SIXDANTEHow could I not have recognized the face that I had been staring into these past weeks. The Rodrigues family was at the top of my revenge list for the death of my brother, Alexander.He was a fool of course but it was my job as the successor of our clan to make sure that his death was avenged and although it had been quite hard to find a weak spot with the Rodrigues brothers, their sister on the other hand was a loose cannon.I had had people watch her movement in New York and it was reported that she partied a lot and was known with such ill reputation that the men feared whatever she had to say to them. All the makings of a spoilt brat who had never had to work for anything in her entire life.The clan had decided that I was to move to New York and begin my moves on the girl and so you can imagine my surprise at her presence in Italy. She was so far away from and blissfully unaware of the things I had planned for her.I had to admit that the pictures did absolutely no just
SEVENDIANAThe man was a talker and soon and I was telling him everything about me. Not my family name or anything, just my feelings about being cooped up by them and he listened with rapt attention while I narrated how I wanted so many things for myself that wasn’t attached to my family.He was not only a good listener but a damn attractive man and I could feel the pull to him, the one I had felt earlier when we collided against one another. I was tempted to want to run my palm along the lines of his face and through his sleek hair.“You sound like you are seeking adventure” He finally said after my family speech“I guess I am but not exactly adventure… just something more”I was trying and failing at pinpointing why exactly I was in Italy and even if I was trying to tell myself it was to discover who I was outside my family, I knew I was not there yet but when Dante had called my feelings and talks a way of me wanting to seek adventure, I finally understood.“We should eat” He said
EIGHTDANTE“You did a great Job, Luca” I told him after the not so dramatic exit of Diana“I shall ask again if I need to be aware of the reason you want to be the foreigner’s knight in shiny armor”“I do not want to be her anything but unfortunately, she is important to me and I want you to keep an eye out for me on her movements. Can you do that?”Luca nodded, he wasn’t one to always ask questions but I guess this was a situation that called for questions.I exited the restaurant and headed up to my cousin’s home. He was one of the few people still extremely loyal to my dead brother, Alexander and he wanted the Rodrigues’ to pay as much as I wanted them. I wasn’t blind to the fact that Alejandro did not consider me a leader yet and the chance to prove myself was making sure I brought down the Rodrigues family.I did not care for his approval but I wanted his loyalty; if I was to take over the dealings of my family, I needed loyal men by my side and this was the way to prove my loya
NINEDIANAIt is barely 24 hours since my arrival in Italy and I have met someone. I do not know what he means to me but I really have to say that I find him extremely attractive and I feel like he knows me and the turmoil that I am passing through. I know that this is not the time to be finding someone and it is the time to find myself but who says I cannot do both?I am here in bed excited about my prospects in this new city and for once I feel free, like I am looking forward to something that should be challenging.I am not sure of what I want to do in this city and I don’t think I would ever be but we just have to wait and see, don’t we?I also visited a restaurant and met one of the most arrogant man I had ever laid my eyes upon. You would think that as stunning as he was, he would have a good character to go with it but that I tell you that that is not true but I will have to admit that he has beautiful restaurant space and it is somewhere I would like to spend my days, serving
TENDIANAI admit that being a waitress wasn’t all I thought it would be and not even my excitement could stop the tiredness from sipping through my bones as I hopped from table to table, taking orders. It was wonderful that I did not have to struggle with some of the Italian dishes that were ordered and although I hardly understood what they were about, I had a very retentive memory and it served me really well.It was time for my lunch break as Luca called it and I was allowed to watch other waitresses do the job. I was pretty sure I did great judging from the look of Luca’s face“You can admit it, you know” I said to him as I sat beside him with bacon in my hand.“Admit what?” He asked meHis eyes were twinkling which meant he knew exactly what I was talking about“That I make a great waitress” I said, smiling at him“The deal was for you to survive for a week and not before. If you are still here after one week then I will admit that you make a great waitress” he repliedI laughed
ELEVENDANTEI watched her smile at the man trying so hard to get his fingers up her skirt as she placed the drink in front of him. She was trying too hard to be what she wasn’t and it was pissing me the fuck off that I had to sit here and watch her get pawed.I had to have a talk with Luca over his reason for allowing her work in his restaurant. This was hardly the place for me to exact my revenge on her and her family for my brother and I was running out of time.The council was aware of her arrival to Italy and although they had decided to let me handle the girl, they were watching and would soon get involved if I did not do something immediately.As much as I was very much their leader, I still had to prove that I wasn’t just the bastard that my father had sent away with the white woman he had mistakenly gotten pregnant. I had to prove I had the Russo blood running through my veins by adequately executing the revenge plan but at the same time I wanted to savor the feeling.I wante
