RiaAfter practically wolfing down the slightly stale bread and cheese, Ria gulped down the water and sighed. Of course, it was nothing compared to Mumma’s superb cooking but …she had been so hungry.And the bed now stood in all its shabby dignity, between them as they tried to arrive at a truce. Ria swayed in tiredness as a wave of darkness seemed ready to engulf her. She sighed and admitted to the truth of his observation.*The only time she had come close to giving up her virginity had been with Ronnie Prouse, a senior at school, and that had been at Prom Night. She had gotten drunk for the first time in her life on the spiked punch and the boy had also had dark hair and tanned skin, reminding her vaguely of Philippe. He had not gotten around to deflowering her, for a friend had called her name when one of Pappa’s bodyguards had come looking for her. She had hastily pushed the sweating, stumbling Ronnie with his uncertain, clumsy hands, off of her and run away. She had never known
ProserpinaTrying to focus on the objects in the room, I tried to calm down, my eyes sweeping over the large room.I had adorned it with some beautiful pieces of art, each of which had been lovingly selected over time, from the places I had visited or gifts from my friends.One such was the large painting was the one with my friend, Melissa Lord and her children; it had been done by her former lover, Ethan and it was brilliant.Melissa’s entire body language showed the desperation she was feeling at that time in her life. Her sons were perched on her lap, the baby with his thumb in his mouth, the older one watching his mother apprehensively.My eyes riveted on that, I sat sunk in the gloom as Lucien held my hands, while Claude jerkily moved to the bar where he sat on a high bar stool, looking wretched for having interrupted our sleep.Finally, my breathing having slowed down, and I turned to my husband, the man who had just made passionate love to me.Meeting his eyes fiercely, I said
ProserpinaLucien was beside me in a minute. Dimly, I felt his arms around me, and I leaned into him.I was getting too tired for these emotional ups and downs, said a faraway voice in my mind as I breathed in and out, focusing on bringing my laboured breathing under control.“Wife, WOMAN!’ he growled, but I could hear the concern in his rough voice, ‘Proserpina.’I held his arm, clutching it, leaning into him as I whispered, and opening my eyes to find his drawn and worried face beside me. A large hand was on my swollen belly, protective and concerned.“Go on.’, I said in a firmer tone.‘His eyes met Claude’s over my head, I could sense it though I had not lifted my head. Raising my head, my lips brushing against his harsh jaw, I said,“Lucien, please.’I had swivelled around to look at him, appealingly, my eyes riveted on his, begging him not to hide anything from me.He kissed me gently on my mouth lingeringly, almost in an apologetic manner and grunted.“Woman, she is with Philip
RiaLater, after they had gulped down the hot and sweet tea that one of the men had prepared, they were back on the road. Ria wrapped herself in the warm jacket Philippe offered her and remained huddled after clambering hastily into the back seat of the little car, trying not to think of the bulky, attractive man beside her as he spoke on the phone, issuing terse orders in a low voice.A part of her wondered bleakly, how had she managed to sleep with the man she loved without …?As though he had heard her thoughts, Philippe turned to her and met her eyes, his black gaze burning into her with an intensity which made her tremble in anticipation.‘I am waiting for you,’ said the silent, searing look,‘I will wait for you to come to me. But I will not disrespect my Boss.’His hot gaze slipped to her mouth and the swell of her full breasts beneath her layers of clothing, like the lingering touch of a lover, possessive and urgent. Yet Ria did not feel threatened. Instead, she felt a soft, f
Maja NordShe was busy going through the brochures she had gathered, the day before. Poring over them, bespectacled and lost in thought, with a black ski cap perched on her head, she did not see Handsome James had entered to join her on the wide patio until he sat down across from her. The fresh smell of the citrus soap or was it cologne, she associated with him, made her look up sharply. Once again, her heart plummeted and then began to pound so loudly, she was sure he could hear her. Why did the man look so delectable at eight in the morning?No one had the right to look so casually handsome. So …so…delectable.Maja herself was draped in her old grey sweats and a long john that had seen better days a lifetime ago, something that made her look like an astronaut, as her daughter had informed her kindly. She pulled in her tummy, wishing that she had not indulged herself so well on Proserpina Delano’s delicious food the night before. Maja was ashamed of her pear-shaped body but nothing
ProserpinaAs though his thoughts had conjured her up, she was walking across the lawns toward him, accompanying her husband as she said in her throaty voice,‘James. What are you looking so lost and forlorn about, first thing in the morning?’ Placing her hand on his arm in a familiar gesture, she made him look into her troubled brown eyes and she leaned forward to drop a kiss on his cheek affectionately.Damn. But the woman still managed to look hot, inspite of being more than three months pregnant, he thought, his heart racing as he stood to embrace her fondly, inhaling the vanilla scent of her hair and body, familiar and bittersweet. His friend and partner, the formidable Mafia Don stood beside her, eyes like flint, studying him. He was watching narrowly, his heavy-lidded eyes hiding his annoyance at seeing his heavily pregnant wife in the arms of another man.The Boss might have been a man-whore all his life, the term people used when they referred to him behind his back, a savage
