✰ ✰

"𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭"

I watched the three grown men in front of me discuss and argue.

From across the room, my attention was drawn to Roman's.

He sat silent, utterly silent. I stared at him aimlessly while his body tightened in the seat opposite from me.

His eyes hadn't left my own, well more specifically my neck. His jaw muscle clenched and unclenched, attractively, I might add.

"Landon," Uncle Dre called my father, as he had now gotten off the phone.

My brother remained silent at this point, his gaze shifting from my neck to Roman on multiple occasions.

"It was a member from the Malcolm's."

My ears perked up and so did everyone else's in the room. Looking towards Andre with the new source of information.

"They're still looking for more information, but the person was sent to assassinate Arabella."

The air was thick with unspoken tension, and a palpable sense of anger washed over everyone.

"Name?"

Roman's voice catches my attention, and I join the others in looking over at him.

"Ryan Dantean." Uncle Dre replied.

Roman tensed even more and got out of his chair, his tall frame radiating power as he took out his phone and phoned a number.

I watched him with curiosity but instantly snapped my eyes away when my name was called again.

"That's the guy Arabella killed?" My brother asked Andre, he nodded in response.

Turning towards my father, he looked at me indifferently and motioned for me to follow him.

I stood up from my seat, sighed, and followed him out of the room.

As soon as I walked into his office, I sat down in the leather chair and drew my legs up to my chin, anticipating what would happen next.

"I don't want you leaving the house unprotected," He started, going to a drawer and taking out a handgun.

"Keep it on you. I'll send guards to keep an eye on you as well."

He hands me the gun, which I grasp and stare at it blankly.

"How long?" I asked, my gaze shifting away from the weapon.

He grabbed his own gun and slipped it into his waistband, along with his car keys.

"Until we find out who wants you dead." He replied curtly.

I got out of my chair and followed him back into the main room.

I tuck my gun behind my back and cast my gaze between Andre and Roman, who are conversing.

Andre turns to face my father and me, while Roman behind him casts a quick glance at me, his eyes darkening.

"Lucien just confirmed that the same man who went after Arabella was also the one trying to traffic their shipments."

I immediately frowned.

"Call a meeting." Dad ordered, and Andre nodded, pulling out his phone and keys.

"Stay and rest, Arabella." He then spoke to me, and I nodded weakly, a headache already growing from all of this melodrama.

As they both stepped out of the house, he gestured to Nicolo to follow him, and Roman went alongside me.

My body was facing him, his form easily towering above me, and I looked up, his face confronted in its impassive yet intimidating expression.

His exotic, dark amber eyes were utterly fuming.

I watched as he moved his palm under my chin, his eyes moving over the injured area of my flesh, the hand raising and directing my head as he took in the view.

His eyes narrowed, cripplingly casting into something murderous. It was the first time I saw something other than his cold stare and the softer side he displayed around me.

They showed something much more foreboding. Like vengeance and this deep anger that underlined his eyes.

Although you couldn't see it demandingly but strictly looking into his eyes, it was obvious.

I cocked my head to the side and placed my hand over his on my chin to divert his attention away from the bruises.

"Roman," I called quietly, causing his gaze to come back to me.

He took his fingers away from my chin and cupped my cheek. His thumb brushed against my cheek, and I looked at him cautiously.

"How are you feeling?" His tone was deeper, and his accent was heavier when he spoke.

I shrugged nervously and leant into his touch, the tenderness he brought with him automatically curing me.

"I'm okay. I'm just a little dizzy." I explain, my eyes flickering between his.

He gave a slight frown before removing his hand and resting it on the small of my back. He then came to my side and began walking me towards the staircase.

"You need to rest, Ella."

I didn't have any time to reply as a small sneeze erupted. Sniffing, I blink and rub my tired eyes, a hazy feeling washing over me.

We made it to the top of the stairs and inside my room. I realised I was still dressed in my wet clothes, which was probably not the best decision given the risk of becoming sick.

As I yanked off my sweatshirt and tossed the gun behind me onto my bed, I let out another sneeze.

"Roman?" I turned around to see where he was when I called him.

With a towel in hand, he emerged from the closet, his movements returning to me.

"Go shower, I'll wait."

I nodded and took the towel from him, slipping into the bathroom.

✰

After twenty minutes, I had gotten changed and went back into the room.

Although my sniffles warned me that I was getting sick, the warm shower had thankfully done me some good.

Roman sat at the foot of the bed, his phone in his hand, and when he noticed me, he looked up, and I met his blank stare.

I boldly walked over to him and sat on his lap. His arms surged out from his sides and around to my hips, bringing my legs over his waist and straddling him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and drew myself closer to him, nestling in his warmth.

His alluring aroma engulfed me as I lay my head in his neck, and I inhaled deeply.

I closed my eyes and relaxed in his embrace. His hands were moving in circles across my exposed flesh, almost lulling me to sleep.

But then I felt another sneeze approaching.

Cursing, I drew back, covered my face with my arm, and sneezed once more. I rested my head again on his chest.

"I hate this," I mumbled and traced patterns onto his black shirt.

As he reassuringly squeezed my waist, I felt his lips press against the side of my head.

"I know baby,"

My heart raced a lot quicker. This side of Roman was all I needed.

"Why do you think they're trying to kill me?"

From my vantage point, I noticed his eyes change dramatically to a darker tone.

He locked his gaze on me and slipped his fingers to the side of my face, tucking hairs out of the way.

"Vengeance?" He said, more like a question as he stated it.

It's possible. Relation to what I do in the Mafia, although this hasn't ever happened before generally.

Because they know who our father is, no one ever tries to get to me or Nicolo. And, when doing tasks, my identity is always concealed.

So it was unusual that someone intended to kill me at random. However, because it is the Mafia, you must always expect the unexpected.

