Chapter 26

Marabella’s POV

I fell asleep in Luca’s arms on the way home. I vaguely remember him picking me up and taking me to our room. I felt him remove my shoes, then cover me up. “Rest, piccola”, I heard him whisper, before I fully drifted off.

“La mia piccola principessa (My little princess), it’s time to eat”, I heard in a deep voice, as hands slid up my side. I gasped awake, as my hands shot to his wrist to stop him. “Hey now, bambina. It’s okay, it’s just me”, Luca cooed. My heart pounded in my chest and my head throbbed. I panted heavily, trying to steady my breath.

Luca’s hands cupped my face. “Breath with me, little one”, he commanded. “In”, he instructed, as he took a deep breath. “Out”, he said, letting it go. He repeated this a few times, until my breathing matched his. “Good girl”, he praised, stroking my hair. “I’m sorry for scaring you, bambina”, he muttered, running his nose along mine.

I shook my head, “No, I’m sorry. I just-“, “Stop”, Luca interrupted. “Don’t apologize for something that was my fault”, he growled lowly. I swallowed hard and nodded. “It’s time to eat, piccola. Ma cooked dinner”, he uttered. I climbed out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. I did my business, then smoothed out my hair.

When I walked back into the bedroom, Luca was typing something on his phone. His eyes lifted to mine, “Are you ready, piccola?”, he asked, with a grin. I nodded meekly as I approached him. “What’s the matter?”, he asked. “Nothing”, I shook my head. “You look upset, bambina”, Luca uttered, stroking my cheek with his tumb. “I’m not. I just woke up and my tummy hurts”, I pouted. “Cramps?”, he questioned gently. I nodded, as I accepted his hug. “Let’s get you some medicine and food, then a heating pad”, Luca murmured into my hair.

Everyone but Marco was at the table, waiting. “Where’s Marco?”, Luca asked, pulling my chair out for me. As I took my seat, I noticed the tension in Sergio’s shoulders. “Serg?”, Luca said. “We don’t know. We haven’t been able to get ahold of him”, Sergio answered, refusing to make eye-contact with Luca.

“What?”, Luca asked, with vexation. His hands gripped the back of my chair so hard, that I could hear the wood cracking behind my head. “We thought maybe he snuck off with Raven. You know, the girl he likes. But, after two hours, I called her and she said he was never with her”, Carlo added. “Two hours?”, Luca asked, irritated.

“Trey is working on finding his last known location. The point is, we need to find him”, Sergio cut in. “Luca, go find my baby boy”, Luca’s ma said, I can’t lose him too”, she added with tears in her throat. “I know, ma. I’ll find him”, Luca said, with fury. “Eat your dinner, bambina. I’ll be back before you know it”, Luca said, placing a chaste kiss on my lips, before walking out of the dining room, Sergio and Carlo following closely behind.

I could feel the tension in the air. Luca is about to snap and if he finds his brother in a bad condition… or worse, he will go off the deep end. And, there’s no telling what could happen then. I jumped up from the table and ran to the hall. “Luca, wait”, I called out. Luca turned around, his brothers also stopped for a second.

Once they saw that I was still running toward Luca, Sergio waved at Carlo for them to continue walking. I launched myself into Luca’s arms, immediately being caught. “Please be safe”, I whispered, with my head buried in his neck. “I will, piccola”, he uttered. “And please try to keep a level head. You don’t know what you are walking into, and right now you are angry. Anger will cloud your judgement”, I said, cautiously. Luca was silent as he breathed me in.

“I can feel your anger, Luca. You are about to snap. What can I do to help you?”, I asked, gently. Luca pushed me up against the hallway wall. His lips roughly connected with my neck. When a surprised, but pleasure filled gasp left my lips, I felt some of the tension leave his shoulders.

I laced my fingers into his hair, as his hand grasped my ribcage, right below my breast. His lips found mine. His kiss was aggressive, but I could feel his anger diminishing with each rough pass of his tongue against mine. When he pulled away, we were both breathless. Luca’s lips were puffy and I could feel mine were, too.

“Thank you, baby girl”, he whispered, his eyes glancing down at my lips. “You are right. I feel better now, and can think more clearly. Go eat your dinner, piccola. I’ll be home soon”, Luca said, as he set me down on my feet. “Yes sir”, I muttered, as I turned and walked back towards the dining room. “Marabella”, Luca called out. I turned and looked at him expectantly. “We still have a game to play when I get home”, he purred, winking at me. I blushed feverishly and swallowed hard. I continued walking back to the dining room, feeling Luca’s eyes on me the whole way.

Luca’s ma sat at the table with a distressed look on her face. “Hey, ma. It’s going to be okay. Let’s eat our food. None of your boys would want you to go without”, I said, grabbing my plate and sitting next to her. Ma reached out and grabbed my hand. “I’m glad you are here, mia figlia (my daughter)”, she smiled.

I smiled in return, and we started eating the chicken riggotto that she made. “This is very good”, I complimented. “Thank you. This is actually my favorite dish”, she said. “Well, it’s mine now too”, I said, making her chuckle. “How’s school?”, she asked. “It’s good. I have a lot of work to do over the weekend, but it’ll eventually be worth it”, i explained. “Yes it will”, she agreed with a grin.

“How about after dinner, we sit down together and start working on the plans for your herb garden?”, I suggested. “That’s a marvelous idea. It’ll really help me keep my mind off of what’s going on”, she said hopefully.