Song: Olivia - Natalia Lacunza

(edited)

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Adelaide

—-

For a second, I forgot about Jamie, Jaekyung, the people I've killed, MI6 and the fact that I was only wearing his shirt and boxers.

For a fleeting second, I let myself disappear in Romano's strong embrace.

And I smiled. 

—-

"The Anson twins." Jamie started.

After the slightly embarrassing spectacle that took place in the kitchen, everyone concluded that Romano would set up a bank account for me. 

With that, we all excused ourselves from our half-eaten breakfast and ambled our way to the meeting room, ready for the briefing of our next targets.

"5 children in between them both, one spouse and the other has multiple girlfriends. Fertile."

He let out a small cough. 

"They are co-owners of an Italian tech company but many have accused them of affiliating themselves with the Italian mafia due to their rapid increase of wealth."

Jamie's eyes flit over to Romano for a second before he continued his ramblings.

"They will be attending a business function with a wife and girlfriend in tow. Children are going to stay in their US mansion, not tagging along. The best form of action is a sniper gun. The place will be heavily guarded as many notorious criminals will be attending, therefore leading to a pat-down, Ads."

I nodded in agreement. 

I may be skilled but that didn't mean that the security wasn't.

Though I knew I wouldn't be the one to pull the trigger no matter how much anyone else wanted me to, it always brought back bad memories. 

"All right, we'll continue this discussion later. You can go to lunch now." Romano's voice commanded and I complied, my stomach rumbling from the breakfast I had neglected earlier.

"Adelaide, stay back." He demanded.

Damn, I was really looking forward to a sandwich.

I folded myself back down on the plush leather sofa across from Romano, crossing my legs and leaning back. 

His gaze was focused on me with the corners of his lips curved downwards slightly. 

Did I do something to upset him? 

The stillness of the room was interrupted by his steady, heavy breathing. 

"Have you forgotten what I told you the first night you were here?"

I blinked. 

Huh?

I tried my best to recall what happened that night besides my reunion with Jamie, but nothing of much importance came to mind. 

Unless...

"You're not getting your boxers back," I stated squarely, confident that was the answer he desired.

Though I hated to admit it, there was something oddly comforting about the boxers shirt he had given me and I wasn't prepared to let them out of my grasp just yet. 

The corner of his lip quirked up for a split second before being smothered by his serious expression that I had grown quite used to throughout the past few weeks.

"No this isn't about the boxers. I have grown to like the image of you wearing my clothes, porro." 

His gaze drifted down to my lips before settling back to my eyes.

"This is about your late-night escapades with dear old Jamie."

Oh.

"I thought I made it clear the first night you arrived here that it is unprofessional to have relations with anybody employed here, anybody but me, of course."

His lips quirked up into a smug smirk and I frowned in response. 

Did the fact that I slept beside Jamie piss him off so much?

"I didn't take you as the possessive type, Mr Acerbi." I teased, leaning forward.

His gaze darkened and his grin faltered for a second before he regained his composure.

"Oh, le cose che ti farei se fossimo stati più privati, stella mia." He rushed out in one breath. I paused, trying to replay what he said in my head before I forgot it. 

(Translation: oh, the things I would do to you if we were somewhere more private, my star.)

My eyebrows furrowed as I racked my brain for the right words. 

What did he say?

"Let me take you out for dinner, piccola patata."

What?

Here I thought Romano was just toying with me alongside the possibility that I might warm his bed for one night before he fucked me over, no pun intended. 

Here he was, wanting to take me for dinner.

I didn't trust it. 

Was this a way for me to take down my defences? 

For him to worm his way into my heart before breaking it into a million pieces just how Jamie did?

"Dinner?"

"Yes, dinner. Tonight. Wear something fancy." His voice left no room for argument as he stood and strode out of the room, leaving me behind with an open mouth, widened eyes, and no way to protest his proposal.

Dinner it is, then.

