"Why the hell do you keep doing this," I'd asked one afternoon when we were sitting on the tiles in the kitchen, clothes still out of sorts, catching our breath.
She'd laughed. "Remember when you told me you'd always fancied living in Italy, and mentioned something about all the women? Well, this is me distracting you so you don’t look at anyone else."
I'd sputtered, not sure if I was amused or indignant. "But we hardly see any women out here. All the construction workers are guys, and who else would be coming out here?"
She'd just laughed, turned around on me and took my cock in her hand. It hadn't been ten minutes, and I needed to go back out again, but she held me in her hand until I was up for another round.
Between our afternoon activities, our night activities, and the hard labor I was working on in between, I would either work myself into exhaustion, or I would grow stronger from the workout.
I didn’t miss my past life, and that was a surprise to me. The killing wasn’t exactly what appealed to me, but the high adrenaline and the action definitely had. The few times I nearly got myself killed aside, I had loved that part of the job. but it felt just as good mastering a new skill, even if that skill was putting up a building from the ground up.
Though occasionally, I would think of the family I'd lost and how they would have loved her. Elda seemed to have some sixth sense for when I was feeling down and she was always there to distract me, and I did the same for her the few times her emotions overwhelmed her. It was a give and take sort of relationship, something new and wonderful that I had no idea could exist.
It wasn’t something I ever thought I would have.
I was happy in my new life with Elda.
Chapter 29
Elda
As the building went on, I made other preparations. I knew if I was going to attract people, I'd have to advertise it in some way, and there was plenty of other paperwork that would be involved. While Luke helped with the building, I worked on the business side of things.
I didn’t have much of a head for business, but when I'd had an idea, I'd looked into it. Not as extensively as Luke had made us look, but I wasn’t a novice. I had images from the architects, so I'd picked up what the houses would look like when finished, and I made use of those.
I had to hire a lot of freelancers, to open a website and fill it with content, handle the advertising for me. When I found the time away from the paperwork, and I wasn’t waiting on Luke, I went around, taking photos of the surroundings.
The graphic images went on the website first, though I had some specially made just for that and not the blueprint ones I got from the architects. We were still working out plans for the second half plot of the grounds, and I kept them mostly busy with that. I wanted the deadline for planning to be over when the walls of the first buildings started to go up, so we could stick to the plan. Luke tried to help with that when he realized what we were doing. But even though he could sort of understand from the pictures I got, he didn’t hear a big part of the negotiations until I had to translate for him later, and that grew annoying for him, but he still insisted on getting updates.
I talked to a few designers and suppliers of interior pieces. My grandmothers ended up helping me a lot with that part when I got around to introducing them to Luke and letting them in on what I was doing. They were both glad to help, and they became my unofficial employees. They were a lot more helpful than I could have imagined.
They were also the happiest I'd ever seen them. My grandfathers even appeared for a visit, and the four of them had grown closer in their friendship, now that they no longer had to worry about Greco anymore. The news had, of course, brought it home, and while I had gotten busy to the point I even forgot to tell them, they had heard about it on the news.
It was a chapter of our lives we were all looking forward to closing.
The photos I took of the surroundings went on the website next, once the word content was built up and I was sure I had the best compilations of photos. I'd walked all the way down to the beach, even though it was a bit of a long walk, to have some of that area as well. I could have brought in some professional, but it was fun learning something new, and it was an excuse to walk outside. Plus, I didn’t want some stranger roaming the grounds. Usually, Luke kept an eye on the workmen so they didn’t do anything stupid.
I'd have to remember to bring him to the beach with me sometime before people started coming in and the place filled up with people. I was sure he'd agree to go if he thought he could convince me to have sex under the palm trees.
I posted the best photos to the website, after getting instructions from the guy I put in charge of the website on how to change and edit it by myself.
There was some work with a lawyer, building up contracts, calculating the worth for each house and such. I'd been training to be a lawyer, so this was the easiest part of the whole thing, even though it was still long and tedious, but I still needed a professional's help. I used a firm recommended to me by my grandmother.
It all took longer than I would have thought. I'd added plenty of time in the plan, but it was still a surprise how it took months just to handle everything when I thought the building was going to be the most grueling task. By then, the houses on the first half plot were nearly all done, the ones from the other half of the grounds were getting close as well.
Once I had everything up and ready, and all the information on the website, all I had to do was wait and keep doing whatever other work was still there. Within a short time, I started to get bookings.
The first one was surreal, and I got it maybe a week after the bidding went live. I attacked Luke when he got home that evening and fell asleep crying in his arms. He freaked, of course, assuming I was upset because something was wrong.
But I was crying because it was so hard to put the happiness I was feeling into words.
