The feeling of emptiness won’t subside.
No contact with my Sweetness has left me edgy, moody, and clear within my thoughts.
I need Isla. She needs me to be stronger, now more than ever… Dimitri must go.
Upon returning to Australia, I go to work, meetings, lunch, where I eat minimal, more meetings and phone calls keep me occupied. Sleep evades me each night. I am doing the same routine day in, day out, like a hamster on a wheel. Nothing different, just waiting and existing. I can’t even muster enthusiasm for my Las Vegas project.
My uncle has decided it’s too dangerous for me to be seen around The Family. Sokolov’s hounds have been spotted watching me. Setting up my uncle on the top floor of The Raven late one night allows him to stay with his guards unnoticed. He has space for his office, a room for his home away from home, and rooms for his men. Having my uncle, the Boss, here makes me realize why he is the Boss. I still am not ready to take the reins yet. With only small aspects of mafia life ever touching us here in Sydney, I know I need someone with experience who can deal with Sokolov completely. I may want to end his life with my hands, but uncle knows how to achieve this ruthlessly and silently. I am honored to learn this from him.
Seth, Jared, and Liam keep me updated during daily meetings within The Raven, recapping where the security team is at, what Kolton and the tech guys are finding, and, most importantly, where Isla is.
It should be me standing by her side, protecting her, alleviating all her fears. But knowing the danger that would put her in is keeping me directly away.
Liam calls me at my office with news from the security detail on Isla, informing me that my Sweetness is inside a property in Rose Bay, one of Sokolov’s residences.
Motherfucking bastard! He had better not lay a hand on her.
“What the fuck, man, why didn’t someone stop her? Do I have to remind you what he does to traitors?” I yell through the phone while I all but run out of the office to the elevator. From the corner of my eye, I see Lydia’s head whip up. Concern written on her face. I have to get to her before he does.
A controlled voice enters my ears, “Isla will be all right. Our security guy was able to slip a tiny listening device in her handbag while she sat on the bus. He is listening to everything that goes on in that apartment and if it starts to get heated, our men are close enough to intervene, without anyone suspecting a thing.” Liam draws a long breath. “We have to be smart, Alex. We can’t be seen near her or things will get ugly, fast. This way we can get our plan finalized, keep her safe, and bring him down. It’s the only solution at the moment or we risk blowing our covers and the family’s secrets.”
“I don’t care!” I yell, then resign myself to what he is telling me is true.
Hesitantly I add, “I need her safe, Liam. I just need her to be safe and me not being with her is a potential for her to be hurt. She will be my undoing. Revenge will be first on my list if anyone harms her, in any way.”
Stepping out to my limo, where Thomas, my driver, is waiting for me, I climb in signaling him to stay put for a minute.
“Liam. The minute you hear from our guy, phone me. I need to know everything that happens in that building.”
Pouring two fingers of whiskey, I slam them back before I do it again. I can’t sit back and do nothing while Isla could be risking her life to keep me safe, but I have to be smart.
“Thomas, has anyone been watching us today?” I inquire.
“I had someone on us during the day, but they left about an hour ago.”
“Right. I think I’ll take a walk. I’ll ring you when I need you.”
“Keep your phone on, so I can at least track you, if something happens.”
“They’re not after me, Thomas. They want sweet, innocent Isla for some unknown reason. But things will become crystal clear very soon…”
Fuck, I hope…
Knocking back one more whiskey, I set off on foot.
The city is still full of people trying to find their way home from work, out for dinners or shows, and just hanging around with friends taking in the fabulous sights of Sydney and the harbor. Making my way through a mall, I decide to purchase some causal casual clothing from a shop I wouldn’t normally buy clothing in. I need to not look like myself.
Wearing cargo pants, DC shoes, and a t-shirt, holding my suit in a plastic carry bag, I feel comfortable and more relaxed. The bus pulls up outside the mall and I give the lady driver change to take me to Bondi Beach.
The thirty-one-minute journey gives me time to message Kolton, making certain he has taken care of any listening devices wired to Isla’s apartment. Thank Christ he found no video devices in there since they’re harder to dismantle.
Strolling toward Isla’s apartment, my instincts from my younger years kick in. I stop and canvas the building before going near it. In the darkened shadows of the medium sized apartment block, I discover, after another twenty minutes, there is no one watching her house at the moment, possibly because she’s not here.
She’s with the monster already!
Darkness helps me blend with the building.
Going to her door, I use my tools swiftly and effectively. Old skills come in handy… I am inside her apartment, shutting out everything and everyone else but me and Isla, when she returns.
