Mila: The Godfather (Unholy Trinity Book 7)
Mila: The Godfather: Part 1 – Chapter 32

MILA

“She’s the miracle of life. My life.” — R

Another day, another adventure.

Another bucket list dream crossed.

An engagement ring.

Unreal.

Once I woke up, I went downstairs and had breakfast with Riagan. He asked for waffles again, and ate all of his and two of mine. I didn’t mind sharing food with him. I like that he enjoys my baking.

It brings me joy to see his face as he eats what I made him.

I don’t fully understand why it brings me this much joy compared to others eating my food but it does.

After we finished breakfast, he asked me to join him on another adventure, and I, of course, couldn’t deny him. Not an adventure. Never.

He then told me to wear another bathing suit and to rub more sunscreen on my skin.

Once I did all that, he brought me here.

To a private and empty beach where the sand is white and very clean.

Colorful seashells are everywhere to be found. Riagan even found me one so big I could hear the sound of the sea. I thought that was only a myth, but Riagan proved me wrong.

Looking all around me, from the crystal-clear water and the white sand to the little seashells buried in the sand, I replace myself stuck in a dream. I’m awestruck and not just by this magical place, but by him too. “It’s hard to believe that one person owns all of this.” I breathe out, admiring our view. The sun is shining so bright that the turquoise water looks almost as if it has diamonds. “You’re so lucky, Riagan.”

“How so?” He asks in a husky tone, and I turn his way. God, sometimes staring at him is like looking directly at the sun. That’s why I look away. Sometimes his beauty overwhelms me.

“You have a piece of heaven here. You can easily escape the hectic chaos of everyday life in the city. You can hide from the world when it gets scary or too loud.” I whisper, trying to hold his gaze for as long as I’m able. Every time I last longer than the last, I replace myself hoping I don’t ever have to look away. Hoping I could stare into those blue eyes of his that give me butterflies.

“I don’t wish to hide from the world, Mila.” He says roughly. I do. I want to tell him. I think I was meant to live in a place like this. Serene. Magical. Where everything seems so easy and so peaceful. “I’m not afraid of the world.”

That makes me look his way.

Of course, he’s not afraid of the world.

He makes everyone else seem like mere mortals in his presence. As if he could crush them just by snapping his fingers. He’s not only physically strong, but he has an aura around him. One that clearly says fuck with me, I’ll bury you. So easy. So simple.

But not for me.

I was built differently.

I made my peace with it.

That is why I replace this man so fascinating.

Why I haven’t stopped seeing him in my dreams since arriving at the islands.

Before I space out and let my thoughts run wild, I look away and stare down at the stunning ring that now adorns my finger.

Riagan makes me feel like I’m strong too.

Like the world can’t touch me. Not if he’s near.

And that frightens me because he won’t be here forever. I’ll get attached to him, and what happens when this all ends?

I am back at square one.

Lonely.

Back in the shadows when I’m most comfortable.

“Mila.” I hadn’t notice I had been hiding my face with my wet curls until he lifted my chin between his fingers, lifting my face. I try my hardest to look into his eyes until I can’t hold his gaze any longer. I focus on his smile instead. Then his lips start moving. “You don’t have to fear the world, butterfly. One thing I learned is that you should make the world fear you. Our world, at least.”

I laugh, but there’s no humor. I know that he notices it. “Look at me, Riagan. What is there to fear?” It’s true.

“You have me. I got you. They should fear what I’m willing to do for you.” He says in a freighting tone. So quiet. So powerful.

Smiling softly, I blurt out. “You’re like my favorite cookie, Riagan. Hard on the outside, soft, and sweet on the inside.” I beam.

Riagan shakes his head and pokes my nose gently, causing my heart to skip a beat. And I wonder if friends look at each other the way he looks at me.

The way I think about him?

“Only to you, butterfly. Only you.”

At times like this one, I wish I were like my sisters. I wish I didn’t have to overthink every little thing. I wish facial expressions were easier to read and that feelings weren’t so hard to decipher.

Only to you, butterfly.

Only to you.

Does he mean that—

“Well, look at that…” My thoughts are interrupted by Riagan pointing at a spot in the sand a few feet away from where we’re sitting.

No way…

“Wow…” I whisper in awe, watching a dozen turtle eggs hatching at once a few feet away from us. So many baby turtles are making their way into the world, and Riagan and I are witnessing it.

It’s miraculous.

Reading about it will never be like experiencing the moment.

I am so happy I am here. So grateful.

Really, movies don’t do it justice. The beauty was almost overwhelming, making something in my chest expand and throb. The sheer, unadulterated, majestic beauty fills some primal void inside me. The natural beauty just…resonated. “It’s really, really amazing here, Riagan,” I say, after a while. He nods. “The view never gets old.”

We’re sitting in the sand, enjoying the view while Kelly, Riagan’s man, is sun-tanning on the yacht’s deck. I hear Riagan tell him to stay back before we swam here and got to the shore. It’s been just us since.

I spend the next few moments openly examining Riagan’s features, the sharp lines of his jaw, the column of his neck, his thick eyelashes. His messy, thick brown hair. He really is incredibly beautiful. Hot wasn’t a good enough word. Not to properly encompass what he truly looks like. Hot guys were a dime a dozen. Truly beautiful men? Not so much. He was masculine, utterly so— in his posture, in the way he carried himself, in his stride.

What does he see when he looks at me? I wonder. Curiosity gets the best of me. As always. “Riagan.”

“Yes, butterfly?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything.”

