Luca didn’t speak much on the ride back to my penthouse. His jaw was clenched tight, and the dried blood on his shirt made my stomach turn. I sat beside him in agonizing silence, curled up against the door of the car, my heart still racing from the horror we had just escaped.But had we really escaped?Vince was still in Caesar’s den. And I had no idea what they were doing to him.When we got home, I barely made it to the living room before collapsing onto the couch. My hands were shaking. My skin felt cold and clammy. I could still see Vince in my mind... on his knees, bleeding, cuffed.“Do you want anything?” Luca asked quietly. His voice was hoarse. I looked up at him; he was standing over me with a defeated demeanor. “Water? Tea?”I shook my head. I didn't want anything, I just want to be in Vince's arms. Safe and secured.There was a long silence before he sighed and came to sit beside me. I pulled my knees up to my chest and stared out at the city lights. It felt wrong that the
A cold metal was pressed into me, sending chills down my spine. Caesar’s grip on my arm tightened with every breath I took. I couldn’t stop shaking, my head was filled with too many questions... like how Vince was in Seattle and not Chicago.I peeked up at him with fluttering eyes. He stood tall at the entrance, his expression murderous. There were two equally huge armed men behind him, ready to attack if he so much as lunged for Caesar."How dare you bring her here! To the fucking dome!" Vince's roar shook the room. "Count your days, Caesaro.""Easy with the empty threats, Romero. I have your girl and your brother. I decide who lives and who dies. Even your own fate lies in my hands."Luca! They had Luca too.Vince's eyes moved to me and in a flash, I saw the softness he showed only when we were alone. When he turned his gaze back to Caesar, his eyes darkened. "What do you want?" he grumbled.At this, Caesar chuckled, his chest pushing against me."You know what I want, Re. You know
There was water spilled all over my documents.I had just arrived at work, quite early, as usual, snd the office was practically empty. Only one other person was present.Felicia.Her head was bowed in her cubicle, but I could feel the guilt radiating off her.It was obvious she had done it."I know you did this, Felicia," I snarled, storming toward her cubicle.She looked up from her computer and scoffed. "You can't just accuse me like that! You don't even know me!" she said, mimicking my voice.My anger flared up."Why would you—""What's up, guys?" Isaiah strolled in, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He stopped mid-stride, eyeing the tension between us. "What’s going on now? Did HR send another complaint?""Felicia spilled water all over my documents!" I snapped."Hey!" she shot back. "Don’t you dare accuse me of things I didn’t do!"A knock on the door silenced the room. A young woman stepped in, her expression unreadable."Ms. Reese?" she asked, her eyes landing on me.I str
Luca still wasn’t home when I got back, and that left an empty feeling in me. His scent still lingered in the lounge, the kitchen, even the balcony. It was everywhere like a painful reminder. I missed him terribly. “Alexa, call Luca,” I said to my smart speaker. She immediately registered the command. I bit my fingers, nervously waiting to hear his voice as the phone rang. “Jess?” His voice echoed softly through the room. “Luca. Hi.” My heart drummed in my chest as flashes of last night flooded my mind. “You okay?” he asked. “Yeah… uh, you left,” I said, unsure how to sound casual when all I felt was abandoned. “Yeah. Vince needed me in Chicago,” he stated plainly. “What? I thought he was coming to Seattle tonight.” “Something came up. Really important. But we’ll be back before the weekend, okay?” And Vince didn’t think to inform me!? “Okay,” I replied, making a mental note to ignore any Mafia-related calls or texts until tomorrow. “Gotta go. Bye,” he sai
I heard Luca drive out before the sun came up. I wondered if he would be returning, his door had been locked and that was unusual. What if Vince had asked him to leave upon his return? What if Vince knew about last night and was going to punish Luca or send him away to fight in Africa?Oh God, I was getting paranoid, and that was absolutely not what I needed on the morning of my first day at work. So, I shook off the feeling and headed into the bathroom. I was running late, changing into different outfits repeatedly because I wanted to look my best. Finally, I settled on the basics—a white chiffon blouse tucked into a black skirt, paired with a Chanel belt and purse. I slipped on my expensive red-bottom heels, and my hair was perfectly curled. I was dressed for success. Walking down the hallways of Howards felt like a dream come true. I remembered my first year in college, there was a magazine article about the top five publishers. Howards was number one. I had done more resea
