To Love and Rule

Chapter 32: Mágoa

"Nicolo," I heard her voice call out to me for the first time this night.

"Yes?" I grabbed her hand for comfort as she seemed shy to continue.

"Do you really think your plan will work?" she sighed and I held her hand tighter at the sound of her scared voice.

"I know it will," I reassured her.

"Don't be afraid, mia Arabella," I said and brought her fingers towards my lips, kissing her soft skin.

"Fine, I trust you," she nodded her head and looked down at her lap to hide those blushed cheeks, only giving me seconds to admire them.

She trusts me, I repeated her words and grinned stupidly to myself, feeling my heart melt.

"You're so confident now. What changed?" she chuckled.

"You were so hesitant to accept their deal during our meeting in Sicily," she added and I gritted my teeth at the memories from that night. I could have possibly spared Luca's life if only I had simply made an agreement, but I believe there's more to this that our eyes are being hidden from.

"The purpose of that meeting was to see how far our enemies were willing to take this," I replied as my eyes narrowed at the road.

"I wanted to see how serious they were, and given that they killed one of us that night, they're pretty fucking determined to overtake us," I continued and gripped my steering wheel tighter once I caught her frowning.

"I have never heard of their organization before. These small and new groups know not to attack powerful families, such as ours. But, this group is different," I spoke, and the air around us became unsettling.

"Now that we're here in their territory, we'll be able to learn more about them, study them. We need to understand why they're doing this. We need to find their motive," I further explained.

I placed our car into park and turned to look at her. She seemed to be contemplating my words deeply as she never noticed me gazing at her, but after some time she pushed her thoughts away and those irresistible eyes met mine.

"We'll figure it out together," she spoke softly and I became completely dazed as my eyes trailed down her face. If only I could close the space between us and taste her upon my lips once more, then she would understand how weak of a man she makes me.

A shaky breath left her parted lips and I smirked as I noticed her eyes had now found a similar interest. It was so fucking difficult to resist this divine woman, but I wanted her to choose when she's ready for us to move forward. And, if that meant I would have to wait for eternity for her, I pray that even after death our time together will be infinite.

"Are you two ready?" a muffled voice came from outside as Leone knocked on the window.

Arabella and I were immediately brought back into reality and I blinked away the amorous desires from my mind. She replied to him as I was too choked by burning temptations, but eventually I recollected myself and prepared for our business.

"We're going to wear these throughout the night," I cleared my throat and handed her an earpiece. I watched her as I adjusted my own and shook my head, smiling to myself while she fumbled with the device.

"Let me help you," I chuckled and gently placed my hand along the nape of her neck. I could feel her eyes studying me intensely, roaming over every detail of my face, but I kept my focus on the device as to not get lost in her gaze once again.

"You're all set," I said and pulled my hand away, feeling my fingertips lightly trace her skin and brush by her soft hair.

"Thank you," she smiled and I couldn't help but show one in return.