series-romance

His eyes widened. __ain? Darling, you haven__ yet experienced the pain I can inflict when I__e been played for a fool. I__ in awe at your gall to try and fool me._ Bree went still as panic froze her. Oh, God. No. __h, the light bulb finally goes off,_ he purred against her face; his voice low and cold. Even knowing who he was, and the family he came from, Bree could say that deep inside, she__ never felt any real fear of him. She did now. He knew. The look on his face told her he knew that she had lied about him being her baby__ father. Frantically, she grasped for any foothold she could find. __ don__ know what you__e talking-_ __ON__!_ he snapped, grabbing the sides of her face.

He__ lying to me, Bree thought. I don__ know how I know, but I do. And really, wasn__ it better if she didn__ know for sure? Bree moved closer to him and pressed her mouth to his, inhaling the strong, musky scent that seemed to be his alone. Like a mix of spiced wine, dark chocolate and warm leather. Bree eased her tongue in and ran it across his teeth as his fingers moved up her spine to cup her head and bring her closer.

Mmmmmnobaconeggsgottagostore_ She slowly ran her hand down his forearm and gave him a sleepy smile as she sat up. Her eyes remained closed as she rested her hand on his shoulder and before he could realize her intention or even remember his manners and stop her, her mouth was on his in a kiss that was so soft and sweet Alessandro could do nothing but fall into it with her.

She walked slowly towards him, taking in how he looked so eerily still. __kay you,_ she said, her voice choked. __e have to have a talk. I know you__e a Dardano, but a wedding reception in the ICU? Not so classy._ She lowered her head, her attempt at levity falling flat under the weight of her heartbreak. She blinked back her tears and cupped his face. __ou listen to me, okay? You are not leaving me. You__e not allowed. You__e going to fight, understand? Alessandro, I will not bury another husband. Do you hear me? I refuse to grieve for you. That is not even an option because you are my life._ She kissed his forehead, the beeping of the heart monitor and the respirators the only sounds in the room. __unny huh? I spent so much time pushing you away and here I am begging you to stay. Not just for me, but for our boys. Will__ already lost one father, don__ you leave him too. And Gianni_don__ you dare leave him nothing but stories about some man in a picture frame._ Bree took his hand, rubbing his ring finger. __lease, Alessandro. Fight. I won__ survive without you. I won__._ She kissed his palm. __e__e fought too hard for you to just give up when we__e finally going to be happy. Dammit Alessandro, you owe me! You owe me a life, a happy life together. So don__ you dare die on me. Don__ you leave me to deal with that son of a bitch father of yours by myself._ She covered her mouth with her free hand to stifle her sobs. She leaned down and kissed his still mouth. __ love you_I love you so much_ Her tears fell on his face as she rested her forehead against his.

Alessandro gathered her into his arms and flipped her over so that she was on top of him, her blonde hair falling over him like a gold curtain. The strands tickled his face as she righted herself over him. She caught her lower lip between her teeth as he pushed up inside of her, and Alessandro reached up, bringing her mouth down, wanting to taste that swollen lip. Her breath wafted over his face, and he grabbed her hips, pulling her down as he pushed up deeper, wanting to fill her to her very soul.

She moved to get up, but the man held her down as her car exploded next. Bree lifted her head and looked back at the wall of fire behind them. __ell. We__e well and truly screwed now.

We have nothing!_ Bree reached out and slapped him with all her might. He couldn__ know the baby she carried was his. Not ever. Alessandro__ dark eyes flashed angrily at her for a split second, making Bree__ insides tense in anticipation of his rage, but then he smiled at her, his hand going to her thigh. __ell, I was hoping we__ get to know each other a little better before delving into S & M, but I__ game if you are, sunshine._ __ want you to get out,_ __nd I want you naked screaming my name, now that you know it,_ Alessandro growled, leaning in so that his breath brushed across her face in a tantalizing caress.

Last night, Bree had been taken. Thoroughly, utterly taken. Gently or roughly, it didn__ matter. This man had reached into the darkest part of her mind, had brought out and laid bare the desires she admitted to no one but herself in her most secret, quiet moments. Her hunger had been allowed to run free. There__ been no guilt, no remorse. Nothing was __rong_. And God, the feeling of freedom was damned addictive. What did that say about her? How could she love Michael, yet give a part of her she__ never felt comfortable sharing with Michael to this stranger.

