by Lylah James
I pressed my forehead against his and closed my eyes again, letting myself feel his arms around me. I let this moment make its way into my heart, holding it closely there. I absorbed his warmth for one last time, knowing that it was almost time for me to go.
After a few minutes, I leaned back and Alessio’s eyes turned sorrowful. “I have to go now,” I whispered.
Alessio nodded, and I slowly got off his lap. His arms fell to his lap, and a shuddered breath left his body, an agonizing expression passing over his face.
Giving him a final glance, I turned to walk away, but a hold on my wrist stopped me. Looking down, I saw that Alessio’s hand banded my wrist, refusing to let me go. I faced him again, and he stared up at him, his eyes glistening in the light.
“Don’t take too long,” he ordered gruffly in an authoritative way that made my toes curl. His voice was hard, demanding, and held a clear warning.
I couldn’t help but smile before nodding.
He still didn’t let go of me. So, this time, I answered verbally. “Okay.”
When he was satisfied with my spoken answer, his fingers unwrapped around my wrist as he let me go.
I walked backward a couple of steps before turning around and leaving.
Entering my room, I closed the door and got straight in bed. After taking my sleeping pill, I burrowed deep under the soft comforter and closed my eyes.
But sleep didn’t come as fast as I expected.
Instead, all I could think about was Alessio.
My body was tingling and warm under the comforter. Even though Alessio wasn’t holding me any longer, I still felt him on my skin. It was as if he branded me, letting me know that I was his.
And there was no denying it.
I was his.
Chapter 15
“Are you serious?” Maddie growled as she walked into her room, slamming the door behind her. My head snapped up at her tone, and I placed my book down, giving her a questioning look.
“Huh?” I asked.
“Three fucking days. No, scratch that—five days, Ayla! How long is this going to last?” She glared at me. I knew exactly what she was talking about, and as she voiced out her frustration, I looked down guiltily.
“I don’t know what to do with you, and it can’t go on like this anymore,” she cried, her unconcealed impatience evident in her tone and expression.
Sighing, I nodded my head. “I know—”
But she interrupted me, not giving me chance to talk. “Alessio is practically going insane. He isn’t eating and barely even sleeping. Have you seen him? He looks horrible! And let’s not forget the anger. Oh God, I’m shuddering with just the thought of it. He’s snapping at everyone and is threatening to shoot people left and right. I’m going to admit this only once, but even I am scared of him right now.” She paused and sucked in a quick breath before continuing with her rant.
“I have never seen him like this. He’s like this dragon breathing fire, and everyone is scared of going close to him. Every single member of his household is keeping their distance from him, even Viktor and Nikolay. And Mom, too. We are so done with this shit and want it fixed, right now! And only you can fix this,” Maddie snapped, stabbing a finger at me.
In the last three days, the only time I saw him was at night when I would play the piano. But that was it. After playing, I would get up and walk away.
It was torturous and left a deep ache inside of me. Even worse, I knew it was hurting Alessio too.
Maddie was right. I had kept this on for too long. The problem was that I had already forgiven him, but I just didn’t know how to say it. Or maybe I didn’t have the courage to say it. Either way, now everything rested on my shoulders, and I had to ask for his forgiveness too.
Before I could open my mouth to say something, Maddie kept going as she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look very intimidating. But with the way her glare was centered on me, she didn’t have to try too hard.
She was frightening when she was angry.
“You’re hurting yourself too, Ayla. This is hurting both of you. You aren’t eating properly either, and I can see you lack sleep. Those dark circles don’t look pretty on you. Can you please, for everyone’s sake, let him off the hook and just let the poor man explain!”
Yup. She was definitely scary.
Crossing my arms over my chest too, I leveled her with a look. “I know.”
Maddie scoffed, but then her expression softened. “I know he hurt you.”
Shaking her head, she mumbled something under her breath before speaking loudly. “And that’s why you need to let him explain so you both can figure this out together. You need each other. I also know that you have forgiven him already but are too scared to say it. Just let him fucking explain!”
“Whose side are you on, anyway?” I fired back.
Maddie paused, her mouth opened, but then she closed it again. She huffed and twisted her lips in a pout. “Aylessio’s side.”
Aylessio? What?
She stared at me expectantly, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly.
Ayla and Alessio. Aylessio. Her ship name for us.
I let out a laugh when realization dawned to me. She really wasn’t giving up.
“Don’t laugh. This ship is not sinking, you hear me? It has sailed and will keep sailing! It’s not sinking under my watch.” She narrowed her eyes at me, but her tone had taken a teasing lilt now.
“I messed up, didn’t I?” I asked, thinking of Alessio.
“Not really. You just need to talk to him and fix this misunderstanding,” she replied, coming to sit beside me. “I understand why you reacted the way you did. I would have done the same thing. But it’s now time to fix the hurt both of you caused each other.”
“I know. I’ll talk to him tonight,” I replied. It was time to mend this broken relationship. I had to let Alessio know that I had forgiven him, and I had to ask for his forgiveness in return.
