Chapter 21

Luca’s POV

“Aren’t you the slightest bit worried?”, Mara asked, when we stepped into the hall. I gave her a credulous expression, “Fuck no, bambina. I’m not worried about shit”, I assured her. “Are you ready to go dress shopping, piccolo?”, I asked, distracting her from the topic. She stopped and frowned at me, “I have a lot of work to do. Can we go later? Or can you do what you did on our wedding day and have some brought to the house for me to choose from. I mean I don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything-“, I cut her rambling with a kiss. “I can do that, piccola. Let’s go get something to eat, then”, I said, kissing her forehead before opening the car door for her.

As I sat down next to Mara, I noticed that she had her head laid back on the rest, and a faint smile played on her lips, giving her a sense of relief. “Tell me, what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours?”, I said, tucking some hair behind her ear, drawing her attention to me.

“Will you always do that?”, she asked softly. “Do what, bambina?”, I asked. “Stand up for me?”, her question threw me off, making me realize that she’s never experienced safety. I unhooked her seat belt and pulled her tiny frame into my lap. “Yes, piccola. I’ll always protect you. Whether it’s physically or emotionally. I will protect you”, I declared. I ran my fingers through her hair, wiggling my fingers when they would get caught in knots. “How long?”, I murmured.

Mara frowned, her fingers were mindlessly stroking my visible skin on my chest where my buttons were undone on my shirt. “I’m sorry?’, she uttered. “How long has Jason Greene been bullying you, principessa?”, I asked. She bit the inside of her lip, as she watched her thumb slide across the gold chain on my neck.

I waited patiently for her to answer me. She was obviously at war with herself. “Since the fourth grade”, she answered in a murmur. “Wow”, I breathed, stunned. “You stopped it though”, she grinned. I don’t know about that, though. I may have stopped it for now, but it’s definitely not over.

“I have to go back to the office for a little while. Do you want to come with me? We can eat, then get lost in our work together”, I asked, with hope. Mara smiled, “I get to see where you work?”, she asked, curiously. “Yes, piccola. You do”, I muttered, watching her closely. “Okay”, she smiled. I grinned as I pulled her head to me and kissed her.

Mara put her arms around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder. “You are so precious”, I murmured, wrapping my arms tighter around her. We stayed in this position for the remainder of the drive, just soaking one another up.

Marabella’s POV

Safety, content, cherished; those are the emotions I feel while in Luca’s arms. He’s the only man I have ever come across that I can feel complete peace around. That’s why I walked into this marriage without reservations, because I felt peace the first time I laid eyes on him.

I feel peace now, even though my emotions should be all over the place from my period, and I should also feel some type of way about what Luca did to Jason, like I did earlier. But, I don’t. “Piccola, we are here”, Luca whispered in my ear. I lifted my head from his shoulder, and looked up at the massive twenty-five-story, chrome building in front of us. “Holy shit, Luca”, I uttered, as I slid off of his lap.

“Language, bambina. Come”, he uttered softly, holding his hand out for me to take. I placed my hand in his and let him pull me from the car. I couldn’t help but to stare in awe at the sleek building. “I, uh, don’t want to sound like I care, because I don’t obviously. But, how rich are you?”, I asked, out of complete curiosity, as I looked over at him.

Luca laughed heartily, as we entered the sliding glass doors. “Oh, bambina. Let me put it to you this way. Our grandchildren’s children will still be rich if they continue with the legacy”, he answered. “My God”, I uttered, as I followed beside him through the gorgeous aqua-marble decorated lobby, to the elevator.

“You and Cal can take a break”, Luca told Rex, as we stepped into the elevator. “Yes, boss”, Rex said, as the doors closed. I realized the back of the elevator was glass, giving you an unrealistic view of the city and valley below. “That is picture perfect”, I said, looking down . The elevator came to a halt, mid-floor, making me whip around to see what was wrong.

Luca had his hand over the emergency stop button and a beautiful smile on his lips. “Take your picture, principessa”, he chuckled, nodding toward the view. I smiled broadly, as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned around. I took a few really good shots, then turned back around to capture one of Luca.

He tilted his head with a lop-sided grin. “What was that for?”, he asked. “Me. I couldn’t resist. You look way too handsome in that suit, not to freeze the moment”, I answered. “Is that so?”, he grinned, as he took two steps towards me, pinning me in place. I nodded slowly. “How about you take one of you, enjoying the moment”, he whispered in my ear.

“How about I take one of the both of us”, I countered. Luca smirked, as he pulled back to look over my face. “Only if you send them to me”, he bargained. “Okay”, I smiled. Luca leaned in and captured my lips, as his hands cupped my neck. He pulled back, taking me with him so that he could slip behind me. Luca wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. I lifted my phone, taking a few pictures of us.

One where we are both smiling at the camera. Another where Luca is kissing my cheek. But then there is my favorite. Luca snaked his hand up, between my breast, and wrapped his fingers around my throat. “I better receive all of those”, Luca purred in my ear. “You will”, I said, breathlessly. “Good”, he muttered, running his nose along my neck.

My heart skipped a beat and my breath stuttered. The fire in me coming back to life. “Luca”, I moaned. “I just want to feel you against me, piccola”, he muttered, as his free hand pressed flat against my stomach, flattening me against him. I could feel every sharp edge of his toned body, pressed against mine, making me wiggle against him. “Marabella”, he breathed my name against my ear. I shuttered, wishing I wasn’t so inexperienced. Luca’s hand slid up my stomach to my breast so he could squeeze.

“What if someone sees us?”, I whispered worriedly. “It is a two-way glass, bambina. I could strip you butt-naked and take you against the window, and no one but us would know”, he purred against my neck. I bit my tongue to keep from moaning. His hot breath fanned my skin, as he groped my chest.

My hands went to his outer thighs for support. “Luca”, I breathed. “Do I need to stop?”, he muttered softly. “No”, I answered shakily. Luca groaned, as he spun me around and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and entwined my fingers in his hair, as I leaned in and connected my lips to his. Luca turned and pinned me against the glass, as he slipped his tongue past my lips. I ran my tongue along his and tightened my fingers in his hair.

Luca moaned as he pushed into me harder. One of his hands left my thigh and wrapped around my throat, breaking my hold on his hair. “Marabella, I don’t know how well I can behave. I want you badly, bambina”, Luca murmured against my lips. He rocked his hips into me, showing me how much he truly wanted me.

I couldn’t hold back my moan, as butterflies stirred deep in my belly. Luca chuckled softly, as he recaptured my lips. I relaxed against his hold, submitting to his touch. “If you don’t stop me now, I’m going to take you right here. And, I don’t want to do that to you, piccola”, he grumbled against my lips.

I reluctantly pushed Luca back, heeding his warning. “Let’s get what we need to done, so that we can go home”, I uttered, unwrapping my legs from him. Luca nodded once as he stepped away to press the emergency stop button again so that we could ascend to the top level.

He stepped back towards me to fix my hair. I smiled, as I reached up and did the same for him. “You are one of a kind, Marabella”, Luca uttered, as he kissed my forehead.