Chapter 79: The fire they created
The air in the grand Morano estate was heavy, taut like a violin string stretched too far.
It was forbidden... deadly forbidden for anyone other than blood to call him by his full name in the midst of an argument.
Yet tonight, his control balanced on the edge of a knife.
"Luca Morano..." Alessia whispered again, her voice trembling but laced with a defiance only love could forge.
His eyes, cold as forged steel, found hers.
He didn’t blink, he didn’t soften, he didn’t move.
The only sign of life was the slow flare of his chest rising and falling, the rhythm of a man holding his rage inside.
Alessia’s hand fluttered to her cheek as though shielding herself from the intensity of that gaze. Her heart thundered, Her lips parted, fragile and brave all at once.
"You really want me to let go?" His voice was a whisper of storm, hushed thunder before lightning strikes.
Her lashes lowered. Her voice shrank into meekness, though her words carried the wisdom of a woman trying to protect the night they’d built together. "You don’t want to stain our anniversary with blood... right?"
The silence was a dangerous hum. Then, in a single flicker of decision, Luca turned his head slightly.
"Hey," he ordered, his tone sharp, decisive, absolute. "Set him free. See him off to the gate."
"Yes, boss," Fredo responded without hesitation.
Alessia felt the tension leave her chest like air escaping a balloon.
Relief mixed with the knowledge of how close she had stood to blood staining the walls.
But Luca was already moving.
In the space of a heartbeat, he scooped her from the floor, swift and unyielding, lifting her as though she weighed nothing. His arms locked her in, bridal-style, commanding, possessive.
"Luca.... "
"Not another word," he growled softly, carrying her into their room.
The heavy oak doors shut behind them, sealing away the rest of the world.
His lips brushed her temple, low, rough with memory. "This is our personal celebration. I have waited... held myself back from having you until our wedding night to claim you. That night, you bled for me. Do you remember, Alessia? My bed sheets were stained with your innocence."
Her breath hitched, heat and shyness clouding her features.
"This time..." His mouth hovered at her ear, grazing her skin, making her shiver. "No stains, But the memory will still linger, I will be gentle. I won’t hurt you, my queen."
He kissed her neck, his hand finding the zipper of her dress and pulling it down slowly, deliberately, reverently. Each tug of fabric revealed the woman who had enslaved the devil himself.
Her bra fell away, and she pressed her lips to his chest, kissing back with trembling passion.
Her fingers pulled at his shirt, desperate, greedy for him, while he shed his clothes as though fire ate at him from within.
She had craved this.... With him for too long.
Craved him until her body betrayed her resolve.
Her trembling hands unzipped his trousers as his lips marked every inch of her skin.
When his hands cupped her breasts, he groaned low, the sound rattling her insides. "Your body..." he whispered darkly. "You’ve grown softer... fuller. Perfect in the right places for me... For daddy alone."
Her cheeks flushed crimson, but her eyes held his, a daring spark.
"And tonight," Luca promised as he stripped away the last barriers between them, "I won’t spare you. I’ll enjoy you to the fullest."
He lay back against the pillows, the fire in his eyes dangerous, wicked, his arousal standing proud, daring her.
"You make me crave you until I grow harder... hungrier," he murmured. "Come... Sit on daddy. Show me how much you want me."
Alessia hesitated, shy and uncertain but her body was already betraying her.
Heat flooded her core, her thighs trembling.
"Ride me," he coaxed, voice thick with command and desire. "My baddest rider."
Her pulse raced. She moved slowly, cautiously, until her body descended onto his.
Her gasp split the air as she took him in, inch by inch, tight and wet around him.
"Ah, f*ck well..." Luca groaned, his grip bruising her hips. "You are mine, Alessia."
She rode him, slow at first, their breaths mixing, their moans filling the walls with a forbidden symphony.
A knock came at the door... Sharp and Interrupting.
Alessia froze.
"Ignore it," Luca rasped, his body thrusting up into hers. "I don’t give a damn who it is."
"But..... "
"No shhh," he pressed his finger to her lips, eyes dark with heat.
"They may hear us, but I don’t care. I’m having my queen, and It’s not a crime."
Her resolve broke. She surrendered.
Her body moved again, bouncing against him as pleasure spiraled wild and merciless.
"Luca... " she moaned, his name a prayer and curse all at once.
He flipped her, bending her over with a growl, his handcuffs snapping around her wrists, pinning them behind her back.
Her ass, round and perfect, arched for him like a gift.
"Fuck," Luca whispered hoarsely, thrusting into her from behind. "You’ve grown here too. My perfect queen, My addiction."
Their bodies slammed together, the rhythm fierce, primal, as if the universe itself demanded their union.
The bed creaked, the sound of flesh meeting flesh filled the air, their cries climbing higher until at last they shattered, collapsing together in a wave of release.
Their fluids mingled, their breaths heavy. Their hearts, bound.
"Happy anniversary... again," Luca whispered against her skin, his lips brushing her tummy.
She smiled weakly, too exhausted to speak, her body melting into his warmth.
He pulled the thick blanket over them, wrapping her tightly in his arms.
Their world shrank to nothing but each other as sleep claimed them.
*******
Elsewhere in the city of garam, Bianca plotted.
She arrived at Jackson’s home, And was welcome friendly. Her smile painted, her voice sweet. "Good evening, Mama Jackson."
The older woman eyed her, cautious but polite.
"Can Jackson come with me... just for a holiday?" Bianca asked lightly, placing a carefully prepared snack basket on the table.
Mama Jackson narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "Let me think on it. Come back in two days."
