Marco’s POV The door silently opened. I perched on the frame, my dark eyes on Evelyn, watching, listening to her whispering. She curled like a toad, pressed to the wall, with her phone trapped to her ear as she murmured and sniffled. “I can't…I hate myself, God… It's not okay…” She stopped to sniffle. “I shouldn't have accepted to look over Violet… Jeez…” She puffed. “I'm leaving town…”A short silence followed. As if she learned of my presence, she stopped all she was doing and slowly turned. When our eyes met, she gasped, breath caught in her throat. “Let me… Let me call you back.”For a few seconds, my hands remained crossed, hanging along my body. I finally pulled away from the door and strolled in. A vacant seat was by her bedside, good enough to read all her reactions. “Marco…”“Only Elara calls me that.” My low groan was more than enough warning. “Mr. Conti to you or better still, Don.”She nodded like a moron. Seeing I was here for her, she sat up, knees drawn up to her c
Elara's POV ‘Please… wait… My child…’ I shook my head, and my body moved restlessly. ‘Don't kill her… Please!’My body jerked into consciousness. I was sweating profusely just as my heart was beating harder by the second. For a moment, I paused to take in all that was before me. The drip stand, oxygen mask, my punctured wrist. I was in the hospital. My mind tried to race back to what happened a few hours before. The sordid imagery of what happened in Evelyn’s house hit me, causing my heartbeat to skyrocket. My child!The blaring sound of the BP machine made someone jump to my aid. It was Marco. He had been in the room all along. I looked around with the hopes of seeing Violet on another bed…Nothing.“Oh, god.” He groaned and slapped the alarm button on the head of my bed. “Don't move.” He cautioned, wrapping his arms around me for support. “My baby…”“I know, I know.” His hot breath warmed my face. His grip was quite firm, trapping me in place and thanks to his huge frame, it w
Marco's POV “Don…” Elara's driver coughed, the rough sound felt like he was sputtering blood. It made my heart jump. Whatever it was had to be grave. First, I had never gotten a call from him on any occasion. All he ever did was simply drive Elars and the kid out and back in silence. Now, he was in a terrible state. “Speak if you don't want your tongue slit.” I rambled.“The child has been kidnapped.” He mumbled with what seemed to be his last breath. I froze. For the first time in my life, I went numb. My brain spilled all over the place, finding a good grasp on my reaction, but I was numb. “Ma'am Elara…” His ragged breathing pounded on the phone's speaker. “She is inside… Maybe death… I don't know… But there were gunshots.”Holy heck!!!My brain snapped hard, dragging me out of my catatonic state. I spun and stopped, still fuzzy, still lost. “Location.” My cold tone blared in his ear drum. “Her friend's place.” That was all I needed. I ended the call and rushed back into my
Elara’s POV The long trip and stress evaporated in Marco’s arms. Right here, just where I belonged, we rode in a smooth rhythm, our bodies grazing, drowning us in our warmth.Our sweat mixed just as our moans blended in a gentle symphony. He shot in harder, trapping my breath at the back of my throat. We hit climax, panting like teenagers and moaning helplessly.“Whoa,” he collapsed on top of me and buried his face in the hollow of my neck. I lazily rubbed ruffled his hair and pulled him closer to my bare body. “Thanks for coming, Tesoro.” He lazily rolled into his back. We remained silent for a moment, trying to catch our breaths. Sheets clutched across our chests, we stared at the ceiling. “Anything for you, Marco.” I turned to face him, hand tucked under my head. “So, is there something else you want to try out?”His brows furrowed. “Actually, I think I have just one tiny thing…” he reached to grab me and I pushed to the edge of the bed.“Marco!” I giggled. “Stop… please.” I s
Elara’s POV “Hey,” Marco’s steel voice stopped me from leaving immediately. He was standing on the terrace, back pressed to the railing as he smoked and sipped from his glass of whiskey.“Take my card, get whatever you want.” He pulled out his black platinum card and stretched it over to me.Quite confused, I tilted my head to the side to get a better view of him. My eyes rolled, demanding he explain further. I was already dressed and ready to meet Evelyn. “I’m not going shopping,” I mumble on my spot. “I just need to speak with her.”“Without appeasing her? That’s lame.” He shrugged. “I know girl’s meetings are sometimes lavish.” He still kept the card in between us. “Do something for fun.” I chuckled and watched him drag on his cigar, then puffed. The heels of my boots clicked as I approached him. “I’ve got my own money, Mr. Marco Conti.” “Well, I want you to spend my money, Miss Elara Saint Clair.”I pushed my bag to the back and wrapped my arms around him. He dropped the gla
Elara’s POV Evelyn texted back!I stared at the phone long enough that the screen would split from any slight pressure. Considering the way we ended and how long it took her to respond, I guessed she must have either blocked me or changed her line. Oh, my god. My emotions were all over the place. I clutched hard on my phone and started texting back. Marco noticed the sudden change in my attitude. All of my attention was diverted to my phone and he hated to share his moment, but right now, I care less about his fits. ‘That’s a mean thing to say, Evie!’ I pouted as if she could see me, then resumed typing. ‘Heavens! I’ve missed you so much!’“Tesoro, is something up?”I ignored him and clicked the send button, then palmed the phone to my chest and waited for her response. Hopefully, she would be quick.“Elara?” His tone deepened. Now, he was solely focused on me.I expelled air and grinned. “It’s Evelyn, she finally texted back.”He hummed, uninterested as I expected of him. “Took