87. What the hell is normal, anyway?
Chapter 87
What the hell is 'normal,' anyway?
Ariana
U nconscious Luca in the hospital is nerve-racking. Conscious Luca in the hospital is annoying.
Obviously, I’d take the conscious version of him any day. But my husband can only sit still for so long, and he usually works out at least once a day, so he’s used to burning a ton of energy. Not to mention the sex we’re both used to having now. It might be a new habit, but it’s one hell of a drug. His sexual frustration added to the realization that strenuous activity and lifting rules out most of our favorite positions, makes for one grumpy Luca Alexander DeVille.
It doesn’t really make for a happy Ariana Ray DeVille, either.
“What’s with the face?” I ask him when I see a particularly deep frown.
“Just thinking about how long it’ll be before we can fuck in the shower again.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Maybe the time will fly by, Hot Stuff.” He raises his scarred eyebrow at me and doesn’t look convinced. At all. “Okay, it’ll probably drag on and feel like forever.”
“Not really helping me feel better here, baby.”
I sit on the bed. His arm snakes around my waist, and he pulls me next to him like he does every time. “It won’t be forever,” I say, my head dropping to his shoulder. “I’m still just happy you’re alive and healing. We’ll go home soon, and it won’t be long before life is back to normal. Well, a new normal.”
We don’t know who Fred was working with. Who knows how long it’ll be before we can leave the house and continue checking off the list of shit to annoy Luca.
Except Lil and I had changed it while Luca was unconscious to be the ‘list of things to do even if one or both of us hates it.’ We added things to it, like do an escape room and axe throwing, things Luca would probably love and we might hate. I’ll absolutely hate the escape room, but Lil will love it. I’ll love axe throwing, and Lil will probably hurt herself.
But at least at home, we can sleep in a bed big enough for both of us. Lil can sleep in her own room and bed again. And if we need to, we can all sleep in one of them. Luca can watch sporting events with our dads. Eventually, he can get back to training.
“A new normal. A married version of normal.”
“What’s the married version of normal?” I ask.
“Well mostly that we’re married.” He grins, and I poke him in his side, where I know he wasn’t wounded.
“Smart ass.”
“It means I get to stalk around the house, asking, ‘Where’s my wife?’ before dragging you into closets and empty rooms for quickies.”
“Sounds good to me.”
His arm tightens around me and he kisses my head with a chuckle. God, I missed that sound. I missed all his sounds. Even the soft snore he does when he’s sleeping in a weird position.
“I can’t wait to get back to our normal, baby. Even if I still get stuck in the back seat. ”
“Well, Lil did call shotgun for life.” I yawn and look at my watch. “She better get back up here with my food, by the way. I’m getting hangry and need a nap.”
I’ve slept better since Luca woke up two days ago, and even though I’m not supposed to be sleeping in his bed with him, no one challenges it. Another DeVille perk, I’m sure, but one I’m thankful for. But even with sleeping better, I’m still tired as fuck. I can’t wait to get home, to our bed, away from the beeps and the nurses. I doze off for a few minutes waiting for Lil, but she brings me a cheesy quesadilla so I guess I’ll forgive her for taking so long. Luca steals a few bites plus eats a shredded chicken one, even though I know his mouth still hurts.
This is after he has already eaten his first lunch. If the man weren’t a giant, I’d think he was a hobbit.
I sip my iced coffee and fight the need to take a longer nap. It’s a losing battle and I doze off again, waking up when the doctor comes in and declares Luca ready to go home.
“Thank fuck,” he yells at the ceiling as Lil and I laugh.
I call Dad. “Ari, my sweet girl, we were just about to leave to come visit.”
“Oh, good, because we missed the bus, and now we’re stuck in the school parking lot with no way home.”
He pauses for a second. “So Luca’s being discharged, and you three need a ride home?”
“It’s kind of a long walk.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can. But Ariana,” oh shit, he’s got his serious dad voice going now, “we will speak about the Maserati soon.”
“I mean, I’ve kind of been through a lot this week. I thought maybe I could get a pass on that.”
“No.”
“Meh, it was worth a shot. See you soon!” I hang up and turn to Luca. “Hey, Hot Stuff, if a girl is twenty and married, can she still get grounded for stealing her Dad’s car and keeping it hidden for a year?”
“No pass, huh? You’d think the old ‘my husband was kidnapped, tortured, and in a coma for five days’ would be worth something these days.”
“Right? Jeez.” The doctor comes back in with the paperwork. Luca gets dressed in a T-shirt and sweats and slips his feet into a pair of slides.
Lil and I move through the room, collecting the things we want to take home in a bag and throwing the things we don’t into the garbage.
“Make sure that card Callie made me gets in the bag, please, baby. Can’t lose that.”
I smile at the memory from yesterday when Danielle brought Callie by after the little girl drew Luca a card and then begged to bring it to him. She flung open the door, climbed on a chair, and threw herself at him before any of us could stop her. He let her hug him for a solid three minutes, even though it hurt. He’ll never tell her that she popped two of his stitches with that flying leap.
“It was the first thing I grabbed.”