Maddie breathed a sigh of relief beside me. “Oh, thank God. Make sure Alessio is back to his normal self, please. He scares the shit out of us at the moment. Although I’m glad he is taking it out on everyone else but you.”
I didn’t think I would be able to bear it if his anger was directed at me.
Maddie shrugged and then encouraged me in a sweet voice, “Go get your man. He needs you. Just don’t give up on him.”
She was right. Alessio was always fighting for everyone, even for me. He fought to keep me. He fought to get rid of my darkness and never gave up on me. And now it was my turn to fight for him.
Maddie got off the bed and smiled. “In the meantime, I’m going to get my man.” She sent me a wink and then walked out of the room.
As soon as the door closed behind her, I quickly went to the bathroom. After washing my face, I combed my hair and decided to leave it down. It flowed beautifully down my back, just the way Alessio loved it.
I walked out of the bathroom but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Alessio standing in the middle on the room. He was turned sideways, facing the wall.
He looked even worse than last night. His rough stubble had grown another inch, and it was obvious he hadn’t shaved for days. His suit was wrinkled, as if he’d slept in them. The side of his lips were cast down in a frown.
Even though he appeared completely worn, Alessio was still the most handsome man to me.
My thoughts were interrupted when he turned to face me. My eyes widened when I saw the change in his expression. Alessio crossed his arms over his chest; his legs were shoulder-width apart as he glowered at me.
He was glaring at me so fiercely I almost took a step back.
“Alessio—” I started, but he cut me off.
“I’m not doing this anymore.”
Oh no. Please no. Did I break us beyond repair?
Alessio started toward me, his steps slow. No, he prowled toward me, looking dangerously like a predator hunting his prey.
I lifted a hand up to explain, but my m
outh snapped shut when a deep, angry growl vibrated from his chest.
Maddie was wrong about one thing.
This time, Alessio was definitely taking out his anger on me.
“I told you I won’t wait for long. I am not a patient man, Ayla,” Alessio said in a low, deadly voice.
“Alessio, please—” I muttered shakily.
As he walked forward, I retreated backward, but then bumped into the wall. Damn it, the wall always got in my way. Every single time.
Alessio tilted his chin up as he regarded me with angry blue eyes. My chest squeezed painfully tight, and I swallowed nervously under his penetrating, intense gaze.
“I was just about to come up and talk to you,” I tried to explain, hoping this would calm him just a little bit.
But it didn’t.
“Oh really?” he spat.
I nodded mutely, begging him with my eyes.
Alessio stopped inches from my body as he cornered me against the wall.
“Really,” I mumbled.
“I thought you said you weren’t going to take too long,” he hissed in my ears. My heart thumped faster at his words, and I placed a trembling hand over his chest, trying to push him away from me.
Bad move. It only pissed him off more.
His finger wrapped around my wrist and squeezed in warning. “Don’t test me, Ayla,” he growled low.
“You hurt me, and I needed time,” I suddenly snapped.
Another bad move. This time he was furious.
Alessio cocked his head to the side and stared at me, his eyes sizing me up.
He stepped forward until his body was plastered against mine. His hands wrapped around my waist, his fingers digging into my hips. “This was so much easier when you were scared of me,” he snapped back.
My eyes widened, and I gasped. Struggling against his hold, I saw his blue eyes crackling with fierce intensity.
Alessio pulled me away from the wall, and I saw the corner of his lips lift up in a small smirk. That should have been warning enough.
“We are doing this my way now, kitten,” he said gruffly, his voice deep and low.
But I didn’t have time to think.
Within a second, I found myself over his shoulders, dangling upside down.
“Alessio, let go of me,” I demanded, struggling against his hold. Alessio didn’t listen. Instead, he stalked out of the room and walked down the hall that led to the staircase.
“Alessio! Stop it!” I snapped. “Let me down.”
When I felt a slap over my butt, my eyes widened, and my mouth snapped shut. Did he just spank me?
From my position on Alessio’s shoulder, I saw Viktor, Nikolay, Maddie, and Lena standing in the living room, staring at us with big smiles on their faces.
Well, Nikolay wasn’t smiling big. His lips were just turned up in a tiny barely there smile. Viktor was smirking while Maddie and Lena both had big smiles on their faces. Maddie looked extremely proud of herself, and she wiggled her eyebrows at me.
I couldn’t believe they were seeing this.
I pinched Alessio’s butt in return, and that earned me another slap on the ass. The spot he slapped burned a little, although it didn’t hurt. I twitched and struggled against his hold.
That earned me another spank. And another. Four actually. Two on each butt cheek. They came down hard and fast and rendered me speechless.
“Wiggling that pretty ass of yours in my face isn’t helping your case, kitten. So I suggest you stop moving. Or not. You can keep struggling. It’s making me really hard at this moment.”
Feeling completely mortified and shocked that he would say that in front of everyone, I closed my eyes and stopped moving, lying limply on Alessio’s shoulders.
I was dangling upside down a lot longer than I wanted, and my head started feeling heavy while he walked up the stairs. He made his way to our room and walked inside, kicking the door closed behind him and stalking to our bed.
