Bound By Love: Chapter 9

LUCA

“I have a bad feeling about today,” I said as I steered our car toward the Bardonis’ town house. Bardoni had been close with my father, one of the reasons why Matteo and I couldn’t stand the asshole. He was my Captain, not a good one, and his son was a fucking coward.

“Because of Gianna and Matteo?” Aria asked with a small frown. “I know you’re worried because he took off her ankle monitor but she won’t try anything today.”

I wasn’t worried about that. Since Matteo had caught Gianna a couple of weeks ago, they had either been fucking or fighting. And things had been fucking tense in the Famiglia because my uncles weren’t the only ones who thought making Gianna part of the Famiglia was a bad idea. I shared their opinion but couldn’t say so outright, not only because it would make me look weak to doubt my decision, but also because of Matteo and Aria.

“Bardoni thinks his son should be Consigliere and because of Matteo’s decision to marry Gianna, some forces in the Famiglia agree.”

Aria bit her lip. “I hate that you are having so many problems because of Gianna’s flight.”

“I will silence my doubters eventually, but it’s a pain in the ass,” I said. Another bloody statement was inevitable at some point.

Aria huffed out a laugh when we pulled up in the Bardonis’ driveway. “What is that?”

I followed her gaze toward a massive angel carved out of ice that had been set up in the front yard. The entire yard sparkled in white and gold. “Bardoni likes to impress,” I muttered.

Aria raised one pale eyebrow, and I squeezed her hand briefly before I got out of the car and dropped the pleasant expression.

I opened Aria’s door for her when Matteo pulled up with his Porsche behind my Aston Martin.

Aria sighed as she regarded me.

“What?” I asked quietly.

“Sometimes your expression scares me. I prefer the way you look behind closed doors.”

I touched her back. “I know.”

My eyes settled on Bardoni and his wife. Both were beaming at us, fucking fake smiles on their faces. I nudged Aria lightly and she followed me toward my Captain. He shook my hand before he took Aria’s and kissed it. He helped her out of her coat, his eyes darting toward her chest for the briefest moment. I leveled my gaze on him and he quickly stepped back, and turned his attention toward Matteo and Gianna.

“Come on,” I said to Aria, touching the exposed skin of her back, and led her into the living room. My eyes did a quick scan of the guests—the majority were soldiers from New York but I recognized a few men from Philadelphia, among them Cassio. As I made my way toward him with Aria at my side, I said under my breath, “That’s Cassio Moretti.”

“Son of Mansueto Moretti, Underboss of Philadelphia,” Aria finished with a smile. “I remember him from our wedding, Luca. I have a good memory. I know most of the men in this room, and the women too.”

I nodded. Sometimes I forgot how clever Aria was, but I had seen her grades when I’d prepared everything for her application to NYU.

Cassio straightened when he spotted me and I extended my hand for him to shake. Then his eyes moved on to Aria, respectfully. “It’s an honor meeting you again.”

“The honor is all mine, Cassio,” she said with a sophisticated smile, looking up at my soldier. “How’s your wife doing? I heard she gave birth to your first child a few days ago.”

I had forgotten about that. I gave Aria’s hand a light squeeze to show her my appreciation.

“She’s recovering,” Cassio said, then his eyes moved back to me and I could tell he had business to discuss.

Aria smiled, catching the silent message. “I’ll go talk to Mrs. Bardoni for a while.” She turned around and left, giving me a stunning view of her naked back.

Cassio cleared his throat, his eyes on me, and I finally tore my own gaze away from Aria. “My father’s health isn’t improving. He can’t take care of business anymore.”

“I will announce you as Underboss of Philadelphia in our next meeting.”

Surprise crossed Cassio’s face. “I thought perhaps you wanted to give the position to one of your cousins to…”

“To what?” I asked in a sharp voice.

He met my gaze. “To appease your family.”

I smiled darkly. “My family will bow down to my command if they know what’s good for them. You are loyal, and I prefer to reward loyalty than favor someone because of their blood.”