My shirt was off in a split second, my shorts were next. I wasn’t wearing any panties, so I was as naked as the day I was born.Luca stared down at me, watching my whole body unabashedly like it was his to watch.“You’re so pretty. You’re like a... princess, the kind I watched when I was a kid, the kind only a good and noble prince should touch. Sometimes, I get scared I might dirty you up with my hands.” He was blabbing, blabbing about how pretty I was, and it seized up my breaths.“Luca—” I wanted to speak, but he shut me up with a kiss, and I was in ecstasy again. I whined into his mouth, moaning and twirling my tongue around his hot one. His erection was pressed into my side as he rubbed against me, his hand making a fist in my hair as he continued assaulting my mouth.I was left needy, my lips swollen when he broke our kiss.I swallowed, watching him as he inched downwards so he was face to face with my pussy.“She’s bare and she’s shining,” he whispered, looking at my snatch wit
I was pressed against the cold marble wall, my heart pounding. It’s been what? Three months? Four months? Since I last saw Toby. He looked so much thinner, more tattoos, his once curly brown hair that touched his nape was shaved off. His amber eyes, almost black, like he’d seen hell and back. What exactly happened to him!? “Toby, what are you doing here?” My eyes were wide like I couldn't believe he was in here, still alive. “I should be asking you that, Jess. How the fuck are you in Seattle—and here of all places!?” He snapped. “I thought—” “You thought Vincenzo killed me?” He huffed. “Nah. I got good friends who paid off my debt to that evil son of a bitch. Ever heard of Caesar Augusto? Yeah, he saved my ass.” Caesar Augusto? Who was that? “Where have you been?” I asked, the name 'Caeser Augusto'' registering itself in my mind. “Here in Seattle.” He shrugged. He paused, taking a long look at me. “So you’re friends with the Black Cross Mafia now?” “What?” I blurted out like
The smell of bacon woke me from sleep. I yawned, stretching as my body sprang to life. The weather was chilly from the storm last night. My nostrils were clogged, and I felt a little sick. I went downstairs, sniffing after the delicious aroma. I got to the kitchen, and my eyes were blessed with the drool-worthy view of Luca, shirtless and cooking. It was too early to be horny, I had just woken up but damn, Luca shirtless and cooking was the sluttiest thing ever. I leaned against the doorway, taking a moment to watch him quietly. "Hi," I spoke after a few seconds. He turned, a frying pan in his hand. "Hey," he grinned, showing off his perfect dentition. My eyes traveled down to his mouth-watering six—no, eight—packs. I swallowed. "You're making bacon and eggs sandwich?" I stepped further into the kitchen. "Yup. Thought I'd do it quickly before you woke up." I smiled, my heart warming up. "Mmm, is this part of the job description?" "He did say I should take care of yo
It was raining heavily. I was wrapped in a pink cashmere blanket, sipping hot tea as I stood by the balcony, watching the raindrops slide down the glass, deep in thought.My first day of work was in two days. I wondered if life would be peaceful then—I hoped it would. But deep down, I knew it was near impossible.Not with Vince and Luca constantly in my life. They were like crutches I couldn’t do without, yet they kept me crippled, caged, stagnant. There was no freedom with them."Why aren’t you sleeping?" Luca’s voice startled me.I turned to look at him. He was in a black tee and plaid pajama pants."Nothing. Just thinking," I exhaled, turning away from him.He stepped forward, standing beside me. My body hummed at his closeness."Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted?" he asked, drawing my attention back to him. His eyes narrowed, "A nice house in Seattle, your dream job.""It’s not that simple."He huffed, then looked forward. "Life isn’t always black and white, Jessie."I wanted t