The announcer got on the stage and began the event, the cheers of men filling the room. Every boxer was equally frightening, with tattoos and scars and wounds and bandages. The first round began with two men greeting each other with a simple handshake and a nod, which turned bloody very soon. They
He wrapped his hands around my waist, and his warm breath fell on my ear. I wanted to melt into his body, not caring if I was caught. I wished I could forget about Dom and Adonis and give in to my inner turmoil that wanted to devour De Luca and be ruined by him. “I know you feel it too,” he mumbled
LUCIANO The first time I had felt uncontrolled anger was when a man had accidentally bumped into my mother’s chest at a mall. I did not need Ma to say aloud what had happened, but the way her face had reddened, the way she had stammered and her entire body had shaken, I knew what that man had done.
How could Terenzio ask me to ignore those men when he should have killed them for disrespecting me—his fiancé? Gentleman, my ass! Then there was Luciano. I was thankful to him for doing at least half of what Terenzio should have done. However, I hated how this incident had portrayed me as most of t
ROSALINE I opened the door to our mansion and walked in, my head heavy with the events at the arena. A date with Terenzio after everything that had happened? I could not even look him in the eye for longer than seconds. “Thanks for tonight,” I said, turning around to meet Terenzio’s gaze. He had
“That’s not what I meant.” Looking up at him, I smiled and said, “If I had gone on the date, you would’ve called me for the tenth time by now.” He chuckled and sat down next to me, an elbow propped on his knee. “What you did at the arena was the right thing to do. You did your job as a brother, so
ROSALINE It was Friday already, and time for me to leave for my mama’s place. I dreaded today because my guilt nagged me every fucking second. Fabiola was beside me on the couch, her legs folded and hands holding the coffee mug. Bella and Alessia were in the kitchen, the sound of their laughter fi
“I know, brother. Now stop being a creep and go.” I flashed him a mischievous grin and trudged toward Mama, exhausted from the four-hour drive from New York to Boston. Mama wrapped her hands around me in a firm embrace, but I knew she was watching Dom, hoping he would say something to her. But, as
“Thank fuck, you’re here,” Pietro sounded. “She didn’t take an epidural or whatever the fuck that is.” “What?” Rose had told me about it, how it could reduce the pain. But if she had not taken it— A loud cry sounded from the other side of the door, and my breath hitched. “Luciano, you need to go
LUCIANO “Have our men withdrawn from New York?” I asked, scrolling through the articles on my laptop. “It’s been eight fucking months since the break.” The inactivity in the east and west, both Cosa Nostra and Outfit, had been very nerve-wracking. Since the dramatic outbreak between Belle and Adon
I smiled. “What do you plan?”“Do you have any plans?”“Nothing big, but I was hoping to buy a country house.” Her smile lit up. “I mean, we certainly can’t raise this kid and our future children in a penthouse. They need a proper environment, sizeable space to run around.”“Our future children? How
Luciano was at the altar, his hands behind his back, his curly, dirty-blond hair pushed back, and behind him was Pietro, dressed in a tuxedo, since he was the best man along with Rione, and Lys and Sabina were the bridesmaids.I met Luciano’s stare and every thought I had left my mind. Even with all
ROSALINEI was not sure why I was doing this. What I knew was my attempts would go in vain and I would be shattered yet again, but I had to try one last time. I had to call Dom.Standing in front of the long mirror—dressed in an off-shoulder sheath-wedding gown with netted sleeves and hair properly
“Even my extra weight?”“Yeah, even my child’s weight.” Smirking, he added, “I liked you with the pink hair. What else could you possibly want?”“Okay, my pink hair wasn’t that bad.”***“There’s a tradition we should talk about,” Luciano said, coming out of the washroom in nothing but a towel wrapp
My eyes widened. “Shit! That was you?”“Do I look that different now?” he asked with his head tilted to the side.“We were in the garden with very low-quality lighting. I did not see your face properly. You were alone, and I thought of keeping you company.”“By asking me to fetch you a drink?”I nar
ROSALINE[SIX MONTHS LATER]I doubted I would ever stay in the studio apartment, except for when I was working. The good thing about this place was it was right above my own office for wedding planning and coordination. After months of research, I was finally into it. Besides, I enjoyed planning the
“I hate it when you try to be one.”Soft laughter tore out of his throat and I licked his bottom lip. His mouth parted immediately but I had other plans. Drawing my face close to his cheeks, I kissed him and then traced my tongue down the stubble to his jawline.He closed his eyes and released a sha