Hope. Remembering that the doctor would be up in a few moments, and not wanting to give him any excuse to send me straight to bed, i hastened to the bathroom, where I splashed cool water on my face in an effort to rid myself of the flush that still suffused my cheeks. I dragged a hand through my curls and frowned at my reflection in the mirror. My hair didn’t look right. A brief image flashed across my mind. It was me, laughing, but with shorter hair. Hair that curled riotously around my head in an unruly cap. Even with such a brief glance into my memories, i knew i preferred my hair short. So why had i let it grow long? I shook my head and vowed to get it trimmed as soon as i was able to. I heard a knock at my door, and i rushed out of the bathroom. Damian walked in, with an older man following closely behind him. Alba entered after them and smiled at me from across the room. “Hope, this is Dr. Karounis. He is a leading physician in Athens, and he has graciously agreed to see to
Hope. Somehow, between the visit with the physician and a very long, relaxing bath, i had managed to forget all about Rosie's presence at the house. When Damian walked into our bedroom to escort me down the stairs, I smiled welcomingly. He stopped in front of me and studied me for a moment. Then he brushed his lips across mine and folded my hand in his. “You look beautiful. Your color is much better, and you look rested.” “The good doctor has proclaimed me fit as a fiddle. So there is no cause for concern.” “That is good,my love. Your health is important to me.” He tucked my arm underneath his, and we headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs. As we neared the bottom, i looked up and saw Rosie standing in the entrance to the formal dining room. I stiffened. The woman was immaculately turned out in a designer dress that molded to every single one of her curves. I looked down self consciously at my own very casual slacks and maternity blouse. I felt a sudden desire to race bac
Hope. “You should not be out here.” Damian’s voice startled me even as his hands closed around my shoulders, spinning me around to face him. Anger glinted in his eyes, and displeasure tightened his jaw. “How did you find me so quickly?” I asked, refusing to apologize for my flight. “I have known where you were as soon as you left the house,” he said calmly. At my confused expression, he said, “I have security posted all over the island. I was notified the moment you stepped onto the patio. You have been closely watched ever since.” My mouth turned down into a frown even as i looked around, trying to ferret out the security he mentioned. “You were not to navigate the stairs alone, and you should not come outside in the darkness unless I am with you.” “You could hardly accompany me anywhere, glued as you were to your personal assistant,” i said dryly. I wanted to be flip and sound like I couldn’t care less, but hurt registered in my voice, and i clenched my fingers together. “I
Hope. The Morning sun streamed into the bedroom and cast a warm glow on the bed where i lay. I opened my eyes and promptly burrowed more deeply underneath the covers. My hand sought Damian, but i found only an empty spot. I frowned and sat up, looking around the bedroom, but he was nowhere to be found. The unmistakable whir of the helicopter caught my attention, and I got out of bed and walked to the window. Damian stood with Rosie a short distance from the helicopter, his hand on her arm. She nodded and ducked down to hurry into the helicopter. A few seconds later, it lifted and headed toward the mainland. I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. I stood watching a moment longer before i turned and hurried toward the bathroom. After a quick shower, i pulled on my robe and walked back into the bedroom to dress. Damian was waiting for me. I eyed him nervously and pulled my robe tighter around me. “I will leave you to dress,” he said shortly. “I will send Alba up to escort yo
Hope “He is here so we can choose your ring,” Damian said matter of factly. As if having a jeweler personally come out was an everyday occurrence. “I don’t understand,” i began lamely. Damian picked up my left hand and raised my fingers to his lips. “It is important to me that you wear my ring, my love. We had not gotten around to resizing the one I gave you. I want to rectify that matter now.” “Oh.” As responses went, mine wasn’t terribly brilliant, but it was all i could manage. Damian urged me to turn my attention to the rings, and i did so a little nervously. They were so huge. And expensive! I didn’t even want to know how much they cost. After trying several on, i spotted one that i loved, but then wondered if he had be offended by my choice. My gaze kept wandering to it even as i continued to try on the rings the jeweler pressed on me. “That one,” Damian said, pointing to a ring to the far right. To my surprise, the jeweler plucked the one I had been staring at and handed
