"FUCK DAMNIT!" Rune yelledAdler's brows lowered, turning to find Rune dipping his burnt thumb into his mouth, sucking on it.Shaking his head, Adler returned to set the heat in the oven, and his eyes squinted, lost in the work. Done, he sighed, and with his apron, he wiped his flour-covered hands.The cooks who had been overthrown and pushed aside gave each other nervous glances, their fingers fidgety as they watched their bosses tend to the burners and stir-fried and steam.Adler holding up a jar of pepper, gazed into the recipe book, trying to make sense of the tiny writing, shrugging he dumped the whole content of the jar into the steaming pot."Man" Rune was on his heels, standing with his back towards Adler; he peered into the pot, then picked up the recipe book, "It says just half a spoonful, and here's the heat in hell," his voice trailed when he began coughing, "Man no human can eat this."Coughing and struggling with the overwhelming spiciness of the dish, Rune quickly grabb
She had him out of his mind, the fluidity in how her lips moved against his, her fingers around his arm, while his hands snaked around her waist, drawing her into him to take more, give more.When she parted her knees, he moved close to her, and at that moment, he felt the ground melt beneath his feet. She was every shade of perfection. Like a drug, she was goddamn intoxicating.And he couldn't just get enough.He wanted to own every part of her, Mark her as his just the same way she had cluelessly marked him as hers.Her lips were warm, inviting, sending jolts of electricity into him with her every yield.Adler knew he had to stop, he knew he was going too far when his hands were pushing under her shirt to get in contact with her skin, but with each whiff of her scent, a lot was happening. A lot that he couldn't explain. "Adler!" he heard his father callAnd in a flash, he felt her body freeze against his, breaking the kiss; she faced the floor, pressing her forehead against his ch
[RUNE]He was used to getting hit for his mistakes, or what they told him was his mistake, to the extent he often wanted it—needed it.Got a couple of teeth knocked out as a result, and he would dare anyone to point out the fake dental.Now held up with his arms by two other soldiers behind him, head hung and mouth coated with blood, he tried to focus, focus on the legs in front of him, pacing his room."You think you're something, don't you, little shit?" Domenico's voice was hard to keep track of. Even his view was gradually getting impaired. "Again," the voice was calm, but the command carried dread.When the fist slammed into his mid region for the hundredth time, Rune shut his eyes, teeth clenched firmly against each other, refusing to let gasps out.Knees unable to hold him up, he slowly slid down, but the firm grip of the men behind him had him up again.'No more, please no more,' he pleaded in his head, knowing Boss Domenico was one to end his life if he was to hear any plea
LILY'S POV I was back in front of the mirror, my fingers trailing on my lips, trying to make sense of my situation, ignoring the sudden jolt of shock coursing through me when I remembered the night before.So let me get this straight, he's offering me help and also obviously wants to have something to do with me. He stares at me when I least expect it. Cook me dinner, although he's terrible at it, and then kisses me.I felt a shiver run down my spine. Was this right?He was Don, an influential figure, not forgetting how much his father hated me and threatened to cut my face.The way he glared at me when he bumped into us in the kitchen, I wasn't ready to bear that icy sneer again.And that Adler had made it even worse by kissing my head in front of his father, had my situation worsened.Even when I had fled the kitchen back to the room, despite his last warning on me leaving the door fucking open, I couldn't. Throughout the night, the terror didn't let me sleep, so sitting on the bed
[ADLER]He couldn't explain why the day had begun in darkness, eyes flashing open, and he felt it, breathed it in, the feeling of loss surrounding him, closing him in, intent on smashing him to pieces.It had to be because it was the beginning of a new week, the week his mother was stolen from him, right before his eyes, the bullet searing past his face and burying itself into her head.And that was why his bones suddenly felt heavy, why he was hallucinating so hard. He had seen her everywhere. Standing in front of the sink, he saw her in the mirror.He caught a glint of her making a turn in the manor, up the stairs. He thought he had seen her during the gun trade some hours ago, where he had inadvertently opened fire.The result of his frustration wasn't pretty, and he knew it wasn't all because of the double-crossing. It was because each time he caught sight of his mother, each time she turned and smiled at him, she faded away.All he could do was stay still, watching the storm take
LILY'S POV."Would you like to do it with me?"It never occurred to me that I would be in the quietness of Adler's room before him and asking that question, offering him a deal. To help out.For his benefit, Help him sleep.Why not let him ask? Because he wouldn't, looking like that and acting all soft, I was beginning to think I wasn't about to do this just for him; I also wanted to trail my fingers down his tanned, muscled body.My thoughts had been raging wild from the moment he opened the door with only a towel wrapped around his waist, and the body I saw, the strength I stumbled upon, didn't fit with the personality in the kitchen.It didn't fit the way he kissed the top of my head, or the way he smiled at me, or even looked at me.And I wanted him to do more than just kiss me again, more than just touch me. I wanted to see what he was when he gave in to animalistic instincts.He stared at my frame, his eyes darkening as he took in my more petite figure, barefoot in his room, ni
RUNES.That the first sensation he had woken up to was a bout of headache showed how much the invisible being that ruled the universe hated him.He meant, wasn't it enough making him easy to be picked on, a mouth that always got him knocked out, the drop-dead gorgeous face that ladies couldn't resist?What were the curses for? He didn't ask to be born.Paradise would be waking to a blow job while chained to a bedpost, but then it was too much for the universe to answer his fucking prayers.Apart from this location not resembling his room, which was the sole threshold to fulfilling his prayers, it was evident that such a scenario would never transpire. As he attempted to wipe his eyes using his right hand's thumb, the jingling of chains echoed alongside his every motion.His eyes flew open, a bad mistake. The ache found its way deep into his skull that, unable to take anymore, he fell back on the bed, cursing."Welcome back, Rune..."Despite Rune's curiosity hitting hard, he knew bett
[SARA.]The sheets up to her chest, Sara's eyes stayed with him at the edge of the bed, his back stooped over a blade he was carefully running through an oiled cloth.The katana was his favorite possession, the pretty but deadly-looking sword that gave her shivers each time she stared at it.She sighed, curling farther into the bed, darting her eyes to the wall. He had been quiet and cranky recently; she wondered what he was thinking. He usually wasn't that outspoken, but lately, she found herself locked with him in the four corners of his apartment.No, she wasn't complaining. She wanted to be close, but— she shut her eyes, trying to catch some sleep. But maybe not like this. And it all began when he returned from Italy, demanding everyone vacate the club except her. Then he looked quite radiant, his palm cupping her face, kissing her hard before he jogged to have a shower.There were moments of intimacy that wouldn't be called that in a usual sense but for someone like Ruslan, that