Stuck in a Mafia Romance

NO ONE’S POV

Lily clicked the light switch on, and a soft yellow glow filled the dark room. Her eyes immediately landed on the bed, where Lucian was curled up beneath the sheets. She stepped closer to the edge of the bed.

"Young Master?"

Still, there was no reply from him. Lily crouched down by the side of the mattress and gently reached out to touch his forehead. The moment her cold palm made contact with his hot skin, her heart sank- he was burning with a high fever. She hurriedly pulled back the blanket to check on him, and her pupils shrank in shock. His dark shirt was completely soaked through with blood.

It needs to be treated right now before it gets infected, she thought anxiously.

As her fingers brushed against the top buttons of his shirt, her hands froze for a brief second. Taking a quiet breath to calm her racing thoughts, she began unbuttoning his shirt. Her hands had never trembled once while holding a blade or pulling a trigger, yet today, her fingers were visibly shaking just trying to undo his clothing.

The moment she slid the fabric off his shoulders and the cool room air hit his bare chest, Lucian trembled slightly, letting out a faint, low groan.

Lily froze on the spot, her eyes fixed on him. His well-defined chest and abdomen were glistening with a light sweat, making him look strangely fragile despite his built frame.

Gulping quietly, Lily reached for the medical kit she had brought upstairs and began cleaning his bloody arm. He had tried to wrap the cut by himself earlier, but he had done it so clumsily that it had only pressed against the wound and made it bleed even more. She let out a small sigh. How pampered was this young man to not even know how to tie a proper bandage? Yet he always tried so hard to act brave, capable, and terrifying, when deep down he was really just a spoiled little heir.

After carefully wrapping his arm in clean gauze, she stepped out to grab a fever cooling patch from the kit. She leaned down and placed the cool strip onto his forehead. Lucian let out another quiet groan in his sleep.

Suddenly, before she could pull her hand back, his arm rose up with surprising speed and caught her wrist, catching her completely off guard. Instead of keeping the small cooling patch on his skin, he pulled her cold palm directly against his burning forehead. In his feverish state, the small patch wasn’t enough relief, so he sought out the larger, cooler feeling of her skin, pulling her hand closer with a firm force.

Lily lost her balance entirely and fell straight forward, landing directly on top of his chest. Before she could push herself up, Lucian wrapped his strong arms completely around her waist, trapping her in his hold.

Because Lily was only wearing his thin, oversized shirt, she could feel his burning body pressed against hers as if there were no clothes between them at all. His hot, bare skin was flush against her own.

Badum. Badum. Badum.

Her heart beat so loudly in her ears that she was certain he could hear it. Am I poisoned? she thought wildly, her entire face and body flushing with an intense, unfamiliar heat.

Lucian, completely unaware of what he was doing in his deep sleep, couldn’t get enough of the soothing, cool sensation. He pulled her even tighter into his arms, burying his face into the side of her neck and inhaling the comforting scent of her skin. He leaned in close, as if he wanted to consume her completely to escape the burning fever.

Lily tried her best to wiggle out of his grip, but his arms held her like iron bars. Suddenly, a stinging pain flared on the side of her neck, and a small gasp escaped her lips. Lucian was actually biting her.

"Lucian!" she scolded in a hushed, breathless voice, trying to push his shoulder away.

But he paid no attention to her words, continuing to softly nibble and press his lips against her sensitive skin. In his hazy, fever-driven dream, it felt like he was biting into a sweet, frozen popsicle, and the cool relief was simply too good to let go.

"You are going to regret this so much once you wake up tomorrow..." Lily muttered softly, her eyes shaking with a mix of helplessness, confusion, and unreadable emotions as she finally stopped fighting and rested her head on his warm shoulder.

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Lucian yawned lazily, stretching his arms as a deep sense of warmth washed over him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept so deeply in over years. But as he tried to turn over, he felt something heavy pressing down against his chest.

He instantly snapped his eyes open and looked down. His eyes widened in absolute shock.

Lily was sleeping right beside him on the bed, her face resting mere inches from his chest. She was wearing his shirt- the oversized fabric hanging loosely off her shoulders and a few of the top buttons were undone, revealing her smooth, pale collarbone. Lucian’s face instantly puffed up with a bright red heat. Panic seized his lungs. What in the world happened last night?!

Disturbed by his sudden movement, Lily’s long eyelashes fluttered open. She blinked away the sleep and slowly sat up on the mattress, running a hand through her hair.

Lucian’s face reddened even more as his eyes caught sight of her neck. Right along her collarbone and neck were clear, dark purple hickeys.

"You- this- did we... I-" Lucian stammered, completely losing his ability to form a sentence.

"Good morning, Young Master," Lily said, her tone calm, though her brows furrowed slightly at his dramatic panic.

Lucian stumbled back against the headboard, his gaze frantically darting around the room until it landed on the tall vanity mirror across from the bed. He froze.

First of all, he was completely bare-chested. Second of all, right on the side of his own neck was a huge, deep red mark that looked so intense it was practically bleeding.

"You- did you do this?!" Lucian gasped, pointing a trembling finger at the mirror.

Lily casually raised her hand and pointed to the marks on her own neck. "Consider it a paycheck for what you did to me first."

"THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD BITE MY FLESH OFF!" Lucian yelled, his voice cracking as he stood up from the bed in a frenzy. The blanket slid off his lower body, leaving him standing there in just his soft trousers. "WHAT ARE YOU? A VAMPIRE?!"

