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
We drove down a clear road, surrounded by mountains and hills, and then through cave-like closings. "Where are you taking me?" I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. "I’m taking you home, Emmah Landon," Gideon said, and he looked at me with that goddamn devastating crooked grin. "It's Emmah Huxley. We're divorced." I reminded him. "Yet, you're wearing a ring that would stop other men from coming close." He winked at me, obviously pleased with himself. I ignored him. But why do I have a ring on my goddamn finger? Let's see... I'm yet to get over Gideon... Of course not. I just didn't want to be disturbed by any man, relationship-wise. And... Well, and nothing. "This is not the road to my home," I said, my fingers nervously circling around my ring finger. I saw him flick his eyes over to me, and there was something almost predatory in that lazy, easy smile. "It is now," he said. I tried not to look at the muscles in his arms or how his legs were spread carelessly
He hurled me over his shoulder and started toward the side of the gas station where a black car was readily in wait. I screamed, yelled, scratched his back, yet nothing. Well, I might as well be hitting a brick wall. The area was deserted, there was no one to help, and my screams weren't getting me anywhere. There was nothing hurried about his steps; he took his time, and when we got to the car, he threw me in the back seat and filed in behind me. "Drive." He said, and that was it, his driver or whoever that robotic-looking man was, started the car. "How... What are you doing here?" I asked him, frantic. "How did you know where I was?" He didn’t answer right away, instead, he leaned back in his seat and said, "I've been on your tail for the longest time. There is this thing called a tracker. Since you've refused to see or hear me out, I had to be creative." I knew that must be the situation, but it still took my breath away. "You're kidnapping me, why?" I asked breathlessly
Dear Readers, Thank you so much for going on this amazing journey with Hollis and Ugo. I want you to know that I'm forever grateful for your love and support. Thanks for the gems, the comments, and the reviews. If you've gotten to this chapter, then you're such an amazing human and I'm sending lots of virtual hugs your way. You can always share your reviews on the review page and comments on the chapters. I would love to know what you love about this book. My new book, "RUTHLESS KINGS: THE LANDON BROTHERS," will be live soon on the Goodnovel app. Meanwhile, here is a sneak peek of a few chapters of the book. *** *** *** RUTHLESS KINGS: THE LANDON BROTHERS ** ** I'm never one to put a warning at the start of a book. But, here we go... The following book contains characters that might sound unreasonable, offensive, top-of-the-line, possessive and many more. If you consider an unapologetic, irredeemable obsessively-in-love alpha male offensive and unacceptable, you can
I swallowed, somehow having a faint idea of where all of this was going. A slight laugh escaped my husband's lips, and those damn twinkling eyes of his took me in again, like he'd just seen me and he finds me so endearing, and that look alone made my heart gallop. He placed a kiss on my shoulder. Pleasure shot through me and I inhaled sharply in response. Without warning, he threw me down on our bed. I gasped, my heart soaring when he dropped me, then bottoming out when my bare back hit the cool sheets. Hollis grabbed my bodice, and pushed it up, exposing my ass to his view. I shifted my weight back on the bed, intending to work my way closer to the middle, but before I could, he grabbed my bare legs and dragged me closer to the edge of the bed. On instinct, I grabbed the mattress to prevent myself from falling. "Hollis you..." Before I could finish my sentence, his face was between my thighs. My tummy turned over. "Oh..." When he put his mouth in my cunt, I almost
Hollis yanked off my bra and cupped my exposed skin, teasing over my nipples. My body was a complete inferno even before his lips were moving from mine.I wanted him inside of me and the release as much as I wanted my next breath. But not quite as much as I wanted to show him how much I love him and how happy he makes me.So before he could continue his kisses down my chest and toward my breasts, I pulled back, meeting his gaze, making him watch as I went down on my knees in front of him.My hands landed on his knees and slid forward up his thighs. I watched as an expression of surprise and pleasure crossed his gorgeous face.Then I reached for his fly and pulled out his thick, straining cock, pushing it into my open mouth. "Fuck, baby," he groaned, pushing his cock at the base and tracing my lower lip with his thumb. Then he pulled it out and a gush of precum sipped out. "Lick it," he demanded, holding it and my tongue moved out to trace over his head, tasting him, wetting him mor
"I told you, Baby," Hollis said as we made our way to the front door after our goodbyes. "You didn’t need to be nervous." "I’m worried about my father," I admitted, linking my arm through his own."Why?" He asked, seeming genuinely interested as Nero pulled up with our car, and Hollis pushed me in before sliding in beside me. "He seems withdrawn," I told him, shrugging. "And that isn’t how my father is.""Things have taken a sudden turn and he still blames himself for all of this. He thinks he's the one that put you with me," Hollis said, shrugging."He just doesn't know that it's destiny. One way or the other, we were bound to be together. Don't worry, next time, it will be better." He said. "By next time, do you mean my Mom's next birthday?" I asked, my heart sinking a little at the idea. "I meant the next family function," he replied, shrugging. "I believe there are going to be many of them.""You’re going to let me go?" I asked."Let
"Your wife?" My father came closer. "I didn't stutter. You heard me. Yes, my wife," Hollis said in a firm voice, erasing the distance between them. "Hollis..." I called, pressing a hand into his stomach. Sensing the plea in my face or my voice, his jaw loosened. "I'll go get you a glass of juice." He offered. "I'll like that," I said, nodding, giving him my silent gratitude. "I’ll be right back," he replied, squeezing me gently on the hip, before walking off. "I hoped you’d be happy to see me," I said to my father as soon as Hollis left, but I noticed that his gaze followed Hollis until he heard me speak. I didn't try to hide the vulnerability in my voice. I was upset. And I wasn’t accustomed to hiding that around my family. "Oh, my baby." My father called, his anger falling and getting replaced almost immediately with sadness. "Of course, I’m happy to see you," he started reaching for me. "Are you okay?" He asked, holding me tight
THREE MONTHS LATER**UGOGetting out of the the Garden after months of being kept in and guarded twenty-four-seven was reason enough to put some extra care into my appearance. It's been months since I left the confines of this place. There had been dark days throughout those couple of months. Hollis wasn't always around. I knew they were trying to set things straight.But I had no idea how they were going about it, until my husband came home to me with a bullet wound. My heart almost ripped through my chest. But, he insisted he was okay. And that was the last time he ever left me home alone. "The deed has been done, everything has been taken care of." Maxine had said to me on one of his visits.I still miss Castello, terribly, painfully. His memories remained embedded in my heart.Taking a look at myself in the mirror, I smiled. We were going to see my parents, it was my mother's birthday.Of course, I wanted to look nice, not just b
I was having one of those vivid dreams where I killed Hollis again. Over the time I've been at the Garden, I've had various versions of this dream. But they always end with Hollis's death. At times I pierce his heart with a dagger. Other times, it ranges from a gunshot to strangling him in his sleep. The dreams were always ending with my betrayal. My evil to him and the hurt I caused him. As usual, I woke up sobbing. Indeed there was no peace for me. Then I perceived it, his cologne, the one I checked out in his cabinet the first day I came to the Garden. A high-pitched cry escaped my lips. I'm now hallucinating and imagining the smell of fragrances, my situation was getting worse by the day and I'm not even helping matters. But, what can I do? Absolutely nothing. "Baby." I heard his voice and a sharp pain ricocheted through my heart. But when I turned around to the direction of the voice, in the dim lighting of the room, I saw a figure resembling that of Hollis standing