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In the Secret Garden
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Taken by the Mafia King Damsel In Distress
SeraAfter my mother’s foreboding warnings and giving me a little more backstory on Mattia, who seemed like an entirely different person than I remembered, we did little fashion shows for each other with the new clothes we bought. Then she had to excuse herself to run an errand.“An errand?” I repeated in confusion.Mom laughed wryly. “What, I can’t have things to do around this place?”“Well, no—I mean, you can, but I just didn’t know…” I cut my embarrassed rambling off before I dug myself into a hole. “It’s just, I don’t want to be alone.”“Oh, sweetheart.” Mom hugged me fiercely. “I’ll still be around. Call for me whenever you need me. But there’s something I need to take care of. Why don’t we watch a movie with your brother when I’m done?”I brightened. “Okay. That sounds nice. Speaking of, have you seen him lately?”Sounding a little less happy, she said, “I saw him sneak out with the men. He wants to be involved in the search. I told him it’s too dangerous, and he said that he l
Taken by the Mafia King Play My Game
KillianThe day had been long and hard to get through, but when Sera slipped out of her pajamas, it didn’t take long to get hard in a different way.After trudging through the snow for a potential killer, after finding dead end after dead end, seeing, Sera’s face—her shining eyes, her smiling mouth, joy filling her every pore—was all I needed to melt away every stress.She was alive and warm and mine.I stripped off my clothes as Sera stepped into the shower and turned on the faucet. Steam from the warm water fogged up the glass, blocking my view of her perfect body.I stepped into the shower. I didn’t have time to react to Sera’s giddy laugh before the water stream turned ice cold.“Shit!” I snapped, stepping back just as Sera turned the water warm again. She was on the other side of the stream, biting her lip to stop from laughing. Something was making her mischievous. Instead of being mad at the playfulness, I played along. “You’ll pay for that, amore.”Like a switch flipped, Sera’
Taken by the Mafia King Let Me Touch You
SeraI almost burst out laughing, but at the same time, I was a little hurt by the panic in Killian’s voice when the possibility of getting pregnant crossed his mind.“It’s been a while since we used one,” I reminded him softly, stroking the wet hair off his forehead to calm him. “I’m on birth control.”Totally oblivious to the girl world, Killian blinked. “What kind?”“The pill.”“Why didn’t you mention it before?” he asked me.I shrugged. “I thought you knew. I take my pill every night.” He had a doctor on staff. It hadn’t been hard to get a prescription.I kissed him deeply, feeling Killian harden inside me. Pleasurable warmth flooded my muscles and nerves. He started to grind his hips. Another round was more than welcome, but not on this uncomfortable ledge. “Bed,” I suggested in a murmur.“As you wish.”Sopping wet and clinging to him like a koala around a bamboo shoot, Killian carried me out of the shower, where he set me down to dry us off. Once we were dry, we headed to the be
Taken by the Mafia King Another Kill
KillianA few days later, Sera somehow convinced me to do mobster work in her favorite parlor while Caterina and her friends looked through wedding catalogues. It was difficult to focus on dividing territory with Andre’s records finally organized with all the giggling, but it made Sera happy, and I couldn’t refuse her. Tommaso happened to walk by when she asked me to help her choose linen colors—demanded, more like—and he threw his head back with laughter.“The Hand of Death being ordered around by a little girl. I never thought I’d see the day.”“Keep mocking me,” I growled without malice, “and you won’t see the rest of it.”“We have another training session tomorrow, don’t we?” Sera called to him.Tommaso sketched a bow. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, my lady.”Currently, the women were all sitting on the floor with catalogues scattered between them. Penelope was gushing over the collection of wedding dresses as she bounced baby Michael on her leg. Caterina watched them as if te
Taken by the Mafia King Cookies For Mobsters
SeraI knew I sounded absolutely insane when I accused Killian’s mother of killing animals and putting them in my room, but I said it anyway. “Do you think she would?”I appreciated him coming to my rescue more than once today, but now Killian looked perturbed, both by my accusation and the situation. “My mother has her ways of doing things. But where would she find a bird?”Killian peered toward the drawer where the dead robin was, bloody and mutilated like the mouse, its red and gray feathers plucked. He curled his lip before tucking me into a hug. “Don’t look. Let’s go in the hall.”I let him guide me out so Tommaso could go in and take care of the poor thing. I caught his expression. He was as thoroughly confused and freaked out just as much as Killian and I were. How could this happen twice? What psycho was doing this, and how were they getting in?It was a person. No animal could do something like this.Killian held my face gently between his hands. “Are you okay? What happened?
