Unwanted Advances

~~MASSIMO~~ Seraphina goes to her room for a few hours after we get home from the department store, and I let her go. I'm still too full of rage after everything that happened with her sister to be comforting; it's not my strong suit on the best of days, and right now, I'm more likely to snap at her than make her feel better. A few of my men hanging around the house set about unpacking everything we bought for the baby into one of the guest rooms by Seraphina's suite. Then I text her to let her know where it all is. By that point, I'm calm, but I'm not sure whether she wants to see me. Isabella is a bitch, but she was right that I'd assaulted their father. Seraphina didn't seem to have a problem with it when I showed her the pictures right after it happened, but maybe the few days that have passed changed her mind? God, I hate all this emotional bullshit. But I want Seraphina. I know that I have to have her,

A Reckless Act

~~SERAPHINA~~I spend the next few hours after my little encounter with Massimo and that woman stomping around the mansion, going about my cleaning. I'm fuming. I'm furious, and then I feel angry with myself for being so irrationally pissed off.By the time I finally get Luca to sleep for his morning nap, I'm fucking livid, and I have to do something about all the energy that's humming through me; otherwise, I'm going to fucking snap.I growl to myself as I make my way through the mansion, steadfastly looking ahead as I head to the backyard. I can feel Massimo's eyes on me through his little eyes in the sky—the fucking cameras—but I don't let it bother me as I make my way out onto the patio, where several of his men are hanging around with drinks next to the pool.Some of them greet me, but most turn away, casting their attention elsewhere. I have the feeling that Massimo talked to them about me sometime after Luca and I came to live here because

Caveman

~~MASSIMO~~Fury is my righteous companion as I carry Seraphina back through the house, her naked body wiggling and slippery against my shoulder. My clothes are soaked through, and I can feel my body shivering, but I am so fucking pissed off that the sensation of the cold hasn't seeped through to my fingers, toes, and core yet."Stop that, Seraphina," I growl, tightening my grip on her legs when she tries to kick me. She's a feisty little thing, a spitfire whose attitude I usually admire, given that she's one of the only people on the planet brave enough to stand up to me.Right now, though? After she stared directly into my camera, knowing that I was watching her little tantrum, and then stripped down completely in front of my men?And not just stripping. She didn't do it quickly and efficiently. She did it seductively, one article of clothing at a time. The rational part of my mind knows that she undressed that way to get to me, of course, not b

A New Kind of Normal

~~SERAPHINA~~Things seem to mellow and change over the following days, and Massimo and I fall into a kind of routine.I wake up with Luca, and the two of us work together to decorate his room. It comes together quickly, and I feel an enormous sense of pride and accomplishment when I can finally look around and see the evidence of my hard work.Things between Massimo and me seem better after the misunderstanding with him and the woman who had come onto him. He showed me the footage from the hallways after we worked out our issue, despite my assurances that he didn't need to prove anything to me.He showed me anyway, and I had to admit that it eased something inside me to see with my own two eyes how he had rebuked her multiple times before I came around the corner.Bad timing, that. And with all the information at my disposal, it is horrifically embarrassing to consider how I behaved in front of his men.God.It takes a

The Wound

~~MASSIMO~~"God damn, motherfucking son of a bitch," I growl, pain flaring in my side as Dante and one of my other men help me limp through the front door of my mansion.Fucking shit. Goddamn. Fuck.Today started like every other day, with breakfast with Seraphina and then an hour or two of playing with Luca while she went about her cleaning for the morning before Luca had to take a nap. After he lay down, I had to leave the house to go with Dante to deal with some collections. A few people getting up and thinking that their protection payments are optional, all pretty standard. Honestly, it's a nice break out of the house—I'm starting to feel just a little cooped up.Everything is going well until we get to the last collection of the day. The owner of the restaurant—a short, fat man with thinning black hair and eyes that are more than slightly unhinged—manages to pull a gun and get a shot off before Dante blows his head off.It's not a

Breaking Point

~~SERAPHINA~~I fume as I stare at Massimo, and there's a knowing glint in his eyes as he looks down at me. The bandage that Dr. Moretti—I've seen her around the house a few times, which is the only reason I know her name—slapped over her stitches is a stark contrast to Massimo's tanned skin. Only the slight pallor in his face as he looks at me tells me that he is putting on a front, that he is far more hurt than he wants me to believe.And that... pisses me off."Fuck you," I finally manage, standing up and turning on my heel to stomp away.I make my way through the foyer, grateful that none of Massimo's men are hanging around as I walk away. After a moment, a tiny part of me is gratified when I hear footsteps following behind me, a little bit back but not far enough away for me to think that Massimo isn't blatantly tailing me.Something inside me untwists. Of course, he's following me. The man doesn't know how to leave me alone, even wh