He threw me on it, and I bounced on the mattress. Opening my eyes, I gaped in shock when Alessio climbed on top of me. With his knees on either side of my hips, he held me immobile.
My heart stuttered to a stop for a second before thumping faster again.
“Alessio—listen—”
“Shut up.”
His lips found mine, successfully shutting me up. He took my lips possessively and kissed me breathlessly.
Oh yeah, he definitely shut me up. He knew exactly how to shut me up.
As he pulled away, I tried to move my hands and realized they were trapped. While kissing me, Alessio had brought my arms up above my head, and now he was holding me captive.
I was completely immobile and at Alessio’s mercy under his body.
His lips were only inches apart from mine when he spoke the next time.
“This time I’ll be doing the talking and you will listen. Not a word, kitten. Not until I’m done talking.”
Chapter 16
Alessio had left me breathless and completely in a daze with his kiss, and now his words made my heart jump. My body melted under his, and I stared up into his furious yet painful eyes. I should have been scared, but I wasn’t. Not of Alessio.
He might have been angry with me, but he was still gentle. Even as he gazed down furiously, his fingers were gently and softly caressing my cheek. Alessio was doing it almost unknowingly, as if he needed to touch me, feel me.
We stared at each other for a few seconds, Alessio looking suddenly lost for words. Slowly the rage in his eyes disappeared until they were soft with unspoken emotions. Still holding my hands captive above my head and my body under his, he slowly bent down until our foreheads were softly touching.
“I’m going to tell you a story,” he said.
Confused, I only blinked up at him. A story? Is that why he dragged me here…for a story?
“Alessio—” I started, struggling under him, twisting my body with hopes that he would let me go.
But he didn’t. Instead, his hold on me tightened, and the glare was back.
“Stop moving and listen. Not a word, Ayla.”
With a sigh, I laid limply and waited for him to start his story. In fact, I was curious what he had to say. So I was going to listen to his story.
And then I would let him know I forgave him.
Alessio lost his glare again, and his lips touched the tip of my nose in a small feather light kiss. “There was once a woman with blue eyes and beautiful long black hair. She was so beautiful and the kindest person ever. Her smiles and laughter were infectious. A man saw her, and she saw him. It was love at first sight, they said. They fell irrevocably in love with each other.”
A love story? More confused than ever, I listened silently, my heart accelerating just a little bit.
“They had a boy.” Alessio paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “He was her sweet gentle boy.” His voice cracked at the last words, his fingers tightening around my wrists. “They were a happy family.”
My body prickled with nervousness. I had a feeling that this wouldn’t end happily.
“The man would always call his wife Angel. The little boy was curious to why. So they told him what Angels were and why she was an Angel.”
Angel.
Sleep, Angel. I will watch over you.
A sudden memory flashed in my head. It was blurry, the voice barely a whisper in my head, but I heard it. Alessio’s voice, whispering to my ears once.
Sleep, Angel. I will watch over you.
I didn’t even have a chance to react because Alessio continued speaking. “The father replied that an Angel is someone who is sweet, kind, caring, calm, and mellow. The most beautiful woman on the planet. Someone who is amazing in every way. An Angel is the girl who makes your heart beat faster when she walks into the room. The girl you will need wherever you go. The girl who makes you want to be better. Angel is someone who is your rock. The person who you love with your entire heart. The person you can’t see yourself living without.
”
His answer was almost monotone, like he practiced it. Like this had been running in his head for a long time and he knew it by heart.
And I had a feeling that this story, the definition of Angel, Alessio did know it by heart.
The way his voice had cracked slightly over the words and the way his muscles were locked tight with tension, I knew this story wasn’t just any story.
“They also said that if you find your angel, don’t ever let her go. Because you would forever be incomplete without her.” His voice had softened a little, just above a whisper now. His fingers on my wrist were not tight anymore, so I twisted my hands a little, to see his reaction.
Instead of struggling to get free from his grasp, my hands went to his shoulders. My fingers tightened around them as I held him. When Alessio shuddered with relief, I didn’t regret holding onto him.
My body was calling to his; the need to hold and be held was a need impossible to refuse. So I didn’t fight. I gave in and held onto this broken man as he continued to tell me his story.
“The little boy was happy with the explanation, and he couldn’t wait to meet his Angel one day, although he was hell bent on believing that his mother was his Angel.” A small smile played on his lips when he said that last few words.
When he lost the smile and his face twisted with a wave of pain, my heart slammed to a stop before restarting with a painfully racing beat. My hold tightened on Alessio, my fingers softly caressing his shoulders. I wanted to offer him any type of comfort.
“But then the mother died. A slow, painful death. A cruel death that left everyone heartbroken, especially the little boy.”
I sucked in a harsh breath, and I knew…I just knew…this wasn’t a story. It was reality.
“All he felt was darkness and pain. He was blinded by it, but over the years, he learned to be numb. Not to feel. He became darkness. He became a monster.” Alessio paused and then gave me a small sad smile.
“Cold. Ruthless. Heartless. Arrogant. Killer. Unlovable. These are all the words that little boy goes by now. He’s respected and feared by all. He can’t love or be loved.”