Chapter 64

Marabella’s POV

The drive to the compound at the back of the property was silent. “Are you mad at me?”, I asked softly, scared of his answer. “Absolutely not, piccola. I’m only worried about you, that is all”, he said, looking over at me, as he pulled my hand to his mouth and placed a soft kiss on the back of it. “I’ll be okay”, I uttered in a small voice.

The look of concern on his face cut through me. It was like he knew something that I didn’t. “I hope so, bambina”, he whispered. Luca’s highest ranking soldatos met us at the car. They were lined up and standing at attention. Luca stepped out of the car and walked around to my side to open my door. I took his hand as I climbed out. The atmosphere felt tight in the mid-noon air. All of the soldiers stood still, almost as if they were scared of what would happen to them if they didn’t.

“At ease”, Luca commanded. The soldatos did not relax much, but I could see the tension leave their shoulders. An older man dressed in a nice black suit, approached Luca and I. “Mr. Barello, it is always a pleasure to see you”, he addressed, respectfully. Luca nodded, “I just stopped by to check on things. Make sure operations were still moving smoothly”, he said, looking around. His hand tightened on my waist.

“Of course, sir”, the man said, turning and leading us into the compound. The soldatos stood quiet and watched us as we entered the large room. My heart stuttered at the memory of him defending my honor. “You okay, piccola?”, Luca murmured in my ear, as he squeezed my side.Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on * .net. Visit to read the complete chapters for free. I nodded my head at the same time I took a deep breath. “Yeah”, I uttered. Luca sighed as he pulled me closer. “I don’t like it when you lie”, he growled lowly. A shiver ran down my spine.

“As you may have noticed, operations are in fact running smoothly. If I may say, they are actually running better than they were”, the man said. Luca looked at the man perplexed. “What do you mean?”, he asked him. “Well, every since yesterday, the men seem to be more focused on the tasks at hand”, the man answered. “Good”, Luca said boldly. “As it should”, he added, his shoulders straightened with pride.

“We will be in my office”, Luca said, leading me out of the main room and down a narrow hallway. “I haven’t brought you back here yet. But my office is back here, along with the financial department for the businesses, and each overseer of said business”, Luca explained.

I nodded as I glanced at the scenic artwork on the walls. Pictures of oceans, forests, sunrises and many more, littered the hall. “It’s all so beautiful”, I murmured. “I have a thing for the scenery”, Luca said, with a wink. “I can tell”, I smiled, as Luca drug me along behind him. “I have to look over the reports real quick while we are here”, Luca informed me, as we walked into a gorgeous open office.

“No worries”, I uttered, walking around the office admiring the work. The artwork in his office was more extravagant than the paintings in the hall. He had bookshelves lined with books and nicknacks. From the nicknacks he had on the shelves I could tell that he loved dragons.

Dragons decorated the shelves, even some of the paintings that hung on the wall. “I like dragons too”, I said softly, grinning over at him. Luca looked up at me with a huge smile on his face. “That’s good. As you can tell, they are my favorite”, he laughed. I nodded excitedly. “Dragons are such beautiful creatures”, Luca agreed.

“How do you feel, bambina?”, he asked me, tilting his head to the side. “I feel fine, Luca”, I smiled. “Physically baby girl”, Luca reiterated. “I feel perfectly fine”, I answered. “Are you sure? I would like to do some basic training with you if you are”, he said concerned. “I’m down”, I answered.

Luca smiled at me, “Let’s go then, piccola”, he said, reaching out for my hand. I took his hand and followed him out of his office. He led me to a gym in the back of the compound. “Put these on, bambina”, Luca said, handing me a pair of yoga pants, a sport bra, and a black t-shirt. I nodded as I headed in the direction of the changing rooms. At least I assume that is what they are, since Luca gestured for me to go this way.

“I’ll be right here when you get out”, he said softly. I smiled and entered the changing room. It was definitely a locker room, with showers and toilets. I was stunned by the size of the room, considering this part of the building does not seem to be this big. I quickly changed and exited the locker room, finding Luca right where he said he would be, except he was in a pair of black gym shorts and was shirtless.

I stopped in my tracks and stared at the God-carved man standing in front of me. “My eyes are up here, piccola”, he chuckled. I blushed as my eyes slid up his torso to his face. “There’s those beautiful sunflowers”, he teased. “Are you ready?”, he inquired. I nodded meekily, as my hand came across my stomach to hold my elbow. “Then let’s get this session started, amore”, he smiled, taking ahold of my hand.