10. Friends, She Says
Chapter 10
Friends, She Says
Giordano
My amore’s flustered . There are two things in my life I hold dear in my heart.
My family, and food.
Antonella’s steadily, and unknowingly , plowing her way in as a third. There hasn’t been a single moment where she hasn’t been occupying my thoughts. Does she live inside my head rent free? No.
She owns my fucking mind.
Hell, I’m paying her the rent.
Still, I’m not about to let her do all these dishes by herself. Her eyes go round as she stares at me shirtless, then she focuses back on the task at hand, placing silverware into the dishwasher. I carry glasses from the table to her and she puts them in.
A perfect system. Yes, we are.
“Where’s your um…” Antonella blinks and rubs her eyes. “Your um…” She snaps her fingers together a few times.
“My what?” I raise a brow, enthralled by her.
“Dish soap!” She smiles, flashing me one of those pretty little dimples on her cheeks, content with her success in finding the words .
I chuckle and reach past her underneath the sink, pul out the dishwasher pod, and place it in the little spot. “Take a picture, amore. It’ll last longer.” And set it as your wallpaper on your phone. Let people know you belong to me now.
She looks away from me while blushing a gorgeous rose. “I’m not staring.”
Part of me is hoping she’ll take a picture. But it’s far-fetched of me to think she’ll set it as her lock screen photo. Maybe I could figure out how to change it when she’s not looking—Xander would know.
“Bugiarda .”
She gulps and bites down on her deliciously plump bottom lip.
I want to bite those lips, instead. Kiss them. Put her down on her knees with those lips wrapped around my cock. Sucking on it until I cum in her mouth ? —
“Allora, would you look at the time!” She’s looking at her wrist—with no watch.
I raise a brow, not saying anything. Does she want to end our lovely evening early? She’s been acting weird ever since I told her about my job. Okay, sure. I gave her a hint at what I do. A partial truth. Could she have figured it out already?
The blood stain certainly didn’t help.
A small smile perks up at the top of my lip. Maybe I can ease her back down. We are making such progress. It’d be a shame if she didn’t trust me anymore. “Such a shame… I was hoping to take you out. Go get some yummy gelato. I know a place…” I trail my fingers gently up her forearm.
She doesn’t pull away from me. Instead, she leans into it, as if she’s enjoying my touch. Don’t tempt me now, bella. “Gelato? After all the food you inhaled? I’m going to have to hold you to the offer, um, domani. I need sleep.” She giggles. Such a cute little laugh.
There’s my girl—seeming more like herself.
“Domani.” I wave .
“Goodnight.” She walks by me, over to the staircase.
“Pleasant dreams, amore,” I say in a low, hushed tone. Dream of me.
Gelato .
Why did I have to ask her to go out for gelato? Stupido . She would’ve been more likely to have said yes to a simple stroll along the lake. Then again, maybe a walk in the dark isn’t comforting to her. She should know by now I’ll always be there to protect her.
I groan as I walk into my bedroom. I strip the rest of my clothes off and walk into the shower. I let the warm water run over my sore, tired body.
There are a few spots where blood from earlier is stuck on my skin. Not mine—the other guy’s. Slowly but surely, we are getting closer to finding where Cillian is. The fact I ran into him, and he knew Antonella, isn’t a good sign.
He wants her.
And I need to keep her away from him. And I have no idea what he wants her for . If she’s already on his radar—she isn’t safe.
I throw a fresh pair of boxers on and slide into the black silk sheets. My mind wanders, thinking about protecting the woman down the hall.
She wants to live a normal life. She deserves much more. She’s staying here for a little bit. She’s getting back on her feet. I’m doing her a favor in exchange for what she did for me. This is temporary .
Amici.
However, my heart, and cock , disagree.
I wake up to the delicious scent of bacon coming from the kitchen. My stomach grumbles. I throw on some grey sweatpants, a white t-shirt, and brush my teeth in record time before heading downstairs.
As soon as my feet hit the cold, wood floor there’s sizzling coming from the kitchen and the scent of bacon. As I enter, expecting to find Maria, I’m pleasantly surprised to find Antonella hovering over the stove again with her long, wavy hair pulled up into a messy bun. She’s wearing an oversized grey sweatshirt and denim shorts, leaving little to the imagination.
I let out a low groan at the sight of the bottom of her ass cheeks as she stands up on her toes to reach. My cock stiffens, bulging out my grey sweatpants as if he has a mind of his own. I immediately shift over so the counter’s blocking the bottom half of my body.
I cross my arms, smirking at her, waiting for her to notice how I’ve been watching her this entire time. However, my silent, creepy staring doesn’t last long. I finally say, “Did you give Maria the morning off, too?”
She screams a high pitch squeal—clearly not realizing I’ve been here.
Admiring her every single move.
“Oddio.” She releases a shaky breath—which then morphs into a fit of nervous laughter. “ No .” She turns and shoves a handful of bacon into her mouth. She outstretches her arm, giving me a few slices. “I’m not used to having anyone cook for me. It feels… weird. And I was hungry, so…”
I give her a cheesy grin, eating the delicious bacon while looking at a beautiful woman.
Start to a perfect day—I’ll say.
“You work today?” She shoves another piece of bacon into her mouth.
What I wouldn’t give to stuff my thick, hard cock between those lips right now.
I pull myself out of the thoughts, answering her question, “No, Saturday means no office appearance requirements. ”
“Me either. I mean, I don't work in an office anymore. What I meant is… I’m not on this weekend’s schedule.” She beams at me. I love her smile. It suits her.
Perfetta .
“Wonderful. You can come to my family dinner tomorrow.”
Her face goes white as a ghost as she gulps. “F-family dinner? I mean… We just met.”
“If you don’t want to, that’s alright.” Cazzo. It’s a shot in the dark asking her to meet the family already. She’s eased into my life as if she’s belonged here all along.
“N-no, wait. I’ll come.” She gives a lopsided grin.
Cum on my face. I shake the thought from my mind.
“Why not, you know? I’d love to listen to awkward stories about the handsome Giordano growing up,” she adds.
“So, you think I’m handsome, no?” I scratch my chin, smirking at her.
She flicks my chest and rolls her eyes, turning back to the pan with sizzling bacon. I don’t care for all the eye rolling she does.
I want to spank her perfectly round ass. It’s taking every self-controlling cell in my body to not touch her.
“I’m going to go shower, but would you like to take a walk with me by the lake?”
She spins around, handing me more bacon on a plate. Her face lights up while nodding incessantly. “I love the view, by the way. Breathtaking .”
“Yes, you are.”