"Well, I guess it would be logical since recently I've been here almost everyday. But I don't want us to rush things, are we rushing things?"
"No, of course not. I like spending time with you and I just never expected to be playing house with someone so soon. As you said before you come here all the time, if you moved in we could see each other every day."
"Yes I know that but my mother always says, 'see me and come live with me are two different things".
"Just think about it. You don't have to make your mind up right now, I'm not rushing you."
I exhaled deeply, "This is the perfect opportunity for us to test our tolerance of each other. If we survive this, then I'll know for sure there's nothing able to break us... I'll move in."
"You will?"
"Yes but if you even slip up once I'm leaving, understood?"
He nodded smiling and I literally thought it was someone else laying beside me.
That however was a flashback from last week when he asked me to move in.
~~~
This week the summer holidays had come and I had already moved in. The only bad thing about this so far was that I had lost all self control.
I took a warm shower using Elijah's body wash.
I wrapped myself in a towel before stepping out of the bathroom. Elijah was already dressed and styling his hair in front of the mirror. He sprayed on his cologne and I took a waft of the scent I've grown to love.
"Look at you dressed all casual," I said.
"I must admit it feels weird after being accustomed to wearing suits everyday."
I hummed as I rubbed my hair with conditioner.
When Elijah walked out of the room my phone pinged and I picked it up to see who it was.
Oh how I would love to see you without that towel. - Unknown
My eyes squinted carefully before I started looking around me.
The end is near for the Rossini's and you are the weakest link. - Unknown
"Elijah, Elijah!" I yelled.
I am not about to be kidnapped again when he's gone away.
He raced inside the room and came forward to touch my cheek when he saw my distorted state.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"There's someone texting me," I admitted.
"Show me," he commanded, his face stern.
I showed him my phone and he read the text before he hissed and squeezes his eyes shut while grasping the phone tightly.
"Fuck."
He pulled out his phone calling someone.
"Luca where the fuck are you? Did you see anyone on my property just a while ago?"
"Then how come there was someone fucking watching Alyssa?"
"I don't care, if I find out who's doing this before you, I'll skin you and them alive at the same time. I'm leaving for a couple of weeks and when I get back I expect to still see my house here." He hung up the phone angrily.
"Go get dressed baby and pack your stuff you're coming to Italy with me."
~~~
Grant dropped us off at the private section of the airport and we boarded the jet to Italy along with his brothers.
"I don't know what else to say than we need to watch our backs," Santino said.
"Whoever that person is doesn't have any sense though involving a woman in this," Dante argued.
"Our best tech guy has tried tracking the number but that doesn't seem to be working, however I still have a few ideas of who this might be," Franco said.
I was pulled closely beside Elijah tucked under his arm while his hands rubbed my thighs in a soothing manner. I saw his brothers looking at us through their lashes and whispering about us. Dante as usual wore his teasing smirk.
"You have something to say Dante?"
"I'm sorry man but you're so in love it's sickening ."
Love? Yeah right.
Elijah opens his mouth to reply but before he could I interrupted.
"Im going to the bathroom," I said before walking off. I really didn't want to hear him reject loving me.
I wiped my face with a napkin before I flushed the toilet and washed my hands. I heard a knock on the door so I opened it and there stood Elijah staring at me for a minute.
"Were you crying?"
"I wasn't crying."
He held my face in his hands and tilted my head up.
"What'd I tell you about lying? Why were you crying?"
"Just leave me alone."
"Did you get your period?"
"Yes and I wasn't crying, I just need some time alone. I'm going through the rest of the flight without talking."
I walked away from him and went to sit at another seat on the jet. I put my earphones into my ear and listened to music until I dosed off.
~~~
We were driven to a very big house in Sicily, Italy that had an ancient but modern look to it. We stepped out of the car to walk the pathway up to the house. Elijah tried to hold my hand but I walked ahead of him beside Franco.
Santino rang the doorbell and a butler opened the door for us. Instantly we were ushered inside and told that Vincent and Isabella were upstairs.
"Hey my handsome boys," Isabella squealed before coming to hug and kiss her whining boys. She did the same to me before she pulled away.
