Three weeks laterI put on my latest pair of spandex shorts and a matching sports bra, placing my headphones over my head.An Asian pop song was blasting into my ears as I walked to the gym. Over the last few weeks, I had started going to the indoor gym more than I ever thought I would. The Nazlynn of four months ago would be so proud of me right now.I go to the gym four times a week, and I always go when Luca has left the house. It's not like I was trying to lose weight or anything since I had a crazy fast metabolism. I just started to enjoy the feeling I get after working out. I almost bumped into someone on my way to the gym, but the figure straightened me back in place. I gasped softly as my eyes landed on his face. “Gabriel! What are you doing here?” I asked excitedly, pulling my headphones to sit on my neck. I had to admit, the past few weeks had been strange without him around. I guess I had started to see him as a friend, although I don't think he saw me as his.“It's lov
After the near kiss that I and Luca almost had some weeks before, he had been acting extremely awkward around me. I guess I also wasn't helping matters with how my face flushed every time we were in the same room.For the rest of that week, my days had basically consisted of me switching my attention from my phone to the gym to the painting I was making and back.“Would you like to go with me to Italy?” Luca randomly asked me one day while we were having breakfast. My fork slipped from between my fingers, falling to the plate. “Italy?” I asked him incredulously. “You want me to go along with you to Italy?” He shrugged. “Unless you don't want to go of course. I thought the change of environment might be good for you. I noticed you've been pretty bored these days.”My eyes widened. “What do you mean ‘not want to go’?” I spluttered like I couldn't believe he would even think that.“I would love to go to Italy. It seems like such a cool place and I've never been,” I said with a large
It was barely a few hours to when we were meant to leave when I finally had the strength to pack a bag. I had a teal green traveling bag alongside a smaller one and all I needed to do was to figure out how to fit my clothes in it.“Do you need my help with that Signora?” Maria asked me, standing by the door to my room.“No, I'm sure I could handle this Maria. If I need your help then I'll let you know, thank you. You can ask Luca if he needs your help with his bag.”I pulled out the bags of clothes we had bought some days back and some other casual clothes I picked out from my closet. Luca said one week but I was certainly packing for two. I had just two bags left to take the clothes out of and was in the process of taking the two piece set out of the bag when a smaller folded bag fell out of it.Picking it up cautiously, I unfolded it and pulled the content out.I gasped, dropping it back on the bed in complete mortification. It was a pair of red bathing suits with a note attached.
The first two days in Italy were absolutely amazing. Luca said they had a house there, but he would prefer if we stayed in a hotel instead, and we did.I had been indoors for most of the day since Luca was around one minute, and the next, he was gone.The penthouse we stayed in had a two bedroom, so there was no issue with the sleeping arrangements.On the third day, Luca woke me up with a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a large slice of cake. “It's not my birthday,” I said groggily, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand as I sat up.Luca chuckled. “I sure hope not. This is for you,” he said, moving the cute purple tray closer to me. “Uh…Thank you. What's the occasion, though? Is it your birthday?” I asked with my eyes wide open. “No Nazi, it's neither of our birthdays. I just thought I should do something nice,” He rubbed his hand against the nape of his neck.I fought the blush that threatened to rise up my cheeks when I heard his words. “Just give me a minute, I need to bru
I had on a knee-length, fitted black dress with cap sleeve and paired it with a pair of comfortable yet stylish red heeled sandals. I settled for gold jewelry, small hoop earrings and a thin necklace with a small pendant.My hair fell down my back in loose waves. Light, natural-looking makeup with a touch of red lipstick to match the shoes.Luca led me to a small, elegant restaurant tucked away on a quiet street."This place has been around for generations," he explained as we entered. "The head chef, Giovanni, is an old friend."The interior was warm and inviting. The delicious aroma of Italian cuisine filling the air had my stomach rumbling. The place was empty except for a man sitting at the bar. There was something about his gaze that made me uneasy.Luca must have noticed too because his grip on my waist tightened. I shivered at the motion as pictures of our kiss flashed through my head.We had just settled into our seats when Matteo approached our table. He was a tall, imposing
I ended up texting Luca to tell him I needed to leave because I had suddenly started my period. When I went back outside, my cheeks were flushed in embarrassment but it was like he didn't mind the situation. We stopped at a drugstore and he stepped out of the car we hired to go get some sanitary pads for me.The next day, I was awakened by excruciating pain in my lower abdomen. I thought towards all the sweets I had the day before and groaned loudly into my pillow.It took all the remaining energy in me to go freshen up in the bathroom before I threw myself back into bed.Luca knocked on the door but I couldn't bring myself to respond with anything audible except for a groan that was muffled by the pillow.I heard his heavy footsteps approaching the bed and I pressed my face deeper into the pillow. It was all I could do since I couldn't sink into the bed and disappear like I would have preferred.“Hey, what's up? Are you okay?” I turned my head slowly so I could talk, wincing as ano
I was one of the lucky ones with just 4 period days. By my third day, I was up and jumping and ready for some Italian action but Luca said I should rest because he didn't want me to do anything that would ‘trigger the pain.’ My period had ended and Luca still didn't want to let me go out. It took me almost thirty minutes of explaining before he finally agreed to let me out of the house to go shopping. He said he had some work to do that afternoon so he sent two men to go along with me. I hated to admit it, but I was getting used to having strange men trailing behind me.“Hi, excuse me. Do you know where I could find La Casablanca?” a girl, no over seventeen years old, stopped to ask me when I was leaving the store.“Sorry but I have no idea, I'm new to Italy as well,” I told her sadly.“Drop it or I'll blow your head off,” I heard one of the men say from behind me. I turned back in one swift motion to see one of the guards holding a gun pointed at the girl who had a syringe in hand?