Taken by the Mafia King Outsmarted
Killian“How’s the Roxy situation?” Tommaso asked twenty minutes into the drive, voice raised over the racing rain of the odd February thunderstorm.I put my thoughts of Sera on the back burner to focus on the job. While this was just a cut-and-dried mission, it still required undivided attention. “Caterina and Rosemary are still monitoring her. They took her to a doctor’s appointment yesterday. I think they determined the gender.”“But she confessed to having no contact with Greco, right?” Patrick piped in. “How’s she keeping herself busy all by herself, especially without a phone?”“She doesn’t have many hobbies except sleeping and doing puzzles, apparently. Caterina’s bought her at least ten, and she’s finished eight of them so far.”“I commend that woman,” Patrick tsked about Caterina. “It’s a little sad that Sera doesn’t know. Olivia and Penny know about it but Sera doesn’t? It doesn’t really feel right.”“Oh, yeah,” Tommaso said with amusement as we turned onto the highway, “are
Taken by the Mafia King Stormy Night
SeraWatching Killian drive away to do mafia business was one of the worst feelings I could experience. My gut was tight with worry. My heart skipped beats thinking of all the things that could go wrong. My head pounded with a headache. I imagined him coming home, some part of him gravely hurt, or worse—Killian not coming home at all.At least I had plenty of people to occupy my mind and lift my spirits. As usual, the household-wide dinner was excellent and filled with chatter.Mom bounced baby Michael on her knee. He kept reaching for bites of her turkey and mashed potatoes, which was so cute. Penny looked on, beaming at the love her son was receiving. Olivia and Joyce were having a debate about who the best character from Golden Girls was. Dustin and Callie were now the best of friends and were on the verge of dating. It was sweet to watch them sitting there, whispering to one another and smiling.I sat next to the empty head of the table, perfectly content to just watch and listen.
Taken by the Mafia King Driving Like a Mad Man
KillianIt was Niccolò’s cabin all over again.Just when I thought things could go smoothly, just when I was confident enough that my loved ones were safe, it all went to shit.“What kind of fucking karma is this?” I’d snarled to myself as I’d bolted out of the warehouse and into the rain that picked up into a downpour for the car. I’d shouted to a few of my friends as I hurried to the car. “Tommaso, let’s go! Adrian, lock the house down! Patrick, oversee this deal!”“Ricci!” Harry Bower had called from across the parking lot. “Sorry if I said something wrong! I’ll be in touch.”I had already been enraged. Annoyance at the bastard’s glib remark had stoked my inner fire to a raging inferno. I’d waved him off as I’d jumped into the driver’s seat, Tommaso and Adrian a second behind. We were drenched from the rain, and it made me wonder if the thunderstorm was still rolling over the house.I’d rammed the SUV in drive and put the pedal to the metal, peeling out of the lot and heading towar
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Taken by the Mafia King Epilogue
PaigeI stood in the vestibule outside of the chapel, clutching my flowers, my heart hammering in my chest. Organ music belted through the doors, and I was just waiting for my cue.We all were. My two bridesmaids, in simple maroon dresses, stood ahead of me. Like she could feel my eyes, Lauren turned back and winked. I smiled. The dress looked spectacular on her, and I’d promised up and down that Tom would invite enough handsome men for her to go home with a date. This, of course, had been complicated by Tom choosing Killian and Stan as his two groomsmen. While I liked the older man, and he kept Lauren laughing, I didn’t exactly see the two of them as a couple.Mom stepped up next to me with a smile. Her mother-of-the-bride dress, a deep burgundy gown with gold accents, caught the light and sent it dancing. “Are you excited?”I inhaled sharply. “I kind of can’t stop thinking about the seating chart for the reception. Who have I become?”She laughed. “Your father.”Tears beaded in my e
