Jaxon dodged the last hit and finally managed to land a punch on Valentino’s jaw. They had been intensely training for the past few days, and Jaxon had learned many new skills. He didn’t wait for Valentino to recover as he swept his feet, knocking Valentino to the floor.
Valentino fell, and Jaxon smirked, wiping the blood from his lips.
Valentino chuckled from the ground. “Finally, dumbass. You got the trick.”
“Thanks for the tutoring, big guy,” Jaxon said, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a drink before leaving.
“You’re not welcome!” Valentino exclaimed.
The black dire wolf, who had been watching the entire time, rushed toward Valentino and licked his face.
“Stop it, Loki,” Valentino grumbled, turning his head away. He stood up, his eyes meeting his wife’s as she entered the room, concern etched on her face.
“Mi amor (my love),” he smiled and walked toward her.
“Mi mundo (my world),” she smiled as he stepped closer. He gently cupped her face, his gaze filled with admiration.
“Are you worried?” he asked, and she hugged him, burying her face in his chest.
“Of course I am. Maximus is dangerous, you know that. You’re leaving the country soon, and my heart aches, mi mundo (my world),” she whispered, and a smile crept onto Valentino’s face.
“I promised to help them, Donna. A true leader should always keep their word.” He lifted her chin, making her meet his gaze. “Holden helped us in the past. He once saved my life, and I owe him that favor. I’ll be back before you know it. Take care of the clan for me. Stacy and Parker will stay to help, and keep me updated on whatever happens,” he said, kissing her forehead.
Maria smiled warmly and nodded. “Alright. I’ll miss you so much.”
Valentino smiled and lifted her into his arms. Maria chuckled, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Oh, I’ll miss you, love. Every single thing about you,” he nuzzled her chest and kissed her there.
She leaned in, whispering in his ear. “I have a present for you, Don, but you can only see it in the bedroom,” she teased, biting his earlobe. Valentino chuckled.
“That’s my woman,” he muttered, carrying her straight to their bedroom.
—
Australia had always been a place of terrible memories for Tatiana. For a moment, she had found joy, but that joy was tarnished in the blink of an eye.
She had a chance to stop this-to stop her father-and the only way to do that was to use the method she knew best.
The entertainment world.
They had cleared many brothels in Spain, bringing down many of Maximus Wallington’s allies and saving women, thanks to Valentino’s clan. It had been relatively easy.
Valentino had a stronghold in Australia, and they had been gathering men ever since the war started.
Since Tatiana regained her strength, she had been plotting her own plans. Maximus had her sisters, and she knew he would use them against her.
Indigo was targeted because she was a link to all of them. Indigo was her friend, Cassius’s childhood friend, almost like a daughter to Aurora, and Hudson’s lover.
Killing her was meant to trigger everyone, but Tatiana was so glad Indigo had survived.
Tatiana couldn’t deny her fear of how far her father would go.
But… first, she needed to clear something up.
The “little bird” Maximus had mentioned.
Their return was kept strictly hidden. No one knew, not even Hudson.
Cassius and Tatiana entered the mansion and found Aurora, Jolene, and Dylan.
“Mom! Dad!” Dylan nearly tripped as he ran to them, his eyes filled with tears as he hugged their legs.
Cassius and Tatiana crouched down, concern etched on their faces as the boy sobbed, his cheeks reddened from hiccuping.
“Hey, why are you crying, sweetie?” Tatiana asked, holding his face in her palms. Her heart ached.
“I… I was so scared… I was so scared,” he sniffled, and Tatiana pulled him into a hug, gently patting his head as he sobbed.
“I’ve missed you so much, Mom,” he peeked at Cassius. “Dad.”
Cassius pinched his cheek gently. A smile that hadn’t appeared in a long time crept onto his face.
“I missed you too, little man,” Cassius said, pulling out a box of cookies. “Will this make you feel better?”
Dylan wiped his tears and took the cookies from him.
“Promise not to leave again, and I’ll feel better,” he said, gazing up at them, his eyes still brimming with tears.
“We promise,” Cassius replied, determination flashing in his gaze.
