2013 [Lachlan: 19, Jeremiah: 22] LACHLAN I was never good at parties. Too many people. Too much perfume. Too many fake smiles and lies. All of it made my heart throb, the only thing that settled my mind was focusing on one thing and being in control of my surroundings. Right now, everything was getting on my nerves, especially the group of women cackling like they were attending a stand up comedy. And the men, they smiled like they wouldn't plan your murder in the next second if you did something they disliked. But that’s not the only thing that was making me itch, I hated the fact how all of them always surround my Jeremy. And it was like he couldn't see the intent behind their fake smiles and sweet words, he induged them like they were all his friends. Even now he was surrounded by people that were vying for his attention. Even Jonathan kept a boundary so to not let them think they could talk to him so freely, but not Jeremiah. Instead, he relished the attention and showe
JEREMIAHI listened to her quiet breathing as she slept in my arms, the taste of her was still on my lips and I couldn’t deny the way my heart was beating in rhythm with hers.But my mind was elsewhere. It felt like everything was slipping through my hands. And I didn't know how to control it anymore. There was danger to my wife’s life and I didn’t know what it was. We had sent men to contact Salvatore Ricci, the man was infamous for his notorious and cut throat reputation. But there was one more thing he was known for in our world, he didn't support or take part in violence against women and children. And yet, I knew that my wife had been afraid of being attacked by his men and was assaulted more than once for the debt she owed to him.Salvatore didn't meet my men, but I did get a very interesting message from him. “Stop sending me your men, or I’ll start sending them back in pieces.”It was one of the things I wanted to talk about at the meeting in the afternoon before I got that c
NINA “Leave the blanket.” I froze. “But I... I’m naked.” “I know.” For a moment I looked into his eyes, and then without hesitation or questioning myself, I loosened my grip on the blanket and stood up from the bed. His steel grey eyes raked over me, making goosebumps dance on my skin and my nipples hardened as a shiver went through me. When I stepped closer to him, he widened his legs and settled me in his lap, careful to not jostle my injured arm. His hand settled around my waist while the other supported me at the back. And when I looked up at him, he was so close.... involuntarily my eyes shifted to his scarred cheek and I lifted my hand. “Don’t.” My hand froze mid-air. Jeremiah’s voice wasn’t loud, but it held the kind of weight that made your pulse stutter. I let my hand drop, but I didn’t pull away. Instead, I tilted my head and said softly, “I have a scar too.” His brows furrowed slightly, but he didn’t speak. “It’s ugly,” I whispered, my gaze holding
NINA I woke to the dull ache in my side and warmth that made me want to melt deeper into the mattress. As my eyes adjusted, I realised the only light was coming from a lamp that was lit into the corner of the room. Shadows danced lazily on the walls, the silence heavy… but not empty. On my side Lachlan slept, one arm around my middle and his chin resting on my uninjured shoulder. He was the source of the warmth I was feeling. But it wasn’t only his presence that had me waking up. I was tucked beneath soft covers, and yet I could feel his steely gaze on me. I turned and my body throbbed in dull pulses at the movement. My shoulder, ribs, thighs and legs everything ached. And sure enough, as I lifted my gaze there he was. My husband. His forearms rested on his knees, fingers laced together and he was watching me. "You’re awake," he said, voice low, like velvet brushing over my skin. "Were you hoping I don’t?" I croaked out and winced as I tried to sit up. "How's t
JEREMIAH I gestured at the open laptop. “Shall we?” A few minutes later my brother’s face filled half the screen along with Xavier on the other half. And then we were deep into strategies and plans we needed to make sure Sokolov name remained at the leadership position. For the third time my brother suggested something Lachlan and I already knew won’t be happening. And I shook my head. “It’s not happening, Jonathan. Drop it.” “I don’t see any other way. Unless, there’s someone you can marry off to the loose canon of Italy.” “Now, what is this about?” Xavier asked, sounding too interested in someone who was half insane. And I was sure it was clinically proven. “Nikolai Bianchi. I am sure he will be ready to join hands with us, considering the turbulence in his friendship with Rossi.” “He is not right in the fucking head. Who will ever give their daughter to him?” Kayne asked, sounding skeptical, “And, what is the story behind Antonio Rossi and Nicholai Bianchi? I though
AN HOUR AGO...JEREMIAHI sat in Kayne’s office, absently watching him as he poured drinks for us. My mind was still on my wife. My wife who has been getting on my fucking nerves day by day, testing my control to the point of insanity. Something has shifted between us since that night, more so because I lost my mind and did what I shouldn’t have. And I wasn’t referring to what happened between us in the forest or the erotic massage afterwards. It was about how fucking scared I was when I had found her on the terrace.And the thought of her falling from there and not being alive had messed with my fucking mind.Since then I had been re-evaluating. I didn’t know what I was doing anymore where my wife was concerned. Not only I realised that I was only deluding myself thinking I could kill her when the time comes, but also I couldn’t even bring myself to really hurt her now. I was reluctant to push her where she loses herself in her mind and acts like a living corpse.And there lies t