7

In a good mood I ran ahead of Odran into a drugstore and turned around to him when I got to the door.

He must have had more than ten bags in his hands and the sweat was already running down his forehead. His black hair didn't hold up like that anymore, since even the hairspray didn't want to keep up with the speed at which I had herded him through the shops and with a little annoyance in his eyes, he then looked at me.

"Zack Zack. Don't get tired, big guy," I laughed, holding the door open for him and then entering the store after him.

He growled softly, but I ignored it and despite my slowly emerging guilty conscience, I didn't want to stop teasing him just yet.

After all, he hadn't exactly treated me with respect either...

"What else do you need?" He asked, completely stressed, and I walked painfully slowly along the many make-up articles to take a close look at everything.

"If you want, you can wait in the car," I smiled sweetly at him, but I knew that he couldn't leave me alone.

He rolled his eyes and took a theadral breath before I started to throw some things into my basket.

Make-up, toothbrush, toothpaste, lots of shampoos and deodorants, perfume and much more.

"Do you mean this or that?" I then held two different types of hair treatments in front of Odran's face, who then just looked at me without emotion. "Well, if you don't want to help me, it will probably take longer."

"They!" he burst out like a shot from a gun and he nodded several times to the right one, which I then put in the basket with a grin. The poor had suffered enough. I finally had to stop, even though it really amused me.

"We can."

Only now did his mine soften again and when he had paid, he stormed out of the shop almost running, which made me grunt in amusement.

He turned, wide-eyed, and eyed me, and for the first time I saw the corners of his mouth twitch.

"You can smile, too," I grinned at him stupidly, but he averted his eyes again and ran ahead of me to the Porsche.

He was really one of those silent, boring people.

When we arrived at the Porsche a short time later, a black off-road vehicle suddenly drove up and a completely unknown guy got out, who immediately accepted the bags from Odran.

"This is John. He'll drive you home safely and take things to your room."

"Why not you?" I asked uncertainly, because I had somehow gotten used to Odran. This John looked like a secret agent, with his dark suit and slicked back blond hair. Kind of spooky.

"I'm meeting Rian. We're going to have a business lunch."

Good to know that I would probably be sitting all alone in the villa right away.

"Well then," I just said, and then quickly got into the off-road vehicle. I didn't want him to interpret my facial expressions again. In the end he would still think I would find his presence reassuring. Well, that was kind of the case.

When John had then put everything on the back seat, he got in next to me and Odran immediately took out his mobile phone, without even noticing us as we drove away.

That John didn't say a word the whole drive home, and neither did I. What should I tell a total stranger?

When we finally arrived at the villa, we drove through the wide gate and when the SUV came to a standstill, I got out immediately.

John courteously unlocked the front door for me and I was so happy that Nero immediately jumped up on me excitedly.

"It's okay," I laughed and stroked his black fur gently, then happily walked past him into the house.

"Where to, Mrs. Gallagher?" John asked behind me and I casually pointed to the stairs.

"At the top."

I could still hear him walking past me, but I was too busy teasing Nero to notice anything else.

"You must be hungry," I murmured after our affectionate greeting and turned thoughtfully to the kitchen. Had anyone even thought of food for him? Why didn't I think of that???

I quickly ran to the lower white cupboards and searched everything, but found nothing.

"It's all upstairs."

"Wait," I stopped John, who looked down at me questioningly. "I need dog food."

I looked up at him, but he only raised one of his light eyebrows.

"Excuse me, but that's not my job," he explained nervously, and I immediately found my way back to my feet.

"And I don't care! I'm hardly allowed to go out by myself, am I?"

He shook his head and I then crossed my arms in annoyance.

"There you go. Then-"

"I've already bought lining. It's in the back of the closet," Rian interrupted, coming down the stairs in a black shirt and black jeans, adjusting his collar.

He was incredibly handsome and even though he was so far away, I could smell his perfume from here, which made me take a deep breath.

How stupid was I?

My eyes fell on his styled hair and the silver watch on his wrist. Shouldn't he be at a business dinner? Why was he still here?