"Your cheating excuse of a father is in his office upstairs," she smiled before walking off.
"Stay in the living room with mom I'm going to talk to Vincent, Okay?"
"Yeah," I nodded then I moved away when I realized he was going to kiss me. I heard him sigh behind me before I sat down on the couch beside Isabella.
"What are you watching?"
"Telenovelas," she answers.
"How are you and Mr. Rossini?"
"We're talking about what happened, but I just don't want to forgive him but I need to. I'm only doing this because we have children together to be honest. We've been together for twenty-eight years, I don't want my time to go to waste now after we've been through so much together already."
"I understand."
She sighed, "How are you and Elijah?"
I sighed, "Sometimes I wonder if I'm wasting my time with him, I just don't feel like he cares about me to the extent to which I do him."
"I'm pretty sure you mean love. But you have to understand him, he's crazy about you okay. He just doesn't know how to verbally express certain emotions. It's hard for him to admit that he loves you but I know he does."
"Okay, but we can't keep using the mafia as an excuse for every area in his life that he's slacking in."
"That's true, but have you ever told him how you felt? Sometimes we can't wait on men to do things, we have to take matters into our own hands."
"No, I'm scared." I shuddered, "What if he doesn't feel the same way?"
"You can always leave if you're not getting what you want out of this. As much as I love what you being with my son has done for him, it's not worth it if you're not getting what you want from the relationship."
"It's not that, I just want him to tell me he loves me. But let's not talk about this," I said exhaustedly.
"Why are you guys here?"
"Someone is threatening me via text he just needs some advice from Vincent and trying to keep me as far away from home as possible."
"What?" She exclaimed.
"Elijah is making sure that I'm safe."
Just as I said that Elijah walks into the living room and plops down beside me on the couch.
"Ma, can I speak with Alyssa for a second?"
"She's your woman." She winks before she got up and left us to blend in with the silence of the room.
I continued watching the telenovela as his gaze burned the surface of my skin.
"What?"
"I can't just look at you?" He responds with a stupid smirk on his face.
"No, what is it?"
I turned to face him and instantly regretted it. The way he was watching me intently with his eyebrows raised in amusement from my snappy attitude made me in turn want to smile.
He had that flawless kind of beauty, the one that was there even without him trying. Angry Elijah is hot, turned on Elijah is irresistible and amused Elijah is just adorable.
"Lets go to my room." He stood up and outstretched his hand for me to take. I looked at it for a while then up at him before I took it and he pulled me up from the couch and up the staircase.
He locked the door behind us when we entered the navy blue painted room. I sat on the dark blue comforters before he came and sat beside me.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm overthinking things."
"What do you mean?" He responds.
I shrugged.
His eyebrows furrowed.
"What are you on about Alyssa?"
"I mean, I feel like I'm wasting my time with you. I have no reason to stay. We've been together for months and I don't know where this is going."
"What the fuck do you mean by having no reason to stay?" He roared.
"I don't know."
"You know Alyssa, you just said you didn't have any reason to stay, so tell me what's a reason for you to stay."
"Tell me how you feel about me," I demanded.
"You already know how I feel about you."
"No I don't, this is why we're arguing Elijah,"
I stated.
"What?" He stood up. "Alyssa I love you, I thought you knew that. Do I need to tell you that? I do so many things to show you that but I guess it's not enough."
"Don't try to make me feel bad about this, it's not like I could just know."
"Well I'm sorry for not expressing my feelings verbally but you could've asked me without starting an argument. You know I'm not the type of guy to say those three fucking words everyday so I try to show you I do with my actions."
"I know I'm sorry I was raised in an argumentative home, I can't break from it."
He sighed and turned away from me.
"I'm sorry," I said and he turned back to me. I pulled him towards me by his tie and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"I love you," I said against his lips. He captured my lips kissing me hungrily and passionately before we pulled away.
"I love you," he whispered. "And I really mean that. Thank you for being by my side."
I was contented, so happy that we felt the same. But even though we were happy, I also believed that nothing lasted forever and trouble was brewing in the underworld. Soon there would be many attempts of trying to overthrow the head mafia family and I would be caught in the midsts.
~~~