LOGINCici~~~He leans in, his face inching closer to my lips. I turn away."Don't test me, Cierra." Despite my rage and frustration, my clit throbs in response to the low growl against the side of my face. A chill runs through my back, and I'm stuck between pulling him closer and pushing him away.He decides for me by propelling me backward so I land on the nearest wall with force, my body going rigid as he presses his hard body against mine. "Kiss me."I don't. But when he grabs my nape and presses his lips on mine, I don't resist. A guttural sound leaves his throat, and I hate how quickly my body responds to him as he devours my lips, gripping the back of my head hard like he fears I'd slip from his fingers."Mio Dio, Minera." (My God, Minera.)The haze of lust clears instantly.That name… I hate it.I hate the memories it drags behind it even more."Get off me," I try to push him away, but I should know, of all the times I tried in the past, that it won't work."I'm just getting sta
Cici ~~~ Blood trails behind us as we walk through the hallway, down the stairs, and into the living room. Bodies lay lifeless with guns in their hands. One even has a knife. Out of all the bodies, I easily recognize Mr. Leader. Three bullet holes mark his forehead. My stomach twists and I quickly avert my gaze from the gore, keeping it instead on the broad back walking ahead of me. It was a silent walk from the room after he accepted my condition. He’d simply turned around with that smirk still on his lips, slid his hands into his pockets, and began walking. Naturally, I followed after him because I couldn't wait to get out of here. Upon stepping out of the house, I notice that the night is darker than when we got here. Instead of three cars, there are four. The three SUVs we came in and a sleek black Maybach at the rear. Zarah and Valerie are leaning against an SUV, and when they see me, Zarah stands properly, but I freeze in my steps. "Wait," Rafe stops and turns to
Cici~~~It's unhealthy, the amount of times I’ve thought about this moment: how our first meeting would go if we met again. I imagined being so powerful and untouchable, that he couldn’t easily reach me the way he did my family. I also imagined one where I’d be at an event, dressed in a killer gown, with an even better-looking partner on my arm—someone who wasn’t into violence the way he is.Different scenarios, different settings, but none involved me getting kidnapped, slapped, pushed, and dirtied, with him coming to save me from it all.Rafe.Raffaele Vigano."Ah... there she is. My little thief."His bored tone snaps me out of my thoughts, but I can only stare at him and that stupid look on his equally stupid face. Why doesn’t he look worse than before?His sharp cheekbones give way to a square jawline dusted with dark stubble that clings to his skin, with black eyes piercing beneath thick furrowed brows.He didn’t look like this when we were married. He kept a clean face. A b
Cici~~~You know that feeling you get when you know something bad is about to happen, and it's inevitable? Only that this time, it's worse because you brought this upon yourself, so you can't really breathe, and your heart is beating in your stomach. You've just made a big mistake, and you can feel it deep in your bones because it's not the kind of mistake you can undo so you're just helpless and feeling like you're about to die?Pretty dramatic, but it sums up how I feel right now."Are you okay, C? Are you still on the call?" Zarah taps my arm and my phone falls to my lap. "Who did you call? You look like you just talked to a ghost."I shake my head.She narrows her eyes and swallows, then with a slow nod her lips part. "So what are we going to do?" My fingers scramble to pick the phone up again. "I should send him our location." "Him?" Her eyes pop. “Don’t tell me by him you mean Mr. Jackson?" Her voice goes up a few octaves."No." A shiver runs through my skin at the thought o
Cici~~~"What are you doing?" The words pour out of my lips before I can stop them, my fingers gripping the cool, leather headrest in front of me.Almost instantly, my bodyguard cocks his gun and aims it at the driver who doesn't move an inch, not at all worried that a gun is pointed at his head."She asked you a question."The driver scoffs and a cold chill runs down my spine. What is going on?A sudden sharp pain pierces my arm, I look down to find Valerie holding onto me for dear life, all the color drained from her face.Grey eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror."Please relax, Miss Miano. I've been instructed to drive you to the destination safely..." he pauses and adjusts his driving posture, turning his head slightly to my bodyguard beside him. "But in any case you're not willing to cooperate, we'll take matters into our hands." "We?" I raise a brow. He doesn't respond, but it doesn't take long to figure out what he means when I notice the same car as ours trailing us.My s
Cici~~~An eerie silence settles over me as I make my way into the familiar mansion I grew up in.Maids bow in greeting, with stiff smiles while I walk into the small living room—as we loved to call it, but in reality it’s Mom’s living room.Mom is here in her cheetah print capris, a black off the shoulder top, and a pair of black heels to match. It’s obvious she just returned from a trip to the salon with her shiny burgundy nails and wavy hair that sits perfectly on one of her chocolate shoulders. James is leaning against the cream-colored wall, his arms folded across his chest and a slight frown on his face as usual. Leon is sitting cross-legged on the couch with Mathias right beside him, his head tilted to the side.My chest squeezes, and tears sting my eyes. It feels like I haven’t seen them in so long when all I did was go to school and return. Asides Dad, my entire family is here, and I’m excited to see them.But I can’t shake the feeling…something is off.Mom hasn’t said a wo







