Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Adriano
When I wake, Eliza is still sleeping. She's on her side facing away from me, her dark hair fanned out across the pillow. The steadiness of her breathing tells me she's still asleep.
There's a novelty to this. I've never had a woman in my bed before. Sure, I've woken in theirs many times but having Eliza here in my sanctuary is something new. I can't decide if I like it.
The uncertainty this woman brings is new to me. I don’t know how to deal with it.
I lie still for a moment, not wanting to disturb her when I get out of bed.
Usually in the mornings I'm out of bed the moment my eyes open.
The early morning is when I do my best thinking.
I go for a run, come back to shower and dress, grab a coffee and head into the city to work.
It's only been a few days but already I'm changing my habits for this woman.
Since she's been here I've lingered over my coffee and worked from home more.
Even when she was locked away in her room as punishment I sat at the breakfast table with my cappuccino until I knew she'd eaten.
That's brought me a few curious stares from Rosa but my housekeeper knows better than to comment.
The best part of the day is slipping away but I can't bring myself to get out of bed. I roll onto my side and move closer to Eliza. She fell asleep in my arms last night and I want that closeness again.
As I put my hand on her waist, she draws in a sharp breath. No longer asleep, she pauses for a minute, then pushes back against me, an invitation I don't intend to refuse.
I caress the smooth skin of her butt then slide my hand between her legs. She parts them slightly and I stroke her intimate flesh until she grows wetter. Wrapping my arm around her chest, I slide into her from behind.
Fuck! Will I ever grow tired of being inside this woman? It doesn't seem possible. I lost my virginity so long ago it feels like it was in another lifetime but when I'm with Eliza every time feels new.
Kissing her neck, I rock my hips gently. She reaches back and curves her hand around my neck to tease my hair. Then she turns her head and draws me down for a kiss. It's soft, tender and nothing I'm used to. This isn't a claiming. It's an affirmation that she's already mine.
I cup her breast in my hand and brush a finger over her nipple making her shudder. We move together, our bodies already in tune with each other.
Too soon my balls tingle and I feel the pressure at the base of my spine that tells me I'm about to come. I spill my seed inside her.
"Do you want me to make you come?" I ask. Until now I've been a selfish bastard with women but I can't be like that with Eliza.
"No." She smiles softly and kisses me again. "That was perfect."
Yes it was and I don't know what to make of that. I don’t want to examine it too closely. The answer might change things in ways I’m not ready for.
Untangling myself from her, I get out of bed and go to take a shower.
As I stand beneath the stream of icy water I think about what happened. There was no punishment, no power play just now. It was two lovers sharing a moment of intimacy. Fuck! How have I allowed this to happen? I doubt this is what Gabriele intended when he told me to deal with her.
When I'm finished in the shower I take my time to get dressed before heading down to the kitchen.
Rosa has the morning off so she can see her grandson before he leaves to backpack around Peru or some shit.
I make some coffee using the fancy machine my decorator insisted I needed.
It's about the only thing she got right.
By the time Eliza appears in the kitchen an hour later dressed in jeans and a shirt and with her hair still damp I'm on my third espresso. I don't usually drink so much coffee but Paolo is back from vacation and wanted to update me on his dealings with Bruno.
With everything that's happened I forgot the little shit's fuck up in Sydney and his subsequent mishandling of a weapons delivery I entrusted him with.
Thanks to him our warehouse in Ostia almost got raided. Bruno was supposed to oversee a shipment leaving from Ostia on a fishing vessel.
It was a job so simple a schoolboy could have handled it. All he had to do was load a few boxes.
Instead he got into a dispute with the dock supervisor, drew attention to himself and had a Guardia di Finanza patrol car circling the warehouse for two hours while half a million euros worth of weapons sat inside it and a boat waited a half mile off the coast wasting fuel.
Paolo had to pull three men off other jobs to run interference. We got away with it, no thanks to Bruno.
Paolo now has him tending bar at one of our clubs. It seems he can’t even get that right. He keeps pouring short measures. That sort of shit could get us shut down.
Damiano doesn’t make mistakes with people but Bruno is proving to be the exception and I’m the one who’s having to deal with it. If my cousin wasn’t the boss I’d kick his ass for dumping this problem at my doorstep.
Since I'm still loath to go to Damiano to ask if I can kill the dumbass, I need to find something to do with Bruno. Paolo suggested I have him drive for me.
Knowing Bruno he'll cause a pile-up on the GRA. If there's a risk of him dying in a hideous crash it might be worth the loss of a few innocents.
"Coffee?" I ask, already getting up to make her a cappuccino.
"Sure."
I get the coffee drip started and froth the milk. When the coffee is made, I slide it across the kitchen island to her. She takes it, wrapping both hands around the cup the way she always does.
Clearly I spend too much time watching this woman if I’ve started to notice such minor details.
I want to caution her not to burn her hands but she's a grown woman. If the cup is too hot she knows to put it down.
"Are you hungry?" I ask. Cooking something would be a pain in the ass right now but there are pastries.
"No, I'm okay."
Eliza leans against the counter, coffee cup in hand and looks up at me.
We don't speak. I look down at my phone, then back at her.
The morning light coming through the window falls across her face and I think about the gala last night, fucking her on the terrace and then ripping her dress off before taking her on all fours in my bedroom. It was wild, animalistic and everything I thought I needed.
This morning proved otherwise. It seems I also crave gentleness. Fuck! Is this woman making me weak?
Almost as if she's heard my thoughts, she smiles. "This morning was, uh, different," she says.
My heart beats faster. She looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to echo the sentiment. Suddenly my throat feels dry. I pick my phone up off the counter and stuff it in my pocket. Then, like a coward, I walk away.