I looked at the ring continuously. The words I wanted to say all got stuck somewhere in my throat. "I'll definitely kill you." I whispered more to myself but his sharp sense of hearing picked up my words. "Perhaps you might consider getting married to me, get the papers signed before you hope for my death, baby. At least then you’d be entitled to everything I owe. It's worth a thought right?" He asked making such an annoying sarcastic sound with his voice. "I don’t want anything from you," I hissed, wrapping my arms around myself tightly. "An inexpensive wife-to-be. How unexpected," he said, lying down on the big-sized bed, making sure to maintain his side. "Good night, baby." He turned off his bedside lamp. "I'm never having sex with you, Hollis." "Never say never." He replied with such a calm voice that I wondered if he understood what I said. "You'll give me my space and privacy. Don't meddle. I don't want to be uncomfortable here." I waited for a reply but I got
"This whole thing is a mess, Maxine. I don't think I want this." He shrugged. "Your words aren't laced with certainty. You're still thinking. So..." "Hollis fucking gave me a ring!" I let out with quivering lips, bringing out the gorgeous beauty from the pocket of my pants. Maxine stared at the ring, refusing to touch it even when I pushed it towards him. "He gave you that ring?" I nodded. "Wow! That... That belongs to my family." He appeared speechless for a while. "Maybe he wants everything to look more convincing." He finally said. "It looks lovely on you." "Don't say that," I told him and he nodded. "We should get back to training." Maxine, a man of few words, said, and this time, I nodded, becoming the speechless one among us. We spent hours practicing together, focusing on assault and defense techniques that pushed my limits and expanded my repertoire of moves. Maxine's instructions were precise and demanding, 'free your mind, channel all that feeling into each move.'
"Which one, Reina?" Alessia held up two sky-blue dresses for me to wear for my first meeting with the Hollis family. I thought about Maxine's offer and came to the conclusion that there was no difference between his promises and those of Hollis. But something inside of me just wanted to do this one good for a kind, gentle man, a kind-looking, dangerous mafia man rather. Before now, I wouldn't have cared about what I wore, but now, I did. "What do you think, Alessia?" I asked. She looked up from the dress she was holding, "The long-sleeved one is lovely, screams royalty. This other one is edgy. Not everybody can pull it off. But if you do, then it would state not just class, but fierceness and power." "Hmmm, I'm forced to think you are talented in every aspect of life." I looked at the second dress. "Let's style the shit out of that dress." "Happily, ma'am," Alessia replied excitedly like she was eager to put her styling talents to work. I had no doubt our combined efforts woul
"Are you ready?" Rocco knocked gently on the bedroom door and waited for an answer. We were now out of the walk-in closet and Alessia was applying finishing touches to my hair. "Almost done." She replied and we heard Rocco's retracing steps. When I was sure we were quite done, Alessia helped me with the door. The moment I stepped outside the room, I was met with three pairs of eyes staring at me, each more beautiful than the last until they fell on Hollis, whose gorgeous eyes were glued to my legs. His gaze lingered a little before wandering up the rest of my body meeting mine. His lips were turned in a frown, but his eyes were filled with lust. "Good morning," I threw a greeting meant for the men in the room. "Good morning U," Maxine replied. Rocco gave a bow and Hollis kept staring dumbfounded or something. "Am I late?" I asked as kindly and brightly as possible. "No, I was just thinking of how beautiful you are. And you look even more amazing right now." Hollis compli
"We're here," Hollis told me, squeezing my hand gently. I hadn’t even noticed we had arrived. A gorgeous-looking woman with a fair distribution of golden hair came rushing towards our car almost immediately, all smiles. Sliding the hem of my dress up, I adjusted my heels. "Try not to give a fuck," he encouraged and I nodded my understanding. A gentle tap came on the window, signaling Hollis to open the door. "That's my mum." He told me just before he opened the door. The moment the door came open, the golden-haired woman rushed to me. "Ugo, oh my God! My gorgeous girl." The woman pulled me into a hug. "I'm Isabella, you can call me Nana, everybody does." She hugged me again and I returned the hug. She turned to Hollis who quickly pulled me closer to himself. A frown crossed her face. "Put some room between you and the poor girl, we are Catholics for goodness sake." She pulled me away from a smiling Hollis. "Mrs. Genovese, it is such a pleasure to meet you. Hollis could not st
We walked into an open passageway and turned the corner. I fought not to dig in my heels and skid to a stop. Hollis had presence and gravity, but I was tense at the sight I would see at the table. Mr Genovese sounded like a black hole. He was seated at the head of the long dining table and looked to be in his late fifties but I was certain he was way older than that. His patterned dress shirt appeared tailored and expensive. His face was rugged, his eyebrows thick and dark, and his hair had a few streaks of silver near the temples. If this was an indication of what Hollis would look like in twenty years, he'd be handsome and distinguished when he was older. But there was a dark, frenetic energy radiating from the older Genovese man, and I could sense it clear across the dining room. A quiet rage boiled just below the surface of his skin. My mouth went totally dry and my throat closed up as Mr. Genovese's discerning gaze discovered me alongside his son. I remembered Hollis's word
The rest of the lunch went on uneventfully and I couldn't help but steal subtle glances at Isabella, such a powerful woman whose words alone brought calm at least for a few moment. After lunch, the men left the room. Dominico maintained a deep scowl on his face, but he knew better than to spit any ill word against me again. "For the love of God, don’t be nervous," Isabella said, walking over to sit with me when the both of us moved over to the living room. "You’re young and beautiful. My children already love you; I love you, too. And anybody that doesn't will have to because you are Hollis's. You belong to him and you are untouchable. Do you hear me?" I nodded, not sure I was okay with everything she said. 'I belong to Hollis, for real? That's some anti-feminist shit to say I wanted to tell her that I wasn't really engaged to her son, that we were faking it because he was trying to keep me alive and I really don't think she should be mad at her husband because of something tha
I stood in the room I shared with Hollis, pacing the floor. Confusion streamed through my veins. It's been almost two hours since we got back from his family home, and I'd expected him inside the room with me. We needed to talk, to clear out the chaos choking at the edges. To arrive at an agreement, to define where we're headed at least. But he halted at the living room and remained there ever since, with Maxine. I could hear their muffled voices from inside our room. Initially, I thought he just wanted to offer me the privacy of taking a shower and freshening up. Because that had been our routine since I moved into the room with him. So I took a quick shower, changed into a lighter, simple outfit, and sat waiting for him. After what seemed like an eternity, I gave up and started heading down to the sitting room. There was something about Hollis Genovese; he is kind, patient, tolerant, and accommodating to me, at least. And oh, he easily dominates any room he is in. Those were jus