Suddenly Gianna appeared at my side and gripped my forearm. I leveled my gaze on her, caught off guard by her closeness.

“Luca, can you please come with me for a moment?” she asked in the most civil voice she’d ever directed at me. My body went into high alert at once.

“Excuse me,” I told Cassio, who nodded and stepped back.

Gianna didn’t loosen her grip as she led me out of the living room.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked suspiciously. I didn’t trust the redhead one bit.

“Matteo needs your help,” she whispered, her eyes darting to a door down the corridor.

“Fuck,” I breathed. “Get back to the party and find Aria and Romero before people get suspicious about us being gone together.”

She pursed her lips. “As if I would ever have a quickie with you.”

“Don’t worry, the idea of fucking you excites me just as much.”

I turned my back on her and headed for the door she’d indicated.

“Matteo?” I growled, already losing my fucking patience though I didn’t even know what had happened. Knowing Gianna and Matteo, it couldn’t be anything good.

Matteo opened the door and waved me in.

“What do you want? Gianna didn’t say anything,” I began when I spotted Bardoni behind his desk with Matteo’s knife buried in the underside of his chin. “Oh fuck.”

Matteo shrugged. “Bardoni had an accident.”

I couldn’t fucking believe his nerve. He’d killed one of my Captains in his home, as if I needed more problems than I already had. “Fuck, Matteo, what did you do?”

“If you ask me, I think good old Mr. Bardoni killed himself,” he said.

I walked around the body. Few people killed themselves by shoving a knife up their throat. “It’s because of Gianna, isn’t it? Bardoni did or said something that annoyed you and you lost your shit. I knew the girl would bring nothing but trouble.”

And that was the understatement of a lifetime. Damn it.

“The asshole has been on your death list for a while. He’s been stirring up shit. You are glad he’s gone—admit it. We’ve discussed having him killed countless times. I decided to finally act.”

“Of course I wanted him dead, but not in his own fucking home at his Christmas party. Damn it, Matteo. Can’t you think first and shoot second for once?”

I could tell that he wanted to make a joke, probably about having stabbed Bardoni and not shot him, but I narrowed my eyes and he shut up. “I’ll call Romero. He’s keeping an eye on Aria and Gianna, but we’ll need him here to deal with this fucking mess.”

I called Romero. He picked up after the first ring. “In how much trouble are we?”

Trust Romero to know shit had happened. “Come to Bardoni’s office asap.”

When Romero joined us a few minutes later and took in the scene, he looked at Matteo. “You killed him?”

“Why did it have to be me?” Matteo asked.

“Because you’re the crazy one,” I muttered. His sanity hadn’t improved since his wedding to Gianna. I turned to Romero. “Can you make this look as if Bardoni killed himself?”

Romero grimaced. “Few people stab themselves in the brain.”

“There’s always a first time for everything,” Matteo said with a fucking grin. I glared at him.

“Oh, come on. It was funny.”

I had to stifle a laugh. Matteo was a crazy fucker. “Search the room for a gun that could have blown his fucking head off. I don’t need the Bardonis on my back right now. I want this matter dealt with quietly,” I ordered.

“No matter how we make it look, the Bardonis will suspect something. They won’t believe it was suicide. Bardoni was far too narcissistic to end his own life,” Matteo said.

“Maybe I should put a fucking ankle monitor on you, too,” I growled. “You are a ticking time bomb.” I’d been the one who had suggested he put that thing on Gianna, but apparently he needed more supervision as well.

Romero stopped searching the drawers of the desk. “Even if the Bardonis suspect something, they won’t say it aloud. If they don’t have proof, they won’t seek retribution.”

Matteo shook his head. “I wouldn’t count on it. But we’ll make sure they won’t get a chance for revenge.”

Matteo’s knife was still wedged in Bardoni’s fucking head. If someone entered the room now, we’d have to turn this Christmas party into a bloodbath. “Maybe you should pull your knife out of Bardoni’s head. Nobody will believe it was suicide with your blade stuck in his chin.”

