"Hey, we're heading to the club for a bit. Luciano wants to check on something. You wanna come?" Angelo asks me, popping his head into my room.
"No thanks. You guys go ahead." His face falls a little but he nods, sending me a smile before leaving. I sigh, shutting my laptop and heading downstairs. I hadn't eaten dinner yet so I was starving. Opening the fridge, I spot some leftover lasagna and reheat it. I'm in the middle of my dinner when Emilia and Sofia come downstairs.
"Hey. I thought you followed the boys." Emilia says, coming over and stealing some of my lasagna. I playfully glare at her as she just chuckles, sitting down beside me.
"You shouldn't eat so late, Alessa. It's bad for your health." Sofia says in a motherly tone and I smirk cheekily, "yes mum." She rolls her eyes, lightly whacking the back of my head as she sits beside Emilia. We start chatting and I don't even realise the time until Emilia lets out a huge yawn. Glancing at my phone, my eyes widen when I realise it's already almost 3 in the morning.
"It's already 3."
Sofia frowns, glancing at her phone.
"The boys aren't back yet. They should have been back by now."
"Maybe they decided to have a drink."
Emilia says but I can't shake the feeling that something has happened. Emilia and Sofia call Angelo and Luca but neither of them pick up. Luciano doesn't pick up his phone either when Emilia calls him and that's when we really start to worry. Emilia is about to call James, one of Luciano's men who followed them when we hear the front door open. The three of us rush to the living room, my hand on my gun in case it's not the boys.
The three boys walk in and our eyes widen at the sight of them. They're all bruised and bloodied. Emilia and Sofia rush over to their partners, checking them for injuries. Luckily, Luca and Angelo are not seriously injured, just a few bruises and cuts. Most of the blood isn't even theirs.
"Don, we need to get you stitched up." Angelo says, bee lining towards Luciano.
That's when I notice that Luciano is clutching onto his arm, blood dripping off his torn suit.
"I got it." Is all he says gruffly before disappearing up the stairs, footsteps thundering angrily. Not giving any of us the chance to even look at his injury closely.
"What happened?" I ask and Luca answers.
"We were ambushed outside the club as we were leaving. One of the workers in the club turned on us and was working for Connor. When we got there, he must have informed Connor and that bastard was waiting with his men in the parking lot to ambush us."
"Was anyone else hurt?" Emilia asks and Angelo shakes his head.
"We outnumbered them. Killed most of Connor's men but he escaped. He's the one who shot Luciano but the bullet grazed his arm. Luciano managed to shoot him in the leg though."
"Shit, this is bad. I'm glad you guys are okay though."
The boys nod tiredly, smiling weakly at us. The girls take them up to their rooms to clean them up and tend to their wounds, leaving me alone in the hall. I walk back to the kitchen, pouring myself a glass of whiskey. I keep glancing at the stairs, deciding if I should head up and check on Luciano. Get your ass up there. What are you still doing down here.
There was also the possibility that he didn't want to be disturbed right now. He was in a terrible mood when he walked in which was understandable and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to see my face right now.
Stop being a pussy. You know you want to check on him.
Groaning softly, I down my whiskey for liquid courage before pouring another glass. Maybe he might let me in if he sees the alcohol. I pause at the foot of the stairs leading up to his floor. I remember Emilia telling me that no one goes up there and I grimace. He was definitely gonna kill me this time around. Oh well. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't know if he was okay. Taking a deep breath, I climb up the stairs. The upper floor is huge and expansive. I can see a gym at the end of the hallway, a mini kitchen and a TV room. All the doors are open except one and I'm guessing that's his bedroom. I knock lightly but there's no sound. Opening the door slowly, I peek into the huge room. Only a bedside lamp is on casting a dim shadow across the room. That's when I notice that the bathroom light is on, the door open. I gingerly step into the room, making my way to the bathroom.
