Chapter 189


    Soon as we get out the door Mico nks me on one side with Alexi on the other and we are instantly


    surrounded by more Carrero security. Like a ck wall that’s imprable and offers instant calm to


    my frazzled brain. Guiding us efficiently and shielding us from all angles. Overkill, but I guess I’m


    thankful for it.


    “What about the rest of her outfit?” Alexi asks as we walk briskly out of the building, the first to leave,


    but I can already hear chairs scraping as others depart, now we have. Some of them eager to walk


    away now they''ve found a resolution to this debacle.


    It’s weird how something that hung over us for months is tied up with a bow in one very brief sitting. I


    can’t get my head around the fact the threat is gone, and I no longer need to live under house arrest for


    any reason. A sudden lightness to my mood as the heavy weight of burden is lifted.


    “Most departed as soon as they heard their source of ie was about to be put down. No one is


    loyal when they’re hired hands. Santagato’s men have already taken down anyone true to her. We


    stayed back and watched, exactly like you said. No Carreroid hands on any of them, nothinges


    back to us.” Mico touches his earpiece and mutters something under his breath for his men’s ears only.


    Stalling so he falls behind us slightly and I try to just continue with my graceful, poised walk out of this


    miserable ce.


    I slide my arm in Alexi’s, needing him to be more normal for me right now, aching for his touch as my


    heart rate still pounds erratically through my body, silently clinging on, but he continues talking. Too


    aware that we are on show and he can’t let that mask drop just yet, not even for me while in public.


    “Good. I’ll call my father and tell him it’s done. He can inform the family that Santagato chose his own


    repay. Carrero didn’t issue any orders. Can’t be pissed if I didn’t disobey them.” He sounds smug,


    satisfied with the hand he yed, and somehow miraculously got the oue he wanted all along—


    clever bastard.


    Even I have to admit that’s probably a smart way around it.


    “An eventful weekend all round.” Mico reappears by my side with a smile on his face and Alexi smiles


    too, ncing my way with a loaded look. Understatement of the century.


    I don’t know how to feel if I’m being honest. I just gave the finalmand to end that woman’s life and I


    should feel something. Maybe guilt or regret but there is an empty ck hole in my gut, and I feel like


    I’m disconnected to my surroundings now we are no longer in that room. Stuck in a dreamlike haze.


    Maybe because I spent my life dissociating with horrible things, so it’s like second nature and I can just


    shrug it off and leave it behind me. Maybe this is how Alexi deals with shit. He’s normalised trauma and


    heinous acts and can drop them by the door as he walks away like an unwanted sack of rubble.


    I feel out of whack and jump when Alexi’s hand slides across my back and snaps me back to reality. I


    realise we are out on the street, standing at the car door, and he is trying to guide me inside away from


    prying eyes. I have turned zombie on him and shivering with the after-effects of that room. Mental state


    deteriorating a tad.


    “Just hold it in for a few more minutes until we are out of sight, and earshot.” He whispers huskily in my


    ear, kissing me on my temple to hide his rushed prompt. I bite on my bottom lip, get in the car while


    holding onto his arm and slide across to let him in quickly. He follows suit, gets in and immediately pulls


    out his phone and looks down to type. Staying in role and I try to not rush over to throw myself at him


    despite needing to so badly. I’m folding in on myself internally and I need my rock and anchor to help


    me get my head back on track. I need my gentle Lexi, not this Mafia boss beside me.


    I catch a glimpse of men in the hoards departing the building, splitting into cars and just keep my eyes


    forward on the road, face tight and emotions in check. We are still on show which I guess is why Alexi


    is not touching me a lot. They would see it as weak or odd for him to be tenderly mollycoddling me after


    that little scene. These are men who deal with far worse, so if he is seen tending to my fragile self after


    something so minor, it would prove I don’t have the constitution for this life, and he’s going soft.


    It’s all smoke and mirrors and games.


    I keep it together with all my might, watching the road as Mico and our escort of cars navigate through


    the tight little streets of the colourful Chinatown and gets us back on track, heading out to Upper


    Manhattan. Back into fast traffic and homeward bound.


    Once we lose most of the foreign cars that had followed us, Alexi turns to check over his shoulder and


    the side windows before turning to me, scoots closer, pulls me against him in a hug and slides his arm


    around me. Secure in the knowledge we are finally out of sight and he knows I desperately need him in


    this way.


