The sound of the gunshot ricocheted around the room and I let out a scream as the man's body fell limp on top of me. Blood poured out of his neck, staining my bra and the sheets on the bed. I quickly pushed his lifeless body off of me. I looked up and my eyes met with Stefano's. His gun was held loosely in his right hand. I watched in silence, tears staining my cheeks, as he tucked the gun into the waistband of his slacks.

Noticing my state of undress, he removed his suit jacket and held it out to me wordlessly. Feeling small, I crossed the room to him and pulled it on. I looked up at him and we held eye contact for a few moments before I let out a choked sob. Unable to control my tears, I wrapped my arms around Stefano's torso and held him tight, muffling my sobs in his dress shirt.

Stefano tensed for a few seconds before hesitantly wrapping his arms around me. He stood still as I cried in his arms and let me recover from what had happened just moments ago. When I finally looked up at him, he dropped his arms from around me and took a step back. I took in the red blood stains I had left on his suit and my cheeks tinged in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" I began.

Stefano put up a hand to stop me. "Basta, you have no reason to apologize." His eyes swept the room, taking in the scene in front of him before looking back at me. "Your room needs to be cleaned, you can't stay here tonight. Come with me."

(Stop.)

Without waiting for an answer, her took my arm firmly, yet gently, and pulled me down the hallway with him. Where I normally took a right towards the stairs, he took a left, leading me to a part of the estate that I had never been in. He took me up a flight of stairs and into a room. Stefano locked the door behind us as I took in my surroundings.

The room was easily triple the size of mine and there was a king bed on the far wall. There was one night stand on the left side of the bed and a desk and chair on the far right wall, but other than that, the room was pretty bland. Two doors to the left seemed to lead to a closet and a bathroom.

Stefano steered me towards the chair and sat me down. He went into his closet and came back with a pair of black boxers, which I quickly slipped on. Then he paced.

I watched silently as he walked back and forth across the room. He seemed deep in thought and I didn't know what to say. He finally stopped after a few moments.

"Che cazzo! Porca miseria!" He cursed, making me jump. "What happened Alaya?" He asked roughly.

(Fuck! Damn it!)

"I-I don't know-" I started quietly, but he cut me off.

"Cazzo, why was he in your room in the first place?" He yelled.

(Fuck.)

"I don't know! I went to my room after the event and he just came in! I don't know, okay?" I cried.

Stefano squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alaya, listen to me. I shot one of my guests today. I need a better reason than 'I don't know'."

I paled at the reminder and my stomach twisted painfully at the memory of his body going limp. I looked down at myself, the blood bright and red against my skin. The smell of iron made it's way to my nose and my stomach clenched. "I think I'm going to be sick." I gasped, standing up.

I ran towards the door next to the closet, thankful to find the bathroom as I wrenched it open. I practically threw myself at the toilet and emptied my stomach into the bowl. Stefano pulled my hair back as I threw up and cried. When there was nothing left in my stomach, I dry heaved.

Stefano gently pulled me back, tracing small circles on my shoulders with his thumbs. "Come on, you're done."

"I'm sorry, I don't know why... I just... Oh my god, you killed him!" I struggled to complete my sentence.

"Shh, it's okay, this is a normal reaction." He assured me, pulling me into his lap and wrapping his arms around me.

"You're not throwing up." I laughed bitterly, my head against his chest. I could hear his heart beating steadily and it calmed me.

"It's different for me." He said softly.

"How? How does this not bother you?" I listened to his steady breathing and his heart beat as I waited for him to answer. When he didn't I leaned back to look up at him.

He stared down at me, a tortured look in his eyes. It was a rare sight because, in the few weeks I'd known him, I'd figured out that Stefano never let his guard down. "If I let it bother me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I've been doing this for too long for it affect me."

I didn't answer. I couldn't begin to imagine how he'd grown up as a kid.

"Are you okay?" Stefano said after a while longer.

"I think I'm just a little freaked out." I mumbled. "I thought he... I was scared, I didn't know what to do."

"That shouldn't have happened. I know I don't seem like I have the best morals but rape isn't something I let slide with my men, especially not with women under my protection."

My heart fluttered at the thought. He didn't say I was indebted to him, he said I was under his protection. When I didn't answer he stood, pulling me up with him.

He opened a cabinet under the sink and grabbed a towel. "You should get cleaned up. Let me grab you something to sleep in and then you can shower."

I sat on the edge of the bath tub for a few minutes before he came back with a pair of pajama pants and a black tank top. I recognized both from my closet. Wordlessly, he placed them on the counter and slipped out of the bathroom.