Luciano is standing in front of the sink, clad only in pair of sweatpants. His hair is damp and I realise that he must have just taken a shower. The smell of his shower gel and cologne washes over me as I walk across his room. I open my mouth to inform him of my presence so that he doesn't shoot me when I notice him staring at me through the mirror. Guess he heard me knock after all. My mouth turns dry at the shirtless sight of him, his muscular back and six pack making me clear my throat quietly. Dammit Alessa, the man is bleeding and you're getting hot and bothered.
He doesn't say anything, those steel grey eyes watching my every move carefully. I step into the bathroom and wordlessly hand him the glass of whisky. He glances down at it before looking back at me, accepting it. He's in the middle of cleaning his wounds and I see that the graze wound still bleeding.
"May I?" I ask quietly motioning towards his injured arm. He just nods, an almost confused expression on his face. It was adorable to be honest. Hopping up on the sink counter so that I could reach his arm comfortably, I remove the disinfectant from the open first aid kit and start cleaning his wound. He doesn't say a word, his gaze trained on me, sipping his whisky. His gaze unnerves me but I try my best to focus on the task at hand, not looking him in the eye.
Once I stop the bleeding and stitch his wound, I start cleaning the tiny cuts all over his face. Leaning back slightly, my eyes roam all over his face and body making sure I didn't miss any wounds or cuts. Satisfied with my work, I put everything back in the first aid kit.
"Done." I whisper and make a move to get down when he does something that stops my heart for a minute.
He hugs me. Tight. I freeze, completely in shock.
"Umm Don?" I ask almost meekly. His grip tightens.
"Don't call me that." His voice low and muffled. I suppress a shiver as his lips move against my bare neck.
What does he mean don't call him that?
"Luciano?"
"Try again."
I gulp, my voice hoarse.
"Vincenzo?" He lets out a growl, an actual growl and I widen my eyes. Did he hit his head during the shootout?
"I'm not drunk and no, I did not hit my head anywhere."
How does he always know what's going on in my head.
"Uhh why are you hugging me? All I did was bandage your wounds."
"Do you want me to stop?"
Did I- hell no. His warmth enveloped me completely, making me feel safe and protected. At peace. Ah I was gonna burn in hell anyway.
"No."
I can feel him smirk against me and I roll my eyes, my arms automatically coming around him.
He pulls back slightly, his arms still holding me close to his chest. His gaze smoulders and I fight a blush down.
"I'm sorry." He says with the most sincere apologetic expression I've seen.
"What I did was unacceptable. I wasn't mad at you because you improvised, I was mad because I didn't know where you were or if you were okay and I took it out on you. I really am sorry, dolchezza."
"I'm sorry too. I should have found a way to make sure you guys could still keep tabs on me. But this won't be the last time we argue Vincenzo. The next time you get angry at me, I won't tolerate you putting your hands on me." I say softly but firmly. I forgive him but he needed to know that I wasn't gonna be submissive or be in a relationship that was borderline abusive.
He nods, "I know and you have my word cara, it will never happen again. No one will ever put their hands on you."
I roll my eyes, "you can't protect me from the world Vincenzo. I'm not some damsel in distress that you need to save."
He chuckles, "you definitely don't need saving. But you're always fighting for everyone else. Let me fight for you."
I swear to god, I melted on the spot. My cheeks were burning red and I knew it wasn't gonna change anytime soon.
"Why?" Is all I can say.
He tenderly tucks a tendril of hair behind my ear, my skin burning at his warm touch.
"Because the very first time I saw you in your apartment, that mischievous yet deadly glint in those beautiful eyes of yours, I was hooked. And then you called me by my middle name and I was a goner."
"That was pretty smooth Moretti. How long did it take you to come up with that?"
Luciano bursts out into laughter, "Your feistiness is the other thing that drew me in."
I smile before I remember something.
"We can't do this Vincenzo. We work together and I will have to leave when this is over. We shouldn't-"
He places a finger on my lips, effectively shutting me up.
"You and I make a great team naturally. That is an asset for our work. As for you leaving, sorry to break it you baby but you're not going anywhere."
I raise an eyebrow at his possessive tone. "Oh really?"
