Se connecterShe watched as his face pulled instantly into silent anger. At the thought of the possibility of him not being able to lay his hands on her. Muscles worked in his jaw .âNothing is getting past me this time, dove.â He murmured. âAnd no one in my way would be spared either. If she doesnât take the bait, I will find her myself. And I will gut her. I donât care if she can help us pull Rafael out. I am so killing that bitch.âAria swallowed against the sheer intensity of his words and the sourness in it. Her gaze drifted to the ceiling. She turned it over in her mindâMariaâs voice at breakfast, her warm hands in Lianaâs hair.She couldnât believe she blindly trusted that.âLucian.â She returned her gaze to him.He finally turned to look at her.âIâm sorry about Vittoria.â She held his gaze. âI didnât know her. But I know what she did, how she fought to keep Liana breathing . And I know that youââ Her throat moved silently, carefully choosing her words.âI know youâve been carrying tha
(Later that night.)Aria sat on the edge of Lianaâs small bed and waited, her hand moving in slow circles on the childâs back, sheâd been fighting sleep for twenty minutes.Her eyes kept cracking open, checking each time, that Aria was still there, and each time Aria would press her lips together in a small smile and stay still.Hoping her eyes would fall shut again.The fourth time they didnât reopen. Aria stayed for another minute, her hand still moving, before she carefully lifted it and rose from the bed. She crossed to the door without making a sound and pulled it shut behind her.Her eyes squeezed shut in a small exhale. Sister Maria would have been the one to do this, and Liana, despite her age had managed to notice something was off. Thatâs why tonight was different.Why she couldnât sleep.Sheâd asked about Sister Maria but Aria wasnât able to give her a tangible excuse.She was a child after all, would she understand that her long time nanny, that she trusted, was the one wh
"We both missed it." Domenico's voice scraped out of him roughly, like the words caught on the way. He wasn't looking at Lucian when he said it. He was looking at the table, at the flat of his own hands on it, the split knuckles. âSo we get to carry all of that together.â Ariaâs gaze dropped to her feet for a split second. This was it, what Lucian was so sure of. The brother hood they had that couldnât be broken. She lifted her head to look at him, his eyes had changed, they held so much rage, so much that he was starting to look like Domenico and she couldnât even blame him for it. Sister Maria?? Who would have thought. She still couldnât wrap her head around it, but even worse she couldnât figure out why she would hurt them like that. The room was silent for a moment⊠Then Lucian straightened. He pulled his shoulders back and his voice came back sharper nowâbecause there was nowhere left for the grief to go except into action. "I guess now I have to bury that traitorous cu
The room stilled like everyoneâs breath had been sucked out all at once. Domenicoâs eyes didnât leave his brother. Lucian hadnât made a single move, even his expression refused to change. Sister Paula did the holy trinity on herself before covering her mouth with her rosary hand. Ariaâs voice shattered the stillness with a sharp gasp, like air had been knocked out from between her ribs. Lucianâs hands pressed flatly on the table, both palms, fingers spread wide and they dug into the wood. âSheâs been the one feeding Rafael our movements.â Domenico continued, his voice still the same. It was unusual for him because normally heâd be blinded by rage, and his voice would be through the roof. âOur schedules, our menâs rotations andââ He paused, swallowing hard like the next words might cost him something. âAnd the night Vittoria died. She knew weâd both be out of the house. She sent the tip about the northern port. She made sureââ He gazed down to control his voice, as they were startin
âYouâve been at this for twenty minutes.â Ariaâs voice came from the doorway behind him. Her gaze raked over him cautiously, with her shoulder rested against the frame. Lucianâs hands were buried in his pockets, his shirt still from last night, with two open buttons at the collar. His footsteps echoed silently as he crossed the villaâs main roomâback and forth across the long stretch of old stone floor. Aria stepped inside fully. She had changed into a loose shirt tucked at the waist, and her hair falling down her shoulders but her eyes looked like she hadnât closed them all night. She stood just few steps from him, her arms folded under her breasts. âLucian.â She exhaled through her nose, already getting agitated by his repeated movements. Aria had thought all she had to worry about were his words, his jealousy that he couldnât openly admit. How sheâd live not knowing what she was to him. But the look on his face suggested that there were much bigger things to deal with than her e
âAnd so the ladybird spread her wings for the very last timeââ Lucianâs voice echoed softly through the low light of the room, one ankle crossed over his knee and a small book open against his thigh.His collar sat open at the throat, âShe flew so high the whole world fell small beneath her, and no one, not ever again, could tell her where to land.âHe turned the page. Liana hadnât closed her eyes. She lay flat on her back with her hands folded on top of the blanket, and her gaze fixed somewhere on the ceiling above her as she fought sleep while losing silently.âThe lady bird looked down at all the world below her,â He continued, âAnd thoughtâat last. Iâm finally free.ââUncle.âLucianâs gaze were still set on the book. âMm.ââDo you think we could ever be free?â She said thoughtfully. âLike the ladybird.âLucian finally lifted his head, his thumb held the page where it was. His eyes came up slowly from the book and rested on her. Her brows furrowed slightly in curiosity, her lips p
The next morning Lucian could barely keep his eyes shut. All through the night, he had been pacing around the room, stealing glances at Aria sprawled across his bed with no sense of the danger ahead.What could he do with her? What was he even doing with her? He had Camilla now, he could just end
In a fluid, powerful motion, he pulled his finger out and straightened up. He fumbled with his belt, unzipping nonchalantly. He shoved his trousers and boxers down just enough, and his cock sprang free, already leaking at the tip.Lucian didnât give her time to look, to think. His hands went to her
She opened her mouth."IâŠâThe word broke before it formed. She tried again. "I wantâŠâHer gaze moved before she could stop it. Back to Camilla. Back to the pillar, the baby, the soft obsessive way her sister's mouth moved against the child's forehead.Something tightened at the sight, and she tore
âNext time, I want your mouth here. And I want your eyes on mine when you do it.â He huffed, Laceâs tongue darted out, wetting her lips, and then she leaned forward, her mouth closed around Lucianâs cock. Ariaâs breath caught, her body betrayed her as a core throbbed. She huffed slight, tugging s