Matteo carefully removed the knife and jumped back before blood could get on his clothes.

Romero pulled a high-caliber Smith & Wesson from a drawer in the cupboard behind the desk. “This could do.”

I nodded. Romero was my best soldier hands down. I knew why I’d chosen him to protect Aria, which reminded me that she was currently unguarded. “Good. Matteo and I will return to the party. Wait about five minutes before you blow his head off, then get the fuck out of here. Matteo and I will hopefully be here first, and in the commotion nobody will notice you are gone.”

Romero was already busy figuring out the best angle to shoot Bardoni and barely reacted when we slipped out of the room and closed the door. The annoying redhead stood at the end of the corridor.

“Make sure she doesn’t let something slip,” I muttered. “And we’ll have a talk about this fucking matter later.”

“Don’t worry. Gianna can lie if she has to.”

My eyes moved to Gianna. “Oh, I don’t doubt she can lie very well if she wants to. But she’s not exactly the most trustworthy person.”

“She’s my wife,” Matteo growled.

“That’s the problem,” I said as I walked away. Aria was clutching a wineglass in her hands, eyes filling with relief when she spotted me. She excused herself from a conversation with a young woman I couldn’t place and came toward me. I gripped her arm and she shot me a questioning look.

I couldn’t tell her what was going on with so many people around us. I led her toward the buffet table, making sure enough people saw us. “Luca,” she said quietly, body tense.

I gave a small shake of my head, and just then a loud shot rang out. Playing my part, I pulled my Beretta and whirled toward the direction of the noise. Aria’s body jerked against mine, fear flashing across her face. I leaned down to her ear. “Stay here. It’s nothing, trust me.”

I rushed toward Bardoni’s office with the other men, shoving some of them away to be at the front. Matteo, too, came running. “What’s going on?” he shouted.

Bardoni’s wife let out a high-pitched wail when she spotted her dead husband. It was a horrible attempt at acting.

When I returned to Aria later and met her worried gaze, I swore to myself that I would never have Aria see me like that, because I knew her agony would be real. I was leading a life full of death, and I didn’t exactly fear dying, but since Aria came into my life I had another reason to stay alive.

Things went smoother than I’d hoped after the Bardoni incident. Bardoni’s wife and daughter didn’t seem to miss him, and his son was a sniveling coward who would never act on his own.

Of course, Bardoni’s Christmas party wasn’t the last time Matteo fucked up.

Business associates had invited us to their Christmas party five days before Christmas in a warehouse, which had been turned into a winter wonderland with fake snow and a bar carved out of ice. Matteo had been in a terrible mood all evening, because of Gianna, naturally. She refused to fall for his charm.

Aria sent me a placating look. “Let’s enjoy the rest of the evening.”

Now that I’d sent Matteo and Gianna away, that was maybe an option.

“Will you dance with me?” Aria asked, her expression hopeful and soft. If we hadn’t been surrounded by so many people, I would have kissed her, but as it was I gave a nod and pulled her against me. She released a small sigh as we began moving to the music.

“Will your sister ever come to terms with being married to my brother?” I asked quietly.

Aria raised her eyes. “I don’t know. I think she really likes him but she doesn’t want to admit it.”

“Why? Does she enjoy making everyone miserable so much?”

Aria pursed her lips, her steps faltering, but I steadied her. “That’s not it. She feels guilty for liking a man like Matteo.”

My lips twisted. “A man like Matteo?”

“Gianna thinks she will have blood on her hands if she accepts Matteo’s dark side. She feels guilty. She wants to be a good person.”

“What about you?” I murmured.

Aria’s brows drew together. Her hand traveled up my back until her palm pressed against the tattoo on my shoulder. “You know that I accept every part of you.”

“I know,” I said, lowering my voice even more. “But do you feel guilty because of it?”

“Guilty for loving you? No, never,” she said firmly, not a hint of doubt in her voice, and my chest swelled with love for the woman in my arms. “If that makes me a bad person, I don’t care.”

“You are good, Aria. Nothing about you is bad,” I whispered fiercely.