TWELVEDIANAHe had his fingers in my hair touching ever so lightly that for a moment, I forgot that I wasn’t supposed to be here with himSomething incredibly dangerous flicked through me as he said those words. Dante was absolutely dangerous and bad for my health but I wanted him with such raw intensity and what was a little bit of fun if he wanted to have it.I remained where I was, staring at me with the desire evident in my eyes. I was an adult and quite free to do whatever I wanted with whomever I wanted including a hulk with a ponytail like Dante and I actually was dying to run my fingers through that hair.He murmured and then crashed his lips unto mine with my eyes closing of their own volition. I moaned and threw my hands around his neck, touching the nape where his hair began; it was as soft as I had imagined.He tasted like wine mixed with something really spicy that reminded me that I was in the bathroom making out with a man I hardly knew.It was fun and it wouldn’t hurt
THIRTEENDANTEThis wasn’t how it was supposed to be and the fact that I could not get the damned taste of her lips out of my mouth. The way her breasts had felt full and heavy in my hand and how much I had enjoyed…No, this is not how it works. I don’t think about her this way, it is purely business and revenge… nothing more.Diana Rodrigues was the loophole and weakness of the family I was about to sentence and that was all. She was an easy way in to exact my revenge for the death of my brother but I knew that if the situation had been reversed and we weren’t in this mess, maybe she would have been my type of girl.It had been two days since what had happened in the restroom and it was time again for me to make my move. I could not have her thinking I has just used her… far from that. I wanted her to fall in love with me and then I wanted to break her completely, in front of her family and everyone she cared about.That would be the perfect revenge and when I am done; I am going to
CAMILLAAfter the previous day encounter and the kiss… I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on the same team with Nathan.In all honesty, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted.My lips still tingled from the memory of Nathan’s kiss, and yet, the feeling did NOT settle in the way I expected. It wasn’t the passionate rush of desire or the warmth of something more. No, it was an unsettled ache, a reminder that whatever this was between us was anything but simple.I stared at the ceiling, my mind spinning in a hundred different directions. My thoughts kept circling back to that kiss.Why had he gone and kissed me?The last thing I needed was to get caught up in Nathan’s mess, in whatever internal struggle he was going through. I could not afford to lose myself in him. Not again. He had kissed me, and now I had to decide whether to let it go or pull back before things went any further.I dragged myself out of bed, staring at the clock—7:00 AM. My meeting with Nathan was at 9:00, but I had a hundred t
NATHANI was stalling.Her apartment had grown quiet except for the rhythmic ticking of a clock on the wall, but I stayed seated at her table, watching her stack dishes in the sink. My car was fixed. My excuse to linger here was gone. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to leave.She moved with a confidence that was uniquely Camilla. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone…least of all me…but damn, she did. I traced the curve of her spine with my eyes as she walked back into the living room, her bare feet soft against the floorboards.I should have been thinking about Eleanor. About Trish. About Alicent. About the cold-blooded satisfaction I would feel when the truth about Eleanor’s death finally saw the light of day. But all I could think about was how Camilla and how I should be apologizing to her.“You’re awfully quiet,” she said, sitting across from me, tilting her head to study me.“I have been accused of worse.”She rolled her eyes. “You are always like this. Mysterious and brooding. You wou
CAMILLA “Good morning.” I started at him, unsure of exactly what I was looking at. Then it hit me: the smell. Warm and savory, the scent of something cooking drifted through the air…eggs, maybe toast. It was so out of place… he was out of place here. I moved, the motion sending a fresh wave of pain through my skull and a queasiness to my stomach. I groaned again, slower this time, trying to steady myself. “Morning,” I mumbled hoarsely, my voice barely more than a croak. He was standing by the stove, his back to me, a pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. His shirt was untucked, the fabric clinging to his broad shoulders in a way that made him seem even larger than usual. In my tiny kitchen, he looked impossibly big, like he didn’t belong there, yet somehow…he fit. “What are you doing?” I asked, my voice weak but laced with confusion. Nathan glanced over his shoulder, his profile catching the morning light. His hair was a little messy, like he hadn’t bothered t