From staring, I didn't even notice that his eyes were studying me curiously, but as soon as I did, I felt the blush in my cheeks and turned back to John.

"Then that would be clear."

He nodded politely and then left the house while I started to take care of Nero's food. I ignored Rian skillfully, but I still felt his eyes on me as if he would burn under my skin and ignite a fire deep inside me.

I felt cold and hot at the same time and had to really try not to look at him no matter how much I wanted to.

"Did you find something nice?" he asked into the silence while I filled some of the dry food into Nero's bowl and then slowly got up again.

"Yes," I replied succinctly, only glancing over at him, but it was enough to make my heart beat faster.

"That's fine then," he said coolly and took a glass from the cupboard behind me to fill it with some water and hand it to me. "It's really hot outside. You should drink more."

Completely confused by this kind gesture, I accepted the glass and tried not to let my nervousness show, even though I could already feel my pulse in my throat.

"Thanks," I murmured, unable to avoid giving him a quick smile before taking a few sips of the cool water.

After I put it down in front of me, he turned to the door and was about to leave, but I stopped his arm...

"What kind of food is that?" I wanted to know curiously, but in the end I was only tormented by this one question, whether other women were present...

He only slowly turned around and looked down at my hand, which was still holding his forearm and then looked into my eyes intently, which caused goose bumps to appear on my arms again, which made me hold my breath.

"A business dinner with potential partners," he retorted in his usual cold voice, then broke my grip as if trying to resist my touch.

Was I really that repulsive to him?

"Then have fun."

I didn't say any more because I could feel how uncomfortable he seemed to be, but before I could turn to Nero he suddenly grabbed my arm as well.

"I'm sorry about the redhead, Keeva. That won't happen again."

I didn't really catch what he was saying because now, all of a sudden, I saw that twinkle in his eyes again, while his irises flitted fleetingly across my lips and he bit his lower lip in the process...

It looked insanely sexy...

"Did I really hear the words "I'm sorry" coming out of your mouth?!", Senan's voice unexpectedly penetrated my head, which was suddenly standing in the doorway behind him.

Rian immediately let go of me and the sparkle disappeared. Only cold remained.

He didn't answer his brother at all, just walked past him out the door and slammed it loudly while Senan looked at me with a grin...

"Today's your lucky day, sweetheart. Those two never come back before 5 o'clock and look what I got us."

He pulled several bottles of alcohol out of a bag and placed it all in front of me on the kitchen island...

"This may indeed be something..."

***

I was upstairs in my room putting on one of the new dresses. It was the light blue one that was strapless and fell to mid-thigh. It looked really good on me.

My gaze fell out of the window where I could watch the sun go down and marvel at how beautiful the beach looked. I would have loved to go for a walk there now, but there was a party waiting for me.

I could already hear the music from downstairs and I liked that Senan seemed to have the same taste as me. It was a mix of RnB and house, which alone got me shaking my hips up here.

Finally some good mood.

But this quickly passed when I heard the bell ring and then loud female voices.

"I think it's a bit too loud for you down there," I turned to Nero, who had made himself comfortable on my bed. Senan was out with him for one more round before I went up to my room, so Nero seemed completely satisfied.

A kiss on his forehead and I made my way down with a nervous feeling, stopping briefly at the bottom step.

Senan stood shirtless and wearing only his swimming trunks at the kitchen island and sorted cups and drinks while several bitches only in bikinis stood next to him. One of them was even completely undressed at the top.

I was probably a bit overdressed...

I approached them with slow steps and immediately Senan turned to me to let his brown irises flit over my dress.

"Wow," he winked at me and pulled me towards him by my arm. It was clear that the women immediately gave me poisonous looks. "That dress really suits you."

"Thank you," I whispered back to him and gave him a mug at the same moment.

"A few more people are coming and it's nice and warm outside now, so chill by the pool and enjoy the evening," he explained to me and when I looked past him outside, I really saw other people.