She rewarded me with one of those smiles, and I had trouble keeping my hard mask. “I think you may be biased.”

“I’m not. It takes a lot of goodness to cancel out my darkness.”

She huffed but I didn’t get the chance to say more because my phone started ringing. “Fuck,” I muttered. Aria and I moved off the dance floor and I checked the screen. “Matteo,” I said, annoyed. Aria followed me toward a calm corner of the warehouse.

I took the call, feeling my blood boil. “I’m not in the mood to talk to you, Matteo. You acted like a major asshole tonight.”

A female sob sounded on the other end. I tensed and Aria moved closer.

“Gianna?” I asked carefully as I headed toward the door and walked outside. Aria had trouble keeping up with my pace. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“He’s dying,” Gianna said.

I stopped in my tracks. “What are you talking about? Give me Matteo.” My breath left my mouth in clouds from the blistering cold, and Aria shivered beside me.

“I can’t. The Russians attacked us. There’s so much blood, Luca, so much blood.”

My throat constricted. “Is Matteo alive?”

Aria gasped and pressed up to me. “Luca?” I shook my head, and her eyes filled with tears. “Call Romero and tell him to bring Sandro.”

Aria took out her mobile, following my orders.

“He’s not breathing. He was a moment ago, but he’s not anymore,” Gianna whispered.

If he’d still been breathing not too long ago, he could survive. Matteo was a fighter. Aria nodded at me and lowered her phone.

“Gianna, you have to do CPR. I’ll be there soon. I have your GPS coordinates. But you’ll have to get him breathing or it’ll be too late.” I motioned for Aria to follow me as I jogged toward my car. She was fast on my heels and we both got into my Aston Martin.

“Give me your phone. I need to track Matteo’s cell,” I told her, still pressing my own mobile against my ear, but Gianna had been silent on the other end for a while.

“Gianna?” I said as I revved the engine. Static crackled in my ear and for a heart-stopping moment, I thought Gianna had hung up. This was her fucking chance to escape once and for all. If Matteo died, she’d be free. But if she let him die to be free, even my love for Aria wouldn’t stop me from hunting her down.

“I know you feel like Matteo trapped you, that he ruined your life, but no matter what you think, he didn’t do it to make you miserable. For some unexplainable reason Matteo loves you. You don’t have to believe me. You can keep hating him but don’t leave him alone, not now. If you help me save his life, I’ll grant you freedom. I swear it on my honor and my life. Aria is here. She’s my witness. You will get money, a new identity and even protection from the Outfit if you want. It’s all yours, if you save his life.”

Aria’s lips parted in shock, eyes wide and incredulous but I kept my eyes on the street, following the directions of Aria’s phone.

“Okay,” came Gianna’s reply.

That fucking bitch. I stifled my fury and focused on saving my brother’s life. “You have to do chest compressions. Hard and fast. Don’t worry about breaking his ribs. Thirty pushes, two breaths. Fast.”

I could feel Aria’s eyes on me the entire time.

“He’s not reacting!” Gianna shouted.

“Keep doing it,” I ordered. There was silence on the other end, and my throat got even tighter. Aria touched my leg but didn’t say anything.

“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” I got out past the lump in my throat. “How’s Matteo?”

More silence, and I stiffened. “Gianna? Are you still there?”

“Yes. Matteo is breathing again.”

Relief surged through me and Aria squeezed my thigh tightly. She let out a shuddering breath. “Good. Stay where you are,” I said quietly. My eyes were drawn to the rearview mirror where I could see Romero’s car approaching.

“Don’t worry,” Gianna said.

The moment we arrived, I saw Matteo’s smashed car. I hit the brakes, shoved open the door and ran toward Matteo. I fell to my knees beside him and did a quick scan of his injuries. His head was covered in blood, but like Gianna had said he was breathing. Romero and Sandro joined me.

