"Why can't I stay away from you? You're like a drug," he whispered into my ear, his breath warm against my skin. "I only have one option, my princess - I'm going to ruin you the way you have ruined me." *** Four years ago, Kat lost her memory and was taken in by a "family" working for the mafia - turning Kat into a thief. Enzo, scarred from a mission for the King, distrusts everything and everyone. However, when he runs into Kat, he finds himself drawn to her like no one he'd ever met before. He couldn't possibly be mated to a human, could he? Or maybe Kat was just the right person to steal the jaded Enzo's heart.
Kat POV
I pressed my ear to the door of the suite on the third floor of the Palazzo Hotel, hearing the steady breathing of the occupant inside. He must be fast asleep - just how I wanted him.
"This should be easy," I whispered to myself as I pulled the lock picks from where I had hidden them in my hair.
The hotel had been deserted as I had made my way through the foyer and hallways, as it should be at 3am. Only a sleepy looking desk clerk had possibly seen me, but I think the man was too busy scrolling through reels on his phone to even realise that I had snuck in.
Not exactly the kind of service you would expect to find at a five star hotel, but I was glad for it.
Within a few seconds, I had the door unlocked. With a slightly proud smile, I slipped off my shoes and pushed the door quietly open before I snuck inside. The room was lavishly decorated and my bare feet sunk into the thick carpet. Exquisite paintings hung on almost every wall and I had to stop myself from pulling one off the wall and cutting it from its frame.
One of those would earn me a bonus for sure, but I had to find the necklace first.
I moved slowly and quietly, grateful for the dim moonlight streaming in through the open windows and my ability to see well in the darkness.
"If I had a diamond necklace, where would I put it?" I mouthed, not daring to whisper in case I woke up the sleeping Castello man.
The man in question snored loudly and rolled over, facing the bedside table - and the large, velvet box which sat there.
"It had to be next to his bed, didn't it?" I thought to myself as I padded closer.
My eyes fell on the Castello, his sleeping face making him seem peaceful - well, almost peaceful. The scar which ran across his eye belied the peacefulness of his expression, making him seem like a Viking from the olden days. I could imagine him leading a group of fellow Vikings on a raid, the wind blowing in his dark hair which was slightly longer than the length I usually liked, but it suited him more than short hair would have.
My eyes trailed down his muscular torso, barely covered by the duvet and I bit my lower lip. "A sexy Viking at that," I thought.
It was a damned shame that the Castellos were the enemy. They had been at war with the Milano family for years, and I guess that meant he was supposed to be my rival too. It should be a crime to lust after a man who would probably smile as he slit your throat - but there I was, imagining what it would be like to feel his naked body against mine.
I may have still been a virgin, but I knew enough about the birds and the bees from Giulia. She was extremely open about her work as a prostitute. I just had no desire to launch myself at the Milano men who hung around the house, but that didn't stop me from imagining what sort of man I would like to be with. And the Viking was damned close.
I tore my eyes from the sexy Viking and edged closer to the velvet box. I picked it up and opened it carefully, my eyes watching the man's face for any signs that my close presence had awoken him, but he was still fast asleep.
I almost dropped the box when I looked down at the contents, the diamond necklace shining brightly even in the dim light. The necklace seemed familiar somehow with its zig-zag rows of diamonds encompassing the entire piece of jewellery, but I guess it wasn't so unusual to arrange jewels in that manner. I'm sure I had walked past dozens of jewellery stores and seen that same kind of necklace in the displays.
I lifted the necklace from the box, feeling its weight in my hand as I tried to figure out where the heck to put the piece. I had initially planned to string it around my neck beside my own necklace, but there was no way I could walk back to Mother's house wearing that thing. I would be robbed of it the second I walked through the Palazzo's front doors.
Without a second thought, I pulled the necklace from the box, closed the velvet covered casing and set it back down in the exact location I had found it. I was about to tuck the necklace into my bra - the only option of a hiding place that I had in the tight dress - when I felt something snake around my waist.
My eyes widened with panic as I stared down at the Castello man, his green eyes watching me closely. Before I could blink, he flung me onto the bed beside him, my face inches away from mine.
"Mine," he said in a voice that I can only describe as a growl, before he kissed me.
A strange warmth flooded me, and I found myself pressing into his kiss as his hands cupped my face. I closed my eyes as his tongue swept inside my mouth, igniting a passion inside of me I had never experienced before.
His hand ran down my body and I shivered at the contact, a soft groan tearing from my lips.
The sound was strange to my own ears, and it took me a few seconds to realise that it had come from me. That realisation was like a bucket of ice cold water poured on the flame of passion I was experiencing.
Panic surged through me and I pulled away frantically, rolling off the bed on the opposite side of the man. The necklace dangled from my fist, glinting in the moonlight and I could see the moment he noticed it. The passionate haze in his eyes turned ice cold and he lashed out, grabbing the other end of the necklace. He tugged hard on it, but I resisted, pulling in the opposite direction.