Alessandro watched as Luke burrowed his nose in the snow and then shook his small body. __ell, that depends on whether you want a male or a female horse._ __mm. I tink I want a boy horsie. Girl horsies have babies and dat__ too much trouble._ Alessandro bit back a laugh. __ale horse it is then. Let__ see. My favourite horse__ name is Abbott._ __ But?_ Will asked laughing. __bbott,_ Alessandro corrected. __himney,_ Will suddenly decided, stopping. Alessandro blinked in confusion. ____ sorry, did you say __himney_?_ __t make sense,_ Will assured him. __anta come down da chimney and he is my pesent, right? So his name be Chimney._ __ agree. Quite logical,_ Alessandro nodded. __ell, dat one ting on my list. Der be more._ __uly noted,_ he said.

I know. You__e a male escort, and you were on your way to your latest_what are female clients called? Not Johns_Jean__?_ He choked on his cracker, and Bree reached over and patted his back until his coughing fit passed. __fraid not, darling._ He wheezed. __ale stripper?_ He snorted. __ don__ know if I should be flattered or insulted by that._ __ome kind of business tycoon, right?_ Bree asked. __ pretty Donald Trump?_ __retty? Oh dear._ Bree raised her hands. __andsome. Handsome. Better?

Good morning, Sunshine,_ Alessandro whispered, dragging the satiny soft object across the tip of her nose. Curiosity made her open her eyes. A rose. A blue rose. __ figured a single rose was safer than a dozen considering the massacre of the last blue roses I gave you,_ he smiled sheepishly. __appy birthday, darling._ Bree blinked and tried to remember what day it was. The fifteenth apparently. She groaned and pulled the blankets back over her head. She was officially thirty today. __ome on now, up we go,_ Alessandro pulled the blankets off her face and grabbed her arm, bringing her up. __or my birthday, I want sleep,_ she groaned. Gianni had suffered through a painful night as another tooth was starting to come in and thus his parents had suffered as well. __ope, we__e got a long day ahead of us. Let__ go._ __hy?_ Bree yawned. __ecause thirty years ago you were born and my life as I knew it would never be the same,_ Alessandro explained, nuzzling her neck.

Like, okay, look up at that cloud and tell me what you see,_ Bree said, pointing up at the closest cloud above them. __hat do you mean, what do I see? It__ a cloud. I see a cloud,_ Alessandro insisted. __o, what do you see? Like when you go to a shrink and they make you look at ink blots,_ Bree explained. Alessandro looked over at her. __ow much wine did you drink?_ She smacked his arm. ____l go first. I see a rabbit._ __ rabbit?_ Alessandro asked, laughing. __eah, the top of that one is shaped like ears, long rabbit ears._ __h, I see what you__e doing now. All right then. That one there_looks like_ Alessandro squinted his eyes as if hard in concentration. __n airplane._ __h, yeah. I see that,_ Bree agreed. __kay, what about that one?_ She pointed to a cloud to Alessandro__ right. __hat one looks rather like my wife__ sweet pert little ass,_ Alessandro joked. __fter two kids? You__e delusional,_ she said laughing. __y turn. I think that one looks like_ Bree tilted her head. __y wife__ beautiful round breasts,_ Alessandro injected. __top that!_ Bree said, giggling. __xcuse me, I__ just playing the game._ __o, you__e not. You__e being a horny guy._ Alessandro pressed a hand to his chest as if she had wounded him. __o prove it to you, I say we compare._ He undid the buttons of her blouse and Bree was laughing too hard to stop him.

I know full well what being a Dardano means and so will Gianni and Will, but I want more for him. I want him to know what it is to laugh and to play and to not feel like the whole world is out to get him, to find joy in simple things and not just how many zeroes are in his bank account. And more than that, I want them both to grow up and know that power is not everything. It is necessary, yes and I will teach them how to squash their enemies, how to hit first before they can destroy you but I will also teach them that without love, without a family, none of it means a good God damn. I want them to be worthy of that love when it comes, and to not be so wrapped up in this legacy and this power that they lose sight of love when it__ right in front of their eyes.

