Maximo watched his boss's back as he walked out the door. his hand sweeping through his hair before he walked up to her, who had her eyes on the ceiling and her hands folded across her chest. He should give it to her; she did have a lot of nerves talking back at the Devil of Rome, raising her chin at him, matching his anger with defiance, despite knowing he had her life in his hands. Walking up to her, he reached his hand forward to help her down from the bed, but she ignored his outstretched hands, climbing down from the bed herself. He swallowed his annoyance. "I'll give you a piece of advice, ma'am." Maximo began, "Maybe if you stop running your mouth and acting like you could take him down, then he may pardon you." She turned to him with a raised brow and said, "And do I look like I give two fucks ab..." He touched his side, and she kept the remaining words to herself, looking away to the wall, and began to walk outside, the light white gown hugging her naked body underneath.
When his teeth touched her skin, she felt an electric shock coursing through her, causing her back to arch and giving her a little pleasure, telling her he still had that carnal power over her.His teeth sank into her flesh, and she winced, hands flying to his shoulders, hitting and pushing him off her.He snatched both her hands, pinning them to the bed above her head. His teeth found their way to her chest, sucking hard and feathering little bites that sent sharp pain into her head."Zayne," her breath was hitched when he lowered down to her belly, swiping with his tongue at her side, his eyes watching her squirm beneath him, kissing his way towards her navel."Zayne please!" Her voice sounded sober now, and he stopped, his fingers that had been digging into her wrist slowly relieving its pressure.Then he sighed and stood up from her, turning away so he didn't see her naked body but just hearing her sob, and grabbing the bedsheets up to her chest."Stop this, ok!" She cried, "I di
Two days later, she stood in front of the mirror, watching her reflection as a girl of about the same age as she wore the slim necklace on her neck, which accentuated her neckline. She swallowed when she saw the tiny red beads at the side, knowing he was making a statement.The gown was a slim, thin-strapped dress that had a slit down one side of her leg, and with heels that didn't fit her mood, Gia felt like a doll being dressed up by those women who weren't in any way gentle with her.But she would give it to them; they were good at what they did—the curls packed at the top of her head, letting some fringes drop down her face.She joined her hands together in front of her, and the music bouncing from the stairs and up to her room seemed to remind her of what she was about to witness.Aaron wasn't going to come; she only hoped he had more sense than to slip into Don's manor because it was going to be a masked party. Her eyes dropped to her red mask, and she swallowed, blinking the te
Her eyes widened and her breath hitched; she looked around, wondering if others heard the loud thud of her heartbeat, her hands freezing at the rim of the glass. "Gia, are you okay?" Aaron's voice came again, almost giving her seizures. She had to get him out of there, and she had to do it fast. She acted like she was choosing a drink. "Don't stare directly at me," she whispered fiercely, "and turn away now." He looked up at the ceiling, which wasn't satisfactory for her, but it would do until she talked him into leaving the manor without her again. She turned to look at Zayne to check if he was seeing them, but luckily for her, they were gathered around a table, he at the head, probably talking business. That would do. She looked at her side, trying to act calm, ignoring Aaron, who was dressed as a server in a white shirt and black suit pants. "You have to get out of here right now before Don sees you," she took a cup of champagne and raised it to her lips. "This is a trap, A
Gia's POV."I love you, Giana... And just like that, he was dead, gone in a way no one would even wish for their enemies; the pain he went through... and while he was staring at my face, the life was extinguished from him.I wanted to move; I wanted to scream, but nothing came. Zayne's mouth moved, but I wasn't hearing what he said, not even when he was in front of Maximo, who was close to me.And it seemed that as each second passed, it worsened. I felt like I was crumbling, but I was too weak to show it, even though I was fighting for my breath.But then eventually I stopped struggling with my breath; at the same time, the last tear dropped, and slowly I was beginning to hear my heartbeat, gradually coming louder in my ears.My eyes stuck on the hole in Aaron's head. His shoulders slumped, and I wanted to go over there and hold him, just so he was close to me and so I could feel safe even though he was dead.but I couldn't find the words. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't find the te
"You shouldn't stand like that; grab a basket and work!" The woman behind her complained for the umpteenth time, causing Gia, who had been lost in herself, to jerk around again.The woman scowled, and Gia lowered her eyes to the ground, a frown on her face.She picked up the basket that was beside her, arranged her skirt, and walked past the woman. who looked like she was fed up with her. She had just one job—gathering all the dirty clothes from the manor to be washed.They were usually stained with blood, and most were torn with knife cuts. Most smelled of tobacco and alcohol. Good thing she had stacks of nose masks given to her by Maximo.Since the past two weeks, since Zayne brought her back from the hospital, she hadn't spoken one-on-one with him, much to her relief, until the second week, when she got orders from the caretaker of the manor that Don wanted her given chores.Well, that was okay, considering she was living in the manor and wasn't expecting to be treated like a guest
"Without the paperwork, Don, there's no way we can confirm the ammunition was meant for the Mafia." The man sitting opposite him leered, knowing he was treading on dangerous ground.They were about five of them in the red-lit room that had black leather chairs as seats, making it easy for Don to lean and grab him by the throat.But he also knew he had Don almost out of options: either get the papers or let the ammunition slide, which wasn't going to be a big deal for him anyway, but he knew how stubborn the Devil was.Even now, he only fell back on his seat, popped open a few buttons, and stared back at him, his face unreadable, probably steaming and itching for his gun.But this was business; if the papers couldn't be found, then they had nothing against him..."Besides Capo Bastone, God bless his soul," he said, making the sign of the cross, "he should have let you know about the papers."Zayne blinked. He heard the shuffling from around the table; he felt the tension oozing from
Maximo checked his watch. It was almost ten. He looked around at the abandoned room he was in and sighed. He only had an hour and thirty minutes before he was riding over to the mouth of the cave to collect her and drive her out of town.God, he didn't know what he was doing, but he couldn't just shake the feeling that she was innocent. No, it wasn't feeling. There were facts, and her servant suddenly fleeing the country cemented his belief.Don was acting on his feelings, which was expected since he and the last Capo Bastone were more like brothers than friends; in fact, Don considering him as a replacement was all because he was close to Matteo.And then he had sworn to be as loyal as the last assistant, even swearing on his life that he wasn't going to allow Don to stain his hands with her blood until there was full proof that she was guilty.But the more he snooped around, the more he doubted she was guilty. Maximo rubbed his eyes, the torchlight in his hands helping him through