Dad and Anthony walk through the door a little while later. “Busting out of here, son?” Anthony grins at Luca, then pulls me in for a hug. I can’t believe how much he’s changed since Luca left home. “Good timing, there’s some decent baseball games on tomorrow if you’re interested.”
“Yeah, Dad, that sounds good. Sitting on the couch is one of the few things I’m allowed to do for now.”
“Marco, you in?”
“Always.”
Anthony looks at me and grins. “What about you girls?”
“Fuck no,” Lil and I reply in unison.
“We’ll find something else to do while you guys watch boys play with sticks and balls,” Lil says .
“We could play with bigger balls,” I suggest.
Luca points his finger at us. “No drunk bowling. I can’t get you back upstairs for a while.”
“One time, Luca. One time.” Lil rolls her eyes and throws her hands up.
“Once was enough.”
“Let’s get out of here. Becca’s making pesto shrimp with fettuccine and breadsticks, and she promised a dessert but wouldn’t tell us what it is,” Dad says.
“Five bucks says it’s cheesecake,” I tell him.
“Ten says it’s chocolate mousse,” Lil says.
“Fifty says cannoli.” Luca stands and wraps his arms around me.
I can’t stop myself from worrying I’ll hurt him every damn time I touch him, so I don’t burrow into his chest the way I normally do. The way I want to. His arms tighten, though, and I release a contented sigh.
“Let’s go home, baby.”
My smile is wide when I look up into his blue eyes. “Finally.”
We walk outside hand in hand. Anthony drove my car here, so he hands me my keys. My ‘DeVilles do it better’ keychain grins up at me from my palm. Anthony follows Dad to his car, and Luca, Lil, and I get into ours.
“It’s good to start getting back to normal,” Luca says as he fastens his seatbelt behind me and settles in. He grins at me in the rearview mirror, and we head home. Sure, we’ve got about ten of Dad’s most trusted men in cars around us, but whatever.
As soon as we step inside the house, Mom and Becca hug us all.
“My sweet boy, I hope you’re hungry,” Becca says to Luca, cupping his cheeks in her hands.
“Always, Becks. Do we have a few minutes before dinner? I want to wash the hospital smell off. ”
“Of course, you have about twenty of them.”
“Good, I think it’ll take half that time to get there and back,” he winks at her.
“A shower in my own bathroom sounds like heaven,” Lil says before racing up the stairs to her room. Luca and I walk to ours at a slower pace. He starts the water while I get fresh clothes ready for him.
“Baby, can I get your help with something?”
“I swear Luca, we’ve only been home for like five minutes and you want a handy already?”
He snorts. “Not that, though you know it’s crossed my mind.” I step into the bathroom, where he’s standing in just his shirt. “It’s harder to get this damn thing off than I thought it would be,” he says almost shyly. I help him with it, pursing my lips when I see his wounds again.
“Come in with me. No funny business. I just want another piece of our normal.”
I go up as high as I can on my tiptoes so he doesn’t have to lean much, and he meets my lips with his. I pull back before we get carried away and strip off my clothes.
His eyes darken as they rake over my body.
“No funny business, Beefcake,” I remind him.
“I hate that rule,” he groans, following me into the shower.
“Me, too.”
I gently wash Luca the way he washes me so often. After I rinse the soap from my own body, I turn around, and Luca grabs my hips, pressing my back against the shower wall.
“Just a little funny business, baby. Please?” he says against my ear. “I haven’t tasted my favorite flavor in too many days.”
“Luca,” I gasp, trying to hold tight to my convictions while need courses through me. When his fingers dig into my skin, what tiny bit of resolve I had breaks. “I swear, if you get hurt?—”
“I won’t.”
He carefully drops to his knees, throws one of my legs over his shoulder, and buries his face in my pussy. Between no action for more than a week and the fact that he’s an expert when it comes to my body, an orgasm builds quickly.
“Oh fuck!” I cry, coming hard on his tongue. He looks up at me with a smug grin on his face. Leaning forward, he presses a gentle kiss above my pussy before climbing to his feet and kissing me hard. I moan when I taste myself on his lips.
Placing my hands on his hips, I push him backward until his legs hit the bench and he sits. I fall to my knees and take his hard cock in my mouth. His hands tangle in my hair even as he says, “I need to be inside you, baby.”
I pop off just long enough to say, “Later,” then use my expertise of his body until he comes down my throat with a loud groan and my name on his lips.
He drags me up to straddle his lap, and he kisses me again. “I fucking love you, Ariana.” His forehead rests against mine, and his breathing is heavy.
“I fucking love you, Luca.”
The bet is a draw because Becca made all three desserts. By the time we’re done eating, I can tell Luca’s getting tired. I feel a little guilty, but only a little, because he started the funny business in the shower.
He’s not ready to get back into a bed, and I don’t blame him. We turn on the TV and settle on the couch with Lil. Luca’s asleep with his head in my lap and a blanket thrown over him within ten minutes. Thankful for whatever this new version of normal is at the moment, I run my fingers through his hair while he sleeps. We might not be safe. We might not be whole. But we’re together. All of us.