Author’s POV
Grace was walking towards the Library when Mario saw her. He called her as per his friendly nature.
“Hey!”
Grace stopped and turned around.
“Hi?”
She looked at him confused.
“Haven’t seen you here before, i am Mario by the way.”
He smiled.
“Grace!”
She replied.
“Don’t tell me you are another annoying Marino brother.”
She rolled her eyes.
Mario chuckled at her words.
“Thankfully not!… i am Alex’s friend… So Grace, how come you are here… Guest or something?…”
“Forced Guest!…”
She shrugged.
Mario raised his eyebrows amused.
“Wait!… I think i have seen you somewhere!”
He scrunched his eyebrows and his eyes widened when he realised where he has seen her.
“Fuck! Russian mafia princess!”
“That’s me!”
Grace sighed.
“I am not giving you any insights, how i ended up here so don’t bother to ask.”
Mario raised his hands in surrender.
“Got it! But how are they allowing you to roam freely?”
“Bitch i am Grace… No one can cage me.”
She waved off.
Mario laughed.
“God! I love this kind of attitude. It’s really… Umm… You know…”
He stopped laughing when she didn’t give him any reaction.
“Umhh… Sorry!… By the way where are you going?”
“Library!”
She answered.
“And how do you know that library is on that side?”
He asked.
Grace looked at him confused. He was right, Dom just told her that library is downstairs but he didn’t tell her in which direction and she was heading towards the right direction without any instructions. She couldn’t understand how and why.
“Instict!”
She replied still confused.
“Strong instict!… I must say!”
He said impressed.
“Well… I was also going there, can you suggest me some good books…”
“Is this a new way of flirting…”
She rolled her eyes clearly knowing that he is getting over friendly.
“May be…”
He chuckled.
“Don’t worry, i am just trying to pass time… And if you want to do that then i am not a bad company… Be assured, i am not clingy.”
“Fine”
She turned around and started walking.
They entered inside the library and Mario looked at her.
“Your instinct seems to be really strong… You didn’t blink twice before coming here. It looked like you know this place.”
“Even i feel like that!”
Grace accepted. She walked towards the shelf and picked up the random book.
“I don’t feel stranger in this house…”
She looked at the hardcover.
“It feels like i know every corner of this house.”
“Interesting!”
Mario picked up the book for himself.
“Wow! Whole shelf is filled with love stories and hardcovers”
He said impressed.
“I don’t think anyone in this house reads love stories and are fond of hardcover collection.”
“May be Bella or Raan”
Grace looked at her book and felt like she has seen this book somewhere.
“No!”
Mario shook his head.
“I personally know both of them… Bella do read books but she is not really into collections and i have seen her books. She has mini library in her room itself so she doesn’t have to come down, she was pregnant.”
He looked at the shelf.
“And look at this… This book is signed by the author”
Grace looked at the sign on the first page.
“Look at the collection… It’s so beautiful and exclusive… I am a book lover Myself, but even i don’t have these books… I just couldn’t get it in hardcovers…”
Grace agreed. The collection was beautiful and impressive. Grace saw the books of famous authors which even she couldn’t find in the market.
“Don’t touch that shelf”
Mario and Grace turned around when they heard Dominick.
Mario looked at him.
“Hey Bro! Is this your collection?”
Dom scrunched his eyebrows.
“Keep those books back… I don’t like when people touch that shelf…”
He looked at Grace.
“Now!”
Grace placed the book back without argument, she herself is a book lover and she understands how it feels when someone touch her books without permission.
Mario did the same.
“Chill! I was just looking for a good book.”
“Alex’s library is on the other corner of the living room… You can find books there… This is my library!”
Dom answered in dry tone.
“Okay!”
Mario replied realizing that Dom didn’t like his presence.
“Grace, are you coming?”
Grace was about to say yes but Dom stopped her.
“Grace i need to talk to you… Sit down.”
She frowned at him.
“Fine… No problem!… I’ll see you later, Grace. Bye!”
Mario said and walked out.
“What do you want to talk?”
Grace asked bored.
“Seat down!”
Dom ordered and she rolled her eyes.
“I want to stand… Is there any problem?”
She answered.
Grace gasped when he suddenly flipped her on the sofa. She was laying flat beneath him.
“What are you doing?”
Her hands clutched on his shoulders.
Dom looked at her face closely, couldn’t understand why he was feeling so jealous when Mario looked at her adoringly.
“Stay away from men in this house!”
He warned.
“And who are you to tell me this?”
She asked.
“Your captor.”
He replied and she stiffened when he slightly squeezed her waist.
Her toes curled when he leaned closer to her face and her knees touched his thighs.
He pressed his thighs and locked her legs.
Grace could feel the throbbing in her core by his close proximity.
“Men here are not saints… Stay away from them…”
Dom snapped her out of her thoughts.
“The only man i need to stay away from is you…”
She replied.
“Your soon to be wife won’t like it if she cought us in this position.”
Dom noticed the jealousy in her tone and weird sense of satisfaction flared in his chest.
“Right!… I shouldn’t hurt her. Should I?”
He smirked.
Grace pushed him away and got up from the sofa.
“I am taking a book from this shelf”
She declared.
“Don’t!”
Dom said strictly while sitting up.
Grace rolled her eyes and turned around to look at him.
“I am not going to damage it… I also love reading so i know it’s value…”
She said offended.
“Why are you so obsessed with your collection anyway…”
“Because this is not my collection”
Dom mumbled with a sigh.
“But you said this is your personal library.”
Grace frowned.
Dom looked at her.
“I know but when i came back, this collection was here and i don’t remember why it’s there… I have no clue… but i am sure This is not mine because i am not into romance genre…”
“What do you mean by When you came back, where were you?”
Grace asked.
Dom looked at her in silence.
“I was____”
“Hi!”
They both looked at Bella who suddenly made her presence known.
“You are not allowed here!”
Dom looked at her annoyed.
“I don’t need your fucking permission”
Bella scowled.
“I am the queen!”
“Whatever!”
Dom mumbled.
“I am taking some books…”
She headed towards the same Shelf.
“I dare you to touch those books…”
He warned.
“Both of you… Get away from there…”
Bella smirked.
“Why are you so possessive about the thing which you have no idea about?”
Dom stood up and walked towards her. Grace was watching the drama peacefully.
Bella maintained the distance from Dom and cleverly got closer to his desk. She leaned against the desk edges and looked at him.
“Because you are not telling me to whom it belongs…”
Dom said frustrated.
Grace frowned, not understanding why Dom have no idea about it. Why would Bella know about this when it’s Dom’s Library.
“It’s yours… I told you.”
Bella shrugged.
“No it’s not…”
Dom spat. He looked at the shelf.
“I will never collect these kind of books… And i will never put Roses in it, for sure.”
Bella grabbed the opportunity and sneakily pulled out the photograph from her back pocket and placed it in the book which Dom is currently reading.
She argued a lot with Alex while convincing him to tell truth to Dom about him and Grace but Alex denied not wanting to affect his health. He wants to take things slow but Bella is not that patient.
So she grabbed one of the picture from her wedding album in which Grace and Dom is in romantic position and decided to throw it in front of Dom so may be he will find out the rest.
She hid it inside the book before Dom notice her.