"It's beautiful..." I whisper delighted.
Ares told me that she had a little apartment in Milan and that's exactly what it is: a typical bachelor pad. I can picture her living here during those years she went to the University and worked for D'Antonio family before moving to New York following that asshole Santino. The living room/kitchen is a big rectangular area with a hardwood floor that matches the wooden rafters of the ceiling since we're on the top floor under the roof. The grey couch by the window has an L shape and matches the grey marble of the antique small fireplace in front of it.
"It's an original..." The electronic sound of the Assassin's device startles me. "This building was a palace during the last century and it was divided into several separate apartments so the fireplace is original along with the moulding on the walls and around the ceiling."
I smile fascinated, the truth is that this combination of ancient and modern suits the place perfectly. Furniture is comfortable and functional and the steel lamps are scattered strategically around the room so it seems more luminous. In front of the couch on one side of the fireplace there's a small TV and a small fridge on the other side, next to the couch there's a light wood table with three chairs and the kitchenette with white cabinets: it's really small but since the ceiling is very high the cabinets are double height to be able to store more things. A narrow corridor with a huge closet with mirror doors on one side leads to the bedroom where there's a light wood Queen Size bed, a book case full of Italian volumes, a chair and a small desk under the only window that overlooks the street, the fine white curtains let the light pour in. In front of the corridor closet is a little bathroom tiled with light green tesserae in Venetian mosaic, a hardwood floor like the one of the rest of the apartment and white sanitary ware. The bathtub is deep and has a glass panel. This apartment is perfect for two persons.
"I love it," I tell her enthusiastically before putting my hand on my side again. The painkiller is wearing off and my throbbing rib feels worse than ever.
My bodyguard leaves our luggage at the foot of the bed, opens my suitcase and rummages in it till she finds my toilet bag and a pink oversize T-shirt with a sign that says "Nerd Princess," then she shoves me into the bathroom after removing my coat and jacket carefully. I get undressed and wash up slowly, each one of my movements make me flinch slightly, and I leave my toilet bag on a little wood shelf before going out. Ares has turned the heater on and the apartment is getting warm but it's still slightly cold, she's made the bed too and the white sheets and blue blanket are tantalizingly turned down: I let my clothes drop in her hands and I hope in bed without a second thought, I sigh in relief when I'm finally able to straighten my back on the mattress: I can't take a deep breathe yet but I'm definitely more comfortable than on the plane seat. The Assassin hangs up my pants in the closet and stares at my ruined silk shirt before throwing it in a corner. I think that I fall asleep for some minutes because when I open my eyes again she's standing by the bed, wearing dark jeans and a blue turtle neck while she types on her device.
"I'm going to the supermarket..." I nod before mouthing the word 'chocolate.' My bodyguard tilts her head to one side like she's thinking about it before nodding with a smile. "Don't leave the house." I roll my eyes hard, where I could go since I can barely move? "When I come back, we'll eat and give you another painkiller. You'll feel better tomorrow and we'll go shopping, you need a new blue shirt and fix the body armour and the hole on your coat."
"All right. Thank you... Andy." The Assassin tilts her head again before leaning her knee on the mattress and hoovering my body to place a kiss on my lips, and then one more, and one more... like she doesn't want to leave me. Her mouth meld with mine while her knuckles graze my jaw and she slides her fingers further down gently. Her thumb under my chin forces me to tilt my head back slightly and she locks her lips on my neck, just above the edge of my T-shirt. She sucks and bites with great care for a whole minute, till a purple hickey is clearly visible on my pale skin and she tears a lengthy moan from my throat. The Assassin smirks smugly against my flesh but she finally sighs, grazes my face with her knuckles, kisses my forehead and leaves the bedroom. The last thing I hear before falling asleep again is the door closing.
*****
I know this place... I mean, I've never been here before but I've seen it thousands of times in pictures and TV: the 'Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II,' Italy's oldest active shopping mall. I look up to the massive central glass dome and then I look down to stare mesmerized at the beautiful and colourful mosaic floor. Ares monitors closely people around us even if she has insisted on the fact that the Irish doesn't know that we're here and, even if he finds out, he wouldn't dare to attack us because everybody knows this city belongs to D'Antonio family and they'd be very upset. Aidan and his obsession with me are causing annoyance and inconvenience to several important members of The Company and their patience is wearing thin.