“Tatie!” Jolene ran over to hug Tatiana, tears streaming down her face. “Oh my God, you’re alive… and okay!”
Tatiana chuckled, hugging her back. “Drama queen, you missed me?”
“Of course, more than you can imagine,” Jolene said, wiping her tears.
Tatiana studied her face, seeing the pure joy written on it.
“Are you hurt? Are you alright?” she asked, her own tears spilling.
“I’m alright.”
“And here are my beautiful ones!” Aurora was the last to greet them, embracing them both warmly. “Oh, my sweet babies, you had me so worried.”
—
After spending a lot of time with Dylan, Tatiana headed to the study where Cassius was busy with his laptop. Everyone else was asleep.
“Hey,” she said, wrapping her arms around him from behind.
Cassius kissed her hand, and they stayed silent for a while. “What if it turns out to be Jolene?”
Tatiana swallowed and bit her lip. “She can’t betray me.”
“But what if?”
Tatiana had asked herself that question many times and still didn’t have an answer. What if the “little bird” was Jolene?
“I don’t know,” she whispered, not wanting to think about it. If Jolene turned out to be the traitor, the pain would be unbearable.
“Butler Conrad has worked for me for many years. I’m his only family. That bastard is making us suspect the people closest to us,” Cassius said.
“That’s what he wants-to split us apart.”
“But I can’t get it out of my head. Who could it be? We can’t trust anyone…” he sighed. Tatiana gently pulled on his hair and kissed his lips.
“Rebel,” he said, stopping her.
“Cass…”
“You’re still healing, okay?” he whispered.
“I’m fine.”
“Let’s go to bed,” he said, standing up and grabbing his laptop. He’d been like this ever since she had been poisoned.
Tatiana knew how hard it was for him to resist touching her. He’d only kiss or ruffle her hair.
“You’re still healing,” he would say.
She recalled Donna Maria’s words.
“My Val was like that too. Whenever I got hurt, he would avoid touching me. He’d say he wanted me to get better first. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I’d storm into a lingerie store and buy the sexiest thing I could find. You’re an actress, you know what moves to make. Your man will come running to you.”
Tatiana ran her fingers through her hair under the shower. Afterward, her gaze fell on the red lingerie-Cassius’s favorite color.
Cassius never slept before her, so she found him in bed, reading a book. Taking a deep breath, Tatiana’s eyes filled with determination.
The scent of honey filled the room, prompting Cassius to look up. He watched as Tatiana sat before the mirror, slowly combing her hair. She wore a short robe that barely covered her thighs.
There was something about her movements.
Cassius tried to return his focus to his book but couldn’t. Clicking his tongue, he glanced at Tatiana again and immediately regretted it.
She had one leg up on the chair, applying cream to her leg and trailing it up to her thigh. Her slow, steady actions were driving him crazy. Her skin looked so smooth, and he imagined running his hands over it.
He cleared his throat and looked back at his book, but his eyes fell on his groin. What?!
He was getting hard from just that?
A light groan escaped him as he tried to resist the urge.
“Are you okay, Daddy?” Tatiana’s soft voice reached his ears. Her robe had slipped off her shoulder, revealing her smooth skin.
Daddy? Did she just call him Daddy?
Cassius’s eyes darkened. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice rougher than usual.
“Just getting ready for bed,” she replied with a shrug.
“Yeah… right,” he muttered, glancing away. He noticed her standing out of the corner of his eye, and then she let her robe fall further off her shoulder, hanging around her waist. He shut his eyes as the ache in his abdomen intensified.
Did he just see red?
Tatiana left the robe hanging, her upper body exposed. She began tying her hair into a bun, but before she could finish, she felt strong arms spin her around, pinning her to the table.
A light gasp escaped her lips as she met Cassius’s intense gaze. His eyes trailed down to her chest, filling with lust.
“Daddy?” he repeated, more like a question, his gaze shifting back to her eyes.
Tatiana didn’t know why she had said that, but it seemed the word had worked well.
He suddenly lifted her onto the table and buried his face onto her neck, inhaling her scent. His hand groped her ass hard.
He whispered in a husky voice. “You shouldn’t have seduced me wife. Now you might not be able to walk tomorrow.”