Chapter 14 (Nathaniel's POV)You know that feeling when you got caught as a kid and you got those nervous butterflies while you anxiously awaited the final verdict?Well, that's how I felt right now with Anabelle, Benjamin, and Seth staring at us with those knowing smiles on their faces.They all had their arms crossed over their chest and I just knew they wouldn't let us forget what they saw anytime soon."So, are you love birds ready for breakfast or should we come back a few hours later?" Anabelle asked us with a huge amount of sarcasm in her voice, while both guys tried really hard to stifle their laughs.Honestly, once the first shock went away I was fighting my own fit of laughter as well, especially when I made the mistake of looking at Valentina and saw her mortified face.Judging by her expression you would think she got caught murdering someone, not making out with me.Ouch. It was a bit of a painful comparison for my ego.But in a way, it was also the right one. My brain wo
Chapter 15 (Valentina's POV)Now hold on for a second.How do I manage to end up in this kind of position every few hours?I had no awkward run-ins in so many years, but then this infuriating man comes along and here I am in a compromising position for the third time in a matter of days. Well in a matter of minutes since the last time to be exact.But damn do his lips feel good. And he knows what he is doing as well.Oh, Valentina you stupid girl. Of course, he does. He is a hockey player after all.His hand was tangled in my hair but not in a painful way, and I couldn't help but tangle my hands in his as well. Each time his kisses started to become faint and soft I pulled on his hair so I got more action.This time though I was determined no one would disturb the action.So I pushed off him and if I said he was shocked it would be an understatement. "Get on the bed before I change my mind!" I wasn't even halfway through with my sentence when I was already locking my bedroom door. I
Chapter 16 (Nathaniel's POV)Waking up next to a warm body always scared me. Don't ask me about the reasoning behind this fear because I have no idea. But since I can remember I had this weird fear of commitment. So I never dated any girl. At least not exclusively. There were no sleepovers, either we met at her place, got down to business, and then I left or we met at my place and she left afterward. Either way, like I said no women slept over at my place, and neither did I at theirs.So when I woke up this morning and didn't feel any fear when I realized Valentina was wrapped around me I was shocked, to say the least.But I couldn't really lie. It felt nice. And instead of running away, I wrapped my arm around her a bit tighter and just enjoyed the feeling.As I was listening to the calming bit of Valentina's heart I slowly drifted back into dreamland.Next time though when I woke up, the spot next to me was empty and cold, but nice smells were coming from the kitchen and my stomach
Chapter 17 (Valentina's POV)"Go Hawks! Get them, Nathaniel! No, no Benjamin, catch that one!"Uhm yes. That's the life of a sports reporter. Well, mine and Anabelle's because she is as loud as I am. But she mostly cheers for Seth, where I try to stay neutral. The main word in this sentence is trying.Since I and Nathaniel kind of became a thing I realized his name pops out of my mouth more often than other names.I know it's weird.But somehow I just can't hate him. I can't even pretend to hate him anymore.And he became a pretty important part of my everyday life.What he doesn't know though is that I am secretly putting every detail he tells me and I find interesting into my notes so I can turn it into that one article that would bring me a better job, that job on national television.It is backstabbing and sneaky I know, but I will tell him before I publish it.So far I have a good handle on everything but my boss is kind of pressuring me into submitting some kind of evidence that
Chapter 18 (Nathaniel's POV)As we finished the game we went straight for the locker room. We won this time but our game was still not the best it could be.And the weakest part of our team was definitely Sanches. He was so self-absorbed and arrogant on the ice and of it as well. Claiming yourself to be the hockey god but still not giving any results on the ice was arrogance in my opinion.And of the ice, it only got worse. It was as if he thought he was the only man with a dick between his legs.So of course I was not in any kind of hurry when Sanches got dressed first and left the locker room. I wanted to leave as much space between me and him as possible.He was an enormous pain in our asses, even coach Irving couldn't stand the sight of him.But he said a week or so ago that he can't really get rid of him without good reason. Looks like his daddy was some big shot in hockey. So it seems we just need him to fuck up something. And let's hope that happens sooner rather than later.