There weren't just women, there were men too, all of whom looked good but were also looking for trouble.

One of them stared back at me and I immediately avoided his gaze, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"I'd rather stay with you," I whispered embarrassed to Senan, but he just laughed and when I looked down at his hands, I noticed that he was crushing cocaine with a bank card on the table. "Or I'd rather go outside," I mumbled to myself and walked out onto the terrace, where the smell of the sea immediately hit my consciousness.

It was dark now, but that made the pool with the lights look really nice again, even though some were already making out in it.

"Hey," someone suddenly spoke to me from the side and when I looked at him, I immediately realized that it was the guy who had just been staring at me.

He was tall and, like Senan, wore black swimming trunks. A few tattoos stretched across his shoulders and I immediately noticed that he must have done a lot of sports.

"Hi," I greeted him, sipping at my mug and immediately grimacing in disgust. What had Senan mixed up for me??? firewater?

"You seem to like it," the guy grinned, banging his mug on mine. "I'm Jake, by the way."

Jake ran a hand through his brown hair and then smiled kindly, and I immediately noticed what a baby face he had.

"Keeva," I introduced myself, then quickly looked away from him.

"You mean Keeva, like Rian's wife?" he asked in surprise and when I looked at him again, he raised an eyebrow in shock. Apparently he didn't want anything to do with me if I was the boss's wife.

"Yeah, that one," I grinned, standing right in front of him. "And now you're probably afraid to keep talking to me," I said provocatively while taking another sip of the firewater, which immediately burned my throat and warmed my stomach pleasantly.

"What would life be without risks?" he smiled and somehow I now had the feeling that I was putting him in a dangerous situation. But he certainly knew Rian, so it's his own fault.

The next hour passed faster than expected. More and more people came onto the terrace and while Senan danced with some women, more and more of the others jumped into the pool. The music seemed to get louder and louder and the alcohol made me loosen up more and more. In the meantime I didn't even care that many were naked on top. On the contrary. I found this mood really exuberant.

"How do you know Senan?" I then asked Jake, who was sitting next to me at the edge of the pool and just as I swung his legs back and forth in the water.

"From school," he laughed, filling our cups with new booze. "We were the class clowns who spent more time in the hallway than in class. In fact, I was always a better brother to him than the two icebergs he lives with here."

I listened to him and immediately understood what he meant. Senan had already explained to me himself how left out he felt here and I had to admit that I found it pretty mean. Basically, I felt a lot more comfortable with Senan than with Rian, because I couldn't judge him at all.

He was dangerous and yet so caring at times. Felt like he wanted to be close to me, but at the slightest hint of closeness he pulled away again and then it was time again. I was sitting at a party surrounded by a lot of people and instead of just having fun I was thinking about him. I imagined his blue-grey eyes, which kept captivating me. Reminded me of the kiss at our wedding that made me tingle again and how he bought me a dog so I wouldn't have to feel lonely.

At the same time, however, the thought came of how decisive and hurtful he could be with his coldness... He probably had to be like that to save face. Who would have any respect for a mafia boss who would happily dance around you...

"Everything okay?" Jake asked, who seemed to have been holding the cup out to me for a long time.

"Sorry, yes everything is okay," I replied apologetically and then clinked glasses with him again while Senan was walking towards us.

"Well, you snorers. Do you want to put down roots here or do you want to come dance with us?" He grinned at us stupidly and when I looked questioningly at Jake, he just shrugged his shoulders with a smile.

"Well then, let's dance," I said drunkenly and stretched my hand up to let Senan help me to my feet.

"Oops," I apologized to him after faltering slightly. Sitting down, I definitely didn't notice the booze as badly as I do now.

"It's okay," Senan said and carefully pulled me between the pool and the window front, where others were dancing extensively. "Jake sure won't drop you."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused and at the same time felt Jake's hands on my waist and how he moved rhythmically behind me.

His pelvis circled my bottom and when I could feel something else clearly, I bit my lower lip in embarrassment and felt the blush in my cheeks.

Where did I get myself into?