We spent yesterday's evening at home doing nothing special. The Assassin cooked something simple and then she lay down on the couch with me watching TV while I checked a few things on my phone and sent some reports to Winston in order to show him that I'm being responsible and working. I also called Nonna's granddaughter and asked her about my cats. "They're getting fat..." was the answer, when I show up to pick them up they won't want to come home with me, that's for sure... Before we went to sleep at night, Ares insisted on removing my T-shirt and she forced me to lie down on my side after giving me another painkiller. She applied an anti-inflammatory cream all over my bruise with great care, her fingertips barely grazing my bluish skin, and I started feeling better immediately. Her hands slipped then to my hip and slid up along my back, her lips left a soft kiss on my nape and I can't remember anything else. When I woke up next morning her side of the bed was still warm, Ares was making breakfast while I blinked trying to clear my mind after sleeping like a log for hours in her arms.
I got up to go to the bathroom, even if I was very comfortable and didn't want to move at all, and when I went out the scent of tea and toasts with jam drew me like a magnet. My bodyguard said good morning, kissed me and gave another painkiller with a smile. I was still a bit sore and taking a deep breathe was impossible but I felt so much better and was able to walk without holding my rib all the time so we decided to go for a walk around the neighbourhood after taking a shower... I needed Andreja's help because it hurts like a bitch when I try to raise my arm so she helped me to wash my hair while she was sitting on the edge of the bathtub and I was sitting between her open legs. It was odd... one of the most pleasant and at the same time sensual experiences of my life: she used slow motions, her fingertips grazed my scalp calmly like a massage, rinsing the shampoo and then brushing my hair gently again and again like she was in a trance. And yet there was nothing sexual in her caresses but a lot of tenderness.
The truth is that I hadn't noticed it till today due to my encounter with Finn and Angela's shot but, now that my mind is clearer, I can see that Ares is way more relaxed by my side, more affectionate, more sweet, more... I don't know... she's always been kind to me, well almost always, and she was worried about my safety since it's her job. She's made sure that I'm comfortable with her, that my meals are delicious and healthy and I have a reasonable work schedule, and in addition to this nobody can deny that she's dominant inside and outside her bed. But this is different. It seems that she can't help touching me and I'm not talking about when she helps me to get out of a car, she puts my jacket on my shoulders or she holds my hand so she doesn't lose me in the crowd. She puts her hand on my cheek without any reason, she plays with my ponytail while we wait for our Caprese salads sitting at the Biffi Café, the eldest of Milan, and then she let me choose all the desserts I wished directly without eating a second course of fish or meat. She laughed hard for some minutes at my bewildered face but I'd never seen so many delicious things all together in the same dessert table: chocolate cake, fruit tarts, tiramisu, blueberry cheesecake, strawberry panna cotta, chocolate, coffee and cream cannoli... I finally picked out four and I shared them with her while she had her arm placed on the back of my seat and her fingers played with my hair again...
I believe Dragan's death took a weight off Ares' mind and her dominant personality has stepped back a little letting Andreja take control but this is something more: it's Andy the one who's surfacing now and the truth is that, the more I know about this third personality of the Assassin, the more I like her because she's lovely but she confuses me at the same time. I understand that this is the beginning of a new stage in her life but after all, what has it to do with me? When she finishes Aidan off and I don't need protection anymore she'll leave me, okay? There's no need to act in front of the world like we're a couple, defying the homophobic people's nasty looks every time we bump into one or causing envy in boys and girls that stare at her mesmerized by her angel face before turning and seeing me standing next to her. And of top of that my conscience has decided to go mute now that I need it most.
A loud bang behind me startles me and I turn around scared, letting drop on the ground a bag from Prada's store where I have my new two light blue shirts since I wasn't able to pick out just one. A waiter from a near coffee shop has tripped carrying a metallic tray and the glasses hitting the mosaic have sounded like a shot. I feel my heart beating in my throat and I think I'm going to have a panic attack till Ares cradles my cheeks with her warm hands and forces me to look at her right into her eyes, she's totally focused on my face while she whispers:
"I'm here..." I relax immediately feeling stupid and I nod: I know she won't let anything happen to me. The Assassin kisses my lips, she picks my bag up from the ground and points at the little tailor's shop at the end of the gallery where we've left my coat to be fixed the moment we arrived. It should be ready and we can go back home.
