I’m groggy and sleep muddled when I pad through to the main sitting area of our living room in a loose summer dress I changed into, rubbing my eyes and yawning like I didn’t just have myself the longest siesta. Blurry eyed, cooler due to efficient AC and generally in a happier mood now I have slept. I wander towards the long leather L shaped couch where Alexi is sitting to slide down beside him and curl up next to that sexy body of his.
He’s on his laptop with his phone propped to his ear, leaning forward to the coffee table and has a brown file of papers open to his right. He’s working so I just lie down beside him and push my feet against his thigh to have some contact. I must have slept for a couple of hours at least as the lunchtime sun that was up when we got here is now lower in the sky which suggests late afternoon. I twirl my hair and watch him, feeling wholly content, sighing with just how quickly the resentment and scars from how he was towar
Alexi pulls out my chair as we seat ourselves at the dinner table at eight, standing beside it so as not to cage me from behind. Always aware of that little fact. Always making me love him all the more.We are in the grand burgundy and gold dining room of the classy hotel, alone so far as we are first here, and he slides his hand down the open back of my silver sequin gown as he moves beside me to sit down. Trailing fingertips down to where the dress closes over my bum and runs gentle featherlight touches across the naked skin before pulling away. Igniting every nerve ending I possess.Tingles erupt across my skin and I blush at the memories of rolling about upstairs with him. Body still warm and glowing from the recent climax he gave me; I lean into him to deliver a kiss on that delicious mouth. Alexi cups my jaw lightly and kisses me properly, making me forget where we are, as he teases my lips apart seductively and gently caresses my mouth with his. Ju
He would never let them insult me or hurt me. That safety and security I get from him is an instant balm as the warmth of his body flows through at our point of contact and calms me instantly.Alexi doesn’t visibly react to my moving to him, but his foot slides towards me and he rests his knee against mine as a subtle message that he feels my unease. It’s a small tiny movement but I understand its intention, and I’m immediately soothed with knowing he’s as in tune to me as I am to him nowadays. He’s reassuring me that he’ll always fight my corner.“I can’t help that I had a natural aptitude where you didn’t. Some of us are more capable of handling things. Now shut up and focus on why I’m here. I’m losing patience and you don’t want me pissed … younger cousin I may be, but I won’t hesitate to remind you who the fucking boss is.”Alexi doesn’t waste time in acting it e
The rest of dinner is anticlimactic, uneventful and about as interesting as the fifteen minutes we spent in the ladies’ room making polite strained conversation. Everyone seems to be on their best behaviour after the interlude and the meal goes on with no more drama.It’s not exactly riveting company or thrilling conversation. The majority is discussing the casino, family, New York and stock markets. I swear, for a moment, I forgot Alexi is even a crime lord at all when he can be exceedingly convincing at playing boring businessman and plays nice with imbeciles and their puppy dog wives.Alessandra and Gino are itching to get the night going, I can sense it seeping from them. Alessandra told me in the bathroom we are heading out to a club after this, just the four of us. To party the night away and I’m not complaining, after spending most of the day in bed. I want to experience a night out like we had in Miami with the way Alexi and I ar
I roll over in the overly warm bed and groan loudly as light hits me in the face, someone’s pulling the curtains back in our room to flood us with an unearthly glow. Burying my head under the duvet I try to stop the swirling insane motion of the room and the penetrating pain as shards of light try to slice my skull open. Head booming away like someone is merrily stamping on it, and my body is fragile like cracked glass that’s about to fully shatter under pressure.“Time to get up. We have a tour this morning of our future abode.” Alexi is way too chirpy for a guy who partnered me in drinking ourselves into oblivion last night and I cannot remember anything past the first bar and the twenty shots we downed in a drinking game with his brother. My head’s thumping out a badly played rhumba beat, and nausea is swirling in my throat so that I gag anytime I move. My mouth is literally carpeted with some old man’s swirly 50s shag pile and I have th
Exactly one hour to the second after he left the room he walks back in, looking a little stony-faced and unreadable. His mood appears frosty and he casts me a glance as I sit on the couch finishing up my lipstick. I pretend I’m not affected by his sudden appearance and don’t react to him walking in. Focusing hard on just applying my signature red stain while holding a compact mirror.Although, in reality, my heart skips a beat, my stomach sinks and I have to breathe very slowly to keep my calm at the sight of him. My hands tremble. I feel sick instantly and know that we are either going to fight or … well, who am I kidding. We are probably just going to fight. I mean, how can we not?I overreacted slightly—majorly. I can’t undo that reaction and yet I’m still internally panicking like a freak and not able to even broach the M word yet.I’m clean, dressed, made up and less ‘ugh’ after several as
I just snap my lips shut, throw Alexi my most venomous look and slide across the seat in an attempt to claw back some dignity, crossing my arms once more and moving away so he won’t touch me, and to show him how pissed off I am. Alexi slides in, slaps my thigh a little saucily and nudges me over with his shoulder and hip so he can have more room. His grey eyes fixing on mine, light and cloudless, which suggests he really isn’t in a combative mode at all. He looks annoyingly chilled.“Rude!” I snap, annoyed that he bodily moved me while smirking like a smug dickhead at his own hilarities. Nothing about this is funny. His manhandling, his manner, his fucking annoyingly happy and jokey mood. He has plenty to be sorry for.Abduction, assault, imprisonment, all very good reasons for me to be pissed off at him. “Yeah but I’m sexy, so I get away with it.” He really is on some weird happy sarcastic mood kick. I look to
“You think marrying me changes anything, Cam? It’s paper, nothing else. It won’t change anything about us. Everything I said still stands. You can still walk away if this doesn’t work out and get everything I promised, and more. I’m not going to turn into some domineering psycho that chains you to the kitchen sink. Marriage means something to me. I want to make you happy and I wouldn’t jeopardise what we have for anything.” His soft voice lulls me into quiet, and even though the tears still roll down my face, I finally calm. Soothed by his husky voice and the way it washes over me like a gentle summer breeze on a hot day. My lighthouse in the dark.“I never got to choose. I have no memory of any of it. No proposal, no wedding, nothing. Just a hangover and a piece of paper signed by fucking Elvis. It’s devastating. I just woke up belonging to you legally and that’s it. Just your possession … like I was to
The casino is pretty much the same story all over. Dated and worn but has so much potential for a buyer with enough cash to inject into the place. It’s busy the entire hour we are here, with never-ending pings and tinkling noises from the slot machines, and the croupiers on the casino floor have people at every table. The addiction is severe in Vegas and the shattered dreams and empty pockets of many a soul is to be had. It’s a sign though that it’s a money maker, with a ready-made customer base who won’t go anywhere, anytime soon.The manager tells us that the owner is simply not interested in his casino anymore and injected his cash into his new nineteen-year-old bride and their mansion in the Bahamas. He’s not looking to pay out money to update the décor and wants a fast sale to the highest bidder to retire in peace and live out his days with his child bride. So, a perfect opportunity for a master of making cash like Alexi. He has the f