This body of work is available exclusively on Wattpad. If you're viewing it on a different website or under a different username, it has been illegally stolen, and you may be at risk of malware. Please do not support these sites, as writing a book takes long hours of hard work and effort. Head over to Wattpad and let me, the original author, know if you encounter this situation by finding me @greenwitchwrites.

Niklaus

I leave before Allegra wakes up. Though I would love to remain in bed next to her, I know she will feel awkward if I'm still there. After leaving a glass of water and some more headache tablets next to the bed for her to take when she wakes, I decided exercise was the best thing for me. Running along the beach, I try and release the anger which has spilled over from last night's incident into this morning. Kraven came here with intention.

Gossip magazines were already parading the picture of Allegra and me at Aashiv and Ade's Christmas Eve function, the one the photographer had taken when we entered. Kraven must have seen it and somehow found out I had brought Allegra here. While he wasn't sure who she was to me, my outburst last night showed him just how much she means to me. His thinly veiled threat about what was mine soon becoming his, while eyeing Allegra with lust, had not gone unnoticed.

When I saw him so close to her at the beach, that barely there yellow bikini not leaving anything to the imagination, I saw red. It was only the fear on Allegra's face after I punched him that saved him from another. Though even that on my part was impulsive and dangerous. Kraven could press assault charges if he wanted to, something that would be hard to dispute with all the witnesses. The only thing stopping what happened here last night from getting out was the NDAs that every person was required to sign before coming here. The guests visiting the island were high profile and valued their privacy enough to sign these documents without argument. It was part of the appeal of Rosi Island. They could do what they want with who they want, within limits obviously, without it making headlines in tomorrow's newspapers.

That did not, however, protect anyone, even me, from the law, and if Kraven did decide to go that route, then I needed leverage. Which I had. I was in possession of a recording between Kraven and a building inspector assessing a new addition to his chain of hotels on the coast of Miami. It was a prime location, speculated to become one of the flagship locations for his brand. I knew Kraven had a lot riding on it, but timing and cost saw him cutting corners and expenses by using inferior-quality materials in some instances. To get approval and for it to pass the safety inspection, Kraven parted with a large sum of money as he paid this official off, though less than what he would have if he had played above board. This was by far not the first instance he had bribed someone to get his way, and I was currently gathering evidence of several other instances where the same thing had happened. I just needed more time. If I played this hand, he might know I was looking into him and lose the element of surprise.

Perhaps I could goad him into hitting me in return so that both of us or neither of us press charges. That would mean me being in his vicinity again, which at this moment seemed abhorrent. The thought forces me into a sprint as I close the distance until I am just outside the villa on the beachfront. Panting, I head up onto the deck, grabbing a water from the fridge before making my way to my bedroom. I am met with the sight of Allegra sitting upright in bed, her legs folded under her, gown pulled tightly around her. Last night she fell asleep in the bath and, afraid she might drown and the fact that the water was lukewarm, I moved her to the bed. It was hard. All round. She is a gorgeous woman.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?" I ask her, hovering at the entrance to the ensuite. Her eyes roam the expanse of my chest before locking back on to my gaze, a smirk nearly gracing my face.

"I have a headache, but my stomach doesn't feel as bad as I thought it would. Must be from, you know..." she says, looking away in embarrassment.

"It's fine. It happens to everyone at some point. I'm sure you've thrown up when you were a teenager after a night of partying. It's no big deal, Allegra. You don't strike me as someone that does this often, so chill," I say, her eyes coming back to me and her body visibly relaxing.

"I don't. This was a first for me. I didn't really party when I was younger. My lack of social skills even then meant I didn't fit in, didn't have many friends." This is the first information about her past that she has shared willingly. Perhaps there was hope for us yet.

"Not fitting in isn't a bad thing. And being selective about who you have in your life is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm extremely careful who I let in. Some people may appear to be charming, but underneath, they are snakes," I say to her, my mind going back to the smirk Kraven leveled me with just before he placed a kiss on Allegra's knuckles last night.

"You're talking about Kraven? While you were out, I did some research," Allegra says, holding her phone up. "This feud between you and him is well documented by the tabloids. I don't read the news anymore. I didn't know who he was when he approached me. Actually, reading about him today is the first I know about him and his connection to you. Some of the stuff I have read about, the accusations against him, are quite unsavory. Is it true?"

"Every story has a seed of truth. But just know that his approaching you last night was no coincidence. He has no conscience and will use anyone, anyone, to get what he wants." Allegra looks at me thoughtfully as she contemplates my words.

"Well then. We shouldn't waste any more of our breath on him. Are you sticking around today?" She asks, looking down as she plays with the ropes of her gown.

"Yes. I'm spending time with my favorite person. You," I say, her head snapping up as an 'o' forms on her lips.

"I shouldn't have left you at the restaurant like that. I had a business emergency I had to attend to. It sounds bad, and voicing it out like that makes me realize how shit that must make you feel as if my work is more important than you. I'm just not used to having someone in my life who might actually mean more to me than what has essentially been the focus of most of my adult life. Building this empire. But I regretted leaving as soon as the jet's wheels left the ground." A blush creeps up her face at my words, her breaking eye contact first.

"Get ready, we are going out. Oh, and pack an overnight bag," I say, giving her a huge smile before I head into the ensuite to take a shower, her questions about where we are going landing on deaf ears. If I told her, she might back out.

An hour later, we are pulling up to my yacht, two small overnight bags transferred from the car to cabins below deck. Once on board, my staff leave, surprise on Allegra's face when she realizes we will be alone. Some time passes, both of us silent, as the main island fades behind us.

"So, you can do everything, it seems, even drive this." Her hand flits around in the air, her eyes darting around the luxurious boat.

"Do you want to try?" I ask her, her eyes immediately darting from the wheel to all the buttons on the panel in front of me. Before she can say anything, I grab her hand, pulling her onto my lap.

She is wearing a loose white cotton dress and some sandals, hiding what I know is underneath, the image of her naked form seared into my memory. Fuck. I'm getting hard just thinking about it. She squirms on my lap, the action doing nothing to quell the situation below.

"Hands here," I say, putting both her hands on the steering wheel. "If they move, we crash," I whisper into her ear, her high ponytail giving me access to all the erogenous zones on her neck. She turns her head to look at me, our faces inches from each other, before her eyes are back on the water ahead of us.

I nuzzle her neck, encouraged when her head inclines slightly to the other side, almost inviting me to take advantage. Not one to pass up an opportunity, I drag my tongue over the pulse of her neck and up towards her earlobe, sucking it gently before releasing it. A small mewl escapes her, goosebumps decorating her skin even though it is thirty-two degrees out. Obediently, she doesn't remove her hands from the steering wheel while her head once again turns, hooded eyes darting over my face and landing on my lips.

Gripping her chin, I close the distance, greedily delving into her as our tongues meet, the taste of her an addiction.

When oxygen becomes a problem, we pull apart, the sound of ragged breaths filling the space.

Her eyes go wide, panicked, as she looks from me to her hands, now gripping the front of my shirt, over to my hand now on the steering wheel.

"Don't worry, if we crashed, at least we would crash happy," I say, laughing, as she joins in.

"We're nearly here." I point over to a piece of land, a small house nestled under the trees along the beach. My stomach tightens as I look at Allegra. This was the first time I had brought a woman here.  

Please don't forget to comment and vote!