19. Luna
19
LUNA
I didn’t see much of Massimo over the next three days.
I thought he might be worried about what the marriage between Lina and the Russians would mean for him and our alliance with Emilio. It still didn’t make sense to me why Emilio would agree to Lina’s marriage so soon after my marriage to Massimo.
Emilio admired Massimo more than he did the Bratva. If anything, I thought Emilio hated the Russians almost as much as Massimo did. But if Emilio didn’t agree to this, it meant Andre was acting without his capo dei capi’s permission. It would be seen as a sign of betrayal. It could mean his death.
It could mean the entire family’s death, or at the very least, it would make Mom and Lina pariahs in their circle.
But that didn’t make sense because, despite Andre’s faults, he had always been loyal to Emilio.
A slight headache formed at the top of my head, and I let out a small sigh. I was getting nowhere, thinking around in circles. Had Mom and I been close, I could call her and ask her what was happening. Not for the first time in my life, I felt a small tinge of pain over the thought of our relationship and wondered what I could have done for Mom to treat me like this.
A hand appeared in my line of sight, and I startled, jumping out of my seat on the kitchen barstool. I would have fallen had Massimo not grabbed hold of me around the waist and pulled me into his hard body. I looked up at him with wide eyes. He was almost smiling.
“What’s got you thinking so hard, you didn’t even hear me call your name?” he asked, his voice smooth.
I blinked, trying to get my breathing under control. My hand was pressed against his chest, and I clenched my fist around his shirt without thinking before I forced myself to relax.
I shook my head. “Just about my family.”
He looked at me curiously.
I let out a small sigh. “About Lina’s marriage. I was wondering why Andre would set her up with the Bratva. Do you know the man she’s marrying?”
“I’ve never met him.”
I looked at my hand on his chest. He was in his usual suit sans the suit jacket. The sleeves were rolled up, showing off his tan forearms.
“I’ve heard of him,” Massimo said finally.
“Is he… is he kind?”
“Is anyone kind in this world, principessa ? Especially ours?”
“You’re kind.”
He raised his hand toward my face, his fingers tracing over my lips. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out and taste him. “You still think so?”
I nodded, suddenly feeling shy.
“Hmmm,” was all he said to that.
His fingers moved away from my lips, and I nearly begged for them back, but then he was cupping my cheek and pulling me in close. The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes and gave in to his kiss were those mesmerizing green eyes of his.
As always, his lips were soft but firm, and they radiated enough electricity on my skin to power all of Las Vegas.
My heart skipped two beats before it fluttered excitedly in my chest, racing as if begging to be set free from its confinement in my body and moved to its rightful owner. As if my heart knew something I couldn’t even begin to consciously process.
He pulled away from the kiss first.
I kept my eyes closed, savoring the taste of him on my lips and wanting more.
He let out a small groan before pressing his lips against mine once more, killing me a little with every moment between us.
“You’re killing me, principessa ,” he whispered against my lips, echoing my sentiments.
I smiled a little, shaking my head in denial.
I opened my eyes and took him in when he pulled back a second time. His eyes were dark, his skin flushed, and his lips were slightly swollen from me. Hesitantly, I reached for him. He held still just as I pressed my hand against the side of his face, feeling the softness of his neatly trimmed beard against my skin.
He turned his head and kissed my palm, surprising me. I pulled back, keeping my eyes on his.
He never answered me about what kind of man my sister’s husband-to-be was. A part of me wanted to push. Another part wanted to remain blissfully ignorant. Was I a bad person for not wanting to know?
There was nothing I could have done. And as powerful as Massimo might be, I knew he wouldn’t get involved in other families’ affairs unless it directly affected him.
“When is the wedding?”
“Three days from now,” he answered.
“Will you be leaving, then?”
“Yes, baby. I should make an appearance.”
“I thought we don’t get along with the Bratva. Wouldn’t it be dangerous for you to be there?”
He smiled a little at me as if he found my question cute.
I resisted the urge to pout at him. I was not a pouting kind of woman.
“I wouldn’t go into any situation willingly if I weren’t sure I could get out of it. Don’t worry about me,” he said.
“How could I not?”
He grabbed my hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing my wrist. I felt the move deep in my belly.
“I’ll come back home to you.”
