Gabriella spent her whole life wanting freedom from the golden cage her father built her, and Art School in New York, far away from home, was supposed to be her one shot. But all her fantasies came crashing down when she was assigned a bodyguard. Cold, distant and dangerously captivating, her new bodyguard is the bane of her existence. She should hate him, but the more his protectiveness infiltrates into her life, the more the line between hate and lust blurs. Leon has spent years waiting for this moment. The man who destroyed his life has only one weakness. His daughter. Becoming her bodyguard was supposed to be his way in, his perfect chance at revenge. But nothing prepared him for the way she tests him, tempts him and makes him question everything. Falling for her was never part of the plan. Now, it might be the thing that destroys them both.
View MoreThe battle raged. Smoke obscured the castle as the walls fell from the balls of fire shot through them. It was thick and black and caused all to cough who inhaled it. The fumes noxious and smothering. Sounds of metal clashing as swords clanged against each other and against shields and armor. The sound of men crying out in agony as they were wounded with either metal or fire.
Sheiria turned this way and that. Desperately looking for..... There! She could just make out the bulk of his shape. She would know his massive outline anywhere. Just as she reached his side, a sword pierced through her shoulder, almost cleaving her arm from her body.
Erwan watched in horror as his love was grievously wounded. Knowing she was dying, he immediately dropped his sword and snatched her up in his arms and ran into the castle and attempting to lock them in the inner most parts of it. He would not let her die in the midst of the battle for their home. They would die together, because his beast could not survive without it's mate. Running into the interior of the keep, he ran to the bolt room, where there was a tunnel for escape. Just as he was heaving the heavy thick wooden door closed, a pair of hands pulled it back open.
There before him stood the reason for so many things. This battle. Sheiria's fatal wound. The reason that their son had been spirited away by his most trusted captain and the boy's nursemaid. Ragar was an ugly man. In both mind, heart and appearance. Unkept, wild, knotted hair. A mouth full of rotting teeth. A demeanor of cruelty and greed. The only thing about the man that resembled health was his rounded belly, suggesting a habit of over-eating and over-indulgence.
"I finally have you in a place where you cannot escape me. You and your kind came here and take our women, our wealth, and anything else you can get you claws on. Now, all I have to do is find and kill your brat after I make him watch his mother and father burn to death as the castle burns down around them. As your screams die, I will enjoy dragging my blade against his flesh while he cries for you both and screams in terror, knowing he is going to die and that there is nothing anyone can do to save him." Ragar's face twisted in cruelty as the hateful words spilled from his mouth.
Erwan knew that he and his beloved wife were going to die. But he would take the satisfaction of knowing that Ragar would be denied the one thing that would satisfy him the most. Killing his heir.
Ragar was slightly taken aback as Erwan smirked and then laughed deep and hard, followed by racking coughs, thanks to the thick smoke filling the castle.
"My son has not been in this castle for over a month. He is safe. In a place that you can never have access to. A place safe and sacred to my people. A place he will be raised to know who and what he is. You see, Ragar, you will die in a few years. My son will live for centuries. Not only will he live, but he will establish our kingdom once more."
Erwan had the satisfaction of seeing Ragar's face seethe with rage as he, along with help, pushed the heavy door shut. Looking down at his wife, he noticed that she still lived. Knowing she must have been in agony from her wound, he held her gently as tears rolled down both of their faces.
"At least Tine will grow up and we are together at the end. I would have it no other way."Erwan whispered.
Sheiria tried to reach up to stroke his cheek but was too weak from blood loss. "I am thankful for the time that we have had. The love that we have shared has been beyond anything that I could have imagined. Who knew that loving a dragon would be so wonderful. I wish that I could have thanked the Clutch elders for taking in Tine and teaching........."
Erwan looked at his beloved and realized that she had breathed her last. Knowing that his beast could not survive without it's mate, he released a great roar that caused the castle walls to completely collapse upon them as he died.