Chapter 19 (Valentina's POV)As we approached Nathaniel's apartment started to be more and more nervous with every passing mile.We were silent the whole ride but not once did he let go of my hand which was comforting me at least a little. You probably wonder what I was worried about, but you see I never told anyone about my foster brother. Even Anabelle knew just because she was present when it happened. I never went to the cops to report him or tell my foster parents. As if they would even care. Damon was after all their only child. By blood I mean. They had him and after that, some medical problems occurred, which led to Miss. Johnson being unable to have any more kids. So they took in foster kids. But they were not the best parents, at least not to us. Damon could get away with anything. That's why I never told them about the attempted rape. Would they believe me or their golden son?And since that day I always felt kind of dirty. I thought people would judge me for what I did to
Chapter 20 (Nathaniel's POV)So many things made sense right now.What made the most sense though at the moment was the fact that I was livid. If given a chance I would gladly punch something or someone right now.I know I was not thinking rationally right now but just imagining Valentina in that position was sending fire through my blood.But looking at my girl I could see she was looking at me with caution. Damn it! Did my anger scare her? I took a deep breath and moved closer to her to envelop her in my arms. I needed that comfort as much as she needed it right now."Are you mad at me? Do you find me repulsive now that you know my story?"Wait. What? Is she serious right now?First, it took me a moment to even process her words."Valentina. Why on earth would I be mad at you? I am mad because you went through all this crap and you had absolutely no one except for Anabelle to look after you. I am pissed because you were both left to fend for yourself at such a young age, that is the
Chapter 22 (Valentina's POV)After my little break down it all went back to how it was before. No. Let me rephrase that. It was even better than it was before. Sure I was still sassy and a pain in Nathaniel's ass but he reassured me many times that he loved me just the way I was. With all my smart-ass comments and sassy attitude.So yes. We were as strong as we could be at the moment.Today was my first day of going back to my work office because I needed to put together all the articles for publishing and the boys had a week off so I guess I had a week off as well. But only by following them around, I still had my job that had to be taken care of as well.As I arrived at the office it was empty which was no surprise at all. All my coworkers were probably out chasing their stories. On the bright side, I had the whole office to myself and that meant I would be done with my work sooner than I thought. And because of that I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Nathaniel.Valentin
Chapter 27 (Loraine’s POV) epilogue Some years later… “Andrew! The girls will be here any minute, could you get Samuel ready for me please?” Before you make any assumptions let us make something clear. Samuel is our son, and he is three years old. As weird and unthinkable as it might sound, all girls gave birth to a child in the same year. Sure, there were differences, Valentina and Nathaniel had three kids. The first one was a little girl named Daisy, who was not so little anymore since she was nine years old already. Second was a boy named Gareth, he was six years old and the last was Penelope who was three years old as well as our Samuel. Then there was Anabelle and Seth. They had two kids, twins to be exact. A boy and a girl, Samantha, and Sam, they were three years old as well. If we move forward, we have Anastasia and Benjamin, they had just one kid the same as me and Andrew, and the little three years old princesses’ name was Lory. The next in line would be Malcolm and Mandy
Chapter 26 (Andrew’s POV)We were on our way to the airport and of course, with Malcolm in the car we were driving over the speed limit and if a police officer pulled us over there would be hell to pay once he realized who the driver was, but mostly no one dared stop Malcolm, even the new guys knew his car and just waved when he passed. But in my opinion, we were still not driving fast enough. I wanted to be at the airport already, deal with the bastard and wrap my Loraine in my arms where I knew I could keep her safe.But as much as I wanted to yell and rant and be a smart ass, I knew I was thinking irrationally so I rather just sat back and kept my mouth shut. That and the fact that Malcolm threatened to throw me out of the car if I dared be loud.Thankfully we arrived at the airport just when my patience was running low. But as we stopped the car, I could not believe my eyes. There was a plane, ready to take off at any moment, but the stairs were still pulled out and firmly on the
Chapter 25 (Loraine’s POV)Either these people were stupid, or they just assumed I knew London so well that I did not need to have my eyes covered while we were driving to the airport. Or maybe it was just the fact that they were so sure I would not be going anywhere except board the plane to Washington.Too bad for them because I had every intention to run away as fast as my legs could carry me, especially now that I knew two of six guys were on my side. Two of those guys that were not on my side are going into the plane’s cabin to make sure everything is set up and two will be completely oblivious to my attempt thanks to my accomplices. I still had no idea what their moto was, but I was not about to ask them since I was just happy to have someone willing to help me get away without a need to kill someone.You see all my self defense classes and so on that I was taking while on the run were in case, I found some place I want to stay and not run anymore, but before London there was no