“Promise?” I asked, hating the small tremor in my voice. When had he become so important to me that the thought of something happening to him made me… uneasy?
“Promise.”
I nodded and looked away, not really knowing what to say to that.
“What are you doing home so early?” I asked when the silence became too loud, and the intensity in his eyes as he took me in became too much.
“I thought it would be good to get in some training for you before I leave,” he answered.
I frowned. “Training?”
My nose scrunched up when I got a good whiff of the smell of man-sweat.
I had never known the smell to be so strong, so overwhelming.
Massimo looked back at me, his eyes light with amusement.
I had also never seen so many men occupying one space at a time like this.
I quickly moved up to Massimo’s side when a low yell from the back sounded out.
He wrapped his arms around me and leaned down to say, “Don’t look so worried. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. No one would even dare to look at you.”
And that was the truth. I didn’t think any man had looked at me since I entered the gym, though I was sure they were aware of me here.
They all greeted Massimo with a respectful bow but otherwise stayed out of his way. This was the first time I’d seen him interact with his men, and it was true. The rumors.
They were all afraid of him.
“Do we really have to be here?” I asked. I had never worked out a single day in my life. My muscles were nonexistent, and I felt… lacking somehow, for even being here, in the workout clothes that Massimo had thought to order for me.
It didn’t help that there were no women here.
Perhaps if this were a normal gym, I would see other women working out, but this gym was owned by Massimo’s youngest brother, Matteo, and it was a place other made men frequented to get in shape and become… intimidating.
“Yes, principessa .”
“But your home gym…”
“It doesn’t have what I need.”
“What do you need?”
Massimo led me into another room. He gently moved me forward until I was facing a huge boxing ring, which was occupied.
By both Elio and Matteo.
They were in the middle of a fighting match, and, brothers or not, it looked like no one was holding back.
I turned toward Massimo when Elio got Matteo in the face, causing the other man’s head to fly back, although he didn’t fall.
I had never gotten used to the sight of violence. And I didn’t think I would ever get used to it, no matter what.
“Should we be here?” I asked loud enough for Massimo to hear me. “It looks like your brothers are… using it.”
He smiled a little but didn’t respond. Instead, he let out a loud whistle, causing the fight to come to a stop and both brothers to turn to us.
They looked at Massimo first, then to me, their gaze staying.
I knew I should get used to them, but I didn’t think there would ever be a time when I didn’t find Massimo’s brothers to be intimidating as hell, especially Elio, who looked like his face might crack if he so much as smiled.
At least Matteo was smiling at me.
“They’re going to help me,” Massimo said, pressing his lips to the side of my head.
I blinked.
“Help you with what?”
“Training you.”
“Training me?”
“Yes. I need to make sure you know what to do in case things get bad. And being married to me? That could happen.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think…” My eyes moved over to his brothers. They were silently watching us. “I don’t think I need it. You’ll protect me.”
And wouldn’t that be true? I didn’t know when it happened, but I did trust Massimo to protect me, no matter what.
His eyes softened, and he turned me until I faced him fully. “Yes, I will always protect you. But there will be times when I’m not there.”
I looked off to the side. I wasn’t na?ve. I knew Massimo couldn’t be by my side twenty-four seven, but I didn’t go anywhere. I was mostly at home. And…
I didn’t want to get close to his brothers.
Especially in a boxing ring.
He must have read that on my face because he said, “Is it my brothers?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
“You know they won’t hurt you, right?”
I didn’t know that. It wasn’t like I knew his siblings well, not even Giulia. I was just more comfortable with her because she was probably the least intimidating person I knew, and we were about the same size.
But his brothers? They weren’t as tall as Massimo, but they were taller than most men I’d seen. They could crush me.
“They would never hurt you,” he said. “And in case I would ever have to leave, they would be the ones I entrusted with your protection.” He cupped my cheeks with his big hands. “So I need you to get comfortable with them, okay, principessa ?”
He looked so earnest, I found it hard to deny him anything. I nodded.
“Good girl. Now come on,” he said softly, turning my head back until I was looking at him.
I nodded, not knowing what else I could say to get out of this situation.
We approached the ring slowly, mostly because I was dragging my feet. Massimo looked back at me. I tried to put on a brave face, but I was sure it came across as a grimace.