I stripped out of my bloody clothes and piled it neatly in a corner of the bathroom. I felt bad about getting blood on his suit jacket, but there wasn't much I could do about it. Besides, he could probably afford to buy himself a new one if he really wanted to.

I waited until the water warmed up before stepping under the stream. I shivered when the scalding water hit my body. I hadn't realized how cold I was until the warmth of the water seeped into my skin. I stood under the water for a few minutes, letting it wash the blood off of me.

After realizing I'd been in the shower for way too long, I quickly washed my hair. I shut the water off. The bathroom was eerily silent and it left me alone to my thoughts. I pulled the clothes Stefano had left for me on as I thought about my brother.

Would things have turned out differently for him if I hadn't decided to move in with him? I ignored the wave of guilt that washed over me. If I let myself think about it too much, I would start crying again and I'd done my fair share of crying for today.

I hated going to bed with wet hair, so I tried to towel dry it. Eventually I gave up and went back into the room. I was surprised to find Stefano in the bed, already asleep. Murder must be exhausting. I tried the door to the hallway, but it was locked.

I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Was I supposed to sleep in the bed with him? If the door wasn't locked, I would've gone and slept with Diana, but Stefano hadn't given me the choice. With a sigh, I crept towards the empty side of the bed and pulled the covers back.

Stefano snapped awake in an instant and had me on the bed, underneath him with his hand around my neck in under a second. My eyes widened in shock as his widened in recognition. He let go of his grip on mt neck and I coughed a few times, taking in a deep breath.

"Sorry, I must've fallen asleep." He said, getting up off of me.

I sat up and gaped at him. "Are you fucking kidding me? What the hell was that?"

He shrugged. "Just a reflex, I guess." He settled back down on his side of the bed and turned the light off with the switch by the bed. "Go to bed. We'll speak in the morning."

"What? No!" I scrambled away from the bed. "How do I know you won't accidentally kill me in my sleep?" I screamed, slightly freaked out.

"Alaya. Come to bed."

"No! I don't have a death wish!" I refused.

Stefano let out a frustrated sigh and turned the light back on, sitting up to face me. "I will drag you to bed and hold you down until you fall asleep. Come to bed, now." His tone was deadly and gave me all the more reason to stay away.

"I'd have to be insane to willingly climb into that bed with you." I shook my head.

Stefano stood. "You seemed pretty willing when you tried to seduce me."

I felt my face heat up. I could only imagine how red I was. "No, I wasn't." I argued as he circled the bed and stalked towards me. "Don't you have an extra room I can sleep in tonight? Why do I have to sleep with you?" I asked as he reached me.

"You're sleeping with me because you can't seem to stay out of trouble." He answered. "I can keep you safe."

"But you just choked me! And earlier today was the first time anything bad has happened to me here." I argued.

"It doesn't matter, now come to bed." He took my wrist gently, but I pulled out of his grip.

"No." I said stubbornly.

"Fine." Stefano grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder in one motion, causing me to yelp in surprise.

"Put me down! I don't like being manhandled!" I struggled as he walked towards the bed. He dropped me down on his side and climbed over me before I could move. His muscular thighs pinned me to the mattress as he leaned over to turn the light back off and I had to remind myself how to breath.

"We're going to bed." He stated as he settled his hips between my thighs and wrapped his arms around my waist.

My eyes bulged out of my head as I struggled to get oxygen to my brain, which was too busy focusing on the beautiful man on top of me to actually do its job and tell my lungs to breathe. "Okay." I squeaked, my hands hovering in the air, unsure of where they belonged.

Stefano let out a soft chuckle at my reaction, his body gently shaking mine. "Put your hands down, Alaya."

"Where?" I choked out, mentally kicking myself for letting his close proximity affect me.

"Anywhere." He muttered.

My imagination ran wild with the idea of putting my hands anywhere on his body, but I quickly took my head out of the gutter. Instead, I hesitantly settled my hands on his back, resisting the urge to run my fingers over the toned muscles.

"Stefano?" I whispered after a moment.

"Mmm?" He answered.

"Promise you won't attack me in your sleep?" I asked.

"I promise." He whispered back.

I let myself drift off. That night I slept well for the first time in weeks. I dreamt of my brother and, for once, it wasn't a bad dream.

Could it be? Stefano is being nice? Side note, Wattpad is trying to tell me that dreamt isn't a word. Silly goose.

Don't forget to vote if you liked this and please comment and let me know what you think!

-Emma🎶