Chapter 73

Luca’s POV

“We’re here, boss”, Cal said, throwing the car into park and jumping out to open the back door. “Hold on to me, bambina”, I told Mara, as I slid out of the car still holding her. Her inner thighs clutched my sides and her arms were braced on my shoulders. A sharp hiss and tiny whimper left Mara’s precious lips.

I, too, want to whimper. I never want to fucking see her in pain ever again. The pain I feel for her is different than physical pain and I don’t fucking like it. As I made it to the front door, a female nurse stepped out. “Mr. Barello, I’m NP Cassy Slives. I prepped the master bedroom for Mrs. Barello as instructed. When you get her in there we must strip her, so that I can get a good idea of the extent of the injuries”, the nurse spoke, as we climbed the steps to the room

“She will need stitches on her back and leg. She also has an extensive amount of splinters”, I informed her. “No problem, Mr. Barello, we will have your wife fixed up in no time”, I know the nurse was trying to be nice and encouraging, but she’s starting to piss me off.

I busted through my bedroom door and sat Mara down beside the bed, “Easy, bambina. We need to take your clothes off”, I said gently, untucking my blazer and sliding it off of her shoulders. The nurse stood behind me, preparing some of the materials she would need. Many sentences in this chapter have been removed because you are not reading them on * . The next clothing to go was Mara’s bra. I had to swallow hard to keep myself from playing with her beautiful breasts. I unbuttoned her jeans and peeled them off of her legs. I knelt down in front of her, putting me at belly button height. Mara laced her fingers through my hair, drawing my attention up to her. The sight before me, struck me immobile.

Marabella’s smooth bare skin stared back at me, tempting me. I want to reach out and grab her perky nipples, that are sitting hard and tight in the middle of her pretty pink areolas, with my mouth and nibble. “Luca”, her soft voice broke my train of thought. My eyes traveled from her chest to her eyes. I smiled sheepishly at her, “Yes, gattina?”, I asked. “I love you”, she whispered. I smiled broadly as I leaned in and laid a soft kiss to the tattoo on her hip. “I love you, Marabella Rose”, I uttered softly.

I placed another kiss on her stomach, making her gasp and her hand tighten in my hair. I had to bite my tongue at the sensation that ran down my spine. I finished getting her shoes and pants off and helped her lay face down on the bed like the nurse instructed. The nurse took a warm, soapy wash cloth and started cleaning the gash on Mara’s thigh. “What can I do to help?”, I asked the nurse. She looked up at me then down at my wife’s back and legs. “You can start cleaning her up with soapy water. I need to stitch this wound now, but the longer the dirt sets embedded with the splinters, the higher the chance of infection is”, the nurse explained.

I nodded and bent down to kiss Marabella’s cheek. “I’ll be right back, bambina”, I said softly. “Okay”, she whispered. I grabbed a large basin from the supplies that the nurse brought with her, and filled it with warm soapy water. When I had made it back to Mara’s side, the nurse had just started stitching the wound and Mara’s eyes were closed.

“Mara, baby. Stay awake, amore mia”, I said, stroking her cheek with my finger. Her eyes opened and met mine. I could see how bad she just wanted to rest. “Where’s that orange juice?”, she asked groggily. “Cal! Bring me an orange juice!”, I yelled. I knew he was standing outside the door. Him and Rex both. Sure enough, I heard Cal’s immediate response, “Yes, boss”.

I started wiping Marabella’s leg with the water. By the time I finished with one leg, the nurse finished stitching her leg and Cal was knocking at the door. I set the basin aside and walked to the door. Cal handed me a glass of orange juice with a bendy straw. “Good thinking”, I noted. He nodded in acknowledgement, before I closed the door.

I walked back to the side of the bed, “Mara, your orange juice, amore”, I said, squatting next to the bed and holding the straw up to her lips. She sat up on her elbows and started drinking from the straw. The nurse started stitching the wound on Mara’s side next. Before I knew it Mara was finished with her orange juice. “Damn, bambina. Do you want more?”, I asked. She shook her head, as her eyes drooped. I set the empty glass on the bedside table and placed a kiss on her forehead. “You’re doing amazing, la mia bella moglie (my beautiful wife)”, I whispered.