He helped me into the ring, and I tried to stay as close to the ropes as possible.
“Don’t look so nervous, little sister. We promised to be nice,” Matteo said with an easy grin. I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to make me feel better or not, so I said nothing. Elio frowned a little.
“We’ll just start with some basics. I know it’s more likely you’ll be facing an opponent bigger and stronger than you. I’m not going to show you how to fight them. That’s not realistic. But I want to show a few techniques you can use that will hopefully give you enough time to allow you to escape until help comes,” Massimo said, grasping my chin gently with his thumb and forefinger and tilting my head back so that I was looking directly at him. “Okay, baby?”
I nodded, even if it wasn’t okay. It didn’t feel okay. My eyes moved to his brothers. They were watching us intently.
He pulled away, and I had to stop myself from following him, from moving in close to his side where I would at least feel safe. But that sounded a little unhinged, a little clingy, even for me. I stayed where I was as Massimo signaled for Matteo to come closer to him.
“I’ll show you a few things to do when you’re grabbed…”
Massimo kept talking, but it was like there was a roar in my ears. Not many of his words registered as he used Matteo to stand in for me. He grabbed Matteo from behind, and I watched as the other man effortlessly maneuvered out of Massimo’s hold, and then when Massimo grabbed Matteo’s wrist, the same thing.
Did he expect me to be able to do that?
“Luna?”
I blinked when I realized Massimo had called for me.
He frowned. “Do you think you can do that?”
“I…”
I nodded, even if that was the last thing I thought I would be able to do.
I didn’t know how it happened. One moment, I was watching Massimo and Matteo; the next, I was standing in front of Matteo while Massimo and Elio watched, taking in the spectacle as if they were in the audience at the Colosseum, watching a lion fight off a human.
I felt like I was facing off with a lion, even if Matteo was the easygoing brother.
“Go,” Massimo called out before I could really prepare myself.
Matteo came at me. With a scream, I ran over to Massimo and hid behind him.
No one said anything for a while.
I could practically hear the way all three men were thinking the same thing about me. That I was a coward.
Massimo turned until he was facing me. “Luna.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to do this. I won’t be able to face off with Matteo.”
He frowned. “But you have to learn.”
My frustration grew. “Why?”
“I told you. Things could happen.”
“Like what? I hardly ever leave the house as it is.”
“And do you think the house would be safe?”
“It’s not?” I asked.
Massimo let out a soft curse and looked away from me briefly. It never even crossed my mind that the house couldn’t be safe.
“Of course it is,” Massimo said. “I made sure of it, but there could be times when it’s not. And even if that’s not the case, do you want to spend the rest of your life holed up in that house like a prisoner?”
“I—”
I shook my head.
“Let’s try it again. And remember what I said. You want to go for Matteo’s weak points. His nose, his throat, and his groin.”
I blushed just thinking about going anywhere near Massimo’s brother’s… groin.
“Baby?”
I nodded and soon found myself facing off with Matteo. I tried hard not to run for Massimo when Matteo started coming toward me. He wrapped his arms around me, his grip firm and unmovable. I tried hard to get free, but I…
I panicked.
“Let go of me!” I yelled.
Matteo cursed as his arms fell away.
“This isn’t working. She’s too scared of him,” Elio said. “Maybe?—”
“She’ll be scared of whoever comes at her, no matter what,” Massimo interrupted.
“She needs to learn how to not panic from the fear.”
Anger bubbled inside me. I was sick and tired of this. Of this entire day, of how stupidly excited I had been earlier when Massimo had come home early and I would get to spend some time with him, and with how he had been since the moment we stepped foot in the boxing ring.
I turned away from them and moved to the ropes.
“Luna?” Massimo called out.
I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I did something I never thought I would do in a million years. I slapped his chest.
He pulled back from me, not in pain but in shock.
“I don’t know why you’re treating me like this, but I’m not one of your men to be trained,” I said, and with that, I walked out of the boxing ring and out of the gym. Men seemed to recognize me on sight, and Massimo must have put the fear of God in them because no one approached me. If anything, they moved out of my way.
I found the locker room.
Three men were there. Their eyes widened, whispering something about Lo Spietato’s wife before they scampered out of there, leaving me alone in the room.
I was thankful for that.
I didn’t want anyone to see me cry.