    “You okay? I’m sorry I had to put you through that, but it was necessary.” He slides both arms around


    me to envelop me, pulling me in tightly so my seatbelt strains and I rest my cheek on his chest; I close


    my eyes to breathe him in and return to that safety he always makes me feel. Unloading the heavy


    weight of everything like dumping off a huge thick coat. Suddenly able to breathe and realise how


    tightly I was holding myself until this moment. I dissolve into a mess of loose limbs now he has me. I


    can let it go, knowing he will take the burden away.


    “I will be. It was a shock. You should have warned me what wasing, Lexi. I could have prepared


    myself for that.” My voice trembles and I close my eyes as his finger traces my cheek and brushes my


    hair away from my face tenderly. So familiar, and so necessary for me.


    “I didn’t know for sure it would. Santagato was still trying to get a reach out on everyone in her


    organisation until I got that text. We weren’t sure if we had everyone covered as the meeting was so


    rushed andst minute. We had no room for error or bacsh. It had to be one even sweep or it wasn’t


    happening.” He kisses me on top of my head, lingering to inhale my scent and ground me fully; I slide


    my arms around him and detepletely. Head whirling with images of men suffocating right in front


    of my face. Pushing the horror away along with the broken face of that woman. I shudder slightly as I


    close them down tight in a ck hole far in the depths of my mind.


    “So, they''re all gone?”


    Theplete wipeout of a threat in a very organised hour. It’s mind-boggling that they could


    orchestrate that kind of efficiency in just one night.


    “She had a lot of paid guns who were only too happy to walk away to fight another day. Her trust circle


    was small, and the two men with her were her stepsons, not blood. Their father died years ago. There


    is no one toe after this. It’s over. Her family abroad won’t retaliate, they wanted nothing to do with


    this.” He assures me and there is no hint of dishonesty in his tone. It really is over.


    I’m guessing they reached out via his father and checked what the oue of doing something to her


    would be. Her family clearly had more sense than she did.


    “What a stupid woman. Thinking she could take on the likes of you lot and live to tell the tale.” I shake


    my head, pulling back to get lost in those calming grey eyes. Finding the safe harbour in the pale


    unearthly beauty.


    “She thought she had figured it all out, much like her idiot father did decades ago. Come in with a show


    of force and put fear into the other heads. Bully them into letting you lead. The logic is wed. You


    should always know your opponents and their capabilities before throwing down a gauntlet. I was never


    going to just brush this off.”


    “She wanted power and position. She just went about it in the worst way.” I understand the silly girl’s


    logic and I nch at why she ever thought it would work. These are men who have power and a


    ruthless desire to keep it. They don’t hand it over to women with attitude that easily. Her gender was


    the first fault in her n.


    “Should have married me, huh; maybe she would be sitting at the head of the next table issuing orders


    if she had.” He jests but I don’t smile. This whole bizarre scene wasn’t funny, but I see the funny in


    what he said. I spent my life trying to be someone and in one drunken Elvis service, I’m suddenly a


    respected figure among the men I hated and endured my entire life. It really is a fucked-up world out


    there.


    She wanted this power; she fought and killed for it, and where is she now. Left in a room with


    murderous men who will make herst hours hell on earth, for merely trying to get what they have, in


    ways they probably gained it to begin with. The imbnce of this misogynist world we live in.


    “Let’s go home. This has been a hellish few days and I just want to curl up and have a normal day to


    forget all this.” I’m exhausted, mentally and physically, and feel like we''ve been stuck in an emotional


    whirlwind for thest few days. I want nothing more than his couch, Alexi and Lync curled up beside


    me, some mindless Netflix box set and a good ss of red wine. Pretending none of this is real. Like


    normal people do. Home sounds like the most amazing thing at this moment.


    To detach and put this all to bed. To forget, to be wrapped in the bubble of ‘Camlexi’ where this reality is


    a blur and doesn’t really touch me anymore.


    “I second that. I need to go outter, but you can have me all to yourself for a few hours first. My father


    is flying in, we have a board meeting tonight to talk about how this went down.”


    Obviously not something they want to discuss over the phone.


    I sigh at the reality of this life and just nod. This is how it will always be, well, until the day he retires,


    and our casino beckons us. Until the day he is free of the responsibility of heading this family and


    having so many rely on him. This is what happens when you marry the King. I knew this when I got into


    things with him, and I have to ept that that world will always have a ce in who he is.