“Called the Doc,” Romero informed me as he sank down on the ground beside me. Aria was talking to Gianna, who still hovered beside Matteo as if she actually gave a damn if he lived or died. Since we’d been little Matteo and I had protected each other; it had been us against the rest of the world—against a sadistic father, against a mother who let her despair out on us, against the enemies that wanted to see us dead.

I looked up from my brother to Gianna. Just seeing her face made me want to kill her. To think that I had to convince her to save Matteo’s life… “Get her away. Take my car and drive her to our apartment.”

“Where are you taking Matteo?” she dared to ask.

“To the hospital. This is too serious for our Doc,” I said, trying to keep it together in front of Aria, but I gave Gianna my coldest smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll honor my promise. When I return to the apartment, we’ll make the necessary arrangements to ensure your freedom.”

“Maybe Gianna wants to go to the hospital with Matteo,” Aria suggested softly as Sandro and I lifted Matteo off the ground.

“She doesn’t. Help her gather her things from Matteo’s apartment, so we can get her settled in her new life before my brother returns home.” I didn’t want her anywhere near my brother ever again.

ARIA

I grabbed a few clothes out of Matteo’s wardrobe even if it felt strange to rummage in his underwear, and stuffed them into the small bag with a couple pairs of sweatpants and shirts as well as socks.

After that, I went into his bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush. My eyes lingered on Gianna’s hairbrush that she hadn’t taken with her. Sandro had driven her to a hotel. She had taken Luca up on his deal. I couldn’t believe her decision was final. I’d seen how she’d looked at Matteo when she thought no one was paying attention. Sighing, I turned and headed back to the elevator.

Even if she changed her mind, I didn’t think Luca would ever forgive her. He was convinced she would have let Matteo die if he hadn’t made his offer. I’d rarely seen as much hate in his eyes as when he’d looked at Gianna yesterday.

The elevator took me back up to our penthouse. Luca perched on a barstool, a coffee on the counter in front of him and his eyes trained on his phone. He looked up when I entered but the tension didn’t leave his face. I walked over to him, dropped the bag beside the bar and stepped between his legs. He put the cell down and cupped my face. “Where is he?”

“In the big guest bedroom,” he said, looking exhausted, shadows under his eyes.

“Soon he’ll be back to annoying you,” I assured him.

Luca smiled wryly. “He was already a pain in the ass when I picked him up from the hospital today.”

I searched his eyes. “I’ve never seen you as worried as you were yesterday.”

His fingers trailed down my throat then pushed my collar off my shoulder, revealing the small scar there. “You didn’t see my face when you got shot.”

“You didn’t lose me back then, and you didn’t lose Matteo.”

Luca stroked my scar then his gray eyes met mine, full of emotion. “You took a bullet to save my life, while your sister would have let my brother die for her own fucking freedom.”

I didn’t try to defend Gianna, even though I knew deep down that he was wrong. Luca leaned forward and kissed my scar, then my throat until his mouth claimed my lips. His phone rang and he pulled back with a sigh, glancing down at the screen. It was Sandro. He picked up and listened for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He hung up, sighing. “I need to go to a meeting with my Captains. We’re going to plan our retribution.”

Surprise washed over me. He usually held back with information like that, and it showed me how rattled he still was because of Matteo.

“I will keep an eye on him,” I said with a reassuring smile.

Luca frowned. “Romero and Sandro are both out. I will tell Romero to come back as soon as possible, but it might be an hour. I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone.”

“I won’t be alone. Matteo is here.”

“Matteo is injured and probably passed out again.”

“Luca,” I said firmly, touching his chest. “Nobody can get inside the penthouse without a code, and Matteo is still deadly when he’s injured. I’ll be fine until Romero returns.”

Luca stood and pulled one of his guns from his holster, then handed it to me. “Just in case.”

I didn’t point out that I didn’t have much practice shooting a gun. He kissed me, before he walked toward the elevator, already lifting his mobile to his ear.

The moment he was gone, I stuffed the gun into the back of my pants, then picked up the bag with Matteo’s clothes and headed toward the guest bedroom. I hesitated. Matteo and I hadn’t been alone since he’d attacked me seven months ago. Pushing back the memories, I turned the handle and slipped in quietly. My eyes landed on the bed where Matteo was stretched out, his back to me. He was covered by the blankets, only his disheveled and still matted hair peeking out.