Now all I have to do is wait. She will forgive me by the end of the night, for the hardest thing I have ever done…
“I’ll give you two days, Isla. Two days to contact your mother, brother, and friends. To organize what you desperately can’t live without when you live with me. The rest will be given away or taken to the dump.” Dimitri’s brusque voice invades my ears, while his hands rest firmly on my shoulders. “Don’t make this harder than what it has to be, my love. You will have the perfect life, no worries, no work commitments, and anything you desire. Every woman will be envious of you.”
What can I say, it sounds like my dreams come true…but a nightmare has taken hold of my life, completely this time…
Still in utter shock, I smile politely as I wriggle my way out from under his hands when the car door opens, allowing me to escape this ordeal, if only for a day or two.
His voice stills me as I try and get as far away from him as possible.
“Loved ones can be hurt easily, Isla. Sleep well, my love.” Then the large black car moves away, leaving me to crumble apart by myself.
My body hasn’t stopped shuddering since he declared I am to be his wife. Breathing in shallow breaths, my legs aren’t going to support me for much longer. I walk hastily up the path to my door. Shaking without an ounce of control, I open the door. My legs buckle, landing me inside on the floor, in a heap, separating me from the reality of the big, bad world.
Tears slip down my face, but my body is too mentally and physically exhausted even to cry.
It would do no good anyway…
I crawl slowly along the floor to my bedroom. Spotting my bed, I heave myself up and land on it, covering myself with my favorite rosy blanket. Sealing my eyes, not caring if they were never to open again.
The nightmare I have been enduring was a premonition…
My limbs and mind are limp, weak, and exhausted. Fuzzy and in a whirlwind, my mind slowly shuts down, dragging me into an unconscious state.
Air slowly passes through my mouth. In…out. In…out. Gentle strokes caress my hair. My nerve endings start to tingle.
This dream feels so real…
“Shhhh… I won’t let anyone hurt you, my Sweetness. Shhhh…now.”
Lips touch mine, melting my body. They’re moving exquisitely and skillfully over mine, stopping the world for a short space of time. Involuntarily, my lips work in unison with the intrusion. Tasting them, smelling him, bringing my lifeless body back to life.
But it can’t be my heaven, he left me, I am nothing to him.
So why do these lips fit mine so perfectly? Why can I feel in my heart without even seeing his beguiling face, that it is Alex?
I fell in love with the way he touched me without using his hands, although his hands are very, very nice too, craving his protection and dominance while repairing the innermost aspects of me. He knows the whole me.
But he left me when I uncovered my dirty past to him. He told me I could tell him anything and he would never leave me, yet he did. My hands want to lash out at him, my feet should be kicking him, reminding him that he left me. Shouldn’t I be screaming at him to get away from me, that he told me that we can’t be together and that I must leave. Arranging a flight for me within the hour. The pain I felt then, still lingers inside me.
I will always want him…
I will always need him…
It is only a dream…
“I’m here now, Sweetness. Forgive me, Isla, please forgive me.” The voice. The kiss. The smell. All Alex…
Scared to open my eyes, ending an incredible dream, I lay there motionless. Nothing moves but my eyelids, letting in the most magnificent sight I have seen in days. Striking light blue eyes marred by deep lines. A darkness and sadness surround them.
My hand carefully lifts to his chin, feeling the long stubble which has grown on his handsome face.
“Alex. You can’t be here. It’s not safe for you to be here. Dimitri…he…”
“Quiet now, close your eyes, and listen with your heart, my Sweetness. I have caused you pain, but believe me, I have been feeling every ounce of it too. Hearing you confess tore my heart apart. How have you survived, strong girl? You amaze me.” Light sweeps of his lips brush over my cheeks. He sits down on the bed next to me.
“You are the strongest person I know.” His chest heaves in a lungful of air. “But I knew Sokolov would come for you, hurting you if you were to pursue another man. I couldn’t let that happen.” His fingers massage my scalp while his voice continues.
“My uncle and the family found information on him and know of his mafia ties and underworld activities.” A menacing look overtakes his face. “I can’t risk you being hurt trying to save me, so, for all intents and purposes, I have been told to leave you alone. To stay away from you until we sort out how we are going to destroy Sokolov.”
Alex stumbles over these words, disclosing the great deal of pain behind them.
He didn’t want to leave me… He’s been told to stay away?
My eyes open. I hear what he is saying, but he left me. Striking his chest with my fist, I exhale and groan with anguish. He left me… I bang them repeatedly, tears spilling down my cheeks. The bed wobbles underneath me. I want him to know how much he hurt me. He lets me beat his chest until my arms have no strength left in them and I am sobbing uncontrollably.