    I wanted a ce where I could live between the two. Unable to exist in suburban reality, but neither did


    I want to live in the underworld of crime, sex and murder, and Alexi gives me that weird in-between


    ce I never knew existed. By his side, I can walk either way at any time, and live in the grey area


    most have no concept of. The ce he has been dwelling most of his life with his men, his father and


    anyone else who has to wear two personas and be two different people. I feel like, somehow, this is


    how I was always supposed to end up. Not choosing one or the other to find my happiness but


    choosing him and letting it all slot into ce.


    I curl up tightly in his embrace and sigh heavily, everything seeping away so there is only the feel of


    him and all the peace thates with it.


    “It’s over. Finally. Maybe now we can start living and work on this crazy marriage of ours.”


    “The marriage isn’t crazy, just the wife.” He chuckles in a funny retort and gets a swift p in the


    abdomen for his cheek. My unamused scowl at his jest before he hauls me to him and kisses me firmly,


    pushing it to passionate immediately as he buries his hands in my hair and reminds me why we work


    so well.


    Putting an end to the conversation and reminding me of all the reasons he makes me crazy, in one fell


    swoop.


    My head''s a mess and I just need some normality for a few days to get all of this in order. To let go of


    the angst and chaos and ugly memories which I know I’m capable of. I have witnessed some awful


    things in life, been at the receiving end and still lived to tell the tale. Guilt is something I’m good at


    letting go of and I’m sure in a few days I won’t remember that bitch''s name.


    She fucked with the wrong couple.


    I need to figure out what is happening with the club and where I’m meant to live now that we’re married,


    and where we go from here. There is so much up in the air clogging up my brain and now we are back


    on home turf and I’m free to wander about in my life without severe security, I intend to sort it out once


    and for all.


    It doesn’t take long to get to the apartment. We are escorted by two men up to our floor who then


    vacate to the little security room with the regr staff here. Leaving us to our home with privacy as


    though they are not even here. It’s all very swift and silent and Alexi barely acknowledges them, such is


    the normality of it for him. It will take some getting used to, and I was only just beginning to tolerate


    Jackson as my shadow. I hope to God that isn’t the end of him being my sidekick as I will miss him like


    crazy.


    Jackson knows me and my moods, he knows my schedule and my likes, so I will put my foot down and


    cling onto that little gem as my permanent bodyguard. Alexi will say yes because it’s me and I’m


    learning that he rarely refuses me if I ask in the right way.


    Boy is bing someone I can wrap around my little finger.


    Lynces tearing at us as soon as we walk into the open living room, the gorgeous smell and sight of


    his home, air filled with something delicious from Mrs Capone, bubbling on the stove for our arrival.


    Alexi steps in front of me andmands him ‘down’ before he takes a flying leap at us in his


    excitement. He is a flurry of wagging, fluffy, ecstatic wriggling to get against us and a lot of tongue


    licking at any part of our anatomy he can get to. It’s a happy homing that does its best to drag


    away thest dregs of the dark cloud hovering over me. All of this just fits and is the ce I have been


    looking to belong to my whole life.


    Ecstatic to be back here in surroundings that have quickly be necessary to me. An extension of


    him so no wonder it feels right. I wouldn’t change anything about this apartment at all.


    Alexi crouches down and gives him a proper rub and hug, rolling him onto his back for a tummy


    massage and I pad past them to wander over to the sitting area, discarding bag, jacket and shoes as I


    go. Relieved to be doing so. I give them their few minutes of male bonding time as I know Lync will


    come cosy up to me right after. I missed that furry beast in some weird way.


    I get to the couch and flop down like an empty rubble sack and slide my legs along the seat before


    exhaling loudly. This feels like the one ce in the world where nothing can touch us anymore, and if


    I’m being honest, I wouldn’t mind if this is the permanent home. He hasn’t mentioned if it will be, but I


    would assume so seeing as this is Alexi’s choice of home. It’s the best of all worlds, really. Has cosy


    touches simr to his bolthole but the modern sleek design of the club and his other apartment. It’s


    spacious, with more room than we would ever need, with a garden on the roof and around the clock


    security. My idea of heaven.


    I could stay here until the end of time and never feel caged in. It’s perfection in a building and it’s both


    sides of the man I love, colliding into one.


    How could I not love it and all within?


    “I’ll be back in a second. I have something for you; I just need to check where it’s been put.” Alexi


    wanders past me, throwing me a charming smile and I sit up, blinking after him as he disappears


    towards the stairs near his office. Wondering when the hell he had something for me sent here and


    when he even arranged it or why. I should get used to his surprises, he’s a man of sentiment and I


    guess he will fill my future with random gifts at odd moments when I least expect them.


