"I'll be back later for breakfast, Ms. Carla," I announced to the other lady as a means to break away from whatever charm Valentino had placed on me."Sure," the older woman replied without sparing me a glance, while Valentino smiled, as if he knew what I was running away from.As I made to move, he held my hands. With my back still facing him, he stood behind Ben and whispered again, "Your nighties are transparent, Rose. Are you intentionally trying to seduce me?" He asked and released my hands, while my legs got stuck to the floor. What the hell?I turned my head to meet his eyes as my wolf jumped in response to the seductive look he was giving me. I didn't know how to reply to that, but the moment I was walking away from the kitchen, it felt like my life depended on it. I was scared I wouldn't be able to control myself around him if I stayed another minute.Valentino kept true to his word. I wasn't sure if he was playing around or what his true motives were, but they weren't pure o
"We are finally alone again, Rose," Valentino said the moment Vicente walked out of the dining room."You won’t get what you want." I stood up and headed to the door when his voice spoke up again."Tell me you don’t feel the same ache I feel when we are both in the same space, and I would stop," Valentino said.I turned to look at him, with my fist clenched, hating the fact that the feeling of his touching me, kissing me came back to memory, as I fought the urge to beg him to do so again."I am the chairman’s guest. And the stuff that transpired between us last night. It just happened. I don’t know. We lost control and had to satisfy one bloody urge at that moment," I said with folded arms, trying to sound casual.Valentino stared grimly at me for a while and stood up, heading towards me."No!" My mind cried. "Not another step closer, please."But his gaze held mine as he moved closer, then stopped when we were quite close."The moment I set my eyes on you the first day you came here,
"What do you think you're doing?" Valentino's voice cut into our small meeting as Valerio took his time to turn his head to look at his brother, still trapping me against the counter with his hand."We are busy, brother. Can you excuse us?" Valerio said in a drawl."Busy?" Valentino repeated, nodding as if he understood fully well."The lady looks uncomfortable. It appears as if you're doing something bad to her," he said, and I flickered my gaze to Valentino. He looked so vexed that his attempt to pretend everything was fine was futile."You usually mind your business." Valerio finally straightened up and put his hands in his pockets as he watched Valentino carefully."You too have changed so much, Valentino," Valerio drawled, while Valentino, who was leaning on the doorway, watched Valerio."Rose... can we talk?" He asked, ignoring his brother to Valerio's distaste."We have nothing to talk about," I said, trying to resist the strong desire to follow him while struggling to keep my
“Haven’t you figured it out, or are you playing dumb?” He asked. I swallowed hard. “No, this is not happening,” I thought loudly.“What... what do you mean, Vicente?” I asked as he leaned back in his chair and drew a deep breath.“Can I ask you a question?” He said and went ahead without waiting for permission. “What is your true reason for living in this house, Rose?”What's with the question, I thought as I watched his serious expression. I had never seen Vicente like this, looking all serious.“I saw you and Valerio the other night, when we had a small feast,” he said as I stared at him as if I hadn't heard him the first time.“You like him?” He continued.“No, Vicente. That's not—”He stood up abruptly, cutting me short. “You should pursue him if you do, Rose. I guess I liked the wrong person. I’m out of here,” he said and turned to leave as my heart twinged in despair. Was Vicente trying to confess to me right now?He stopped and turned to look at me. “You want us to live like a
“Tell,” I said quickly, agreeing to whatever condition without hearing them out first, as Valentino stared at me for a while in awe. “You are quite desperate,” he remarked, folding his arms, while I bit my lip in frustration.“Please,” I begged, and Valentino shrugged. “The only way is asking Vicente’s mom to come back to the country. I lied knowing about the particular place he is,” he said with a sheepish grin.“Valentino!” I cried.“What?”“You cheated!” I said angrily.Valentino rolled his eyes. “I didn’t lie.”I stared at him suspiciously. “Explain more.”“That beast loves his mother more than anything in the world. But the selfish woman doesn’t give a damn about him,” Valentino shook his head, feigning pity. “She barely notices his existence,” he added, and I waited for him to continue because I still hadn’t seen how the woman who didn't care about him would help matters.“If we get her to call Vicente to come back from wherever he is, then victory is sure. He has been obsessed
“I won’t share a suite with you,” I protested as we walked into the room we were assigned to.“Really?” He asked with a bemused look, turning to me as we entered the expansive penthouse.“Don’t give me that smile and ask them to give me another room. And don’t give me that gibberish that it's not possible. This hotel is owned by your grandfather,” I said, attempting to be stern, but inside, I was wavering under Valentino's intense gaze.He let out a stifled chuckle and walked toward me with slow, purposeful strides as I moved backward. “Valentino…” I called, as if trying to bring him to reason.“Yes, princesa,” he replied almost in a moan, and I swallowed hard."Run!" My brain screamed as he backed me against the wall. I turned to look at the wall and then back to Valentino. “You shouldn’t—”Valentino crushed his lips onto mine, pinning me against the wall before I had a chance to speak. As usual, I, and Arya embraced him happily.I wrapped my hand around his neck as he drew closer, a
“Can I have the address of the place we are going to meet Bella?” I asked the next day, having dressed up in the morning to meet him in the spacious living room of the suite.I had thought long and hard about how to approach him after what had happened the other night. Pretending was probably the best course of action.“I'll accompany you,” he said, placing a cup of coffee on the table and standing up. He stared at me, looking like an innocent boy who didn't know how to drive a woman crazy, even when fully dressed. He must have gotten up and dressed early, and the simple clothes he had on were more than enough to turn me on. Everything about this man drove me wild.He wore a white long-sleeved shirt with rolled-up sleeves and baggy white pants to complement it. I couldn't help but gaze at his physique as memories of last night flooded my mind.“There's no need,” I replied, forcing myself to dismiss any immoral thoughts. I needed to focus on controlling this intense attraction I had fo
“Valentino,” I called in surprise. He narrowed his gaze at me and then back to Bella. “Isn’t that Valentino Sabatini?” “Is he in some clash with his step-mother?” “I heard it’s been a long they met each other.” The people around gossiped within themselves as Valentino's gaze lingered on Bella.“Not tired of causing trouble anywhere you go ugh?” Valentino asked with a mocking tone as Bella scoffed. “You haven’t changed much, Valentino. Still the cocky grandson of that old geezer.” She rolled her eyes and flapped her hair to spite Valentino while he just let out a soft chuckle.“Anyways, I have no business with you.” She eyed him and turned to me. “She destroyed my baby. She has to pay up.” Bella said as Valentino gave her a scrutinizing look and shifted his gaze to her bag.“You are worth more than this bag a thousand times, Bella. How can you be so petty and ask for money from others?” Valentino said in a degrading manner as she let out a mocking chuckle.“She did something bad, s