m. the next day when the plane touches down in Los Angeles. I take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what is going to happen next."The product is wonderful," someone says beside me. I look at the seat next to me. Isabella is sitting there, and Michael is between us. After telling her about everything the day before and leaving her to decide whether or not she was going to come with me to L.A., I have to admit that I’m rather relieved that she decided to come along after all. It will take a lot of time to finally settle down in the new city, and in the meantime, I need someone to look after Michael for me. It would be a lot of trouble if I had to take him around with me everywhere.“Indeed,” I say with a tight smile.Los Angeles is indeed a beautiful and big city—until you know all about it. I stand up along with the rest of the passengers on the plane, and there is a solemn progression as we disembark. "What now?" I ask myself."I’ve alrea
JASMINE'S POV—The receptionist stares between us in surprise and disbelief."But Mr. Chad, sir..." He raises a hand, shutting her up. "I don't expect to repeat myself, miss," he says with a slight smile on his face, but there is nothing humorous about his words. If anything, there is a subtle hint of a threat in his tone."R-right away, sir," the blonde lady stutters and turns her attention back to her laptop. She casts me one last worried look before typing away on the device and making arrangements.I, on the other hand, am still trying to process the new thoughts in my head and how Chad came to be right in front of me.I think I'm pretty damned screwed now, and I can't help but wonder if he remembers me at all.My heart races at the thought, and not necessarily in a good way."Right this way," Chad motions with his hand and starts walking in a direction. He glances back to see if I'm following.Still at a loss, I hurry after him.We make our way to the elevator and step inside.I
Nico’s POVThe plane touches down in Los Angeles at exactly a few minutes after 12:00 noon.I could only manage a brief nap before my eyes snap open again. I look beside me to glare at Fabio, who has just shaken me awake."We’re here," he announces, taking off his seatbelt and standing up. I roll my eyes. He just has to point out the obvious, as if I’m blind or something.The rest of the men climb down the plane. Blade and Mario follow behind, taking the luggage with them. They mostly contain arms and other weapons that we need."You guys go on and settle down at the mansion," I say to Fabio.He tilts his head to the side, leaning against the plane and looking at me with a curious expression. "And you?" he questions. "What are you up to?""None of your business," I’m tempted to say. I refrain, however, knowing I don’t have to be rude. After all, he’s only asking an honest question. I have to admit, most of the time he is a bit too curious for his own good."I’m going over to the compa
Chad's POV He doesn't reply to me immediately but instead passes across some coded message to the rest of the men, and they take their sweet time circling us, forming a tight barricade around the car. I clench my fist, knowing that this situation is one that I won't be able to get out of easily.What do you want from me? I say, trying for another approach."You're asking unnecessary questions, man," the masked man says in a gruff voice. He raises his weapon, pointing the gun directly at my head. Anything that makes him pull the trigger at this point leaves me completely dead. The reality is enough to bring shivers down my spine. I purse my lip, thinking desperately for any means of escape. What is happening? My mind keeps on turning up completely blank, and honestly, it leaves me very much frustrated. What do you want from me? I find myself asking at this point. All I'm doing is trying to get the conversation going and stall him for as long as I can while waiting not so patientl
CHAD'S POV"It's not over yet," I tell myself as the car drives down the road. Now that I know for sure that I can't get Jasmine to myself, I dedicate my time to exposing Nico instead.It's not like I hate him, it's just that when it comes to Jasmine, I feel genuinely remorseful of my actions in the past, and I want to make sure she ends up with someone better than me at least. Nico, though well-dressed and handsome and all, didn't cut that aspect.I grit my teeth, my hands tightening by my sides. Luckily my driver doesn't take notes—or maybe he does—and he knows better than to talk unnecessarily or try to make up conversations.Fine, maybe I was a bit jealous of Nico, but that doesn't matter now. If I was to be completely honest, nothing much matters to me right now.I still have the car now driving down and arriving in the main road. There is only a tinge of satisfaction that I feel from seeing Nico's angry face. Now that will be a bonus that I will be sure to remember for a long ti
JASMINE'S POVAfter the episode with Chad, I don't know what to think anymore. Or more specifically, I choose not to think of anything. It's just too dangerous to let my thoughts move around unrestrained in my head after everything that happened.And I don't think that I've seen Nico so damn angry in my life. I shudder from the thought. I don't even need to evoke my senses to visualize his emerald green eyes spitting fire and the look on his face filled with pure rage.I can swear that he was ready to kill someone back there, and I can only imagine what would have happened if I wasn't there to stop him. I shake my head, chasing away the thought. I don't want to think that Nico has no self-control over the dangerous side of him.The car parks and I look up. "We are at the company, ma'am," Richard informs me. He steps down from the car and opens my side of the door for me. I give a nod. I was too preoccupied in my thoughts to even notice that we had long arrived back at the company.I s