Chapter 24 (Andrew’s POV)“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE IS FUCKING GONE?! YOU STUPID BUNCH OF IMBECILS! HOW COULD YOU LET HER SLIP OUT OF THE CLUB WITHOUT ANY OF YOU NOTICING!?” As you can see, saying I was pissed would be a huge understatement, because I was livid! Somehow, while we were celebrating our win in the office with Malcolm and the girls, and a few minutes later with their boyfriends as well, Loraine managed to slip out of the club and disappeared into thin air.If you would tell me a week ago, she disappeared I would probably believe she ran away like she did every time in the past eight years when something or someone got too close to her and her heart, but today I was sure she did not run away. She promised me that she would not run away, and she would stay with me for as long as I wanted her and on the other hand, the fact that Rodriguez was just leaving my club when Loraine mysteriously disappeared just did not stop nagging me. So, I had my suspicion that he had something to d
Chapter 23 (Loraine’s POV)Today was the first time in my whole life that I remember standing up to myself for as long as I can remember. Not once when I was married was, I willing to do so. I just swallowed everything that was thrown my way. I never yelled at the man or talked back, I never told him my opinion, never objected to his decisions about my life, nothing.And the feeling was kind of refreshing and new. It felt amazing.Now, you see I stopped smoking years ago, it was bad for my health and all that and honestly it was just an expensive habit. But at this moment I felt like I was on top of the world and decided to treat myself to one cigarette you could say for old times’ sake, so I can finally close the door on every bad decision I made in the past.I was at the back entrance when I heard steps approaching but I thought it was sure one of the girls or maybe Andrew, so I stayed put and did not even turn around to see who it was, a big mistake.Next thing I know someone was h
Chapter 22 (Andrew’s POV)The thought of pinching myself and seeing if I was even awake crossed my mind, but nothing felt as good even in dreams as Loraine felt in my arms. She said it. Those fears I had for the past few weeks since I realized I fell for this woman melted away like ice cream on a hot sunny day.Now the only thing left was for us to deal with Rodriguez once and for all. But that was not mine decision, I stopped kissing her and moved a bit away but still kept our foreheads pressed close together, “Are you ready to deal with the demons of the past?”She gave me a nod which was a bit hesitant, but honestly if I was in her shoes and had to deal with someone like Rodriguez, I would be hesitant as well. I took one of her hands in mine and gave her a squeeze to show her that she was not alone.As we rounded the corner, I could not help it but look around and once again it surprised me how self-assured the man really was. He took only five men with him and all of them were in
Chapter 21 (Loraine’s POV)How could he do that? If I had to guess, from what I saw in the office I would say Andrew knew about my past and he knew it well. So first of all, he was hiding the fact that he knows about everything from me, or maybe I can find an excuse for him and say he just found out, but I doubt that since he has been a bit weird for the past few weeks and especially today. But I am willing to tell myself anything to feel a bit better, and right now I needed to believe Andrew did not betray me like everyone else in my life did.At the moment I was sitting by the river that was right next to the club, and yes, I know I did not go far from everything, but it was far enough that Rodriguez would not think I came here, he probably thought that I ran away already like I always do when he finds me, but this time was different. I had friends, I had a job that I liked, and I hope they cared for me as well. I had a good life, and I was actually looking forward to the future. I
Chapter 20 (Andrew’s POV)The moment Loraine barged into my office I knew something was going to go awfully wrong and as usual I was proven right when the asshole opened his mouth.Thankfully me and Malcolm seem to be on the same page because when Loraine ran out of my office as if she was on fire, we both jumped to our feet, but since I was in my usual seat and Malcolm was right next to Rodriguez, he was the one that landed a solid punch to his face and probably broke his nose in the process judging by the crunching sound that could be heard, “You idiot! You just broke my nose! What in the ever-loving hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea who you are dealing with? I can have you erased from the surface of the earth in a moment!” technically, if we were not who we are, he would be right, but since we were one of the strongest mafia organizations in the world, well, sadly for him, he was wrong. Sure, we were operating on legal grounds, but that was actually a plus on our side, b
Chapter 19 (Loraine’s POV) Something did not feel right. I could not put my finger on it, but my gut was telling me to go back to the club. Why? I had no idea but the opportunity to do so presented itself when Mandy asked me to put the car keys into my purse, because I was the only one that remembered to take a big enough purse to put in my wallet, phone and all the girly necessities but still had some space to put in the keys as well. Now I just had to come up with a plan to get away from them with a believable excuse, ran to the parking lot and drive back to the club so this awful feeling would go away. Even if I drove for nothing, I would still feel better if I followed my instincts and honestly, I doubted my gut was warning me for nothing. I know to some people it might sound stupid to follow your gut or your instincts, but those two things saved me more than once in the past years while I was being on the run. So, there was no way I would ignore it. As we walked around the sho