BiancaThings are escalating so quickly, and I'm at a complete loss for words. I don't know what to do with the information safely stowed away in my bra. It is burning my skin. It's begging me to reveal it, knowing deep down that we need to acknowledge the fact that a Densel was seemingly working against one of their own with the likes of another man's wife, who just so happens to be one of the top three rulers of our kind.I'm sure Niko could make more heads over the tail of it himself, but I don't want to give away the game for Alexandra only to win with the upper hand. Because she knows, she knows what Benji was doing there, and she might be the fucking key for the downfall headed our way. Now, whether Benji is the one she is hinting at or if she is hinting at Mitchel is above me right now.Anxiety rolls through me, and a sixth sense begs me to accept the truth. They were working together, but for what and why? And more importantly, who?So, I defer. I accused her of cheating des
Continued:My entrance is dramatic, and I twist my ankle. Barely containing the yelp of pain as hands steady me. "Careful," Niko warns as his hands grab my shoulders. Righting me, he strokes my cheek and kisses my forehead. Then he leaves me, moving for Alexandra, who is sitting on one of the kitchen stalls in the middle of the kitchen. I watch Niko closely tie her to the stall, ensuring her hands and legs are immobile.I'm itching to turn every light off and cut out all light for anyone searching for something to guide their way here, to me.The seconds tick by until he's finished, and I slap every light switch to swamp us in darkness when he begins to stand."Bee?" He questions me as the house falls into darkness. The silence around us stretches out only as far as Alexandra's laugh allows. She knows, god, she knows that they're coming. "Isaw lightout at sea," I whisper to Niko. "She's guiding them here. I'm sure of it!" I tell him desperately, knowing he probably won't believe m
NikoSven and I meticulously strip what little clothing Alexandra had on, but we find nothing that could account for a tracking device.Even so, we check every crevice of her body and still come up empty-handed before replacing the clothing to give her some sense of decency. If I'm honest, I tackle the task with indifference, but in honesty, I feel sick to my stomach doing such a task. At first, she shook like a leaf, but her true identity showed itself when her quivering lip turned into a malicious smile when we realised she didn't have an evident tracking device."Perhaps you should look elsewhere," she sneered at me with enough malice to prove she's gone entirely fucking rogue. This is not the woman I remember; she sure isn't the loved-up woman who followed Mitchels every word. "I should kill you now, leave your dead body for them to find. Perhaps that would leave the message that I'm not to be played with," I hiss back with equal fervour, but I knew I was only playing into her g
Continued:"No, I'm here. Right where I should be. I'm here for you, Bianca. Only you.""You can't heal these ugly parts of me," she tells me desperately, but I hear more than her telling me something. I listen to her convincing herself she can't be healed. She's so wrong."I don't care; I accept them. I accept all of you, Bee.""Why?" she asks in a quiet and frightened tone. Her disbelief is flavoursome, and I hate it. I think long and hard about my answer, but it comes down to one thing. "Because I can," I tell her with a look that I hope transpires everything I'm not saying.Because I love you should have been the words that left my mouth, but it's the wrong time to say such things, especially when the feeling is so new and appeared so quickly that even I'm tripping over this emotion I've run from all my life."I'm ugly, horribly ugly inside, Niko.""And I'll love those ugly parts just the same; now, do you want to talk about it or save that conversation for later?"She looks ast
BiancaSo we're in hiding, great, except for the fact that there's no food or much water and only one bedroom come living area, leaving us with the only option but to share space with one another.That first hour was filled with tense silence. We sat in a circle, staring at one another as we judged each other.I guess none of us had a clue of what to say, leaving the only sounds coming from Alexandra as she hissed annoyance at being tied to another chair while simultaneously trying to release herself. She couldn't, of course. Sven ensured she wasn't able to breathe, let alone escape. Soon, though, the trivia of being trapped down here had me wandering around the space as I paced back and forth in an attempt to kill my anxiety. And my movement had first Sven agitated and then Alexandra."You'll have to surface at some point; they'll be waiting," she tells me. Or at least she looks to me as she speaks. It's as if she's solely talking to me, yet she never actually addressed me. Anxiet
Continued: "We're going outside," he tells me quietly, almost as if he's speaking numbly. It's as if he knows I'm going to object, yethe's not going tochange his mind. "You won't change your mind, will you?" "We have no choice. I need to make a plan, and I need information before we make any decisions." "Then you should know she was here with Benji. I don't know why, but he was here for her," I reveal, reaching inside my bra to bring the piece of paper out. I slip it into his hand, and he frowns. "You won't be long?" I ask. "I'll be as quick as I can, Bee." With that, he kissed me tenderly before passing me one of his guns, and then he encouraged me back to the sofa, which was the most uncomfortable chair I had ever sat on in my life. And then he and Sven left through the door we entered through. I watched Alexandra with keen interest as she shook herself and the chair she sat on when the door showed her the route to freedom. "Are you in a relationship with him?" I asked,