Hope When I regained my consciousness, the first thing i heard was a furious voice rapidly yelling at someone. As my eyes opened and my gaze flickered around my surroundings, i realized i was on an exam table in what appeared to be a clinic. Damian’s back was to me, and he was interrogating the doctor standing in front of him. “Damian,” I murmured weakly. He spun around immediately and hurried over to where i lay. “Are you all right?” His hands swept over my body even as his eyes bored intensely into mine . “Are you in pain?” I tried to smile, but i felt shaky. The doctor moved in front of Damian and held a cup towards me. “Drink this, Hope. Your blood sugar is too low, but I think some juice will set you to rights.” Damian took the juice then curled an arm underneath my neck to help me sit up. He held the cup to my lips as i cautiously sipped at the sweet liquid. “When was the last time you ate, Miss Hope?” The doctor pinned me with an inquiring stare, and i felt my cheeks w
Hope “Would you like something to sleep in? You cannot stay in your bra. It doesn’t look comfortable.” I blushed but nodded. “A night shirt will do.” He got up and returned with one of his shirts. He helped me sit up and unclasped my bra. His hands shook slightly as he pulled the shirt over my head and let it fall to my swollen belly. With gentle hands, he urged me back down and knelt above me. “Better?” “Much,” i said huskily. He settled down beside me and tucked me into his arms. I twisted about, trying to find just the right spot. When he scooted me behind into his groin, i froze, feeling his arousal there against my skin. I started to move away, when Damian growled in my ear. “Be still.” He clamped his arms around me,rendering me immobile. My cheeks flaming,as i tried to relax. The moment he had touched me, my fatigue had fled. Now I faced trying to sleep with him wrapped around every inch of my body. His warmth bled into me. He stroked my hair and murmured in my ear. word
Hope. Warm lips kissed a line from my shoulder down to my arm. I stirred and opened my eyes to see Damian’s dark head move sensuously down my body. “That is a very nice way to wake up,” i murmured. His head came up, and i met the liquid gold of his eyes. “How are you feeling, my love?” I rolled onto my back and lifted my hand to thread it through his short hair. “Much better. I’m full and had a nap. What more could a woman want?” Damian just looked at me smiling. I yawned then covered my mouth with my hand as my jaw nearly cracked with the effort. “You are still tired,” he said reproachfully. “I feel much better though. Truly, Damian. Let’s get up.” He straddled my body, putting one knee on either side of my hips. He looked down at me, his eyes gleaming with a predatory light. “You are so eager to wake up. Why is this?” I blushed and smacked his chest with my fist. He leaned down and tugged my lips into a kiss. He nipped at the fullness of my bottom lip until it was swollen
The doorman said. I don’t think it was the same one that had been here when I’d skulked out on Saturday morning…thank God. “Good afternoon,” I told him. “I was hoping that you could call up to Mr. Romo Romalatti’s penthouse and let him know that Alana is here to see him.” “Yes Miss, I can do that. Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back with you.” I took a seat on one of the plush, off-white couches in the lobby. They were arranged around pretty glass tables with expensive looking vases full of flowers. I sat there and watched all the designer clothing clad people bustle back and forth while I waited. Suspiciously, I wondered how many of them were linked to the mob. “Miss?” The doorman brought me back to reality. “Yes?” “Mr. Romalatti asked me to send you up. He said that he’s in a meeting in the conference room next door but you should make yourself comfortable in the suite.” “Okay, thank you so much.” The doorman put me in an elevator that he said
He was a passive-aggressive son of a bitch. Shooting someone in the eyes meant, “I’m watching you,” in our world. I honestly had no idea who it could be that wanted to send me a message so desperately that they would kill my best friend to do it. “Sit down, Sammie.” Tony told me. I took a seat at the table with the others and Tony said, “Does anyone know of any beefs against us?” Everyone looked around the table and when no one said anything I asked, “Why are the Gambino’s absent?” “Carmine is still put off by the fact I won’t consider that fat fuck christopher for boss. He sent word that he couldn’t make it, made up some stupid fucking excuse so I couldn’t accuse him of disrespect, but we all know why he’s not here,” Tony said. Tony’s voice was getting raspier and he seemed like he had a lot harder time breathing every time I saw him. He was dying of throat cancer….but only he and I knew that. The Christopher he spoke so disdainfully of was the son of Carmine Gambino. Carmine ha
129. I wanted to punch him for calling me sweetheart. What was with all of these suddenly over-familiar men? I picked up the photo and underneath it was another…it was one of Sammie and I walking arm in arm into the Glass Towers. It was stamped with Friday night’s date. The elevator Nate and I were riding in stopped and the doors slid open on my floor. I felt like my heels were glued down and I couldn’t move. To my horror, Nate had to take me by the arm and lead me out of the elevator. I think I was in some kind of mini-shock state. I found myself standing in the hallway, still gaping at the photos in my hand. Feeling sick to my stomach, I picked up the next photo and the last one was the best. It was a photo of me in Friday night’s clothes and a flagrant case of bed-head, getting into the back seat of Sammie’s limousine. The photo was clearly stamped with Saturday morning’s date. “What—Where---Why are you having Sammie followed?” I finally spit out.