"Perhaps," I said quietly.

Our eyes were locked for a brief moment before being broken by a knock on the door.

I froze completely.

"Arabella?" I ran towards the door, almost tripping over myself in the process, as my mother's voice interrupted my interaction with Roman.

I smiled up at my mother as I opened the door an inch, trying to look as innocent as possible while avoiding appearing like my Mafia boyfriend wasn't behind me.

"Hi, mum."

She smiled at me, almost curiously gazing behind me.

"I was just checking in to see if you were all right?" She replied, her gaze returning to me.

I gave a quick nod and raised one of my thumbs.

Oh god.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just going to take a nap." I explained.

Shifting my weight, I left the door slightly ajar, not enough for her to see inside but enough for her not to be suspicious.

This whole thing is suspicious.

I smiled as I watched her gently nod and shift her gaze between me and my room.

"Okay, just let me know if you need anything. I'll be downstairs." She turned after kissing my cheek and patting my shoulder once.

As I watched her walk down the hall, I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back to close the door.

When I turned back around, I jumped when I saw Roman leaning against the wall beside me.

He smirked a little and leant in closer to me.

My hands automatically came to his chest as he wrapped his arms around my lower waist, concededly going towards my bottom.

I blushed intensely as his lips came to rest on my neck, carefully laying a kiss against the side while his hands caressed my ass.

My breathing became shallower, and I closed my eyes.

From my jaw to the centre of my neck, his lips ran a wet trail of kisses, softly but erotically.

It was incredibly addictive and my lower body was already getting heated. My hands wrapped themselves around his neck, and he began to warm me with his touch.

Once he hit a certain area, a breathy moan escaped me. His hold on me tightened and he brought his lips to hover over my own.

My thighs clenched at the sight of him, my bottom lip tucked into my mouth as I watched his thick locks fall in front of his lustful eyes.

The colour of them was light again, amber. His caress of my body was pushing me over the edge, and the mere inch of space between his lips and mine was intoxicating.

His eyes darted between my lips and my gaze, their leisure movement enthralling me even more.

My lower lip was tucked out of my mouth and rubbed against the flesh by a thumb.

"I want you," I breathed out heavily. The ache had taken over my body and was emptying my mind.

His lips twitched at the edges as he tilted my chin up towards him, his piercing eyes slowly raked over my face, and even the tiniest touch of his lips made me feel like I'd moan.

"As do I, Ella." He said, his voice hoarse and strained.

As he stroked his thumb between my lips and watched his motions, he glanced at me with narrowed eyes.

"Not now." He said, apathetically.

Slowly, I nodded in agreement. Right now, we weren't going to do it. Even though the idea of fucking him was completely occupying my thoughts.

My eyes went over to his lips, sudden compulsive motives had my head tilting and reaching them.

I moved them closer to his slowly. Gradually, my lips touched his. They were soft and warm, absorbingly content.

His mouth pushed deeper into my own as he drew me against him.

My leg lifted around his waist as the kiss grew hotter and faster, and both of his hands clasped the backs of my thighs and pulled me up into his arms.

Our lips anomaly moved needlessly and desirably as he walked us to the bed. I pushed him down onto the soft mattress and hovered over him.

The kiss hadn't broken while our tongues collided and fought for control. He won, and my tongue slipped in and out of his mouth as he explored my own.

My hips began to buck uncontrollably against him, or more accurately, his erect cock.

I rubbed against him. Against the extremely large bulge between his sweatpants and my throbbing between my legs, and he growled lowly.

"Cazzo, Ella." He softly grunted, our kiss ended, and he leant his lips on my jaw.

I angled my head to the side so he could have better access to my neck. He kissed me tenderly along my skin as my hips slowly grind back and forth against him.

The bulge had struck exactly on my aching bud as I rubbed a little quicker, causing a heavy moan to escape.

His hand came over my mouth, his lips continuing to suck on my specific spot that had me yearning for more.

The sensations coursing through my body were unlike anything I'd ever felt before.

He was gratifyingly fulfilling me. His touch, as well as every action he made and performed to me at the time, was pleasurable.

As my climax built, my movements became faster, my pulse soothingly sliding over his cock through his pants.

His lips moved back towards mine, tenderly kissing them, while his hands gripped my hips tightly and guided my motions.

As I struggled to restrain my moans, I buried my head against his shoulder, the pleasure overwhelming me and my breathing becoming erratic.

"Hm, you're doing so well, Amore," His thick voice whispered into my ear, and another moan escaped with those words.

I couldn't believe I was feeling such unrestrained pleasure from him simply by dry humping.

As I continued to rock, his wet lips brushed across the side of my neck, and his hands assisted me.

He massaged himself perfectly on my throbbing nub, and I could feel how drenched my panties were from the wetness between my thighs.

"Roman," I breathed into his neck, and he bucked his hips even harder into me, one hand releasing from my hip and reaching for my neck.

He softly took my chin in his hands and drew my face in front of his. His bottom lip pulled into his mouth, raven hair falling in front of his dark eyes, I witnessed them take me in lustfully.

The sight of him was enough to drive me to let go, and my high came with a few more rubs of his cock pounding against me.

My head slammed against his chest, and my teeth sank into my bottom lip, possibly drawing blood. As I sank beneath him, my body tortured with pleasure.

As he kissed the side of my head, my hands on his shoulders progressively loosened their grip on him.

My breathing gradually returned to normal, and my body was left limply on his. As I pressed my lips on the side of his neck, my legs coiled around his waist.

"Feel better?" He asked, his voice low and almost scratchy.

I giggled and hummed softly as my eyes began to feel heavy.

The hands around my waist drew me closer to him, seemingly possessively.

I lay in his arms, eyes closed, allowing his warmth and security to lull me to sleep.