“Shh now… I have you. I’m here for us. If you will have me?” His mellow, deep voice, his words, it’s what I have wanted to hear since I walked up the steps to his private jet and flew from Las Vegas back to Sydney. I have him here, in my bedroom. My wish has come true. I’m so confused and hurt but astounded and relieved that Alex is back…
Wiping my face with my hands, I look into his sincere eyes. Alex is here for me.
“You hurt me, Alex. I know I deserved it. I placed you and your family in a dangerous position. It’s still dangerous.”
“We will fight this together if you still want me.”
Sniffling, there’s not a shadow of doubt in my mind, that I will always want Alex. I move my body back from the side of my bed, silently inviting him to lay near me. The bed dips further and I feel the connection between us flowing once again. A powerful quake bolts through my body. I sigh a breath of relief as his arms enclose me. My body melts into his, my strength is back where he belongs. Nuzzling into his neck, our hearts beat rapidly in sync with each other’s. The heat between us radiating into my skin, running through my veins.
Not needing to hear more, questions can wait. I care only that he has returned. I wrap my arms tightly around his formidable body. How quickly my body remembers his touch.
“Sleep now, my Sweetness. Even when you can’t see me, trust I will always be here.” His voice carries to my ears and I feel his touch upon my heart.
My body is burning, the fireworks are about to ignite. Nothing has felt this good before.
He is staking his claim…
Being woken by skilled hands and mouth is something I want to get used to. I voluntarily open wider. There’s a desperation in his touch as his tongue wildly flicks over my clit and inside me. His pleasurable moans alert me to the way Alex is holding back, letting me lose myself to these sensations building inside of me.
My hips gyrate, and my nipples stand to attention. My eyes are still closed, helping me concentrate on the beautiful pandemonium going on within my body. Short gasps leave my throat as his strong fingers roll my nipples, rotating between that and cupping my breasts. Alex heightens my sexual trance each time he flicks his tongue with expert precision over my clit, while squeezing my nipple, bordering on a delectable pain.
Where have my clothes gone? Christ, who cares. It’s oh so mind blowing…
Sensing that I am close to no return, he leaves me… Wanting… Needing… Craving his touch…
My eyes open just as he leaves his position between my legs, moving himself so he is lying against my chest. Holy hell, he is the complete package-impenetrable muscles, tattoos, drop-to-your-knees handsome, and expert knock-me-off-my-rocker sex skills.
The thud…thud…thud of his chest is in time with mine.
We are both breathing, panting hard, pouring our love into each other with our eyes. The fact that we haven’t told each other we love each other doesn’t matter. The ferocity of it can be felt.
This will be dangerous if anyone sees us together as we won’t be able to hide our connection…
With a determined slow focus, Alex’s cock slides over my sacred spot, teasing me, before he moves his hips so he is fully within me. Our panting increases as our bodies take on a life of their own. Thrusting…touching…sliding…crushing…twisting…
If this is to be our last time, then we are both making sure we never forget it.
Underneath his broad chest, the friction increases against my skin. My hands roam his taut skin. They clasp around his neck, capturing him, not willing to let him go. Our thrusting increases, and I move my legs to open wider so he can fully enter me, hitting that glorious spot, driving me insane with pleasure.
The muscles in my arms become weak, allowing Alex to change my position so he is kneeling in front of me, my knees being pulled to his sides so my legs wrap around his back. Binding us together as he moves slowly now in and out. In… Out… In… Out…
“Ohhh, so delicious, ohhh fuck, you’re driving me insane, Alex. Harder, faster, Alex, please.” I somehow manage to mumble out directives in between taking a breath.
“This is us together, Isla, don’t ever forget how fucking great this feels and looks, my Sweetness. Remember this.”
My breasts bounce as Alex’s control starts to wane. Lifting my ass higher so he enters me deeper still, I feel him wholly inside of me, hitting me with his large cock further within than any other time before. The determination, force, and domination he is displaying turns me on even more, if that’s possible.
“Keep your eyes on me, Sweetness. Trust me when I tell you, I will protect you.”
How is this God talking?
Sliding his cock out to the tip, he slams as hard as he can back into me, then again and again. He’s not being gentle, he’s marking me as his and I absolutely fucking love it.
Containing myself no more, I join in pulling back and lifting my hips, rubbing my clit, heightening our pleasure, our connection. We find our release together. Holy Hell…
Gripping and straining as one, the burning ignites and blasts, imprinting it to my memory forever.