Sheiria is my own creation and is pronounced She-ray-a
Erwan is Celtic for dragon and is pronounced Er-wan, like you would pronounce Obi-Won
Tine is Celtic for Fire and Is pronounced like time with an n
LEON The next day, Salvatore calls to inform me that Tomaso had fixed a meeting in an upscale hotel in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I join him at a random parking garage we planned to meet at, and he smirks at my appearance. “How old are you again? You look younger without your goatee and mustache.” I had a clean shave this morning to look the part of a cold and dangerous bodyguard, although I don’t have to try too hard. I am already cold on the inside and dangerous to people who had been unfortunate enough to experience my wrath. Tomaso is about to be one of those people. I ignore Salvatore and slip in beside him at the backseat of his car. The driver, a buff, bald hunk of a man, is wearing thick, black goggles, but I know he’s staring at me through the rearview mirror. The man in the passenger's seat only turns to glance at me briefly before turning his focus back to his front. The drive to the hotel is a short one, and throughout the drive, I try to tame my murderous u
LEON As soon as the words leave my mouth, the room goes still. Everyone looks at me like I’ve lost it. Shit. Maybe I have. Ivy is the person to break the silence. “You’re joking.” “I’m not.” She stands up and starts to pace around the room. “You want to play bodyguard to the daughter of the man you’ve wanted to kill since you were a child?” Dante exhales. “I can’t lie, that’s dangerous. A lot of things could go wrong.” “I said we needed a way in. This is it. She’s the key. If I’m around her, I’ll know everything about Tomaso. Where he goes, who he talks to, the people he trusts the most,” I say, looking around at their faces. “We’ve never been able to penetrate him. His men are loyal to a fault, and he’s the only target we’ve never been able to get an inside man on his team to feed us information. So I’ll be the inside man.” “That makes sense,” Kai says with a nod. “It’s not the worst plan. It’s actually smart.” “Smart?” Ivy scoffs. “It could get him killed.” She turns to m
LEON I never miss. No matter the target, the distance, or the chaos in my head, once I point my gun at my prey, I always hit. But I just did, and it’s all because of a girl. “Fuck!” I let out an angry growl before slinging my rifle over my shoulder. Thumping footsteps echo behind me, and just then, Dante bursts out onto the rooftop, already ripping his mask off his face. “We’ve been spotted,” he says in an urgent voice. I knew this would happen the moment my assasination attempt failed. Tomaso’s men would be on our tail. Without sparing another second, we bolt, our legs pounding against the concrete rooftop as we sprint toward the fire escape. We rush out of the building, cornering into an alley where Ivy and Kai are waiting for us with the engine of our getaway car already running. The cold air whooshes past us, biting against my skin as we near the car. “Get in!” Ivy yells, and just then, I spot two of Tomaso’s men arrive at the back end of the alleyway. I th
GABRIELLA A few hours later, I’m in a sleek, off-the-shoulder dress, my makeup done lightly, sitting in the backseat of my father’s car while his driver takes me to Dine, an upscale restaurant in the heart of the city. The drive to the restaurant is quiet, as always. None of Papa’s employees are allowed to speak to me unless spoken to, and I don’t feel like making small talk. We arrive in no time. The restaurant is dimly lit and way too formal. But it’s Papa. I’m not surprised. When I step inside, I spot him almost immediately. He’s sitting at a table close to a window at the far right corner of the room. As always, he’s in a black suit, his greying hair is slicked back, and he is nursing a glass of wine. As I approach, I notice his men scattered around the room like they’re just regular customers. You would think this is a business meeting and not a birthday dinner. I sigh and slide into the seat across from him. “Do you really need men stationed at every corner like this is a
GABRIELLA “I can’t believe you won’t be attending your own birthday party.” A frustrated sigh leaves my lips at Nicole’s statement. It’s my twentieth birthday today, and for the past two weeks, they’ve been planning what would be the party of the year, my first party ever, only for all my plans to be ruined by my father. “She never said she won’t be attending,” Lisa tells Nicole, but her eyes, expectant and hopeful, are on me. “You just have to meet up with your dad for dinner and you’ll join the party later, right?” “Hopefully I’m able to—" “Yay!” She interrupts me with an excited squeal. “Now, that’s more like it.” I shake my head at her with a small smile playing on my lips. “It’s not that simple.” “It could be if you’d just come up with an excuse to skip dinner with him,” Nicole says with an eye roll. “You’re twenty, not twelve.” I chuckle at her words. “I can’t. My father will flip. Hell, he could send me back to Italy just because of that.” “Okay, that’s a bit overboar
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Comments