Lahat ng Kabanata ng CONTRACTED TO THE DON...AND HIS TWIN: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

I’d been thinking about it for days. The bond wasn’t just something that happened to me anymore. It was a tool. A live wire running between the three of us that I could maybe learn to pull on purpose. I’d felt it shift and stretch during sex, during quiet moments, during Carlo’s warning visit. But I hadn’t tried to use it. Not really, not with intent. Tonight I decided to test it. Dinner was just the three of us. No guests, no Maria hovering. Just pasta, wine, and the low lights over the dining table. Nico sat at the head like always, sleeves rolled up, looking unfairly good in a simple black shirt. Matteo was to my right, relaxed but watchful, his knee brushing mine under the table every so often. I waited until we were halfway through the meal. I pictured it first in my head... a slow, warm pulse of heat. Not the frantic kind from sex, something softer. Intimate. The kind of feeling you get when someone’s mouth is on your neck and their hand is sliding down your stomach. I foc

Nico told me about the dinner the night before, casual as if he were mentioning the weather. “Inner circle, just a small group having dinner at the Marino. Wear something that makes them remember you.” I spent the next day preparing the way I used to prepare for a tough hack... quiet, focused, relentless. I went through every scrap I’d collected: photos from old events, names cross-referenced with shell companies, payment trails, port manifests. By the time I zipped up the sleek navy dress that hugged my body like a secret, I had faces, names, and connections locked in my head. Tonight wasn’t about charming them, it was about mapping them. The Marino was one of those old-money restaurants hidden behind an unmarked door. Dark wood, low lighting, the kind of place where deals worth millions got sealed over perfectly cooked steak and thousand-dollar wine. Nico’s hand rested on my lower back as we walked in, warm and possessive. The bond between us hummed steady... cool, alert, with

The second day at the lodge started slow. We woke up tangled together in the big bed upstairs, limbs heavy, bodies marked from the night before. Sunlight came through the big windows in soft gold streaks. For once, no city noise. Just birds and the distant sound of wind in the trees. Nico made coffee while Matteo and I stayed in bed a little longer, his hand tracing lazy patterns on my bare back. The bond felt quiet and warm, like it had finally exhaled after months of holding its breath. After breakfast Nico got a call he couldn’t ignore. Something about the port, his voice going sharp and businesslike as he stepped out onto the back porch. Matteo looked at me across the kitchen island, a small tilt of his head toward the door. “Lake?” he asked. I nodded. We walked down the dirt path together, towels slung over our shoulders, no rush. The air smelled clean, like pine and earth after rain. When we reached the small private lake, the water was still, reflecting the sky like a mirr

I waited until the penthouse went dark. Nico had been especially possessive all evening... pulling me into his lap during a movie, hand between my thighs under the blanket while Matteo pretended not to notice. The weekend at the lodge had changed the temperature between all three of us, and Nico was making damn sure I felt it every single day since we got back. When he finally fell asleep, arm heavy across my waist, I slipped out from under it like I’d been practicing. The laptop felt heavier than usual when I pulled it out from under the bed. My hands were steady as I set up in the bathroom, door locked, sitting on the cold tile floor with my back against the tub. Headphones in, VPN bouncing through too many countries to count. I logged into the dead-drop and found the new file waiting. Second piece. My contact had come through again. The file was bigger this time... less fragmented, more dangerous. Payment logs, internal memos. A scanned contract page with signatures that made

The fight started over nothing and everything at the same time. It was late. The penthouse lights were dimmed low, the kind of quiet that usually felt comfortable now. I was in the kitchen pouring a glass of water I didn’t really want when Nico walked in from his office. His shoulders were tight, the way they got when something from work was still chewing on him. He came up behind me, hands sliding around my waist like they belonged there. They did, most nights. But tonight his touch felt too heavy and too sure. “You’ve been off since Jake left,” he said, voice low against my ear. “Talk to me.” I tensed. Just a little. Enough that he felt it through the bond. “I’m fine, just tired.” He didn’t let go. If anything, his grip tightened. “You keep saying that. But I feel you pulling back, every day a little more.” I set the glass down harder than I meant to. Water sloshed over the rim. “Maybe I need space sometimes, Nico. Not everything has to be about you knowing exactly what’s in m