Taken by the Mafia King Old Time's Sake
KillianI sat behind my desk and looked out over my men. Tommaso took his usual seat. Adrian hovered in the corner like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself yet, just like he had at the beginning. Patrick was still laughing about spilling his wine. Just like old times. I stood and started pouring everyone drinks.“So,” I said, “do you have an update on the warehouses, Adrian?”He started toward my desk, then paused. An odd moment passed. It wasn’t really my desk anymore. I’d left the hunk of wood behind because I had no need for it on the island, and he’d loaded it down with computers in my absence. Despite that, I’d never seen anyone sit behind it but my father besides me.I offered Adrian a drink. “Sit.”He nodded. “Didn’t want to step on your toes. The situation is pretty simple, all told, but I can tell there’s a certain amount of grace I’m supposed to be handling this foreman with, and I don’t—”Tommaso joined me at the bar to pour. “Do you remember that foreman in the so
Taken by the Mafia King Big News
PaigeI tucked my arm through Tom’s and straightened my long, floral romper. He kissed me on the cheek, then knocked on the door. Joyce swung it open.“Hello!” She welcomed us both in with hugs. “Mr. and Mrs. Ricci are in the drawing room. Please, come in.”We let ourselves be bustled through the door, the wine we’d brought carried off to the kitchen, and our coats taken to some closet somewhere in the mansion. Adrian used it as a base of operations when Killian and Sera weren’t home, so I’d been here a few times since the wedding, but I’d never felt comfortable here. Finally, we were led to the closed doors of the drawing room, and Tom opened them with a smile.Inside, we found not only “Mr. and Mrs. Ricci,” but also Olivia and Patrick, Adrian and Penny—who still wouldn’t even talk about their dance at the wedding—and Sera’s mother and brother, as well as Lauren. Sera leapt up to greet us, and Killian followed a few paces behind. I threw myself into the hug just as much as Sera did—I
Taken by the Mafia King Checking Up
SeraI folded a T-shirt and put it into Killian’s suitcase. “Are you sure we need to leave so soon?”He chuckled and took the T-shirt back out, then replaced it with a suit shirt. “Very, unfortunately. Adrian is in the middle of a difficult situation with one of the warehouses, and he needs a steady hand to guide him through.”My stomach churned at the thought of leaving the villa. We’d only been here for a couple of months, and we’d promised everyone we’d return, but dammit, I wasn’t ready yet. Lazing around the villa and having sex whenever the mood took us was way too fun to stop after only a few months.“But we’ll be back soon, right?” I asked like I didn’t already know.“Cara mia.” Killian took my hands. “What is happening in that head of yours?”I sighed. “I don’t know. The thought of leaving just make me kind of sick. We just got away from all that. I don’t want to be scared again.”He studied me for a long moment. “You do look a little pale. How sick is this making you exactly
Taken by the Mafia King Humdrum Excitement
PaigeI squeezed Tom’s hand in the car on the way to the airport.“Sad to be leaving?” he asked.I smiled. “Always. It’s so magical here.”He laughed. “Not just saying that because we’ve spent most of the vacation in bed?”I ran my free hand up his leg. “No, we have weekends for that at home.”“Fair enough.” He kissed the back of my hand. “I do like going on these little vacations, though. It’s a nice escape for a few days.”I nodded. I really was going to miss Paris, but I wouldn’t have wanted to stay much longer anyway. Lauren had been texting me updates about the shelter, especially the new one as women settled in. I kept thinking about how much I was missing, how much they needed me there. And I knew Tom was feeling the same. Apparently, Lyle had his sights set on someone new, and Tom was itching to pull the trigger. Anybody else would probably think we were freaks, desperate to leave a luxury vacation to get back to our grueling jobs. But those people didn’t realize just how much