    Not sure this is the best timing for something romantic and gifted, but then again, maybe it is and will


    help settle me down and forget this morning.


    I pick up the remote, sink back on the couch andzily channel hop while trying to clear my mind of


    images of what we just left. Hating that they are guing me, but then it’s only just happened, and I


    reckon I’m still in a weird state of numbed shock. I have been through this before and it will pass, it


    always does. I just need a good distraction until it goes away.


    Those men. It was brutal and will probably haunt me for days yet. I know it will fade, much like seeing


    him kill one or two other men in the past few months has, and over time, I might not care anymore


    when I’m exposed to shit like this. But for now, my head''s churning it over and making me feel sick and


    antsy.


    Marianne—well, what can I say about her. It was long overdue, and she brought it on herself. She tried


    to take me twice and I have no doubt she intended to have me killed. She’s not worth my brain space.


    I think what got me the most was theck of human response in that room. All those men, uncaring and


    disregarding human life so easily. No one was shocked or scared that they were murdering people in


    front of them. No one worrying about the bacsh. It’s horrible to know people like that exist in the


    world and they do such things with the same nonchnce as someone taking the rubbish out. It’s a


    normal way of life for them. None of them cared at all, and I doubt any are sitting mulling it over an hour


    later.


    It will be a normal way of life as long as I choose to be with him, so I need to man up and let it go. I


    made my bed, and I epted all of this. It’s not much worse than the shit I have done in my past and


    it’s something that''s normal in his world.


    Alexi reappears carrying arge hat box, and it distracts me from my thoughts, sitting me up with


    intrigue, I put my feet back on the ground to eye him warily.


    “You know I don’t wear hats, right?” I point out with a tone that sounds a little condescending. Not sure


    why in hell he would suddenly buy me one and despite myself, I feel stupidly disappointed. I don’t want


    to be ungrateful but seriously … men don’t buy women hats. It’s in weird. I thought he had more


    taste and insight than that.


    Alexi carries it unusually carefully and slides it onto the table in front of me, pushing Lync back who


    seems overly interested in it for some reason. Sniffing it in a rather rabid manner and almost breaking


    my leg with his ecstatic tail wagging. Whatever the hat is made of, it clearly gets dogs excited, which


    makes me even more apprehensive about what the hell it is.


    Alexi sits beside me, taking over the couch and takes the tv remote from me and discards it beside him.


    Looking cool as a cucumber despite my obviousck of excitement. It’s that cocky arrogance of a man


    who is sure his woman will like his offering, even if she looks unimpressed so far.


    He’s strange.


    “It’s not a hat. It’s something I figured you would love when Jackson told me about it. I’m sorry about


    the timing, but I figure it’s a good distraction.” He smiles at me softly, no hint of anything suggesting


    he’s worried I''ll hate it, and I just blink at him and then the hat box and back again. My gut telling me


    that maybe it’s something worse than a hat if it requires a box this size.


    “It’s not a head in a box or anything like that?” I’m sceptical, he is a Mafia boss after all, and I have


    visions of some severed head, maybe Marianne’s, sitting in there, oozing fluids. I mean, that’s what


    they do in Hollywood gangster movies.


    We just left her with that gang of thugs to be beaten, tortured and in so maybe it’s not hers, but I’m


    sure it has to be something equally significant to celebrate my move to Queen Carrero. Maybe Rick’s


    ashes or some shit. I don’t know, Alexi can be weird sometimes.


    Okay not that weird, maybe I need to stop with the over-thinking sometimes, I even scare myself with


    my conclusions that are never right. It might not be ashes … it might be someone’s hand or foot. Might


    even be someone’s genitals to show me some rancid past abuser is too dickless to hurt me again.


    Okay, Cami, stop now.


    Sometimes I even freak myself out.


    Alexi shakes his head at me, almost like he can hear my babbling thoughts, and smiles encouragingly.


    “No more Godfather movies for you, London. I sometimes wonder what goes on in your head. It’s not a


    body part. It’s not something disturbing. I’m not a sociopath, despite the earlier confusion on that


    subject.”


    I give him a sardonic look of ‘ha’ and shove his arm away as he tries to prod me in the face with his


    pointer finger.


    “Okay, give me a hint. I don’t think I can take any more surprises after this morning. If it’s not something


    gruesome then what is it?”