"Yes really. I'm not stopping you from working but I don't want you working for the CCC anymore. It's not safe."
I nod, agreeing with him.
"I wasn't planning to go back actually. But me quitting isn't as easy as it sounds. I will have to go off the grid Vincenzo. Being with you will only put you in danger."
He smirks, "I face danger everyday dolchezza."
"This is different. There will be a target on my back. The only way they will leave me alone is if I return in a body bag. And they won't hesitate to put you in one too if you get in the way."
His eyes flash dangerously with anger and his grip on me tightens.
"They are not touching a single hair on you. We will face them together. You and me, we're a team cara. We're unstoppable."
I smile at his words, playing with the hair at his nape.
"I have to warn you, I'm not good at this. I don't know how to do this relationship shit."
"Neither do I. You're my first serious girlfriend. We're gonna do this our way."
I raise my eyebrow, "Girlfriend?"
He raises one right back pretty sexily I have to add.
"I'm not sharing you with anyone dolchezza."
"Neither am I. But you're not winning that easily Vincenzo. You're gonna have to earn the title of being my boyfriend."
He just smirks, eyes glinting with determination.
"Challenge accepted baby. The first step though is for us to go to sleep."
He lifts me from the counter effortlessly and carries me bridal style to his bed, ignoring my protests about his injured arm.
Gently placing me on the bed, he gets in beside me pulling the covers over us. I moan in happiness as I sink into his super soft bed, feeling as if I'm floating on clouds.
Luciano's gaze darkens as he pulls me close to his chest. Instinctively I snuggle closer before a thought crosses my mind. I jump up off the bed, causing him to stare at me in shock.
"Dolchezza, what's-"
"Your sheets are clean right? I'm not sleeping on Brianna's bodily fluids?"
"I-What?"
"Are your bedsheets clean?" I say word by word and he stares at me for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter, his deep laughter revertebrating throughout the room.
"They're squeaky clean, I promise. Will you come back to bed now please?"
I nod, getting under the covers and he pulls me closer to him.
"You're fucking adorable you know that?"
"Excuse me for not wanting to sleep on dirty sheets." I say haughtily and he places a kiss on my head again making me melt. Goddammit Alessa, where did your backbone disappear to.
"Besides my mother and sister, you're the only girl who's ever been in my room."
I widen my eyes in shock.
"Really?"
"Yes really. I told you, I've never been in a serious relationship before. And Brianna..it was always in my office. But I swear, I cut all ties with her weeks ago and I've not been with anyone since."
"Oh."
He smiles, shaking his head in amusement.
"You don't have to worry about anyone dolchezza."
"I'm not worried trust me." That's when my brain catches up with the second part of his sentence.
"Wait, did you say office? Ewww ewww ewww. I've been sitting in that couch. Oh god, I need to use bleach."
Luciano actually blushes lightly, "uhh you don't have to worry about that either. The couch is new. Mama made me change it."
"Why did she-holy shit. She walked in on you didn't she?" I burst out laughing and Luciano scowls at me.
"Go to sleep baby please."
"I can't imagine. Poor Giada. Walking in on-ahhahaha." He pouts, a full blown pout and that just makes me laugh even more.
"Come here you big baby." I say placing a kiss on his cheek before freezing wide eyed. Luciano freezes in surprise for a second before breaking out into a full blown grin.
"Maybe I should pout more."
It's my turn to scowl as I bury my head in his chest.
"Go to sleep, Vincenzo."
"Yes amore ."
The endearment causes me to blush which is weird since he's called me other endearments like cara, dolchezza and baby before. Yet this one feels more intimate.
"You're blushing aren't you?"
"Maybe I should tell the others about Giada walking in on you."
"You wouldn't. Nights amore."
"Nights baby."
"I love it when you call me Vincenzo but damn it, you sound so sexy when you call me baby."
"Go to sleep Luciano."
I don't even have to look up to know that he's pouting.
"And stop pouting."
"How did you-"
"Shh, go to sleep Vincenzo."
He chuckles lightly placing a kiss on my head as we both fall asleep in each other's arms.