The happiness I was sure I'd lost when I stopped being that naïve college girl. That I wasn't sure I ever would have gotten back if Luke hadn't been with me.
Epilogue
Luke
I got back one evening to find Elda sitting in the kitchen. It was darkening outside, but she hadn't turned on the lights yet. She didn’t even move when I turned on the lights.
It wasn’t something surprising, she did it often, but she was sitting looking pensive, hands wrapped around a mug. It took me sitting across from her for her to even realize I was there. Her eyes met mine, then skittered away as her hands nervously played with the cup in her hands. She lifted it up for a drink, barely took a sip and grimaced, letting the cup fall gently back onto the counter.
I frowned at the uncharacteristic behavior. Recently, she had two extremes; floating happily or exhausted from too much work, but still happy. She always seemed to have enough energy to attack me in the kitchen, or the shower, or the bedroom, practically every night.
Instead of either, she looked uneasy, and that worried me.
"What is it?"
Her eyes met mine as she bit her bottom lip, thinking about whether she was going tell me. I could feel my impatience grow, but I made myself wait for her. When I was on the verge of snapping, she spoke.
"I've heard word."
I stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. After taking in a shaky breath, she did.
"I can't be sure of its validity without any proof, and I don’t know how to get that without leaving the country—which I won't do. But word on the street is that Greco's son, the eldest, took over the family's business empire."
That wasn’t enough to be this worried over. It was bound to happen, though I would have imagined some uncle or older cousin vying for the spot. I remembered the kid, though, in the few times I'd met him. He was a lot like his father, so it wasn’t really a surprise to me that he'd managed to secure the position.
"We expected something like this, remember? They're a family business, so when you take the head, someone must replace it. I'll admit, I didn't expect his son. But why a
re you so upset?"
She frowned, hands squeezing hard around the cup until her knuckles turned white. I pulled it out of her hands before she hurt herself, felt the drink was cold—it smelled like chocolate. I put the mug aside. Her hands folded around each other, fingers twining together and squeezing in stress, and I put a hand on both of hers, hoping to comfort her, just a little bit.
"I was also told he's looking for the one that killed his dad. He's not just assuming it's some local mob hit, or whatever. He's sending word to pretty much every affiliate his father ever had, and there are quite a few all over the country. I only heard this, because one of the syndicates I worked for here got the news from the boy himself. He's offering reward money to anyone that can give him clues that they can prove. Luke, it’s a lot of money."
Well, I'd expected that, too, and planned for it before we even left the States. I didn’t need to know how much the prize money was, but the family was rich and only getting richer with lots more to spare. I could foresee some idiots trying to take advantage and getting themselves killed, but I didn’t care about anyone else.
I was careful, though. I did my job well. No one would know it was me that killed Greco.
The day before we were to board the flight, when we didn’t get enough sleep and Elda insisted on going out with me, I'd taken care of everything. Even if someone made a shot in the dark and brought my name up after my convenient disappearance, there was nothing that would lead them to me.
"Look, that isn’t something you have to worry about. No one is going to be looking for us here, I made sure of it. Besides, he was killed on American soil, with a foreign army general. When nothing comes up, he's going to assume that the General had something to do with it, and he'll divert his attention elsewhere, and eventually stop altogether. They can't touch us."
I filled my voice with the conviction I felt. I knew, even if they somehow did manage to track me down, I'd take them out before they did anything to us. I wasn’t in the business anymore but I was keeping my contacts intact, just in case, and Elda did the same.
I saw as she absorbed my sureness in this, and her worried look was wiped away with a smile. She pulled her hands out from under mine and got up.
"What would you like for dinner?"
Just like that, the topic was closed, and neither of us would be opening it again. Instead, we focused on the present.
The houses were ready, a few of them already under contract, and Elda and I were looking forward to our lives together as one.
About Roxy Sinclaire
Roxy Sinclaire writes steamy, suspenseful romantic stories as the main genre, and this includes a variety of different topics. Some of these include dark romances, action packed romances, mafia romances, and many more. She currently works in customer relations in New York City, but is trying to fulfill her passion in writing and eventually have her dream job become a reality.
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Also by Roxy Sinclaire
Pass To Win Series:
Touchdown: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (Book 1)
Line of Scrimmage: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (Book 2)
Between The Tackles: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (Book 3)
Fourth and Goal: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (Book 4)
Game Winning Catch: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (Book 5)
Dirty Money: A Dark Mafia Romance
Object Me: A Bad Boy Lawyer Romance
Dirty Fighter: A Bad Boy MMA Romance
Fast and Loaded: A Bad Boy Sports Romance
Tempting Me: A Bad Boy Romance
The Devil’s Dream: A Dark Romance
Trapped In His World: A Dark Romance
Deceived By The Hitman: A Bad Boy Hitman Romance
Preview
Excerpts:
Excerpt from Touchdown: A Bad Boy Sports Romance
My head was still buzzing from the weekend’s excitement on Monday morning. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that I saw a vulnerable side to Alexa Hall. She tries to appear so perfect, but it was nice to see that she’s human too.