NikoWe exit very slowly and cautiously, holding our weapons out to protect us and ensuring we move with precision to best protect our lives as we both take opposite sides in an attempt to cover the front of us.Luckily, no one's around, or at least it seems that way as we remain quiet and assessing."Okay, talk to me, Sven," I sigh as I let my guard down enough to move out of the doorway so Sven could close it behind us. The chill of the night air hits my naked skin, causing me to shiver."I shouldn't," he tells me before pulling out a smoke for himself. He lights it and then offers me the box, holding it open as I take one for myself. Passing me the lighter, I smirk before I take it and light up the smoke, inhaling the nicotine with fervour. It quite literally feels like I've been starved of nicotine of late."We can do this the easy way—.""I've worked for Dimitri since before his father passed over his title. I was just a lowly orphan with no family after the previous Don took my
Continued:"Majority should rule, no?" I frown."If only that's how it worked. Elders still have a say, and Dimitri won't go against those he worked alongside. I hate to tell you, but the men he worked closely with hold a place in his heart. Dimitri is nothing if not loyal to those who served him and alongside him.""So where do I fit into this and Bianca?""Dimitri might seem like a, ah, what do you English call it? A vicious man, but he's honestly just living up to the man his father wished him to be. Like me, you are Dimitri's good deed. A way into the pearly gates if they are indeed real. He's kept you close because he feels the need to protect you. Same for the girl, Dimitri takes the blame for her father's death, and now he has given her to you and you to her as a way to make amends.""It's a forced marriage," I spit in disbelief."A convenient forced marriage that has brought you happiness you would never have allowed yourself, you mean? I'm sure the girl was the same, and that
Continued:Sven turns back to rejoin Bianca and me by the bed, and as I stand, I peep out the small window to my right. My heart races as my eyes dart across the street below, searching frantically for a way to get Bianca down and into another building safely, away from the danger lurking just beyond that door. Each hotel looks inviting, but just as with this one, its buildings are tall and overtly open."Not going to answer the door, Niko?" Densel's voice booms, dripping with mockery. I can almost envision the twisted grin on his face as he twirls his gun, the metallic glint reflecting the darkness of his intentions. The threat is unmistakable, hanging in the air like a storm cloud, and I brace myself for what comes next.Laying on the floor, hoping to crawl out of sight to the balcony door, I move precariously. Climbing the wall, with my back flat against it, I extend my hand toward the door, carefully unlatching it to avoid making a sound that might alert anyone nearby. As the door
Niko A profound sense of connection envelops us, and a look of mutual respect passes between our eyes. We've worked together long enough to know how each other thinks, which can only be helpful for the pair of us.In the background, I hear Bianca let out a soft sigh, drawing my attention back to her. She remains frozen in place, her expression a mix of tension and confusion. What is troubling her so profoundly that she feels compelled to stay anchored there, motionless?"I need a favour," I whisper."What is it?""I need you to go down to the Western to collect whatever Luca has just sent over." I showed him the phone, and a one-word message from Luca remarked, 'Done.'"You owe me," Sven chuckles dryly before picking his weapons out of the bag, ensuring they are full before he turns to the door, his hands on the chain, it hanging open between him and the door when suddenly, a sharp knock echoes through the room, jolting Bianca out of her reverie. She springs up, darting to my s
Continued: "Do you have money?" Sven barrages me with questions. "Yes," I nod, but in the same instance, I frown. It's all fucking digital, every last penny. "What?" they both mirror my horror. "Applepay, it's traceable," I mumble. "May I?" Bianca asks for my main phone, and I pass it to her without question. Only a second later, she turns it back to my face. She's downloading a banking app, and I'm not sure where she's going with this. "Use that," she stipulates with indifference as I glance down at the phone, reading her father's name on the card now residing in my wallet. I nod, but I'm not sure I will use it. There has to be another way; I think to myself as we walk in unison to the counter, Sven standing on our six until I ask him to step closer. "Do you have any cash at all?" I request eagerly. "No," he shakes his head. Swearing softly to myself, a profound sense of unease settles in as I contemplate the idea of using Bianca's father's money. The truth is, it feels li
