Chapter 9

Marabella’s POV

I frowned as I put cream in my hand to rub onto his back. “What if I don’t want to get used to it?”, I mumbled, as I applied cream to his bruise. Luca’s muscles tensed, “If you want out of this marriage, I’ll allow it. I won’t be happy about it, but I’ll let you go”, he gritted out. My eyes were already locked on his in the mirror. “That’s not what I meant”, I frowned deeply, my voice small. Luca’s muscles relaxed and his face softened some. “Then what did you mean?”, he asked. “I don’t want to get used to seeing you injured, Luca. I mean, fuck, how would you feel if this was me?”, I asked, my hands gesturing as I talked.

Luca’s eyes darkened and a growl reverberated in his chest. “Oh, I’ll be checking you for injuries next. Don’t you worry”, he said, his voice guttural with vexation. I sighed, as I shook my head and continued applying cream to his bruise. “You’re missing the fucking point”, I said with irritation. “First of all, enough cursing, piccolo ragazza (little girl). Second,”, Luca began, turning enough to grab my waist and pull me into his lap, “I do see your point. You don’t want to see me hurt as much as I don’t want to see you hurt. However, unfortunately, that’s not how our world works, bambina (baby girl). So no more attitude from you, please”, he ended gently. “I’m sorry”, I whispered. “It’s okay, gattina (kitten)”, he uttered, leaning in to connect his lips to mine.

I clung to his shoulders as I reciprocated his kiss. Luca broke the kiss and brushed his nose against mine. “Your turn, stand up”, he ordered softly. I frowned at the implication of his demand. “Luca-“, “Don’t make me repeat myself, gattina (kitten). I do not like it”, he interrupted me. I stood from the bed and faced him. “Turn around, amore (love)”, he commanded, motioning with his finger. I took a shaky breath and did as I was told.

Luca’s finger skimmed my neck as he gently pushed my braided hair over my shoulder. The only thing I could hear over my rapid heart beat was the sound of the zipper on my dress sliding down. Luca’s fingers grazed my skin, causing goosebumps to break out across my skin.

Luca’s breathing deepened as he traced a couple of the deep scars that I knew lay on my back. “How did you get these?”, he asked through gritted teeth. “It was years ago, Luca. It doesn’t matter anymore.”, I answered softly, watching him now through the mirror. His face contorted, “That’s not what I asked”, he said, looking up at me. I frowned sadly, “I’m not ready to talk about that time in my life”, I whispered. Luca frowned but nodded as he began to slip my dress from my shoulders.

His fingers grazed a sore spot on my shoulder, where his chest had connected with my body. I hissed and pulled away slightly. “There’s one”, Luca said aloud, through clenched teeth. He slid my dress over my hips and let it pool at my feet on the ground. My hands came up to cover my chest automatically.

He skimmed over another sore spot on my hip bone. “There’s two. Turn for me, bambina (baby girl)”, he ordered softly. I shook nervously, as I turned to face him. I felt completely naked, in nothing but a bra and panties, as I stood in front of him. “You don’t need to hide yourself from me, piccola (little one), ever”, he said, pulling my hands away from my chest. He examined my arms, counting each bruise on my elbows.

“There’s five”, he noted, vexed, as he touched the bruise on the front of my hip. He growled lowly, as his eyes raked down my thighs and zoned in on my knees, noticing they were scraped up from the fall. “Go shower, gattina (kitten). Get cleaned up. And I’ll take one after you, after I put cream on your bruises, of course”, he said softly, stroking my hips with his thumbs. I nodded and went into the ensuite bathroom.

After shedding my bra and panties, I went to get into the shower, but stopped dead in my tracks, at the sight of the eight-legged monster that sat perched on the wall. I held my shriek in as I grabbed a towel to wrap around me. I walked back to the bathroom door and opened it. Luca stood at his dresser, his eyes immediately finding mine in the mirror. “What’s wrong, bambina (baby girl)?’, he asked, as he turned to face me.

I frowned and whined slightly, as I bounced up and down on my toes. “Please come kill this spider for me”, I whined lowly. A sexy grin stretched across his lips. “Are you scared of spiders, gattina (kitten)?”, he teased, as he approached me. “Petrified, please”, I admitted with another bounce and look towards the bathroom. Luca chuckled, drawing my attention back to him.

“I watched you kill a man last night, without blinking. But, tonight, you can’t kill a spider?”, he asked, jokingly, as he slipped passed me into the bathroom. I whined again, but didn’t say anything as I pressed myself against the bathroom wall. Luca looked over his shoulder at me. When he noticed how scared I really was, he nodded. “I’ll get it”, he said aloud. Maybe it was to reassure me, but I was more focused on waiting to see it’s dead body. A mental assurance to myself that it’s gone.

Luca used some toilet paper to catch and kill the spider before flushing it down the toilet. “There, it’s dead”, he said, a playful hint to his tone. “Thank you”, my voice was small and cracking. “You’re welcome, principessa (princess)”, he uttered, cupping my face. “Are you okay, amore (love)?”, he asked.

“I had a bad experience with spiders as a little kid and have been utterly terrified of them ever since.”, I confessed. Luca frowned, “What happened?”, he asked softly. I shook my head, “I’ll tell you later, promise”, I whispered. Luca’s frown deepened, “I’m going to hold you to that, gattina (kitten). Shower now”, he commanded gently, placing a soft kiss on my lips. A whine involuntarily left me at the idea of getting in the shower where the spider was. “Do you want me to shower with you?”, he smirked, arching an eyebrow at me. My eyebrows furrowed, as I looked at his chest and pouted. “No”, I mumbled.

Luca chuckled, “Then get your ass in the shower”, he nodded toward the shower, as he started to walk around me. “You can take a shower first, if you want”, I said, trying to get out of it. Luca laughed, “I don’t think so, gattina (kitten). First, ladies first. Second, you are already naked. I am not”, he pointed out. I looked at his bare chest and pouted a little more. Luca chuckled, “You are more naked than I, amore (love). The spider is gone. I promise”, he reassured me, as he placed one more kiss on my lips, before leaving me alone in the bathroom.