Mafia Princess

Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Three

Twilight...not mine (sigh).

Chapter 123

After sexy times in the shower and sauna, we went upstairs. I wore Edward's shirt and nothing underneath. His eyes were dark from seeing me in his clothes and knowing that he could lift up the shirt to slam into me. However, knowing we were at home and not alone prevented him from doing that. In the kitchen, we ate a late dinner and then went up to my room. Carino was overjoyed to see Edward, bouncing off his legs and scrambling up his shoulder to nuzzle his face. He smiled, tickling her chin before he went to change into a pair of pajamas.

When he came back, I was curled up on my bed, idly petting Carino. I was staring off into space, still trying to make sense of Angie's random visit. "You seem troubled, Little One. What's wrong?"

"Angie came over earlier today, amore," I sighed.

"Oh? What did she say?" he asked, climbing into bed with me. Carino plopped her fat, furry ass on his lap and began purring like a jet engine. Edward chuckled, petting her downy fur.

"She wanted to apologize, but I don't really believe her. She said that she and Ben broke up over what happened between her and me; he had a sister who had a similar experience to what I dealt with in Rom but didn't have a knight in Prada clothes," I snorted derisively.

"Bella, her motives may be circumspect, but she's trying. She's reaching out to you," Edward replied, holding me to his body. Carino gave me a scowl as I snaked my arm across his waist. "Give her the benefit of the doubt, baby."

I sighed and nodded, kissing his chest three times. He pressed his cheek to my hair before turning on the television. I was still leery, but took Edward's words into consideration. We found some inane, mindless movie, crashing to the sounds of the stupidity of Jim Carrey and Ace Ventura, Pet Detective.

The next morning, Edward and I worked out in the gym. Emmett was there, too. Charlie said that he wanted me to spar a few times and get myself prepared for the possibility of something happening. My guess was that something was brewing with the Volturi. No one was saying anything, but based on the terse behavior of my father and increased muscle around the house indicated that the Volturi were up to no good.

Edward and I were insatiable for each other, making love as often as our bodies would allow. He was still sore from his attack, but mainly in his ribs. Our lovemaking wasn't as athletic as it had been, but feeling him move inside of me made me one happy camper. Our relationship had also grown by leaps and bounds since his return from San Francisco. He was a bit more open with me and was being attentive, loving and so sweet. All of that dropped, though, when there was a threat against our family or against me. It was almost like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Riley had disappeared into the depths of his world and hopefully I'll never see his ugly mug again. Besides, if Edward saw Riley again, he'd probably dismantle my ex-boyfriend and put him back together upside down and inside out.

A couple of days after Angie came to visit, I gave her a call. I told her that I'd like to meet for lunch. We tentatively made arrangements for Friday to meet at La Rustica. Edward was going to come with me, but sit at the bar. I tried to get him to let me go alone, but Edward, Emmett and my father adamantly refused to let me go anywhere by myself.

What did they know?

As I got ready for my lunch with Angie, I asked Edward. "Is there something going on with the Volturi, Edward?"

"I don't know much, but I do know that your dad is freaking out over something that was sent to him via email while we were in San Francisco. He wouldn't tell me what it was. Personally, I think that was the main reason why we came back, not the fake reason of the issue at Twilight."

"But you think that Daddy's justified in all of this extra protection?"

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his hands through his hair. "Felix said something that you're not supposed to know. Charlie was adamant that you not know, but I hate keeping you in the dark. He said that Charlie won't be around for you twenty-second birthday. Either that means that there's a hit on him or a hit on you. The good news is that Jane was arrested in Portland for speeding, extradited to Seattle for the bombing on your car. We know that she won't come at you since she's in jail, denied bail."

My heart started stammering and I leaned forward on my dresser. Edward's arms wrapped around my waist. "Breathe, Little One," he said, kissing my neck.

"So, this is real," I hissed.

"It's always been real, Bella but it's getting more serious," Edward replied, turning me in his arms. I melted against his chest, inhaling his clean, masculine scent. "Do you want to cancel with Angie?"

"No. I hate this thing with the Volturi, but I refuse to let them control my life," I sighed, snuggling further into his arms. He gently cupped my face, looking into my eyes. I gave him a half-hearted grin. He leaned down and brushed his soft lips against mine. I sighed contentedly, feeling his warmth and love.

"I promise you that nothing will happen to you, Little One," he said as he rested his cheek to my head.

"I know," I murmured back. I stood on my tiptoes, kissing his mouth three times before pulling back. "Let's get this done, protettore."

A/N: We're getting closer to the drama...*Bites nails* Leave me some lovin! (By the way, this chapter took me SOOO long to write. My computer was being a butt. Blah.)