NikoThis morning, an unsettling instinct crept into my mind—a gut feeling or perhaps a sixth sense—that today was poised to take a dark turn. With this foreboding hovering over me, I pulled Sven aside before Bianca even woke up. The weight of unpreparedness settled heavily on my shoulders. I had nothing that I usually had at my fingertips, and I couldn't shake the echo of Alexandra's words: living without permission but forever at the forefront of my thoughts.When I arrived on this isolated island, I came armed with the weapons that had adorned me on my wedding day—two knives and two guns with only one round in each, reminders of a day when I was meant to be the groom, not the protector. It wasn't until just a few days ago that I finally reclaimed my phone, another lifeline to reality.A wave of unease washed over me as I stepped off the boat. It felt as if I was walking into my impending fate. I turned to Sven, my voice low and steady, asking him to gather everything we needed to e
Continued: As I sat there, my mind wandered to Alexandra. Would she be joining us on the flight home? The mere idea of enduring her incessant chatter for an entire journey left me feeling uneasy. I could already imagine her animated and unrelenting voice filling the cabin as we soared through the clouds, unable to escape one another.My thoughts then drifted to Niko and how the familiarity of home might alter our dynamic. Would the ease we shared during this honeymoon transform back into the more complex opposition we had previously experienced? It would be disingenuous to say these questions didn't preoccupy me. However, Niko kept his silence, and I found myself caught in the web of my own musings, choosing not to voice my uncertainties. The air around us was thick with unspoken words, and I remained wrapped in quiet contemplation as we readied ourselves with Sven on his boat.The journey to the mainland was tumultuous, with the ocean raging against the boat's sides as we travelled
BiancaI hate to admit the days pass with blinding speed, but we fit as much sex and physical touch into them as we possibly can, and in the times between, we do a lot of talking, exploring one another and our future and how that might look upon leaving this island. We fuck in the hot tub, on the kitchen counter, with hushed giggles at the thrill of potentially being caught, fucking against the window I can't help but stare out of when I'm standing in the bedroom. Soft sensual sex in bed, hard fucking from behind when I tease him about something, and he just can't keep his hands off of me. That has got to be my favourite, but I've not voiced that to him.My sexual appetite has doubled, if not tripled, in such little time that I wonder where my need has arisen from. But similarly, our need to explore what one another wants to uncover itself.As our conversations flowed seamlessly from one topic to the next, we found ourselves wrapped in a captivating exchange that lasted two days. It
Continued:My previous thoughts of not forcing this on her and making her happy in our forced marriage chose this exact time to crop up, my teeth grinding in annoyance as I looked at her thoughtfully."Niko," she breathes my name, making me move to sit up further. Our chests come together as I reach to kiss her neck.I reach around her waist and pluck the bottoms bows just as she had the tops so they float off in the water as the bubbling swirl that's them under their wings."You're beautiful," I murmur against the skin of her neck."Please," she begs. Fuck the beg is almost my undoing; in fact, my cock pulsates at that one word, and yet I find myself exercising complete control to elongate this as far as I can.Instead, I kiss along her collarbone before moving down her breast, sucking her nipple into my mouth to pebble it. I rhythmically lavish it with attention before I release it with a pop so I can move on to its twin."Bianca." I grin when I pop the second one from my mouth. Her
NikoThe morning unfolds with unexpected tranquillity, the sun streaming through the windows and casting warm golden rays across the room that was yesterday shrouded in intense darkness. This ease, however, only amplifies my thoughts, drawing me into a spiral of self-doubt and guilt, haunted by the reality that Bianca faced danger because of my actions.As evening descends, the sky blushes with hues of pink and orange, and we find ourselves ensconced in the soothing embrace of the hot tub. The gentle warmth of the water contrasts with the cool air, wrapping us in a cocoon of serenity while Sven eagerly busies himself, constructing a makeshift bedroom for his stay. The humid air carries the faint scent of cedar and the distant sounds of nature, creating a false sense of security.Our trio had engaged in deep discussions about Sven's plans as we ate breakfast, each idea shared like a lifeline, reinforcing the belief that having another person around would heighten our chances of safety.
Contained: "Sure," Niko nods, touching his mug on the counter with a soft clink. "We'll try," I agree, though the truth looms heavily in my mind: a bond can only deepen with time, and it feels like we've had too little of it. I keep this to myself, reluctant to acknowledge that a part of me senses a wedge still exists between us. However, once we're back home with Luca and Emma, I'm confident we won't get close enough to others for them to attempt to pull us apart anytime soon. "I'll walk you out," Niko offers, trailing after Lucia as she strides towards the front door. The moment she reaches it, her men snap to attention, bowing their heads in unison—an unspoken testament to the respect she commands. Stepping outside onto the already warm, sun-kissed sand, I cast my gaze toward the water and see her boats bobbing gently in the surf. A few small vessels equipped with retractable engines lurk close to shore, while a larger yacht lies further out, seemingly calling for Lucia to ret