Armando

I stared at the screen in front of me with hollow eyes. The events of last night kept playing in my head like a tape, with no ending. The way she accepted my reasons and her eyes sparkled with hope regarding this relationship made me feel weird. I was not sure if what I was doing was correct or not, but it was for the best in the end. Aurora was still unaware of the secret agreement I made with her father in the presence of her elder brother- Sebastian- before we got married. 

"We all know that this is a marriage of convenience, and we still do not trust each other" I spoke in a deep voice as I observed Lucio Vero in his usual white expensive suit. The long grey beard depicted how long he has been in this industry just like my father. His sharp eyes gazed at mine with a hint of amusement. 

"Something that I expected but still you never fail to make me surprise Russo. Have to admit, you are way better than your father" A nerve in my jaw ticked at his remark. I know what he was trying to do, pushing my buttons to test if I was good enough for such a proposal. Well, he doesn't have any choice. 

"Very flattering Mr Vero. But I am enough for you, my father doesn't entertain people who are too easy to handle"  A dark expression passed through his face as I completed my words. Sebastian inhaled sharply but didn't react much. I passed him a not-so-sweet smile and continued. "We are the most powerful business families in Italy and an easy target of Dominic Mancini. Your proposal of marriage seems valid, but what's the guarantee that this solution will long last? If we succeed, which I am sure that we will in defeating Dominic Mancini, then what about this marriage? We all would agree when I say that we don't want to tolerate each other for the rest of our lives" 

Lucio smirked as he played with his shining watch. "I agree, which is why, this would be a contractual marriage. Upon succeeding, there is no reason to continue. We will part ways" The idea didn't sit right with me. What about media? What about our reputation? I gazed at them with calculative eyes, trying to find out what they were thinking, but on the other note, their reputation was also at stake. I decided to agree with this idea since it did not disclose any sort of harm, but I will be careful. 

"I am fine with this contract. You can have a word with your daughter and I will have a word with my father" I gazed at Sebastian as I said so. 

"Involving the women would only bring chaos. They can be way too emotional. And I am pretty sure that none of you would expect anything from each other considering our family history. Our sole focus should be on defeating Dominic Mancini" Lucio commented and I thought briefly before agreeing. His words did make sense to some extent. 

I was sure back then that everything would run smoothly, but now I am hesitant. Aurora was expecting something more from me, from this marriage and if she became aware of the contract thing that I signed then everything would be destroyed. 

She will destroy 

My gaze turned dark at this mere thought. What did I get myself into? The danger of Dominic seemed fragile as compared to the one that I was in. Even though I calmed the situation and made her believe that I was ready to make things work between us, only I knew how this would end. I did that to carry on with my plan to defeat Dominic but at the cost of her happiness. 

"You are in a messed up situation Armando" I mumbled to myself and let out a deep sigh, running my fingers through my hair in the process. Never in my life have I been scared for someone, and even I failed to understand why. I did mention to her that I liked her, but what I have been feeling is something else than a mere attraction. 

"What situation?" My heartbeats increased as Aurora's sweet voice passed through my ears. I looked up only to see her in her formal attire, with a takeaway container in her hand. She came to visit me in my office. With food. Something in my chest drummed at a fast pace that I even forgot to breathe. This mere gesture made me feel warm. Her green eyes stared softly at me as she entered my cabin before closing the door behind her. 

"I didn't mean to interrupt, I thought it would be nice to eat together" She started with a smile on her face that went straight into my heart. I feared that she might hear the intense beating drums. 

"No, you were not. You can come here whenever you like" I replied, closed my laptop and stood up. We both sat down on the couch near the table. I watched as she opened the container revealing chicken stir-fried noodles from one of my favourite Chinese restaurants. "You got them from Tien Tsin?" I asked as my eyes travelled towards the packaging. Aurora cleared her throat and avoided my gaze as she spoke in a subtle voice. 

"Yes, I did. I felt like eating Chinese cuisine today. Don't you like it?" She asked as she took out the forks and drinks while I smiled. 

Adorable.

I leaned near her face and whispered. "I love it". Her body went stiff and I pulled away, acting as if nothing happened and proceeded to eat. "How did you know that I love stir-fried chicken noodles?" I asked while eating and watched her hiding her expression. 

"I did not. I love them too. What a coincidence right?" She let out a wry chuckle to ease the situation. I hummed and asked again. I loved seeing this side of hers. "So it's a coincidence? Not even a chance of you asking Martha?" She stopped and looked into my eyes with seriousness. 

"Why would I do that?" She replied and I smirked, knowing that I had caught her red-handed. "Because last time I remember, you hated Chinese food" Her expression changed into a shocked one as she stared at me.