“Do you like my appearance?”

“I do.” My breath hitches. I was expecting laughter, not this response. “I like it a fuck of a lot.”

“Oh.” My eyes widen. “I’m not as beautiful as my sisters. My father—”

“Your sisters don’t hold a candle to you, sweetheart, and your father is a piece of shit.” He’s mad. That much I can tell by the change in his tone. Is he mad at me or on my behalf? I think the latter.

“It’s just that sometimes I catch you looking at me in a way no one does. It’s unsettling because I can’t read your expression. I wish I could read your thoughts.”

“If you want to know what I’m thinking, ask me, and I’ll tell you.” he shrugs.

“It’s that simple?” I whisper while my heartbeat races in anticipation of his response.

Then he says the one thing I wasn’t expecting. “With us, it is.”

With us, it is.

Oh, my.

“You want to know what I’m thinking now?” He places his large hand next to mine on the sand, and his pinky finger plays with the pearl on the engagement ring.

I look down at our barely touching hands, and I nod because I’m unable to replace my next breath.

“I’m thinking that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but that’s not all. Want to know what else?” He doesn’t wait for my answer. “Your heart is so good, so fucking good, that I have trouble believing you’re real. I swear to fucking God, when I look at you here by my side, it feels as if one of heaven’s angels has gone missing and has fallen into my grasp. How does someone like you exist? Someone so good in this fucked up world. There’s no logic in having someone as perfect as you exist.”

“I’m not perfect. I’m far from it.” I feel heat creep on my cheeks when I take in his words. His sweet words.

“You are to me.” He says with finality, leaving no room for me to argue.

And for the first time in a long time, I don’t doubt how someone else sees me.

I don’t fight or question it.

I just feel the moment.

I feel him.

Riagan

There are things in life that I took for granted. The little things. Things I don’t get to experience because of the life I lead.

The little butterfly gives me that.

The little things.

The joyful moments.

The peace.

I haven’t had a day of peace since I was a young lad.

Since my mother’s departure from my life.

Slumped back in the sand, I watch Mila build sandcastles with the most beautiful smile on her face and happy eyes. She’s doing one hell of a job building them for a first timer.

She looks like a little kid experiencing her first day at the beach. Her soft skin has turned golden because of the sun with tiny little freckles.

Her blond curls look wilder now because of the sea salt and the sand.

She looks like a mermaid.

Wild. Happy. Free.

Fuck, and that bathing suit highlights her curves beautifully. Mila Areya is short, coming up to my chest. While standing, I can see the top of her head.

I don’t think she realizes how beautiful she is. There’s no trace of the little girl I first met long ago. She’s all curves and sweet sex appeal, without even realizing just how sexy and enticing she is to me. I’ve always been an ass man. I’m not picky when it comes to tits. But Mila’s body was made for sin. Her breasts look like a handful too.

Perfect.

I know if I had them in my hands, they would spill.

The white bikini she has on accentuates her curves and has me daydreaming of what she looks like without it. Heavenly.

There’s no doubt.

I told her the truth when I said she was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She is.

Everything about her enchants me.

Her voice.

Her smile.

Her sweet eyes.

Her pink lips.

Those fucking curls I wish I had wrapped around my fist as I pound into her like an animal staking his claim.

Perfection.

But then I look farther down to her thighs, and I see red. The marks.

Cut marks.

The need to reach forward and trace every single scar with my tongue, hoping to wipe away the ugly memories of them, is there.

It makes me want to kill them all.

Everyone who failed her inside that fucking soulless home.

Even animals treat their offspring better than Mila’s parents did her.

I get wrapped up in my head, thinking of all the ways I could track down Gabriele Parisi and torment him the way he so clearly tormented his child. I know the fucker is not dead.

I know how women like Kadra think.

Death is not a punishment in our world.

No.

Death is mercy, and Gabriele Parisi doesn’t deserve it.

I highly doubt his daughter granted him mercy.

“This is nice.” Mila’s soft-spoken words bring me back from my thoughts and to the now. When I look her way, my jaw almost hits the fucking sand. What the fuck?

“What are you doing?” I hiss, quickly sprinting into action, placing my black tank on her chest covering her. I put the thoughts of her ample, round tits and pretty pink nipples in the back of my mind for now. I’ll revisit that later.

Turning away from a confused Mila, I look toward Kelly, who is standing on deck, wiggling his eyebrows like a soon-to-be dead pervert, letting me know he saw her naked chest.

He saw her perfect tits.

Motherfucker.

“What’s wrong?” Mila says worriedly.

Trying to contain my anger and jealousy, I sigh and give her my attention. “You can’t do that, sweetheart.”

Her brows pull low. “I thought this was how people tan.” She whispers softly.

It is.

I should tell her some people choose to tan naked so they don’t get tan lines, but I don’t. I don’t say that shit because, fuck me, I don’t want her getting naked for anyone but me.

“Mila, if you don’t want to see my men, fuck that, any men or woman dead… don’t let them see you this way.”

She holds my shirt closer to her chest. “My mistake. I was pretty sure that is how people tan while on the beach. I’ve seen movies, and I read some scenes in books.”

Fucking movies.

Fuck the books, too.

I’ll deal with this shit later, but first…

Rising from the sand, I move towards the water. “I’ll explain later, butterfly. I’ll be right back…”

Fuck.

Kelly keeps grinning until a full-blown smile breaks on his face as I dive into the water, heading his way. The fucker is taunting me because he saw what belongs to me.

Now, I have no choice but to kill my best soldier.