Luca shut his eyes, dumping himself back on the car seat, eyes now out of the window, calculating.Derinem looked down at the phone, face blank and breath wavering, eyes on the phone, knowing the call was still ongoing, his thoughts flaring in all directions."He's playing with you," Luca told him; "he didn't shoot her."He only hoped."Luca?" Damon's voice called out through the phone, "Aunt May passed on her smart genes, didn't she?" They heard a door jam shot: "Fortunately, our cousin is right.""Damon...""Eight o'clock, Derinem, that's all I give you, the manor any minute after that," there was another loud shot. "Then you won't see your bitch anymore.""And you promise you'll let her go?""Well, when I'm in a bad mood, I change my mind; I can't help it." Derinem heard the smile in his voice: "Make the right decision, brother."Then the call ended, and Derinem covered his face with his two palms while breathing in. He knew this was coming and thought he was ready, but it seems tha
She looked up, and he glared down at her, a gun in his hand pointed at her, daring her to say something, anything. The familiar smile on his lips"Maestro..." She croaked, pushing back on the seat into which she was bound."We're done." She could hear the fury in his voice. "Tell him I'll get him, wherever he is."" MAYA! "SNAP OUT OF IT!" Wasn't that Derinem's voice?Damon pulled the trigger.Then she snapped awake, her breath heavy and sweat trickling down from her head down her body as she held onto the sheets of the bed for support."It's a nightmare." She heard the voice again beside her and turned to see Derinem, sitting on a sofa, watching her.Her head suddenly felt hazy and her sight blurred, She placed her two hands at her side for support, looking down at the sheets, hoping to regain full consciousness."That'll pass," he told her, standing up and grabbing a glass cup from a table beside the sofa in which he sat. "Water?" He asked, raising a bottle of water.The top of her m
She saw the man throw a punch at Sir Derinem, who pushed himself back; alarm ran through her seeing he was trying to slash the Don with the knife.She clutched her chest, holding her breath. She felt like hiding in a corner. In case Sir Derinem was subdued, she was going to be safe.But conscience didn't let her—or was it really conscience?"Derinem!" She screamed when she saw the man suddenly slash Don on his arm; she knew that was going to be very deep, and the blood streaking down his wet arm told her it must have hurt a lot.Still, he didn't flinch. The knife was coming again, and another scream was bubbling in her throat as she watched the shaft tip aim straight for his heart.But to her relief, he held on to the intruder's wrist, slowly, and Maya knew that with all of his strength twisted, it and the dagger fell into the water.In a flash, he held the man's hand and pushed his head into the water, holding him so he couldn't move.And as she watched, she saw the man struggling, b
Carefully, he laid her on the bed, so delicately that even the brushing of her back against the soft quilt felt like magic.He stood in between her legs, her eyes on him. She watched him pull his shirt over his head, dropping it to the ground.With round eyes watching the faint rising and falling of his chest, she noticed a small cowrie joined by a rope tied around his neck that she hadn't noticed before.God-like body taking her breath away, her fingers twitched so much, yearning for the feel of these glistening muscles against them.Upper body bare, he leaned down, his hand on the knot, and looking into her eyes, he breathed, "Let me, Maya."Seeing the pleading in his eyes, she only had to nod before he pulled the knot free of her, spreading the extras of the towel so that, except for her bikini, she was bare before him.He watched her, gulping down air, feeling his mouth salivate at the sight of her almost-naked state."You're beautiful, Maya," he said, flattening his hands on her
"If by twelve there is still no sign of me, take off with her and hide her for as long as you can," Derinem ordered, trying not to avert his gaze from Maya, who was in the back seat of the car.Luca rolled his eyes; obviously, these two were having another round again, and he wondered what could have happened this time when they had spent the night with each other.He had gone to his bed, craving the feel of his Lina, and now here they were, with Maya throwing her gaze out of the window; she was angry this time. And Luca knew whom that little fury was targeted at.Derinem, who had the brains of a mule—hell, the mules should feel insulted being compared with Derinem—wondered what he might have told her this time.Knowing he might die, wasn't this the time to make peace?Derinem exhaled heavily, "If this works out the way I expect it to, we'll be in Calabria by tomorrow, but if it doesn't, I trust you to find a way out."Luca nodded, "Trust me to find a way that won't get me killed, " L
"He should be here by now! What is he doing anyway? He said he'd be here before twelve." Maya muttered, trying not to look at the watch she had kept close.They were hidden behind a phone booth, and each time she looked out of it to check if a familiar car was approaching, she was disappointed again.She shouldn't be so hurt, especially when he told her he might not make it the last night they were together. She shouldn't be blamed if she couldn't accept it.It was so hard to think that someplace, probably back in the house they had just left, he would be laying on his back, staring at the ceiling, with blood oozing out from under him.She dragged her back down the glass, burying her face into her knee, feeling Luca's stare on her. Unlike chill Luca, this Luca was tensed up, and definitely what he didn't need was someone who couldn't keep her mess together.She took deep breaths, knowing it was almost twelve and they would soon be leaving that spot so Luca could hide her for as long a
She had to steady her breath so she wouldn't slump down from a sudden heart attack. The shock was an understatement when she saw him right in the center of the room, looking at them with a twisted smile crawling on his lips, but he wasn't moving close.But those eyes were swallowing her, sucking her into their depths, and promising to drown her in their darkness."How..." She could only stutter.He raised his brow. "You mean how I got here before you?" or "Or how is one mode of transportation faster than the other?"Maya pulled back."No Maya," he shook his head, pointing the gun at Derinem. She looked at where he aimed and gulped air; Derinem wasn't going to survive a gunshot to the head.no matter how lucky he was."You move one step, and this won't take a sec," he looked at Derinem, who looked up to the ceiling, then to the side of the room...Damon laughed, "No, brother, don't think about that too; I might just forget the plan about keeping the bitch alive."Derinem pulled his hai
THREE MONTHS LATER.He watched her laugh, tilting her head back, her brown hair dancing to the wind.She had her palms placed on his chest, loving the feel of his body against hers, and hands wrapped around her waist, holding her still so she didn't get pushed by the waves."I can't swim if you keep holding me like this, you know?" She smiled into his face. He dug his finger into his wet hair.He raised a brow at her, trying to keep the smile at bay while watching her. "Woman, I didn't snatch you out of Milo's bed, bribe Luca and Lina to watch the kids, and hide from my men because I want you to swim."She thumped him on his chest while frowning, "You big bully if I had known that's all you had in mind, I wouldn't have come."In response, he turned her around so her back was pressed against him. That opportunity presented itself to him, and he planted kisses on her neck, and she shivered. "Pfft," he scoffed, biting her soft skin and earning a slight moan. "Maybe if you don't do that