RiaShe had been torn between feeling angry and frustrated and experiencing a deep respect for the silent man beside her.They had left the little house in the dark, before the dawn and now, she deduced that they were nearing Hollowford although all she could see was the darkness. A couple of large dark SUVs had joined them on the way, materialising like dark chariots of gloom from the surroundings and she had felt a clenching in her gut till she realised what was happening; Pappa had sent people to ensure that she reached back home safe and sound.She swallowed in relief and felt the Capo's dark glance on her face.But she stubbornly looked out of the window, refusing to speak or look at him.*After a while, she began to get restless and tired of staring out obstinately. Her eyes slid furtively to study the harsh, profile of the man beside her.The scar on his face, running from his brow to his chin, was prominent when she sat beside him and at one point, she reached up to touch it,
LucienThe Mafia Don looked sternly at his daughter as he repeated his words. He was alone with his daughter in the large study and he had just told her something that had made her see red.She was not to attend university this semester. It was too dangerous.The late afternoon sunlight flooded the room, bathing it in warm tones of brown. Outside the large floor to ceiling windows, the trees at the edge of the lawns were adorned in the colours of winter, reds and yellows and browns. The majestic onslaught of winter was near. But the people in the room were oblivious to the beauty of the landscape around the mansion. Like the guards patrolling the grounds, armed and ready for any eventuality, they were hell-bent on what they were doing; a fiery discussion, in this case.Lucien Delano sat behind his large , polished desk which was as always, uncluttered and tidy. The Boss was notoriously neat to a fault. His silver head was gleaming and as always, when he was working, the dove-grey shir
Piers's loud shout made the hall fall silent. For a minute, every head in the room swivelled to stomp in the doorway.Even Lucien Delano and Proserpina, absorbed as they were in their burning need to lose themselves in their desperate need for each other, stopped. Proserpina blinked as she turned to look, safe as she was, nestled in her lover’s strong embrace. And the Mafia Don scowled in annoyance, muttering,“What is with that fool boy?’Piers whipped his head to face his parents across the room, an arm around Hila, holding her to his chest as he cried, "Mumma! Pappa!’And when he was hurrying to them, his eyes were wild with excitement as he cried in joy, dragging his lover beside him,‘I…you… I mean… Mumma, I’m going to be a dad!”Proserpina was out of her husband’s protective arms as her son whooped and threw his arms around her, laughing with him. Lucien watched drily as Claude and Ria immediately crossed to him, pulling him into a huddle. Tara joined them, and after a pause, so
LucienHe began to make his way slowly through the milling throng of his guests to where his Woman was standing, in a daringly backless gown, her beautiful body making his staff harden with desire. Ria and Tara had chosen the slinky gown for her. When Proserpina had protested in embarrassment, her hands on her pink cheeks, the girls had declared,‘Mumma! Even after eight kids, you still look WOW!’It had been one of those rare weekends when Tara had come home. Ria had little Jamie on her lap, jiggling the fat little girl who was cooing at her Pappa, for the Mafia Don was hands down, her favourite person. Jamie was the apple of the Don’s eye, as Ria often teased her father.Lucien, who had been in the bedroom working on his phones and tablet, had been watching them in amusement.After the heart attack, mild though it had been, he had taken to spending time at home, working from his office or sometimes, his spacious bedroom.‘Please…but it’s BACKLESS!” Proserpina had gone on, her eyes m
A love like the kind her parents shared was almost like a fairytale…She sighed and touched her small belly. Big Philippe placed his large warm hand over hers and whispered concernedly in her ear,“Princess?”She looked up into his dark eyes and felt the rush of affection, of love that kept them bound to each other. Philippe, the Capo would bring the Moon and place it at her feet if she asked for it, she thought and unmindful of the crowds milling around her, the sound of glasses clinking, the chatter of people as, Ria reached up and pulled his head down. Murmuring against his lips,‘Philippe Diaz, I love you,” as she kissed him.***Piers Delano was staring at his phone. His mind was on other matters, although he had turned up for the party after his twin’s wedding ceremony. It had been a brief ceremony; Philippe had been born a Catholic, so there had been a small wedding service at Church. Old man Diaz had passed away a few years ago, and Philippe’s brothers, both of whom had been a
