All Chapters of BLOOD AND VOWS: THE MAFIA WRONG BRIDE : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

CHAPTER 32A TASTE OF HIS LIPSCHIARAHis lips crashed into mine, and the world stopped.I've imagined this moment more times than I wanted to admit. I imagined what it would feel like to have Lucien Moretti kiss me—whether he'd be cold and controlled, or whether the ice would crack and something fiercer would spill through.I have my answer now. And it was nothing like I'd imagined.It was just… better.His lips were surprisingly soft for a man made of stone. They were warm and insistent, moving against mine with a kind of desperate precision that told me he'd been holding himself back for so long. His one hand was still gripping my jaw, tilting my face up to meet his. The other gradually found my waist, his fingers splaying across the curve of my hip and pulling me closer.A small, involuntary sound that sounded like a gasp and whimper, escaped, and he swallowed it whole.I've never been kissed like this… fuck that… I've never been kissed at all. Valentina has always been the one

CHAPTER 34A GHOST FROM THE PASTLUCIENThe hood fell away, and the face hiding beneath it stopped my heart for a second.Caterina?“Hey, big brother.” Caterina was not a Moretti by blood, but she had been family in every way that mattered. Fifteen years ago, I found her huddled in a wreckage of a townhouse after a territorial war between my father and a rival family. She was eight years old at the time, covered in ash and her mother's blood. She was clutching a doll that was missing an arm.My father had wanted to send her to one of the state-run orphanages, but I refused. I was seventeen, stubborn and already learning how to bend the world to my will.Eventually, I found a private orphanage, one the Moretti family were funding quietly and bought it completely. I visited her every week, bought her books and made sure she had everything she needed. When she aged out of the orphanage at eighteen, I retained her as a staff in the orphanage to keep her away from my violent life. She c

CHAPTER 36A LITTLE INTELLUCIENThe cold water did nothing to wash her away.I stood under the spray, palms pressed flat against the tile as I let the icy stream beat against my shoulders and back. The bathroom was dark except for the pale moonlight seeping through the frosted window. I had stripped off my clothes and stepped in without bothering to turn on the lights. I didn't need them. The image of her was burned into my retina. I couldn't stop thinking about that ridiculous, impulsive, completely unguarded hug that caught me so off guard I forgot how to breathe.Her arms around my neck, the scent of lavender soap still clinging to her damp skin and the warmth of her body pressed against mine for exactly two heartbeats before instinct screamed at me to pull away was…I let out a low breath and turned off the water. The chuckle that escaped my throat surprised me. How did she jump on me like a child who was told Christmas came early? It's just a larger cage. Fuck!My hard dick

CHAPTER 38WHAT IS MINELUCIEN"A mole?" Marco repeated in a flat voice. "In the Moretti household? One of our own people?""Yes." Caterina leaned forward, staring at us with steady eyes. "And I think I know who it is."My jaw tightened. "Who?""His name is Gianni. Gianni Riva."Gianni?Marco's brow furrowed. "Gianni Riva? I don't recognize that name. Are you sure he's one of ours?""I'm sure… I confirmed it. He meets with one of Alessandro's lieutenants every Thursday at a bar in the city. Last month, he handed over a list of every shipment scheduled for the next month." She paused. "That's how Alessandro hit your convoy. He knew exactly where and when to strike."I didn't recognise the name, but I filed it anyway, already planning on how to deal with him. “We'll handle it.” "You need to handle it quietly," Caterina said. "If Alessandro realizes we're onto him, he'll accelerate his plans.""We will." I leaned back in my chair, studying her. "You've done more than enough, now it's ti

CHAPTER 40ANOTHER WHO KNOWS FRIENDLINESS CHIARAThe old man was still standing at the edge of the rose bushes when I caught my breath."I'm sorry," I said, pressing a hand on my chest. "You startled me.""And you," he replied, snipping a dead bloom from its stem, the movement smooth and professional, "are the colour in this place."I blinked, my eyebrows dipped a bit. "What do you mean?" I gestured around us, spreading hands across the garden of flowers. "There's colour everywhere."A low, rasping sound reverberated through his chest as he chuckled. "These?" He waved his shears at the garden. "These are a pretense, signorina… it's nothing but a pretty mask. The flowers bloom because the gardener tells them to, but they don't mean it.”My eyebrows were still dipped in confusion. I was still trying to understand him. I guess he caught on to that, because he continued speaking. “These flowers don't wake up in the morning and choose to be beautiful. They just... exist." He fixed those