Relieved that he was asleep, I headed toward the wardrobe on the other side of the bed to put away his clothes. I opened the door.

“I don’t think you need that gun. I’m a fucking mess anyway,” Matteo said.

I cried out, dropped the bag and whirled around, my back colliding with the wardrobe as my eyes flew to the bed. Matteo sat up, brown eyes attentive despite their swelling. He regarded me silently.

He was dressed only in sweatpants, and his upper body was covered in bruises and cuts. He looked a mess but I didn’t relax. I straightened despite my racing pulse.

He sighed. “You can stop being scared of me, Aria. I told you I’d never threaten you again, much less hurt you, and I meant it.”

I wasn’t scared. I was wary. “I got some clothes for you.”

He nodded then grimaced. “You don’t need to unpack. I won’t stay here forever. You can leave now.”

I dropped the bag and headed for the door but stopped when I saw Matteo pushing to his feet. “What are you doing?”

“Going to take a piss,” he muttered, taking a step toward the bathroom and swaying precariously.

I rushed toward him and wrapped an arm around his middle without a second thought. He leaned heavily on me for a moment before he caught himself and tried to straighten, but I didn’t let go of him. I wasn’t sure if his tension was because he didn’t want to show weakness in front of me, or because he worried his closeness would make me nervous.

His eyes met mine as I supported his weight as well as I could. “Just drop me on the bed. I’ll piss my pants,” he muttered with a twisted grin.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, Matteo. I will help you into the bathroom.”

He didn’t protest, and together we managed to reach the bathroom. He was heavy and tall, and I realized with Luca this would have never worked.

We stopped right beside the toilet. “Are you able to do this?”

Matteo chuckled. “What would you do if I told you no? You can hardly hold my cock.”

I blushed and released him carefully. “Well, you could sit down for once, or will that bruise your ego?” I raised my eyebrows at him.

He smirked. With his swollen eyes, bruised body and face, and matted hair, it didn’t have the desired effect. “Nothing can bruise my ego like Gianna’s hatred.” It was meant as a joke, but I caught the hint of bitterness in his voice.

I took a step back. “I’ll give you some privacy. Call if you need my help, okay?”

Matteo didn’t say anything, but he reached for his sweatpants and I took that as my cue to leave. I closed the door and hesitated a moment before I busied myself setting Matteo’s clothes out in the wardrobe. I gripped a shirt and a fresh pair of sweatpants, then put them down on the bed.

Deciding to find some food for Matteo, I went into the kitchen, picked up a ready-made pasta salad and prepared a strong black tea with lots of sugar before I returned to the guest room.

Matteo was still in the bathroom. Worry flooded me as I set down the tray and moved toward the bathroom door. The sound of the running shower made my eyes widen. In the state Matteo had been in, taking a shower seemed like a particularly bad idea.

“Matteo?” I called. Nothing. I reached for the handle then hesitated. Matteo was probably naked, and not only did that make me nervous, but I knew how ridiculously possessive Luca was. I knocked hard. “Matteo?”

Deciding this couldn’t wait, I pushed open the door and stepped in. Matteo was kneeling in the shower, his back curved, palms braced against the floor. I saw his profile. Thankfully from my vantage point his privates were hidden from my view. He was covered in scars and fresh bruises and cuts and blood was streaming down his back, probably from his head wound.

I took a hesitant step forward. “Matteo?”

His shoulder blades and arms tensed. “Leave,” he growled.

“Can you stand?” He didn’t look like he could.

Matteo slanted me a look, brown eyes hard. “You shouldn’t be here. Luca won’t like it if you see me naked.”

I huffed. “He will like it even less if you kill yourself by accident.”

“I’ve survived worse.”

Ignoring his glare, I grabbed a towel and approached him, my eyes set on his face.