A few years later.The years have been kind to him, thinks the Don fondly as he surveys the guests at his daughter’s wedding party.Lucien Delano has aged but in his predictably indomitable manner, he looks and of course, his wife is testimony to the fact, that he still behaves in the same manner as he used to.His still-muscular physique belies his years and he continues to practice in his gym and has a friendly bout of boxing in the Ring, off and on. His son Claude is now an established name in the world of boxing, simultaneously running the underground fight clubs he has set up, and partnered with Paddy. The two of them work in tandem, Paddy with his enviable skills on the computers, has managed to make the Fight Clubs very lucrative indeed! thinks the Don.The Mafia Don is still actively handling the matters of his mob, which has branched out to become a powerful organisation, but one that is totally against human trafficking. He has made his millions through his arms dealings, a
LucienHe looked at his Woman fondly. She was on the bed, her head lowered to the baby at her nipple, the little child whose brown curls were bobbing as she sucked hard at her mother’s swollen teat.Proserpina wore a look of divine bliss, and Lucien moved over to her, taking her chin in his hard grip and kissing her.It was all he could do, for she had been spending almost a month at the hospital now. A month during which the Mafia Don had practically lived in the hospital too, his only concern being his Woman.And of course, the littlest child of his, who had charmed him already, though she was too small, too tiny to utter a word. Yet she could be ear-splittingly loud, too!He found himself staring in wonder as the baby yawned, exposing her small toothless gums, pink in colour, as he watched her face adoringly. And when Proserpina laughed at him, at the way he fawned over his youngest daughter, the Mafia Don growled at her, his eyes hungrily wandering over her.“Woman, I want to bree
RiaShe was running down a corridor that stretched out endlessly. The sound of the man’s footsteps thundering after her made her pant in fear. He was after her. She stumbled and fell, picked herself up, and kept running, her hands reaching out in the dark for some door, some way out of this place. And then, suddenly, out of the blue, she grabbed a shirt sleeve.The face of the man looked up in front of her.She screamed as Dusak’s face appeared out of the gloom, grinning maniacally.He had blood pouring down his forehead and a large hole in his cheek where he had been shot. But he opened his mouth and spoke in a guttural voice she knew she had heard before.“LOVELY Ria, my Ria, I am going to be with you forever now...'He reached out a long skeletal hand with talons, and that was when Ria screamed.Dusak Rudenko began shaking her throat ungently, and she felt a gurgle of panic erupt within her. A deep fear, unnamed and unknown.And then Philippe’s voice came into her consciousness, be
Lucien stood, staring in shock as a beaming Camille reached out to hand over the little baby to him. He stared in confusion for he had never held any of his newborn kids; it was a first for him.But even as he hesitated, the little child, its skin pink and puckered, a thatch of dark hair on its tiny head, opened one eye and looked at him quizzically an eyebrow raised questioningly, weighing him up critically so to speak, before shutting her eye firmly and ignoring the people around her, her mouth blowing a red raspberry pout.Ria and the other children began to laugh as Lou cried, with a shout of laughter,“Pappa, Sir, she is not impressed by you!’But it was Ria who declared, wonderingly, as she leaned against Lucien, who was holding the precious bundle cupped to his chest fiercely,“Pappa, I think she has Mumma’s colouring!”***ProserpinaI opened my eyes slowly. It felt as though there were weights holding my lids down. It had been a dream that seemed to go on forever, tumultuous
Lucien looked around at his family who were in the large waiting room. The younger boys, Dom and Lou, were piled on a sofa, their mouths open as they snored softly; Tara was curled up in an armchair with Aiyana beside her, an arm draped protectively around the child. The ex-FBI woman sat, her legs folded elegantly even in sleep.James Schwartz was sitting in another chair while the Capo dozed uncomfortably, Ria’s golden head on his lap, Rudy nestled beside her. Lucien’s face softened slightly as he looked at James. As though his thoughts had touched his second in command, the Scotsman stirred and stretched, sitting up, alert in an instant.He looked around himself and met Lucien’s eyes, an unspoken look passing between them.Snoring loudly, Claude was sprawled in abandon, sleeping on a mattress someone had thoughtfully provided, which was spread on the floor, his arms thrown wide, while Paddy had chosen to settle in an armchair close to the corridor leading to the theatre door, positi
She mumbled,"Yes Sir...' and her molten brown eyes, clouded with desire and want, with pain and pleasure, misted over as she looked at him, beseeching him to release her from her need.Her absolute submission aroused him tenfold, and the big man growled shakily, for the sight of her large breasts with the evil clamps fastened to her tender nipples was too much for him.“I shall f*ck your t*ts today, wh*re,’ he said hoarsely, "to punish you. Pain, wh*re, and pleasure."She made a sound, her breasts wobbling as she tried not to shift too much, but he lowered his head to sink his teeth into the fleshy mounds savagely, and she cried out.He tugged lightly at the clamps with his teeth, and she met his eyes, her own filled with tears of pain but she dimpled slightly as she said breathlessly,'Master... I am yours, Lucien Delano..."He grunted.F*ck, but he could never have enough of this delectable offering laid before him: this lush body, the thighs wet with her want, her shining pink c*n