There was an audible snap as the necklace broke in two. The look of horror on the man's face was unmistakable, but I didn't wait around to see his reaction. I ran as fast as I could, escaping through the door as fast as I could. The roar of anger behind me told me that the man was following me, so I darted down the hallway toward the door which had a picture of stairs on it, choosing the stairs over having to wait for the elevator and risk getting caught by the Castello.
I heard the ping of the elevator opening and knew that he was planning to catch me in the foyer - something I could definitely not afford to have happen. It spurred me on, bursting out of the stairwell as fast as I could before I dashed through the foyer. I heard the desk clerk shout out in surprise seconds before I heard the elevator open. But it was too late, and I shot through the front door and darted into the darkness of the night.
I didn't stop running until Mother's house came into sight, my heart hammering loudly against my ribcage. Leaning against a nearby tree, I bent down to catch my breath and saw the strand of diamonds still in my fist.
"Darnit! Mother will be pissed if she sees that I destroyed her cousin's necklace," I swore to myself.
I looked down and noticed my bare feet and groaned. In my haste to run away, I had left my shoes behind.
The entire assignment had been a failure. And what was worse was the knowledge that I now had a Castello after me.
The Curse of Seasons is a Trilogy 1. Cursed for as long as she can remember to spend most of each year asleep, Lana is doomed to never lead a normal life or experience the normal issues teenagers usually have to endure. That is until Rhett, the neighbour's delinquent son comes into the picture. *** 2. Cole has spent the last six years hunting down the girl whom he fell in love with but has never met, their curse binding them to each other as much as the pages of the diary they shared as youths. Harley has no memory of a time before she was saved from death, but when her way of life is threatened, she must join in the fight or become a casualty. *** 3. Nathan can feel the winds of change, knowing that the inevitable war between his kind and the organization who created them is on the horizon. There is only one barrier to his involvement - the General's daughter.
I could hear his heart race as he spoke, my head pressed against his chest. "And were you pleased with what you found?" I asked, giving in to the urge to find out exactly what he thought of me. "I found you to be exactly what I had hoped for, after all these years. You're smart, funny and generally adorable. You drive me insane with your stubbornness. You have a gorgeously alluring figure and a pure, sweet face. Most importantly, you're someone who I could live with for the rest of eternity." He squeezed me gently, running his fingers through my tangled hair. *** Seventeen year old Callista is just your average teenage girl, however when she starts to have strange dreams after coming into contact with a mysterious guy in a coma things become complicated: especially when she begins to suspect that he is trying to speak to her through her dreams. Launched into an alternate realm with Greek gods, succubi and all things mythological, Callista struggles to balance her new-found destiny and her life in the human realm.
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
Sheila had her back against the wall when her family tried to force her to marry an awful old man. In a fit of rage, she hired a gigolo to act as her husband. She thought the gigolo needed money and did this for a living. Little did she know that he was nothing like that. One day, he pulled off his mask and revealed himself to be the world's top magnate. This marked the beginning of their love. He showered her with everything she could ever want. They were happy. However, unexpected circumstances soon posed a threat to their love. Would Sheila and her husband make it through the storm? Find out!
I received a pornographic video. "Do you like this?" The man speaking in the video is my husband, Mark, whom I haven't seen for several months. He is naked, his shirt and pants scattered on the ground, thrusting forcefully on a woman whose face I can't see, her plump and round breasts bouncing vigorously. I can clearly hear the slapping sounds in the video, mixed with lustful moans and grunts. "Yes, yes, fuck me hard, baby," the woman screams ecstatically in response. "You naughty girl!" Mark stands up and flips her over, slapping her buttocks as he speaks. "Stick your ass up!" The woman giggles, turns around, sways her buttocks, and kneels on the bed. I feel like someone has poured a bucket of ice water on my head. It's bad enough that my husband is having an affair, but what's worse is that the other woman is my own sister, Bella. ************************************************************************************************************************ “I want to get a divorce, Mark,” I repeated myself in case he didn't hear me the first time—even though I knew he'd heard me clearly. He stared at me with a frown before answering coldly, "It's not up to you! I'm very busy, don't waste my time with such boring topics, or try to attract my attention!" The last thing I was going to do was argue or bicker with him. "I will have the lawyer send you the divorce agreement," was all I said, as calmly as I could muster. He didn't even say another word after that and just went through the door he'd been standing in front of, slamming it harshly behind him. My eyes lingered on the knob of the door a bit absentmindedly before I pulled the wedding ring off my finger and placed it on the table. I grabbed my suitcase, which I'd already had my things packed in and headed out of the house.
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
Rejected by her mate, who had been her long-time crush, Jasmine felt utterly humiliated. Seeking solace, she headed to a party to drown her sorrows. But things took a turn for the worse when her friends issued a cruel dare: kiss a stranger or beg her mate for forgiveness. With no other choice, Jasmine approached a stranger and kissed him, thinking that would be the end of it. However, the stranger unexpectedly wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear, "You're mine!" He growled, his words sending shivers down her spine. And then, he offered her a solution that would change everything...