Lily stared openly at his bare, well-built chest for a second before silently looking away and stepping off the bed.

Lucian quickly followed her gaze, realized he was exposed, and instantly snatched the blanket off the floor to wrap himself up like a shield. "Do you even know what a mark like this means?!" he demanded, his cheeks burning.

She shook her head softly. "Isn’t it just a paycheck? We are equal now."

"Is that all you thought of?!" Lucian stared at her with his mouth hanging open in complete disbelief.

Lily was genuinely dumbfounded by his reaction, standing quietly as she stared back at him.

"If another guy bit you, would you have done the exact same thing to him?!" Lucian snapped, a wave of raw frustration washing over him.

Lily stayed silent. She looked down at her hands, her mind racing. Truthfully... if any other man had tried to lay a finger on her, she would have broken his neck without hesitation. For some strange reason she couldn’t comprehend, she had only allowed Lucian to get close, and she had only wanted to react like that with him.

Seeing her long silence, Lucian misconstrued her hesitation. A sharp surge of jealousy tore through his chest. "So you would..." he muttered bitterly, shaking his head. "Who am I even trying to explain this to?! Just get out!"

Nodding her head obediently, Lily turned around and walked out of the bedroom.

The moment the door closed behind her, Lucian aggressively ran both hands through his dark hair, smoothing it back with a heavy sigh. This girl was driving him utterly insane. His eyes drifted over to the side table, taking in the empty medical kit, the used fever patches, and the clean bandages neatly wrapped around his wounded arm.

The strange emotions inside his chest grew stronger and stronger with every passing second. Deep down, he knew the terrifying truth- he was falling hard for her. But his stubborn pride refused to accept it.

Love? Me? he scoffed mentally, glaring at his reflection in the glass. Heck no! Who in their right mind would ever fall for that emotionless iceberg!

Downstairs, Lily was walking toward the kitchen when a loud, violent BANG echoed from Lucian’s room above. She paused for a moment, listening to the silence that followed, before continuing her walk.

A little while later, Lucian came walking down the stairs, looking clean in a fresh set of clothes. He spotted Lily sitting on the living room sofa, still wearing his oversized, rumpled shirt.

"Ahem," Lucian cleared his throat awkwardly, stepping forward and tossing a small shopping bag onto the table beside her. "Wear this. My friend’s sister once bought them and left them here, but she never wore them. You can have them."

Lily picked up the bag and looked up at him coldly. "Did she stay here?"

Lucian opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak, Lily pulled the dress out and muttered, "Never mind." She stood up and walked away toward the guest bathroom.

Lucian stood there completely dumbfounded. What was that look for?!

Inside the bathroom, Lily changed into the new clothes. Surprisingly, the dress fitted her slender frame perfectly- as if it had been tailored specifically for her body. Her brows furrowed deeply as she stared at herself in the mirror.

What a strange coincidence... she thought, a faint suspicion fluttering in her chest.

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Thirty minutes later, Lucian and Lily stood in front of Viella, who was currently eyeing them both with deep suspicion.

"Where were you two?!" Viella demanded, crossing her arms. "I’ve been searching for you the whole morning, Lily! And you- " She shot a sharp glare at Lucian next. "Even Dante was looking everywhere for you, Lucian."

Lily froze for a split second upon hearing that. Indeed he would be looking for us after last night, she thought, keeping her expression completely stoic.

Lucian rolled his eyes and answered nonchalantly, "Oh, please. As if I’m interested in sneaking out with a maid. It was just a complete coincidence- I went out for a morning walk and happened to run into her, that’s all."

"Is that so?" a cold, heavy voice echoed from behind them.

Dante walked up slowly, his icy gaze sweeping over the two of them. He stopped right beside Viella, folding his arms. "Then why does it seem like neither of you had a particularly good night’s sleep?" he asked, his dark eyes lingering on Lily.

Lucian’s face instantly turned bright red, remembering the wild events of the night, the fever, and the mark hidden under his collar.

Lily caught the subtle underlying meaning in Dante’s words immediately. Looking him straight in the eye, she replied smoothly, "It seems like the stormy weather around here didn’t help you sleep much either, Mr. Moretti."

Dante stared back at her with a chilling intensity, his jaw tightening slightly.

Viella looked back and forth between the three of them, completely lost. What is actually going on here?

Lucian noticed the tense exchange passing between Dante and Lily. A sudden knot of anxiety formed in his stomach- he remembered the chaotic gunfire from last night. Did Dante recognize them in the dark? Does he know?

Wanting to pull Lily away from Dante’s lingering presence, Lucian took a step forward, grabbing Lily by her wrist. "You. Follow me right now, I have something important to discuss regarding family matters," he snapped. "Excuse us."

With that, Lucian dragged Lily along as they both quickly walked away toward the resort lounge.

As they turned, a sudden gust of mountain wind blew through the outdoor hallway, lifting the edge of Lucian’s high collar for a quick second. Viella, who was watching them walk away, caught a sudden glimpse of the dark red mark on her brother’s neck.

A mischievous, knowing smirk instantly curled up on her lips. Ehe... so that’s what "morning walk" means, she thought, suppressing a giggling burst of amusement.

Dante looked down at Viella beside him. Seeing her sneaky, mischievous smirk, the cold, dangerous glare on his face gradually vanished, replaced by a softer look as he watched the siblings play their hidden games.

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TO BE CONTINUED