I scurried back up to my room and flung open the closet doors. 

I couldn't stop butterflies from flitting around my stomach, begging me to admit that I was excited. 

My mind was racing as I perused the multitude of dresses that hung there, my hunger long forgotten. 

Was this a date?

A date.

I hadn't been on a date since... since when? My last date must've been with Jamie, over a year ago by now. 

Had it really been that long?

My eyes landed on a silky black number. 

I reached my hand to feel the fabric, so soft I thought I would break down crying right there. 

I couldn't help but fell as if my blood-stained hands weren't worthy of holding something so beautiful.

I carefully moved it from the closet and held it in my arms, simply taking a second to appreciate the craftsmanship. 

It was stunningly simple. 

I hesitantly lay it on top of my bed, not wanting to ruin the beautiful stitching and left my room, ready to hunt down a sandwich

When I stood in front of the dress for a second time, my heart was beating erratically and my palms were profusely sweating. 

I never got this nervous when I had a knife to someone's throat, so why was I having this kind of reaction now? 

How did Romano make me feel this way? 

The butterflies in my stomach had never been this frenzied, not on my first date with Jamie, not when I made my first kill, and yet, Romano made me feel as if I was about to throw up all over the floor. 

I slipped into the flowing dress, careful to not ruin it, and turned to enter the bathroom. 

I felt like a princess and when I looked into the mirror, I saw one staring back at me. 

I couldn't control the grin that split my face in two. 

I had put on a little bit of makeup and brushed my hair, of which I couldn't do much with due to the short length, but that didn't matter, I looked beautiful and I knew it.

Satisfied, I made my way downstairs, spotting a very handsome looking Romano sporting a black button-up shirt and dress pants. 

His hair was slicked back and I couldn't understand why he had decided to be a mafia boss instead of a model, he looked as if he had come off the front cover of Vogue magazine.

His unwavering gaze explored every inch of my body as I slowly made my way down the winding staircase. 

The clacking of my heels on the stairs echoed throughout the room, neither of us daring to break the tension that had arisen. 

In that moment, I was appreciative of the fact that Romano had very few people employed in his mansion.

"I am a very lucky man, fagiolo verde." His gravelly voice stated, locking our eyes together.

I couldn't hold back my giggle when I heard his sweet words.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Mr Acerbi." I retorted, revelling in his cheeky expression.

His arm snaked around my waist as he moved beside me and ushered me to a room I had not had the pleasure to explore yet. 

When we reached the door, he stopped walking and moved behind me, placing his hands delicately over my eyes, trying not to smudge my makeup in the process.

A cute move on his part.

"I want it to be a surprise, now try to open the door, carota, I promise you won't be disappointed."

In any other situation, I would've castrated the person who had dared to put their hands over my eyes but with Romano, I felt at ease. 

I felt safe.

I fumbled for a few seconds trying to grasp the door handle before my hand finally clasped around the cool metal. 

I pushed it down and opened the door.

"Romano, I don't want to trip."

"I've got you, don't worry." He whispered in my ear, sending a shiver slide down my spine.

I internally sighed, no matter how safe I felt in his arms, I was not prepared to go into a shady room without knowing what the hell was in there.

"Mano, if I swear to keep my eyes closed, will you lead me in?" I pleaded with him. 

I would feel safer if Romano was beside me, considering that if a gunman was hiding in the room, the bullets would hit him first and buy me time to react.

He contemplated my suggestion for a minute.

"Promise?" He asked me.

"Promise."

He tentatively took his hands away from my now shut eyes and I felt his hand wrap around my forearm, leading me into the unknown.

"I should've brought a blindfold." He muttered to himself.

"Kinky."

He snorted, "all the best people are"

He let his grip on my arm slacken as he pulled something out that sounded like a chair. 

He took ahold of my waist and gently made sure that I was sitting comfortably sat, telling me to open my eyes.

And I did.

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