Her OBGYN, Dr Caroline Murdoch, popped in and asked if she could speak to Bree alone. Bree nodded and Tina left them. "I wanted to talk to you about why you fainted._ Something in her voice made Bree__ body go rigid with expectation. ___thought maybe it was the shock of_ everything,_ Bree whispered. Oh God. Oh God. She didn__ know what she was bracing herself for. __ know you and Alessandro were trying to conceive again. I want to tell you that you were successful. You__e going to have a baby, Bree,_ she said. Bree squeezed Gianni tighter and buried her face in his neck as the tears filled her eyes and streamed from her face. Oh God_Now? She was torn between joy and utter terror. They had done it, but how would Alessandro react when he found out, considering the condition he was in now. They had created another life. Another target for Arturo.

What did you do to make him smile?_ __h_ Alessandro bit back a grin and cleared his throat. __ might__e sung a song._ __eally? What song?_ __s his mother, I don__ think I should repeat it for you,_ Alessandro said, his cheeks and the tips of his ears pink. __h come on, Alessandro. The windows didn__ break so you couldn__ have done that bad a job._ __t__ not my ability that I__ referring to,_ Alessandro replied. Bree narrowed her eyes. __ust what were you singing to my son? And so help me if you say anything by Sir Mix-a-lot I__l castrate you,_ __ot quite,_ Alessandro said. __ll right. But, remember you asked for it. Your cousin Max, taught it to me._ Bree crossed her arms over her breasts and waited.

Come see my mommy, Becky!_ Will said and Bree stopped in her tracks. __h hell no!_ she exclaimed staring at __ecky_. Rebecca, the bane of Bree__ existence. The blonde woman smiled mockingly at Bree. __ow ya doing?_ __hat?_ Bree asked but the question was directed at her brother and not the skank in front of her. __o how was Paris?_ Rebecca asked moving right past Bree to practically press her body against Alessandro. __eriously, what?_ Bree demanded, glaring at Brian. "Hey, Alessandro. Great to see you again." __top talking. Stop talking now before I ram your botoxed head through this table!_ Bree hissed lunging at her. Brian grabbed her quickly and held her back. __orry. Bree__ a little bit touchy about that whole Vegas thing I guess. But hey, looks like it all worked for the best, huh?_ Rebecca winked at Alessandro

That girl didn__ have a moment__ peace from the day Adriano Dardano set foot in Galway and started chasing her._ Sister Brannigan said, as she led them around the convent garden. __ice of Francesca to stay still for him to catch her then wasn__ it?_ Alessandro remarked dryly. __mph,_ the nun responded. __y grandfather loved Francesca,_ Alessandro insisted. __ar be it from me to speak ill of the dead. But let__ call a spade a spade, hmm? Your grandfather was a charmer. Now perhaps he didn__ realize just how naïve our Francesca was and how besotted with him she was._ __mm, very generous of you,_ Alessandro grumbled. __ will say that on the times he brought some food he had made with Francesca up to the convent, it was clear he had a wonderful talent in the kitchen. Now mind ye, the Italian food was a bit rich for my taste but still, rather good._ ____ sure my grandfather__ resting easier in his grave now that the holy sister has complimented his cooking,_ Alessandro whispered in Bree__ ear making, her laugh out loud and Sister Brannigan turn to her in question.

trailed off as her attention moved from Will taking his juice from the bartender to the glass behind the bartender. There were red dots on the glass. Alessandro brushed her shoulder again and Bree followed a row of red dots from the glass mirror to the wall. Some of the red dots danced over the guests and as an icy cloak of understanding fell over Bree, it seemed to grip Alessandro as well. Then she turned to face him and there were red dots on his chest, as well as her shoulder, which he had been brushing, thinking it was a speck of dust. __ET DOWN!_ he screamed to everyone grabbing Bree by the waist and throwing her down while and trying to be heard over the music. Chaos erupted as gunfire drowned out the sound of music and people fell screaming on top of each other as pieces of the wall and glass from the doors and the mirrors rained down on them. The gunfire raged on and on for what seemed like an eternity. Then there was silence.