MasukAurora's POVIt’s been two months.It amazed me how much life could change in only two months. Sometimes I woke up expecting to hear guards outside the bedroom door.Sometimes I expected Lucien to call with news about the Brotherhood.Sometimes I still reached for my phone, thinking I needed to tell Bella about another disaster.Then I'd open my eyes. The ocean would be outside our bedroom window.The curtains would sway gently in the sea breeze.And Julian No.Adrian.I still wasn't used to calling him that.He'd be asleep beside me, one arm wrapped loosely around my waist like he was afraid I'd disappear if he let go.Every morning reminded me that our old lives were truly over. The Brotherhood thought he was dead.We were simply living now and I loved it. I stretched as I walked into the kitchen.The smell of coffee greeted me before I even saw him.Adrian stood by the stove wearing a dark T-shirt and grey sweatpants, humming quietly while flipping pancakes.I leaned against the doo
Aurora’s povI leaned balcony railing , the glass door left open behind us, the soft glow from the living room spilling out just enough to paint Julian’s face in half-shadow. He stood close to me with one hand braced on the rail beside mine, the other loosely holding a glass of whiskey he’d barely touched since I brought it to him.“Is Isabella okay?” I askedHe nodded “ yeah, they’re both fine”“You’re staring at me weirdly,” I murmured, letting my voice drop into that low, teasing toneI knew he couldn’t ignore. “Again.”Julian’s mouth curved, slow and dangerous. “Hard not to when you’re standing there looking like that.”I shifted, deliberately, the silk of my short black robe exposing my thighs, I had worn this while he was on the phone. It was barely tied, the belt loose, the fabric sliding open just enough to show the lace of the panties I’d chosen for him. I watched his gaze drop, then climb back up, and I smiled.“Looking like what?” I asked, tipping my head. “Like I belong
Julian's POVThe house was quiet. Not the tense kind of quiet I had grown used to over the years.Not the silence that came before gunfire or betrayal.This silence was... peaceful.I stood in the middle of the living room with my hands in my pockets, taking it all in.Sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting warm patches of light across the hardwood floor.Beyond the glass, the sea stretched endlessly toward the horizon.The only sound was the steady rhythm of waves crashing against the shore.For the first time since I was a teenager no one knew where I was and pressuring me to come back.Julian Hawthorne was dead now, I inhaled deeply and then let the breath out slowly."You're smiling." Aurora's voice pulled me from my thoughts.I turned.She stood in the hallway with one of the moving boxes balanced awkwardly in her arms.A strand of hair had escaped her ponytail and was stuck to her cheek.She looked exhausted and happy. "I am not smiling."She grinned. "You
Aurora's POVI stood in the middle of the hotel suite, looking around one last time. The room was almost empty now.The bed had been made and the curtains were drawn open, letting the morning sun pour inside.Our suitcases rested neatly beside the door.Everything we owned and everything we had chosen to take into our new life fit inside four pieces of luggage.It felt strange. I had imagined starting over would require more.Instead, it only required courage.Julian emerged from the bedroom wearing a simple black T-shirt and dark jeans. There wasn't a trace of the expensive suits he'd once worn as the Capo.No tailored jacket or expensive watch.The goal was to look as ordinary as possible so we can successfully escape. "You ready?" he asked.I looked at our luggage before looking back at him."I think so.""You don't sound convinced."I smiled faintly. “I've never moved to another country before."He walked over and slipped his fingers through mine. "Neither have I."I raised an e
Aurora's POVThere was a arm body ome mine, I sighed and snuggled deeper, then I felt Julian's arm draped loosely around my waist.I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the morning light that filtered through the curtains.For a moment, I simply lay there.Listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing and the distant hum of traffic outside.The quiet stillness of the hotel room. I turned my head carefully and Julian was still asleep.His dark hair was slightly messy, and for once the lines of tension that always seemed to crease his face were gone.He looked so handsome and less stressed than when he was the feared Capo everyone spoke about.He was just Julian now. The man who annoyed me and protected me.Loved me.A small smile found its way onto my face. Without thinking, I reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair away from his forehead.His eyes opened immediately."So," he murmured, his voice rough with sleep, "were you planning to stare at me all morning?"I jumped. "
Aurora’s pov I knocked once and the door opened, Julian stood there shirtless, I tried not to look at his perfect body.I didn’t speak. I stepped over the threshold, rose onto my toes, and pressed my mouth to the crown of his head. My lips lingered in his hair, breathing him in and then I pressed my lips to his and kissed him.His hands pulled my waist the second my mouth touched him.“Aurora,” he murmured, voice already rough around the edges.He didn’t give me time to answer. He walked me backward into the apartment, the door clicking shut behind us. The kitchen was only a few steps away. He guided me there without hurrying, yet every movement he made was intense.When the back of my thighs met the edge of the counter, he lifted me and set me on it in one smooth motion.I parted my legs for him immediately.He stepped between them, his hands sliding under the hem of my dress. His palms were hot against my skin as the fabric bunched higher at my hips. I felt the hard press of hi