NICO'S POV I watch her stumble back in shock, her eyes widening. She seems really surprised to see me.“What are you doing here?” she mutters, her voice shaking.I don’t give a direct answer but instead step inside the room and scan my eyes around the forum. Someone is there, sitting in the living room. I recognize his features immediately.The fucker, Chad, is here. But what the hell is he doing in the hallway? And why did she let him in?My eyes turn back to fall on Jasmine. There is a sense of fear in the air. I can guess that an argument has taken place here.“What are you doing here?” I speak directly to Chad.Chad stands up from the seat and stares back at me, his eyes defiant.“Well, I’m sure that I have my own freedom of speech and movement, Nico Ferrari,” he speaks, his voice full of malice.Like a glare, I glance through the corner of my eyes and see the way Jasmine is trembling. I’m sure that this motherfucker said something to her, and I don’t like him. His mere presence
Jasmine's POV The black sedan car was parked in front of my house, just a few feet away from the man who brings back unnecessary memories. I would want to tell the driver to slow down and say, "Look at it closely," praying against hope that it wasn't what it seemed to be.Finally, we stepped past it and came to park in the garage. I stepped out of the car immediately and searched around, however, to find this man leaning against the door of the house walls—none other than Chad himself.Hell no, why does he keep on appearing? I wonder to myself and walk up to him cautiously. I know that I have to be careful. I don't know what he wants.Frankly speaking, I've not been able to tell if he's appearing or not appearing at unpredictable timings. And not to talk of the way he behaved towards Nico—almost like he knew something I didn't.I shook my head. I'm not going to doubt Nico. Not now that I finally seem to be getting along and agreeing on something. He just has to step out of the way.P
Jasmine's POV Nico smiles lightly, but he doesn't tell you because he's going to disclose the information any moment soon. He stands up and kisses me lightly on the cheek. "I know, but you don't have to worry about it. I'm going to sort this all out in a couple of days." I know and understand that this is something that he has to do himself.In the meantime, I say equally, "That's enough. Since I'm already in the company, I might as well get to work."Nico looks like he is about to object, but I raise a hand, telling him, "I'm not going to just sit around and let you treat me like a princess."He smiles. "Are you sure you don't want that?"I roll my eyes and shake my head. "No, I would like to actually be useful and earn my position here."Nico sighs, knowing that he won't be able to convince me otherwise, since I have a pretty strong gut when it comes to finding my place. "I'll call you if I need anything."I nod and wave at him as I step out of the office. I appreciate the fact th
Nico's POV I look up and see my manager step into the office. He briefly graces us, me and Jasmine. His poker face faults us for a while, but he quickly masks it with another professional one. If he has his own reservations or questions, he doesn't ask any of them, but instead stands patiently by the door, waiting for me to acknowledge him. I raise an eyebrow at him, wondering what he wants with me now. I just barely stepped foot into the company, and personally speaking, I had hoped to spend some time with Jasmine in private. There's still a lot of things that she is yet to understand, and I want to make her do so to the best of my ability. However, of course, coming to the company, I could only have imagined that there would be work waiting for me. It's not like my manager could be here to see me go idle for more than half an hour. "I'll be right back," I whisper to Jasmine, and carefully remove my hand from hers. That also leaves me holding her in a tense grip. I regret it; ho
Jasmine's POVHe stares back at me without a change in expression. Suddenly, those deep green eyes that seem to read even my soul jump into the line of one beat. I find it hard to believe that I can ever do the case. I take it is worth trying to think of what to do. No one is ever prepared for this kind of situation, and what proves to come is what proves to remain.Finally, I take a deep breath. Even though I pretend that I don't know what's happening, and I'm entirely shocked by the way things are progressing, deep down, I seem to already know all the answers. I tend to question if I already decided to give him a chance, and don't want to go, then what's wrong with right now? That's the question that I ask myself."Well, he's your son," I point out quietly. "Of course you can't take care of him." He pulls me into a hug immediately. "Thank you," he breaks down on my shoulder. And only then do I realize that he has been holding his breath. It kind of makes me smile as well. Touching t
JASMINE'S POVIt's late in the night when I finally arrived back in Los Angeles. After bidding Nico goodbye and taking Michael with me to the apartment, I feel like I'm finally done for the day. It has been a very long one. First, I had to get Isabella and Michael ready for the information exercise. I still did not go here before, but all in all, I would say that they are much better than I thought. I feel a bit of relief now, even though I'm back in the enemy's lair. But for some reason, I do feel like Michael is actually here to take care of me this time. I feel if all they want is a second chance, then I might as well give it to him. After all, there's no harm in trying, right? Also, I thought I'm still on my guard, though.I think as I enter in the combination lock and turn back, watching as the bright red Ferrari zooms out of the compound, I try not to think too much about him as I push open the door. Isabella carries an already sleeping Michael inside the house. The house feels