R18Luca trailed his fingers up my collarbone, his hand wrapped tightly around my neck but not tightly enough to cut off my breathing.I pressed my hand to his chest. His heart was racing nearly as fast as mine. He kissed me again, more intensely than the last time, biting down on my lip. When his eyes met mine again, they were filled with lust. Luca cupped my breasts with his hands as he trailed warm kisses around them. He kissed everywhere but my nipples that were stiff and begging for his attention. A hand snaked underneath him and to my soaking underwear. He let out a deep groan. “Fuck, Nazlynn, you're killing me here.”His long index finger played around with my clit through the fabric and I moaned out. I could feel his hardened length rubbing against my thighs through his jeans. He tucked his fingers through the waistband of my panties. “Up” he ordered and I raised my body up so he could take it off.The fact that I was completely bare beneath him who was completely clothed
I had just finished washing my hands and was back to where my men stood over Alice's body when I saw a ball of colours approaching me with speed from a distance. My face softened when the ball of colours got closer to me. Nazlynn threw herself into my arms, almost knocking us both off balance. I hugged her tight, breathing in her calming scent and presence. She ran her hand up and down the nape of my neck, and I involuntarily relaxed into it. She squeezed me tighter in her arms, like she was scared to let go.I attempted pulling away to see her face but she shook her head and held on firmly to me. Chuckling, I pulled her closer in my arms, placing a kiss into her hair. When she pulled away, she raked her eyes over my body, running her hand over it at the same time. “Are you hurt anywhere? Did you get… Oh my God, you're bleeding,” she said fearfully, as her hand touched a wet patch on my shirt.“No baby, hey, relax. It's water, I just washed my arms. I'm okay, I promise.”She nodded.
Elena ducked just in time for Enzo to aim for Alice's hand. The bullet went through her flesh, making her drop the gun and release her hold on Elena. She had pulled the trigger as her gun clattered to the ground.Alice glared at me, then looked at the door behind her through the corner of her eyes. I fired a shot as she pushed back into the door and into the library. I heard her groan that indicated my bullet had hit her but not enough to take her down.“I need someone in the rooms beneath and above the library. The rest of you secure this building in case there's a way outside of it. Gabriel, Enzo, with me,” I instructed before following behind her with my gun raised.Gabriel and Enzo walked silently behind me. When we got in, all the lights were turned off, making the library extremely dark. “You don't peg me as the ready type Alice. You can't exactly hide in there forever,” I called out as I walked further into the library.I silently cursed whoever had the idea of making a home
Enzo shot bullets after, but she was no longer in sight. “Go!” I barked at my men who were staring at the place where she stood in shock. “Don't kill her,” I said as they passed by me. “That's for me.”If anything, I was glad we left that floor and were going back to the ground.“I don't know who's sloppier, you or your men,” I heard her call out, cackling. “You have a lot of guts, talking when that would only help us find you faster,” I said, nodding to my men to follow the sound of her voice.“What makes you think that's not what I want?” She asked in a cunning tone. I halted my men, clenching my jaw.Her words were suggestive. The only thing I could think of was that she may be setting up a bomb inside, or she may have already done it within the few minutes she had earlier. She seems to like playing with explosives.She was behind a door, and we had the door surrounded from a safe distance. I knew my men were waiting for me to give a go ahead so they could march in, but everybod
I pulled Hailey out of her crib and into my arms, cradling her shakily. My eyes darted from Alice’s face to the door and back.Alice took a step towards me, and I scooted back on the floor, ignoring the stab of pain as my skin dragged across the shards of glass. “What's wrong? Waiting for hubby, or should I say your prince charming to save the day again?” She let out a menacing laugh. “Lucky for me, it's currently an all girl’s house.”“Please don't hurt my baby, I beg you, Alice,” I pleaded just as Hailey started to cry from the noise she had heard. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door to the bathroom open slightly, and Enzo peeked into the room.He gave me a small nod. Once I saw him raise his gun, I ducked, covering Hailey with my entire body. Alice was faster than him, but unfortunately, she managed to dodge the bullets that Enzo rained down on her until she ran out through the door and into the main house.“Fuck,” he swore loudly, rushing to my side.“Are you okay? Did