Bianca’s smile remained frozen, but inside she seethed.
Back at her hostel the next morning, her mask cracked.
"Yes," she hissed to herself, eyes gleaming. "A sweeter idea, An idea that will betray even my new master... but the reward... oh, the reward will be delicious."
Her laugh was low, dangerous.
*****
The following morning, the rain poured outside the Morano estate, drumming against the windows like a relentless song.
Luca woke first. His lips brushed Alessia’s forehead. "Good morning, my queen."
Her lashes fluttered open, shy but glowing. "Good morning... Luca."
Their morning shower blurred into heated kisses, a quick, hot union against the tiled wall.
Luca had her pressed to the glass, entering her with a sharp thrust that stole her breath.
Her moans echoed with the rain, his mouth silencing them as he claimed her fast and fierce, spilling his fire deep within her before pulling her back into the warmth of the water.
After, he dressed her carefully in a thick fabric dress, protecting her from the chill of the rain. His tenderness was a dangerous weapon, one she never grew immune to.
In the kitchen, he cooked for her scrambled eggs, toast, and tea.
He returned to her with a tray, watching with satisfaction as she ate.
When she finished, Alessia licked a crumb from her lip, her heart warm from his care.
But then...
She saw him approaching.
His face unreadable, His hands holding something heavy. Dangerous.
The book.
The same book she had discovered hidden in the bathroom wall.
Her breath caught as her eyes landed on the blood-printed names stamped within Morano Alessandro... and her father.
The book throbbed with secrets. With debts. With the weight of blood.
And as Luca set it...
The bedroom was silent, except for the faint drip of water from the faucet.
Luca’s broad frame blocked the dim light as he stood over the cracked wall where Alessia had once slipped, her hand brushing against the loose tile.
With a quiet strength, he pressed against it again, and the hollow sound of stone yielded.
From the cavity, he pulled out the ancient leather-bound book, its edges scorched with time, its cover darkened as though it had soaked the secrets of men.
The blood stamps still glistened faintly, preserved as if fresh, the Morano crest beneath one fingerprint, Alessia’s father’s name beneath the other.
Alessia’s breath caught. Her heart raced as Luca laid the book on the marble counter.
His hands lingered on the cover, not opening it yet, as though he feared what was inside.
Luca said to Alessia "You wanted answers. But sometimes... answers cut deeper than lies."
He sat beside her made opened it slowly.
The pages were brittle, but the ink, written in strokes of crimson and black, was sharp... alive.
Alessia leaned in, her chest tightening when she saw her father’s handwriting, his name branded beside Morano’s in blood.
She whispered, almost to herself... Alessia "Papa... what did you do?"
Luca’s jaw hardened. He turned the page, revealing a sealed parchment pressed flat against the paper.
It bore the second title "The Debt of Betrayal and Soul."
Luca’s voice dropped, heavy, as he read aloud "Let it be known... that on this night, Bianchi, in in exchange for his life spared after betraying the Morano family to the Atlan clan, binds his bloodline into eternal debt."
Alessia gasped, her hand covering her mouth.
Tears threatened her eyes, but anger flared hotter.
Alessia: "No... Papa would never.... "
Luca’s eyes softened, but he didn’t stop. His finger traced the inked words Luca: "He sold Morano secrets, Plans, and Routes. Men died. Your father was caught and instead of spilling his blood that night, he gave something worse."
Her knees weakened. She stumbled back against the cold tiles, shaking her head. Alessia: "So I... I’ve been paying for his sin all this time? My shame, my debt... it wasn’t even mine?"
Luca closed the book halfway, looking at her with that piercing gaze that both punished and protected. "It was his betrayal that chained you, sì. But, Alessia... it goes deeper. This book isn’t only a record of crime. It’s a covenant with the beyond.
He opened to another page this one marked with strange symbols that shimmered faintly in the dim light, as though the ink breathed. "Your father and mine... opened the black book together. To hold its power, they had to pay a coin, not of gold, but of their souls."
The words on the page described it in chilling detail, each man stamped blood, each surrendered a fragment of his life to keep the book sealed from outsiders.
But beneath her father’s name, the writing shifted darker. "Payment incomplete."
Alessia froze."...Incomplete?"
Luca’s hand covered hers, steady but cold. Luca: "He cheated. He gave half his soul, not all. He thought he could outwit the book, outwit fate. But the balance demanded by blood cannot be stolen from. The debt passed to his bloodline to you."
Her tears finally broke. She pressed her hands to her face, trembling, her voice ragged.
"So I’m cursed... because of my father ?"
Luca pulled her into him, his grip firm, his breath heavy against her hair.
"Not because of your father. But for a man desperate to live. But his desperation damned you, cara mia."
She pushed against his chest, eyes blazing with both fury and despair.
"All these years... I thought I owed money. That I was trapped because of simple debt. But it’s worse it’s betrayal, it’s a curse, it’s my soul chained. My life is not my own, Luca... "
Her cry broke the still air. Luca seized her chin, forcing her eyes to his.
"No, Alessia. Your life is mine. Not the book’s, not the curse’s. Mine. If fate thinks it can claim you, it will learn I am more ruthless than destiny itself."
His vow burned, but the words in the book glowed faintly, as if mocking him.
At the bottom of the page, a final line shimmered in blood-red script
"When the blood moon rises, the debt will be claimed. The daughter will pay the coin."
Alessia’s scream lodged in her throat. Her blood ran cold as she met Luca’s eyes.
And for the first time, she saw fear in him.
.... Then Alessia thought within herself "but she is the red moon blood child"....