"How do you-"

"When we went to meet your friend, Lucu-"

"His name is Luca" She squinted her eyes at me while I rolled mine. "Yeah, whatever". I replied calmly and concentrated on eating. 

"Why do you hate him? He is such a sweetheart" She spoke while smiling making me stop. 

"Yeah, a sweetheart who was flirting with my wife in front of my eyes". Good thing he didn't make it to the wedding otherwise I would have been charged with murdering him. I replied and she smiled, it wasn't an innocent one. 

"You look cute when you are jealous" She spoke and I tilted my head in her direction. 

"I can look more than cute when I am jealous" I replied in a deep voice. Her smile from earlier faded as we stared into each other's eyes. The atmosphere around us got thick, the only difference was none of us backed away. There was a hint of approval in those beautiful eyes and I didn't realise when our faces came close to each other. I heard her breath shuddering when I touched her jaw. 

Oh God! 

It was a torture. Not touching her, not claiming those lips that were begging to be claimed, it was pure torture. She closed her eyes when my lips landed on her swan-like neck, peppering it with kisses. Her breathing turned shorter with each passing minute as my lips travelled up to her face, and finally on her luscious lips. I groaned when her hands tangled in my hair and pulled me closer. The feeling was so addicting, so addicting that I didn't want to let go of her. I was enchanted by her spell, her magical spell and wished to be at her mercy for the rest of my life. 

I was hers and she was mine. 

My hands trailed around her waist and in a swift motion, she was on my lap as none of us pulled away from the kiss. Her hands rested on my shoulders while mine caressed her waist, feeling the heat of her body against them made me hard. With a last suck on her bottom lip, I pulled away and buried my face in the crook of her neck, making sure to leave my marks to let everyone know whom she belongs to. 

She moaned when I harshly sucked on her skin and I swore to God that it turned me on so much. It was pure bliss to hear the most addictive and sweet voice coming out of her mouth. I glanced at her face and lost control upon watching her expressions. Eyes closed, parted lips, flushed face- mine! All mine! My eyes turned dark in pure desire as I went further down and stopped at the valley of her breasts. She sucked a sharp breath when I licked on her soft skin. 

"Who do you belong to little dove?" I asked as one of my hands travelled up to cup her right breast. She shuddered when I caressed my thumb on her clothed nipple, feeling it getting hard. 

"I-I" She tried to speak but the things that I was doing to her restrained her from saying so. I chuckled darkly and coiled my fingers on the back of her neck, bringing her face closer to mine. She opened her eyes and stared into my dark grey ones with so much desire for me. Yes, that's how it should be. She should be staring this way only at me, only me and not some other guy. 

"Words Aurora" I commanded in a deep voice as I gritted my teeth. 

"Y-You. I belong to you" 

"That's right little dove, and always remember that. You belong to me, you don't even belong to yourself anymore" I muttered under my breath and captured her lips with mine, savouring this moment for as long as I could. Her hands trailed all over my chest before they landed on the first button of my shirt. I smirked between the kiss seeing her desperate, and it made me happy that she also wanted me as much as I wanted her. Before she could succeed I stopped her, earning a whine from her. 

"Trust me, baby, I want to do this and you can't imagine how desperate I am, but this is not the right place. I want to make it special for both of us" I looked into her eyes with a genuine expression and her expression changed into a soft one. She might have not expected such a thing from me but I didn't make fake promises to her last night. I will give my one hundred per cent to make this relationship work and might find a solution for this contractual marriage because there is no way I am letting go of her. 

She let out a shy smile and avoided my gaze making my heart warm. She was making me crazy, and I wasn't complaining. Not even a bit. A knock on the door ruined our moment and I cursed under my breath. Aurora chuckled before climbing off of me and sat next to me not before fixing herself. My gaze travelled down to her neck which had some marks and I felt proud. 

"You might wanna hide them" I informed and her eyes widened as she touched her neck. 

"Armando!" She whispered and quickly stood up, not before taking her purse along with her and rushing inside the bathroom that was in the corner of the room. I let out a small laugh and asked the person to come in who was waiting on the other side of the door.

"Apologies for the interruption sire, but Mr Russo asked me to remind you that Ms Russo will be coming to Italy tomorrow and he has asked for your presence along with Mrs Russo at the airport, followed by a family dinner with the Veros" Marco informed and the colour drained out of my face in response to his words.

An entire day with the Veros...

Isabella's engagement with Sebastian with the fact that she isn't aware of such information.

Oh, it's going to be a long day...

[TO BE CONTINUED]