    Alexi sighs and loses thest of his non-existent patience, hauling the lid off rather than answer me and


    pulls the box closer to the edge of the table. That impulsive streak of his would be almost adorable if he


    wasn’t such a stroppy git with it sometimes. Ruining his own surprise.


    From my vantage point, it looks empty, so I screw up my face and lean forward to scrutinise the


    contents, warily edging nearer in case it’s some sort of jack in the box waving around someone’s ring


    finger or some shit. I jump in surprise when a little furry ginger ball pops up and scares me half to


    death. It’s mobile, breathing and makes a noise.


    I literally jump, squeal and cling to Alexi when it lets out a sad, pathetic little miaow. A tiny wail that


    stops me in my tracks and makes me peer at the hairy gremlin again, with a less suspicious mindset.


    “It’s not going to eat you. I mean, after that mangy, flea-bitten …” Alexi sounds sarcastic but the re I


    throw him stops him mid-sentence. A look that tells him I might castrate him if he carries on.


    Criticising my feral baby.


    He just stops. Knowing my re of ‘don’t you fucking dare’ which seems to cool his jets, and he


    switches to a charming smile instead to cover his misdemeanour.


    The miaow calls to me again and I’m so drawn Ipletely forget all else. I lean in to peer at the


    delicate little bundle of ginger stripes and fluffy white tummy and really take stock that it''s not some


    rabid gargoyle at all. It’s a kitten. A little blue-eyed poofy bundle, crying desperately to be picked up.


    Cooing and calling me to adore its precious little fluffiness.


    I do so, without hesitation and pull it into myp to cradle and stroke immediately with careful hands,


    glowing with the way its warm, precious little body fills them. Babies I don’t do but this, well, it is heart


    melting gorgeousness that makes you want to rub your face on its ickle belly.


    “You bought me a kitten.” Tears hit me, eyes misting up as I lovingly pet the little thing, and Alexi leans


    over and uses one finger to ruffle the fur between its ears delicately. Totally not an Alexi move, and I


    just give him an adoring watery smile, my heart full to bursting. Morning forgotten, fears, anxiety and


    guilt, all lost in a white fluffy wave of ''ahh''.


    “Figured it was this or a baby.” Heughs devilishly and I throw him another serious re, followed by a


    swipe with a scatter cushion which he dodges. It’s way too soon to be joking about all the shit that’s


    gone down thesest few days and he just shrugs at me. Doing what he does best I guess, making


    light of things others wouldn’t and somehow taking away the heavy doom and gloom of the topic. He’s


    still a dickhead sometimes, but he’s my dickhead.


    “You are so full of surprises.” I genuinely beam at him, unable to tear my eyes away from this loving,


    wriggling little parcel.


    It’s true. I would never in a million years have expected toe home to Alexi having bought me a tiny


    kitten. I don’t even know why he did it or when he arranged this, but I love her, she’s the cutest thing


    I’ve ever seen, like Feral without all the battle scars, only much smaller. As she curls her little paws


    around my hand and licks my thumb, I grin like a lunatic. Insides melting, heart filling and senses all


    going gaga.


    Everything forgotten when faced with such cuteness overload. I really needed this more than I ever


    thought I would, she heals so many wounds from this past year. She’s all mine, and she fills a small


    dark ce inside of me that Feral left behind.


    My heart swells and I go all ‘goo’ and ‘ahh’ for this bitty little thing. Instant adoration for how sweet she


    is, and that warm gooey feeling normally associated with human offspring in most women. I love her


    already.


    “Jackson is the one who told me they were looking for homes. He found the mother and her litter


    behind the club and took them home a few weeks back, so there’s a good chance the father was Feral.


    He didn’t want to upset you by telling you so soon after we found him, so he has been taking care of


    them and been calling her Red.”


    “Feral?” I gawp up at him and then back at Red and blink away the sudden tears that swim in front of


    my eyes, suddenly overwhelmed by the connection which now holds even more weight. I can’t exin


    the way it makes me feel as it’s so all-consuming on many levels. I want to cry and squeeze her, hug


    him and dance in circles all at the same time. Feral’s baby, his legacy and here she is,ing home to


    me. It seems right.


    “Yeah, figured that would make her more special and hence why I had to take her. They turned sixteen


    weeks yesterday and Jackson really needed to get them out of his house now they are climbing the


    curtains and eating him out of house and home. She’s ripe for a forever home.” Alexi leans down and


    pets Lync who is still mbering for attention, giving him some adoration to curb any jealous reaction,


    pulling him between his legs and giving him a hug. Lync just continues to stare at his new sister and


    whines because he wants to sniff her.