I had to lean over him to reach into the shower and close off the water. My breath caught in my throat at the icy temperature. Was he trying to give himself a heart attack? By the time I’d managed to shut off the water from my awkward position, the front of my clothes were drenched and I was shivering.

Matteo watched me intently from his crouch on the ground, and there was the hint of wariness in his expression. I paused. Like Luca, he hated showing weakness, and I wasn’t someone he trusted like Luca trusted me.

I grabbed the towel from where I’d dropped it on the ground and held it out to Matteo. “Can you cover yourself?”

He surprised me by not making a funny comment as he accepted the towel and wrapped it awkwardly around his waist.

“Can you get up?”

He let out a low sound in his throat, a mix of groan and laugh, and raised an eyebrow.

“That’s a no, I suppose,” I said.

“I’m too heavy for you, trust me. Give me a moment.”

I waited and watched as his back heaved with every breath. He braced his arm against the glass of the stall, muscles flexing, and managed to get one knee up. I reached for him but he shook his head. “No,” he said harshly, then softer, “No.”

I took a step back. His body shook as he propped his arm up on his knee and braced the other against the shower stall. With a low groan, he pushed to his feet, then staggered and fell against the shower stall. The thing vibrated as if it was going to burst. I jumped forward and wedged my shoulder against Matteo’s ribs while I gripped him around the middle.

He let out a quiet sigh. “You don’t have to help me. You owe me nothing.”

“I want to, and I owe you common decency,” I muttered, glaring up at him.

“I suppose it’s my special talent to make you Scuderi women hate me.”

“I don’t hate you, Matteo,” I said firmly. “And neither does Gianna.”

He raised his head so I could see his expression and nodded toward the door. “If we go slow, I should be able to support most of my weight.”

It took us several minutes to reach the bedroom when Matteo tensed suddenly.

“Someone entered the penthouse,” he murmured, every muscle in his body taut. I hadn’t heard a thing.

“Luca said Romero would come over.”

“I assume that means nobody’s on guard at the moment.”

I blinked up at him, suddenly worried. The Russians had managed to get into the mansion, so who said they couldn’t get into our penthouse? His hand slid down my back and after a moment of shock, I realized what he was doing. He pulled the gun out of the waistband of my pants and aimed it toward the door, straightening from my shoulder.

“Get behind me.”

“You can’t stand on your own.”

“Get the fuck behind me, Aria,” Matteo snarled, and I recoiled but then narrowed my eyes.

“No.”

Maybe he would have shoved me behind him, but in that moment Romero called out. “Aria? Where are you?”

His voice rang with concern.

“Here!” I shouted, and it took only a few seconds for Romero to burst into the room, gun in hand. When his eyes settled on Matteo and me, surprise crossed his face, and he put his gun back in his holster.

“Matteo thought it was a good idea to pass out in the shower,” I said.

“I didn’t pass out. I stumbled and fell,” he muttered.

Romero came toward us and slid his arm under Matteo’s armpit. I released a small breath when the heavy weight lifted off my shoulder and stepped back.

“I’m taking it from here. Why don’t you go change?” Romero said.

I glanced down. My shirt was see-through from water and giving a view of my white lace bra, but there was also blood on the fabric.

Before I left the room, Matteo’s voice rang out. “Aria?” I turned to him. Romero had hoisted him down on the bed. “Thank you.”

I smiled. “You are welcome.”

Feeling drained, I made my way upstairs into the master bedroom. I took a long hot shower before I slipped into my softest wool nightgown, and lay down in bed.

I was woken by a warm hand on my cheek. Luca’s face hovered over me as his thumb stroked my skin. I blinked. “What time is it?”

“Late,” he murmured.

“Oh,” I said. “I must have fallen asleep. How’s Matteo?”

“Better,” Luca said in a strange voice. I searched his eyes. He was watching me with a look that filled my belly with butterflies. “He told me what happened.”

“I had to help him,” I said indignantly. “I don’t care if you’re mad that I almost saw all of him.”