CAMILLAIt was useless feeling sorry for myself, I thought.The lighting in the club was low as I stepped in with my friend, Bella.“Not bad” I murmured.“Told you” She responded triumphantly. “This is what you need to get over him. Nathan Clark is an asshole and should dump him in the dust where he belongs”I wanted to correct her that he wasn’t an asshole, he was merely disturbed but I did not.I was not here to sympathize with him or even think about him. I was here to have fun and that is what I am going to do.I was putting on a red dress and it complimented my eyes way more than I thought it would.“Come on, we should get a drink” Bella pulled me to the bar.The bartender winked at both of us and then asked what we would likeIt was at the tip of my tongue to say nothing but I was at a club, wasn’t I?“Sex on the beach” I announced.Bella turned to me, surprise in her eyes. I was pretty sure she thought she would have to force me to drink.“I would have the same” She told the ma
NATHANThere was nothing to say as I dropped Camilla off at her home.I waited until I was sure she had gotten in before I headed in the direction of my mother in law’s house.I pushed in Christian’s number, my teeth gritting as it rang.I was furious.I did not want to admit I was more furious at myself than anything.“How did your date go?” Christian’s asked as soon as the phone line clicked.“Send me the name of the witness” I grunted.“What is wrong?”“Send the name, dammit”“You need to calm down, Nathan. Where are you going?”“To settle this once and for all” I told him. “Now send the damned number to me”I hung up before he had the chance to say anything or convince me to back away because I would not.I drove way above the speed limit, stopping only when I had gotten to the mansion’s gate.It brought back memories of family dinners where I had to defend Eleanor over and over again. Where snide remarks about the reason I was with her reached my ears and she said nothing about
CAMILLA“I did not think I was ever going to see you again, Camilla” Sarah smiled as soon as I entered the restaurant.She wagged a finger in Nathan’s direction, shaking her head at him.“With the kind of food you sell? I will be coming in here for a very long time” I smiled back.Nathan and I took our seats and waited.She had a queue as usual and I could not help the smile as I glanced around.“You would have watched your father kill me” Nathan commented.“I admit that would have made me feel better for a bit” I told him.He appeared shocked but I could tell from the way his eyes twinkled with delight that he thought it hilarious.I had not expected he would go over to my parent’s house especially seeing as I wasn’t there in the first place.My father however had called me when he arrived with a gun to his head and asked if I wanted to see him. I had hesitated just for the fun of it“I deserved that”“Yes you did” I agreed.“Thank you for coming here with me”I nodded once.Sarah dr
NATHANI was pacing like a fucking clown.I was expecting Camilla at the office today to discuss the project that we were involved in together and I could not help the restlessness coursing through my body.I wasn’t one to be this nervous about anything.“Deep breaths” I told myself, trying to go along with my instructions but to no avail.So much so that when my receptionist announced her presence, I had worked myself into a frenzy.My breath caught in my throat as she walked in, her eyes taking the room before settling on me with stark clarity.What had I been thinking? I thought.Starved of attention?Who was the blithering idiot now?“You look well” She commented, taking the seat in front of me.“You look beautiful” I murmured.She paused, her eyes meeting mine.Sparks flew, that was for sure.“How do you feel?” She asked instead.“Much better. Thank you for attending to me yesterday. For even accepting the phone call from me”“Of course, I am not a demon even though I do hate you
CAMILLAI stared at my ringing phone with Nathan displayed boldly as the callers ID.What the fuck did he want?I however put it to my ear, my heart jumping at the sound of his voice“Camilla, I know you can hear me” He rasped“What do you want?” I asked.“To talk” He answered.His voice appeared tortured… like there was something wrong with him and for a minute I was concerned before my head overrode my stupidity.“Concerning the project-” I began“Not concerning the-” He sighed, his voice trailing off.“I need you” He muttered softly that if I had not been paying attention, I would have missed that simple statement.“Mr Clark” I stopped when I heard his labored breathing.“Is something wrong with you?”“No, its nothing… I just need to speak with you”“Nathan, what is the matter? You sound distressed”He chuckled and then I heard him cough in the background“You are not concerned about me now, are you?”“This is not a joke, what is wrong with you?” I asked again, feeling panicky.He
CAMILLAMy father drove us straight to the house and I did not argue nor say anything when we arrived and my mother enveloped me in a hug.“Oh baby” She crooned.“I am okay” I reassured her“Come on in”I inhaled the familiar scent of home, my muscles relaxing.“I am going to bed” I announced.Their words fell over themselves as they agreed immediately to my request.My eyes closed as soon as I fell on the bed. I did not want to think of anything, I did not want to begin to analyze the anger in my heart directed at one person in particular.When I finally opened my eyes, it was noon.I made my way downstairs and was met with the searching eyes of both my parents.“Are you okay, baby?” My mother asked.I took a seat beside them.“I am not some fragile child you have to be worried about always, mother” I said.“You are my child and I have every reason to be worried about you” she countered.“I am going to be fine” I told her.My father said nothing but I turned to him anyways.“I have d