    It seems really odd to me that two men like Alexi and Jackson have been having kitten conversations.


    Call me crazy, but he''s not who I met that day in the hospital so long ago. That Alexi Carrero was not a


    kitten buying, kitten naming type at all. He wasn’t even a dog man and looking at him now, giving Lync


    so much affection I meltpletely.


    My heart is heavy with happiness and pain for my unforgotten feline, and I just stare at her, seeing


    more simrity to him now. The little angry face despite purring away. The way her fur starts strong and


    red and fades to almost white by the time it reaches her tail. Unusual striping and a lot of personality in


    that silent little stare she has fixed on me.


    “She’s perfect. I love her. I really do, Lexi.” I break into soft tears and nuzzle her to my face, revelling in


    her tiny little body rubbing against me,ughing stupidly when she licks my nose, and he slides his


    hand up my back tofort me.


    “Thought you might. Are we keeping the name? Red?” Alexi lets Lync go and slides me closer to him


    so he can drape an arm around me casually. Clearlyfortable with the adoption of a new pet that


    might sharpen her ws on all he owns.


    “Red? I like it. Maybe Gino will stop calling me it if we have an actual Red in the house.” I stroke its tiny


    head, listening to the whimpering baby noises and beam as its vibrating body purrs itself into a quick


    slumber, still curled as Iy her down gently. She seems content anyway, and she''s a little chubby


    monster whom I predict will soon have Lync terrorised, if she is anything like me.


    Alexi’s big bad wolf is sitting with a cocked head watching her at a distance with both interest and


    confusion, unsure if he wants to get close. He’s a gentle giant so I have no doubts he won’t hurt her,


    but he will soon get to know this little kitty has ws.


    Lync and Red.


    Alexi and Cami.


    The simrity is not lost on me and that poor dog doesn’t know what he is getting himself into. I almost


    feel sorry for him and gaze at Alexi with the same kind of empathy, giggling to myself when I see the


    connection. What he has to put up with, in me.


    “You’re good at distraction, you know that?” I lean into Alexi and nudge him with my shoulder, more


    than aware of how he just swooped in with this little thing right at a moment my head was spiralling out


    of control. Bringing me peace like he always does. He just seems to know how to pull me out of a ck


    hole and bring back a level of sanity to my messy head.


    “It’s my job. Keeping you happy. Putting up with small furry psychos that will probably grow up to leave


    permanent scars on my legs,” he jests, smiling down at me, and I rest my head against him to watch


    her sleep.


    He strokes Red again but this time his other hand slides on top of Lync’s and he pets them both


    simultaneously. My eyes wander from Red to Lync and I sigh with the weird contentment this little


    scene gives me.


    “Guess we have a ready-made family after all.” That statement sends my giggles into overdrive and


    Red miaows in protest as I move withughter. Annoyed I woke her up and that just gets me even


    more. Insanely happy so suddenly and I can’t contain it.


    “She’s a little diva already. I love her. She’s perfect.” I give Alexi a peck on the cheek and am rewarded


    with him catching my chin in his fingers and get pulled back for a proper kiss. Sinking a passionate one


    on me that curls my toes and leaves me wanting more. Moulding me to him awkwardly so I can leave


    her on myp while sliding my arms around his neck. Devouring him needily.


    Breaking away, breathless and hot, aching for something more than a kiss now he has me fired up. I


    slide my sleeping baby onto the couch and watch her with adoration as she curls into a ball on the fluffyN?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    cushions. Lync pads over to sit on the floor and props himself below her, matching her pose and makes


    it clear he is taking on the role of guard dog and protector for our new little princess.


    Alexi smiles, tugs me onto hisp away from the duo and smooths back my hair in the way he always


    does. That gentle caress that is uniquely him.


    “Takes after her mother.” Another smile, dimples and all, and it floors mepletely.


    “See, you’re learning. I’ll make a romantic of you yet Mr Carrero,” I purr happily, easily sliding against


    him fully, fitting snugly in the best possible way.


    “Over my dead body. Rom-what?” Alexi grins, capturing me in another kiss and pulls me in close for a


    make-out session that will definitely end up in the bedroom. No better way to forget all the drama that


    surrounds us than getting lost in a happy naked ce where he reminds me of all the good skills he


    has.


    He’s right—who needs romance when you have him?