Luca let out the softest laugh and I frowned, confused by his mood. His hand slid down my side and he bunched up my nightgown and settled between my legs, his warm body covering mine. When his tip brushed my center, I released a surprised breath. He didn’t enter me, only kissed me.

I kissed him back, softening under his heat and strength. Soon Luca’s tongue in my mouth and his body on top of me had me slick with arousal, and he finally eased his tip into me. His eyes held mine as he slid the rest of the way in, and I moaned at the utter fullness.

“I don’t deserve you, Aria.”

He claimed my mouth again before I could protest and soon his expert movements had me writhing and panting, forgetting any word of objection.

LUCA

Four months later

Matteo was chasing Gianna toward the ocean, her high-pitched screaming ringing out. Aria wrapped her arms around my waist, giving me her “I-told-you-so” look. I didn’t think Gianna would return to my brother, but she had. They seemed happy enough. I still didn’t trust the redhead, not one bit, but I was glad for Matteo’s good mood.

“Let’s just hope she doesn’t change her mind.”

Aria shook her head. “You see, once you Vitiello men have wormed your way into our hearts, there’s no escaping.”

Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement.

“I never had the intention of worming my way into your heart,” I admitted because love had never been part of the bargain.

“I know,” she said with a shrug, then her smile turned playful, and my cock tightened. “You only wanted me for my mad sexual skills.”

I choked on a laugh. Aria gripped my hand and pulled me into the mansion.

Later that day, Matteo and I set up a barbecue on the patio. I turned the lamb chops while Matteo picked up a bottle from our wine cellar and Aria prepared a hopefully edible salad.

Gianna stepped up to the barbecue, and I raised my eyebrows. She looked like she had something to say, and usually that wasn’t something good.

“I know you don’t like me,” she said, actually looking nervous. Gianna, nervous? “But I think we should try to get along better, for Aria and Matteo.”

She met my gaze and held it. I still wasn’t a Gianna fan, would probably never be, but she had a point. Aria and Matteo wanted us to get along. “I didn’t like you because I hated how you treated Matteo.”

She frowned as if this was a fucking surprise. “Okay.”

“But I’m starting to change my mind,” I said. It wasn’t quite the truth, but not a lie either.

“You are?”

I turned a lamb chop, and shrugged. “I’m starting to think that maybe Matteo was right and you two aren’t the worst match.” They were both hotheaded and conflict-loving. They deserved each other.

“Thanks? You are really bad with compliments.”

“I’m not in the habit of handing them out. And don’t tell my brother I said he was right. He’s cocky enough.”

Matteo came our way, arms loaded with wine bottles. For an instant his expression tightened when he spotted Gianna beside me. He knew me well enough to figure I couldn’t stand her most of the time, but he needn’t have worried. That woman was safe because she was his no matter how infuriating she was.

“He is,” Gianna said with affection. I forced my expression into something less cold, and Gianna gave me a grateful smile.

Matteo set the wine bottles down on the table before joining us and wrapping his arm around Gianna’s waist. “What are you two gossiping about?”

“You.”

“Is that so?” Matteo lifted one eyebrow.

Aria came back from the kitchen, carrying a bowl. She sent me a questioning look as she snuggled up to me. “What’s going on?”

“Your husband and my wife are discussing my many wonderful traits,” Matteo said.

Gianna eye-fucked Matteo. “You are way too cocky.”

“Admit it, you love my cockiness.”

“Done.”

“Your declarations of love still make my knees go weak,” he joked.

“Your cockiness isn’t the only thing I love about you.”

It was only a matter of time before those two would disappear for another fucking session.

“I need some bloody lamb to cancel out this disgusting display of sweetness,” I muttered. Aria smiled up at me, and I squeezed her hip.

Matteo lifted Gianna up and did some fucking twirl.

“I’m not sure I can stand them together,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Aria grinned. “Admit it, you are happy.”

I hesitated. I was happy, happier than I had been all my life. I nodded toward the bowl Aria was still holding, trying to change the topic. “How did the salad turn out? Is there a chance of food poisoning?”

Aria gave me a knowing look.