“I’m serious. I can’t live without you, Everly. You’re my hope. My light. My soul. I can’t go on another day without knowing you’ll be mine forever. Say yes and let me love you forever.”
A tear slipped from her eye, rolling down her cheek and splashing onto the bed. “You’re serious?”
“Deadly.”
Everly smiled, her heart exploding in her chest. As crazy as it was, she couldn’t see spending life without him either.
“I know my life isn’t all roses, but I promise to make you happy. I promise to keep you safe—but most of all, I promise to never stop loving you. Will you take a chance on me, Everly? Will you be mine?”
“Yes.” Everly rolled over and straddled his waist. “Yes, I’ll be yours, forever.”
She smiled when she felt the growing erection beneath her. Not wasting another moment, she gripped his shaft in her hand and guided him back inside herself. Her life was messy and made no sense, but as she took control and brought them both to release again, Everly knew her heart had made its decision. He had found her in the worst of situations and made her feel real love. Together they would overcome the darkness and let the light inside.
Bastianstaredatthefinancials of the winery. It had been weeks since the ordeal with Everly, yet they still hadn’t figured out if Dmitri was still alive and who the rat was in their ranks that was working for him. They had talked to the Anastasi’s several times, but they were dealing with problems of their own. Problems that Dmitri had caused.
“Fuck.” He tossed the ledger to the desk and leaned back.
The soft voice of Ariel, his accountant, filtered into the room. “You okay?”
Bastian glanced up to see her propped against his open door. “No. I’m not. I think Jorge was using this place as a cover for something nefarious, but I don’t know what. Have you found anything in the shit I gave you?”
“Actually.” She disappeared only to return with a folded piece of paper. “I did.”
Bastian stiffened as she made her way around his desk and opened the paper. She was bent over in front of him, her perfectly round ass on display. He closed his eyes and willed his growing erection to behave. The last thing he needed was for her to notice the bulge in his pants.
“What is this? A map of the property?”
“Yep.”
He raised an eye. “And? How the fuck is this supposed to help me?”
“If you would look at it, you would see I circled something on the back property.”
Bastian leaned forward, his chest brushing against the globe of her ass. “What is it?”
“A building of some kind. It’s not on any of the other manifestos, so I don’t know what it is. What I can tell you, is it is at the far corner of the property that backs up to the cliffs.”
Bastian ran his palm down his face. “I’ll go check it out.” He started to stand and grab the map, but she snatched it from his grasp.
“Not without me. I want to see what this building is, and since I found it, I’m going.” Ariel wadded up the map and stormed toward the door. “Are you coming?”
Bastian grunted and stood. “Yeah. I’m coming.” He hurried past her and down the front steps. “We’ll take a gator. Come on.” He headed across the lawn toward one of the barns. Ariel watched as he hopped onto an outdoor version of a golfcart and patted the seat. “Hurry up, Princess.”
“Stop calling me that. You can be such a dick.”
Bastian smirked as they pulled out onto the property. “Where are we going?”
“Far back left. Near the cliffs.”
Neither spoke as they made the trek toward the backside of the one-hundred-acre lot. Jorge had let the place go to shit, but Bastian hoped he would salvage it, turning it into a profitable venue for the family. Not as if they needed more money, but he wanted something of his own—something with less bloodshed. The ride across the property was peaceful. The lush greenery and heavy aroma of grape vines filled the air, giving it a serene vibe. The property stopped at the edge of a cliff, dropping into the azure waters below. It was stunning and would eventually draw tourists once Bastian built some bungalows to rent out. It was all part of his plan once the dust settled and he eradicated the memory of Jorge Peru from the lands.
Bastian was positive Jorge had used the property for more than wine, but he and his brothers had not found anything beyondsome gun sales. That was baby shit compared to the illegal sales of lithium the Silva family made their money from.
“I think that’s it.” Ariel’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
He glanced the direction her finger pointed and frowned. “Why the hell would they build something so close to the edge?”
“I don’t know. Let’s stop and check it out.” Ariel practically hopped off before he stopped the cart.