Nazlynn’s POVAlice was certainly a girl who clearly didn't want to be found. Luca had his contacts pull some strings in the police department to put up a surveillance on her, but nothing has turned up so far. Nothing of essence was discovered at the house that Luca had found me in. Of course, his contacts in the police force had to cover up using some story about a robbery gone wrong. The bodies had already been taken care of by the time they arrived at the scene.I was up to speed at everything that was happening in no time. Elena and Mathias decided to have a small wedding but postponed it until after the whole Alice thing had been dealt with. Luca cleared things up with his father, and they were back to having their weird love-hate father-son thing. Whatever the hell that meant. I was about to convince Luca not to kill my so-called birth father. It's the least I could do since he saved my life.Our mansion was almost completely back on its feet, and we moved back in two days be
“What do you mean you couldn't find her?” I asked shakily. Luca gave me a concerned look.“Luca, what do you mean by that?” I asked again, scooting towards the head of the bed and away from him.“Hey Nazlynn, calm down, baby. I'm right here, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, okay?” He said, reaching out to me.I smacked his hand away before it could come in contact with my skin. “No! No, no. She's going to kill me. She's going to kill us all. My baby. Where's my baby?” I asked hysterically. Luca shot up from his position on the chair and approached me carefully. I could see concern for me in his eyes.“Wh..where's Hailey?” I stammered as tears started streaming down my face. “Dr Martin!” Luca said, trying not to shout too loudly but making sure his voice was loud enough. He kept his eyes on me. He edged closer to me until I was cowered up by a corner of the bed. “Gabriel, get Dr. Martin now!” He yelled again.I grabbed his hand tightly, and I could feel my fingernails diggi
Nazlynn’s POVLuca stared at me in shock for over a minute but didn't even give himself some time to answer me before standing up and yelling for Dr. Martin. I had expected to wake up to the pungent smell of a hospital room and the faint beeping of machines that had been working tirelessly to keep me alive but the room I was in looked like the average bedroom. Bright light seeped through the window, casting a glow over the space.As I struggled to sit up, the sharp pain shot through my whole body made me groan. Luca was back by my side in a flash. His gentle hand grasped my shoulder, easing me back onto the pillow.“Take it easy, chica bella. You'll rip your stitches,” he whispered softly. It had been so long since I heard his voice that I wanted to cry at the sound. It felt like music to my ears. Dr. Martin dashed in, greeting me with a smile before she began to do some further checks on me. It was extremely strange to hear someone tell you “welcome back to the living”. It should b
“Baby, can you hear me?” I asked, tightening my grip on her hand so I wouldn't miss any motion.“Gabriel,” I bellowed, and he scrambled in. “Get Dr. Martin here now! Tell her my wife moved,” I said without looking back.I heard no movement after a few seconds, and when I turned, I was met with a wide-eyed Gabriel who was staring at me with shock.Moving closer to her on the bed, I spoke again. “If you can hear me, can you tap me with your finger again?” There was nothing but I stayed put. It was a very uncomfortable position for me, holding Hailey up with one arm while the other was stretched out to her mother, but I was way past the point of caring.It was like Hailey knew something had just happened. She twisted her neck to see what I was doing.“She's here,” Gabriel announced barely five minutes after he had left. I frowned. That was fast.“Hey Luca. I was already on my way here when he called me. What's going on?” Dr Martin said, clearing my confusion as she approached us on the
“You found him?” I asked, shocked to hear it. “How?”Mathias gave me a look. “On my list of ten possible things you would say first, that certainly wasn't a part of it. Is there something else I should know, Luca?”I sighed in resignation. “He's her father Mathias, her birth father, and I think she should have a say in what we do with him,” I said truthfully. “Is he in our custody yet or….” I trailed off.“Not yet. We wanted to receive instructions from you first. I have guys watching and trailing his every move. He's been acting scared as fuck and I don't think it's just you he's afraid of,” he said.“Alice?” He nodded.“That girl must be a total nutcase. I can't help but wonder just what happened there. The only person who can tell us is well, not available,” I said looking at Nazlynn.“She's stronger than you give her credit for, I know she is. She'll pull through,” he said, giving me a pat on the back before standing up. He was almost at the door when he turned. “Come with me.”