Taken by the Mafia King Perfect Fit
TommasoWhen I told Paige I’d set everything up for another two days in Paris, she’d immediately insisted we spend a day shopping. I put up a cursory front of complaints, but in truth, I was perfectly happy following her from store to store and carrying her bags. Even better, she loved it when I made jokes about some of the worst, frilliest, most French things we came across. She laughed and joined in. For years, I’d heard men complaining about shopping with their girlfriends—fiancées—saying it was the most boring thing in the world, but even if we weren’t laughing up a storm as we paid our way through the most expensive boutiques in Paris, I still would’ve been having a ball. The sun was shining, she kept looking at the ring I’d put on her finger with a soft wonderment I’d never seen in her eyes anymore, and my face hurt from smiling. Paige and I could’ve made a hell of an afternoon out of reading the phone book.“Stop!” she said.I froze, my free hand twitching toward the gun I’d hi
Taken by the Mafia King Beginning of Forever
PaigeI didn’t know how long Tom and I lay there, listening to the fireworks and seeing the very top of their arcs through the sliver of windows accessible from the floor. I pillowed my head on his chest and enjoyed the steady beat of his heart. Engaged. The last time I was here, I’d been on the cusp of recovery, just starting to make strides toward the person I was today. Now, I wasn’t done—I didn’t know if there was a done for traumatized people or people in general—but I was so much better, stronger, happier than I had been.The last time Tom and I were in Paris, I’d thrown myself at him and chickened out. As much as I could stay at a private view of the Eiffel Tower, I wanted to show him just how much had changed. Just how much I meant the “yes” that had fallen so easily from my lips. I rolled on top of him.“What do you say we take this back to that hotel room you picked out?”Tom grinned and pulled me down for a kiss. I pressed myself against him, feeling every line of his body.
Taken by the Mafia King The Only Ones
PaigeI sat across from Tom in an empty, stunning restaurant in the middle of the Eiffel Tower with my head spinning like the three sips of wine I’d had with the appetizer were enough to make me drunk. He’d really rented out the Eiffel Tower. And not one floor, the whole thing. We’d ridden an empty elevator, the two-Michelin-star chef kept coming out to tell us why he’d selected particular dishes based on the information Tom had given him about our preferences, and I couldn’t hear anything but the soft classical music over the speakers. It felt like a dream.Tom took my hand. “So?”“So what?” I asked.“Was the surprise worth it?” He grinned.I looked over his suit, a forest green that brought out his eyes, worn without a tie. His dark curls tumbled into his face. I’d never seen him look so perfectly put together and so casual. He looked…well, he looked exactly like the man I’d fallen in love with. Nothing like the one who’d scared me so badly all those months ago in Cairo.“I get the
Taken by the Mafia King Peace Time
TommasoDespite how much I wanted Paige to keep that little black dress on, we had a few hours before the Tower officially emptied out for our use. I talked her into putting on something a little more walkable and keeping the lingerie on. As if to punish me for my restraint, she picked a pair of tiny, wide-legged shorts that showed the tops of the garters attached to her stockings every time she moved and a fitted blouse. I changed and somehow convinced myself to leave the hotel room instead of stripping everything off her and spending the hours in bed.She took my hand as we stepped into the lobby. “I should’ve known. When you plan a surprise, it’s never just one thing. Where are we off to first?”“So nosy.” I smiled.“You’re right, I’ll stop asking.” She slid the room key out of her pocket and fiddled with it for a second, then dropped it. With a small smile, she bent at the waist to pick it up, exposing those garter straps again.I grabbed her waist and hurried her the final few st
