Ayla
1 week later
I was quickly getting dressed when I saw Alessio coming out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around this waist. My eyes followed his movement across the room, and I saw him smirk when he caught my eyes on him.
Stopping in front of me, he arched an eyebrow at me mischievously. “Like what you see?”
Letting out a sigh, I shook my head in exasperation. Alessio could be infuriating sometimes. He was calm and outright arrogant. Not to forget confident in everything. But those were the few things I liked about him. He wasn’t borderline or rude.
Alessio knew he was hot and used it to his advantage every time.
“You know I do,” I mumbled under my breath with a roll of my eyes.
“Louder. I didn’t hear that,” he said, moving closer to me.
Shaking my head, I laughed. “Nope. I’m not saying it louder. You clearly heard it.”
“Kitten,” Alessio warned.
I shivered at his nickname for me. I wasn’t in denial anymore. I loved it when he called me that. There was something so primitive, intense, and enticing about the way he said it.
“Alessio, I’m going to be late. I need to help Maddie and Lena with breakfast,” I admonished, taking a step away from him.
He crossed his arms, staring at me expectantly. Shaking my head, I smiled. He was so hard to resist. “No.”
Giving him another look, I turned around and went to the bathroom to fix my hair. I was pulling my hair up in a ponytail when I saw Alessio walking in, already dressed in his black suit.
He walked toward me and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into his body until my back was to his front. “You didn’t kiss me good morning,” he muttered, staring at me through the mirror.
Oh, I forgot. He was also very demanding.
Pushing my hair to the side, Alessio placed wet kisses along the length of my neck. He bit, sucked, and licked until I was putty in his arms.
I melted into his embrace, pushing my body into his. He found my sweet spot behind my ear and teased me with his tongue. Grazing the sensitive skin with his teeth, he chuckled when I trembled against his teasing touch.
My head fell back against his chest as he dragged his lips to the base of my neck and nipped at my shoulder before sucking on the tortured skin.
I let out a moan, pushing back into his hard body. “Alessio…”
He hummed against my skin, his arms tightening around me.
“We can’t…I’m going to be…late…” I breathed as he continued to tease me with his torturous ministration. My body quivered when I felt his fingers at the end of my dress, slowly pushing upward, baring my thighs.
He was slowly seducing me, and I didn’t have the strength to say no. His fingers moved to my panties, and he pressed against the fabric, right over my heated core. I whimpered as he teased me through my satin cloth. I squirmed in his embrace, feeling his length harden against my back.
“I can feel how wet you are, and I’ve barely touched you, kitten,” he growled against my ear.
Placing a kiss there, he removed his hand from under my dress, leaving me feeling strangely empty. “You are going to be late, right?” he murmured. “We don’t want Maddie angry.”
I let out a sigh and turned around in his arms. After a week, I knew him well enough to know Alessio was teasing me. He loved leaving me over the edge, dangling, begging for release. Only then would he give me what I wanted.
“You are so bad for me,” I muttered, resting my hands over his chest.
“I know,” he replied. “You are bad for me too.”
Giggling at his response, I placed a kiss over his chest. Alessio grasped my hands and held them over his chest. Placing a finger under my chin, he lifted my head up and dipped his before claiming my lips. The kiss started slow and gentle at first, but then he kissed me like he was starving.
The kiss was brutal and possessive. He kissed me like I was his everything.
Alessio’s hold was unyielding around my waist as he pulled me closer. He let go of my hands and wrapped his fingers around my hair, twisting my ponytail tightly into his fist, until his knuckles dug into my scalp. Tilting my head upward, he kissed me soundly. Instead of refusing him, I melted into his embrace, taking his kiss and demanding more in return.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you,” he breathed out against my lips.
“Hmm…” I whispered in a complete daze.
His chest vibrated with a low chuckle, and he slowly let go of me. “I’ll see you for breakfast.” Giving me a quick peck on the nose, he smiled and then left.
Smiling at his retreating back, I leaned against the counter, feeling blissful. I turned toward the mirror and removed my hair tie to redo my ponytail again. But something else caught my eyes.
Letting out a gasp, I leaned forward, moving closer to the mirror and slightly turning my body to the side. There it was, on the base of my neck.
A red spot from where Alessio had bitten and sucked at the skin. He left a hickey.
Shaking my head at my reflection, I smiled. Infuriating man.
I placed the hair tie on the counter, deciding to leave my hair down. It was the only way to hide the mark Alessio left me.
At the thought, my smile widened. Alessio had laid his claim.
Giving myself a final look in the mirror, I walked out of the bathroom and Alessio’s—our room. I mostly used Alessio’s room. He said what was the point of going back and forth between rooms when I was already sleeping in his. In other words, he was claiming it was our room. He was the first one to call it that. Our room.
I skipped downstairs to see Maddie setting the table. “You are late, missy. Again,” she grumbled at the sight of me.
I gave her a sheepish look. “Sorry.” Maddie and I went back and forth from the kitchen and the dining room, placing the dishes on the table.
“Can you tell Milena and Sophia that it’s their turn to serve today? They’re in the garden,” Maddie said as she placed the last plate.
I nodded in response, walking backward.
But I almost tripped over my feet when my back hit something. Or someone. My eyes widened in surprise, and I quickly swiveled around.
The first thing that came to my mind was that he was tall. The top of my head reached only to his chest. Glancing upward, I froze.
Grey eyes stared down at me. But in those grey eyes were small flecks of blue. Those eyes almost reminded me of Alessio’s.
Taking a step back, I closed my eyes and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…I should have been looking…I’m sorry.”
When I didn’t hear an answer, I opened my eyes. I took a few steps away from him, finally seeing the man clearly for the first time. All I could do was stare at him in complete astonishment.
He looked like Alessio. Almost exactly like him. There were a few wrinkles in the corner of his eyes and lips, the only indication that he was older. Was he related to Alessio?
My eyes were still glued to him when I saw another man step forward until he was standing beside Alessio’s lookalike.
With both men standing together, I trembled under their unflinching, tense gaze. I heard a loud gasp resonate from behind me, but I was too fixated on what I saw in front of me.
The other man’s eyes shifted away from mine, and I saw him look behind my back. He nodded. “Lena.”
“Isaak,” I heard Lena say.
Alessio’s lookalike gave me a final look before staring behind me too. “Lena,” he greeted, his voice gruff and deep.
“Lyov,” she breathed, shock evident in her voice.
Lyov. The name sounded so familiar.
When realization dawned, I took a step back, my hands shaking at my sides.
I now understood why he looked so much like Alessio.
Lyov was Alessio’s father.