I was excited to see her in Sociology class. I couldn’t sleep last night because I was thinking about what I would say to her.
She always sat directly in front of me, so maybe I would lean down and whisper something in her ear. It would be like an inside joke between us. Or, I could just flash her a seductive, knowing smile and watch her blush. I don’t mean to brag, but it’s too easy for me to make girls blush.
Maybe I’d just go for it and ask her out. Say something about how I want to spend another night with her that ends with both of us being conscious. I was nervous, but it was the perfect moment. I really felt like we made a special connection Saturday night.
I got to the classroom a little earlier than normal to make sure I had enough time to talk to her before the lecture started. I was feeling a bit anxious, but ready. It was now or never.
A few minutes passed. She was usually in her seat by now, with her notebook and pen out, ready to take notes. Her hair always draped over the back of her chair. Sometimes, a few locks would fall onto my knees and I would carefully brush them away with my finger.
The professor entered and began the lecture. No Alexa. I figured she must be sick. Maybe her hangover was so bad that she was still not feeling well today. I was a little concerned. I pulled out my phone and texted her.
Are you sick? Do you want me to take notes for you? We can meet up later and I’ll fill you in on what you missed in class.
I hit send. This was just as good. It would give me a perfect reason to see her again. Because it had to do with school, she would never accuse me of trying any funny business with her.
I checked my phone a few minutes later. No response. Poor girl, maybe she was really sick. Would it be weird if I showed up at her dorm later? Maybe with flowers or chicken soup and apologize to her for getting her so drunk?
I tried to take good notes, but I kept getting distracted. I was daydreaming a hundred different scenarios where I approached Alexa and she was so thankful that I took care of her that she wanted to show her appreciation. Any possibility from a nice dinner, to a kiss, to a night in my bed—I thought of them all.
Before I knew it, class was over. I followed the herd of students exiting through the door in the back of the classroom. That’s when I saw Alexa, quickly stuffing her books in her bag. She never sits in the back row of classrooms. That’s where the slackers sit, and she was definitely not that. I called out to her, but she was already lost in the crowd.
I felt confused. I was so nice to her and I really thought she had a good time with me. She wanted to come back to my place, and when that obviously didn’t happen, she told me I was nice. That’s a lot coming from this girl. She seemed to have a general mistrust of men, and I thought I had finally broken through by proving to her that I just want to be good to her.
Now I was angry. I texted her with concern about her well-being and she didn’t even have the decency to respond? She deliberately avoided me and ignored me when I wanted to talk to her. I could have any girl I want, and she knows that. Did she hate me so much that she couldn’t even look at me?
I was right. My friends told me that she was worth pursuing, and they were totally wrong about that. She was a cold person. She only cared about herself. Of course she would, though. Girls who come from money never have interest in guys like me. I was stupid to think that this was going to work out.
I fumed the whole way back to my dorm. It was probably better this way. Before long, the school year would be over. I didn’t have time to chase girls, anyway.
I needed to focus on finishing up my degree and preparing for the professional football combine. With any luck, I would be moving, and she’d go back to her hometown, or wherever rich girls go when they graduate with a degree they’ll never use.
I was done with Alexa Hall. I had been turned down by plenty of girls in my life, and it was no big deal. I was just so surprised that she, of all people, wanted nothing to do with me.
In my anger, I typed out a text, my fingers shaking.
Sorry I made sure you got home safely the other night. I didn’t think it would upset you this much. Next time, I’ll leave you on the street, puking your guts out.
My finger hovered over the send button before I quickly deleted it. I didn’t need to make things worse than they already were. I decided to take a page from Alexa’s book and just ignore her too. I’ve been dumped many times for doing the wrong thing with girls. This was just the first time I was ever rejected for doing the right thing.
Click HERE to continue reading Touchdown: A Bad Boy Sports Romance
Excerpt from Fast and Loaded: A Bad Boy Sports Romance
It had been three days since my world started to spin that night in the bar. I kept blaming it on the alcohol but in my heart, I knew it was a lie. Since then, I had done everything in my power to stay busy and avoid Desmond. I didn’t want to become another notch on his belt. Plus, no one would take me seriously for the next few weeks if I slept with my boss.
Dirty Indiscretions: A Dark Mafia Romance Page 12