Later that night, Ares asks me if I want something for dinner but I can't eat a single bite after all those desserts so I'm happy with an apple. I wait for her to come out of the bathroom sitting on the bed while I send a text to my mum to tell her that I've bought several bottles of a very expensive olive oil in a Milan's fancy shop and they're going to send them directly to her house via FedEx. "Okay" is the only answer I get. "You're welcome, mum," I grumble while rolling my eyes. If she's usually cold when it comes to show affection, via telephone my mum is outright rude. Even if you don't like technological devices, you should at least take the trouble to type a 'thank you' from time to time, shouldn't you? I look up when I notice a tug on my T-shirt: the Assassin is in front of me with the tube of cream in her hand ready to apply it over my bruise again.
I pull off the garment quickly but carefully and I lie on my side blushing, the look Ares has shot at my breasts was definitely hungry and has sent a shiver down my spine. Her fingers spread the cream gently over the bluish and purple skin... to be honest it looks awful and hurts like hell when I take a deep breathe or move suddenly but I'm feeling better little by little, above all because I've found out which kind of movements I must avoid in order to stop my rib from complaining. The Assassin cleans her fingers with a wet towel and tugs subtly at shoulder to force me to lie on my back. Her eyes rake all over my body from head to toe smirking mischievously. I swallow hard worried.
"Andreja, I can't..." I whisper but she puts her index on my lips before grazing my breasts with her fingertips and tugging at my panties, sliding them down my legs. I let her do whatever she wants since arguing with my bodyguards is useless, I don't know what she has in mind right now but it's not going to happen tonight: there's no chance that my sore side can go through a wild sex session the way she likes it. I'd probably end up crying simply because of my pants and not exactly from pleasure but from pain. "Andy, please..." I beg one more time but she hushes me.
The Assassin opens my legs slowly with great care till she notices me flinching slightly and then she kneels down between them. Her eyes rake all over my body again stopping for a moment at my hardened nipples while my cheeks turn redder than a beet. She leans forward slowly, hovering over my hips, sliding a fingertip sweetly from the hickey on my neck, between my breasts and over my abdomen and side till she reaches my right hand on the mattress bringing it to her mouth. She licks my fingers one by one, sucking them into her mouth while she keeps her eyes fixed on mines, insisting again and again on my index and middle finger, coating them with her saliva. Then she closes her own fingers around my wrist and puts my hand on my pussy, pulls away slightly and waits... I look at her confused for a second till I understand what her intentions are and I open my eyes wide blushing embarrassed.
Ares wants an erotic show and has made sure she's at the front row.
I swallow hard and start moving my fingers slowly in circles, not quite sure of what I'm doing. The Assassin looks at me and smiles encouraging me to keep touching myself, then she fixes her eyes on my crotch and licks her lips. I hold my breath and move my fingers more confidently before raising my hand to her mouth level, Ares tongue licks them and I rub my core again... this time I let out a lengthy moan and she's the one holding her breath but never averts her eyes from my body. My arousal skyrockets while I feel her eyes like a burn on my pussy, I move my fingers faster panting but the pain on my side forces me to slow down a little my pace, taking shallow breaths. Now I understand Ares' plan, she wants me to be in control so I know how far I can go without sudden movements and never putting too much pressure on my side.
I make my middle finger slip down deliberately slowly and I slide it into my pussy, I'm extremely wet and hot, I thrust again deeply and the Assassin's eyes open wide while she bends slightly forward in order to have a closer look. My free hand grabs the sheets in my closed fist while I slide my soaked finger over my clit, rubbing back and forth, before thrusting it into my pussy again looking for more of my juices. My breathing turns erratic even if I'm trying to restrain myself so my rib doesn't complain while my finger moves quickly on my sensitive node, slipping over the wet flesh. Ares puts her hands on the inside of my open thighs, her thumbs graze my groin while she tilts her head even more hovering over my core, her eyes don't miss a single detail of my movements and I almost can feel her warm breathe fanning my pubis.
My finger travels nonstop from my clit to my soaked opening and back again mesmerizing my bodyguard till I can't take it anymore and cum biting my lip and whining, trying to hold back my gasps so I don't feel pain. I collapse on the mattress breathing hard, releasing the sheets and putting my hand on my ribs. Ares keeps staring at my core entranced, her hand locks around my wrist firmly and shoves my fingers into her mouth, licking them thoroughly till they're clean. She lowers her head then and thrusts her warm tongue inside my pussy, licks my labia dodging my sensitive clit and leaves gentle pecks on my pubis, my abdomen, my nipples and finally my neck. The Assassin looks at me with a straight face and whispers:
"Croatia."
"Whatever you want," I answer while trying to catch my breath. After all I could go to hell for her, her native country is around the corner compared to that.