128. After about an hour of that, I made myself a pot of coffee…it was going to be a long day. It had been three days since Alana had walked out. I had made a grave mistake by allowing myself the pleasure of making love to her when she was too drunk to have the capacity to consent. I truly hadn’t meant for that to happen. I tried to tell myself that I was beyond the point of rational thought as well, but truthfully I wasn’t drunk, at least not from the alcohol. I was intoxicated by her. I’d been researching her and watching her for so long…every fantasy I’d had for the past year had been wrapped up in Alana. I had just completely lost my mind the moment I was actually allowed to touch her. The fact that she was allowing me to, and even encouraging it had really sent me over the edge. It was wrong though…I was wrong. I knew from the time I’d spent watching her that she wasn’t a big drinker, and she definitely didn’t sleep around. I should have had more respec
127. Sammie had stood there looking at me after I’d pulled back. I remember that he had this really sexy grin on his face and instead of being angry, I was turned on. I had smiled back….I think and then I’d put my hands around his neck again and pulled myself back up to continue the kiss. I slid my tongue back into his mouth and that time he sucked on it. It was erotic. His hands were all over me and as I washed my body and slid my palms along my sides and across my breasts I shuddered at the memory. We started stripping each other at that point, a little at a time while we kissed. I could feel his erection pressed up against my hip and I remember that when I moaned he had whispered in my ear so close that I felt his hot breath: “Just you wait, Bella. I’m going to make sure that it’s the best you ever had.” The sound of his voice and the feel of his breath against my ear sent me into another frenzy. In the shower, my hand drifte
126. “We would act as a couple so that no one wondered about my meetings with a reporter, and we could avoid the fear of getting caught if we tried to sneak around and communicate secretly. You could also be a part of “family” events and get to see and know the people that we’ll be “talking” about first hand. This won’t be a week-long process, Bella. This organization was hundreds of years in the making. It’ll take years to break it open.” I was glad I had finished my meal already…I would have choked on it. Years? This guy was nuts if he thought I would agree to be his fake fiancé for years. I stood up and picked up my purse. Sammie stood up as well. For a second, remembering where I was and who I was with, a dagger of fear stabbed me in my chest. He must have seen it on my face because he stepped to the side, clearing my path to the door. He wasn’t going to force me to do this. I was ashamed of myself for putting myself in a position where t
125. “With clothes on,” she said. I laughed and said, “Yes, I’m going right now to get dressed, then I’ll order breakfast.” She only nodded, but she hadn’t let go of the doorknob. I half expected her to be gone when I got back, but to my delight and relief, she wasn’t. I found her sitting on the sofa looking out the window. I sat down in the chair across from her and smiled. She shot me a look that should by all rights have set me on fire. “Was this all some big pick-up game to you?” she asked. “A pick-up game? No, Bella. We both had too much to drink. I’m not normally a heavy drinker and last night I was looking for some liquid courage. Once you report what I have to tell you, life as I know it is going to implode. I wouldn’t have had the audacity to expect that a woman like you would ever want to be with a man like me.” She raised an eyebrow, obviously not convinced. I wish she could see inside of my head because I meant every word. I know what I am. I’ve known sinc
124. I woke up in a strange place, in a strange bed, next to an extremely hot – and gloriously naked – strange man. …What happened last night? My mouth tasted like cotton and I had an icky sweet taste in my mouth that literally made me want to vomit. My stomach felt bloated, my head was pounding and I couldn’t hold my trembling hands still if I tried. There was light streaming in from the giant windows that surrounded the bed and it was doing nothing but making my head pound worse and darkening my already foul mood. I sat up slowly, not wanting to wake the strange bedfellow next to me. I tried to shake out my hair, but it was a tangled mess. The motion of sitting up had made me nauseated and once again I had the feeling that I was going to throw up. I looked around me, wondering where the bathroom was. I was humiliated enough just waking up here, the last thing I wanted to do was hurl all over hot guy. I needed to get the hell out of here. I slipped out of the bed and st
123. Even not knowing exactly what Shane had planned for her, Mia was still relieved to see him when he entered the basement two days after Wallace had taken her from the street. Her first thought was he looked like hell. His normally robust tanned skin was pale, and his face looked gaunt, though he couldn’t have lost much weight in the four days since she’d seen him, even with a gunshot wound. Her gaze darted to the sling encasing his left arm, where she could see the bulky bandage covering most of the left side of his chest and clavicle underneath the thin fabric of his T-shirt. It was insane, but she had to physically bite her tongue to keep from asking how he felt and fretting over him being out of the hospital already. The reality of her position and situation made it easier to rein in the concern. She lay on the cold concrete, naked as the day she was born, with her hands cuffed to her ankles, which were spread by a metal bar. It was an obscene, undignified pose, b