25. Fallon
Fallon
“You’re being an ass.”
“I don’t care,” he says.
“I can walk.”
“You can, but you’re not going to. Not yet.”
“Put me down. I’m too—” Luciano shoots me a glare before I finish that sentence. I’ve already gotten in trouble twice for putting myself down since we got home from the hospital. Well, Luciano’s home, to be exact.
He carries me to the bedroom just like he’s been doing whenever I have moved from where he last put me.
Apparently, getting a concussion means I’ve lost the right to do anything for myself.
Literally. I had to draw the line when he wanted to help me in the bathroom.
He’s still not happy about it, but he was even more unhappy when I told him I would just hold it in.
The doctor said I could walk. He specifically said I should take it easy, get plenty of rest, take a week off work, and have someone stay with me while I’m recovering. Luciano apparently thinks those instructions meant that I’m incapable of doing anything.
“My legs weren’t injured.”
He doesn’t say a word because we’ve already had this conversation. Multiple times.
“And I’m not dizzy.”
“I’m glad.”
“Daddy.”
Luciano finally looks at me. “Just let me take care of you, baby. I want to. I need to.”
Ugh.
He somehow always pulls an ace out of the air when he wants to win something. But it is hard to argue with him. Not that it stops me. Arguing with Luciano is becoming one of my favorite things to do.
“You’re overbearing and stubborn.”
“I know, baby.”
“You’re also insane.”
His mouth twitches. “So you keep telling me.”
He sets me down on the soft bed and points at me. “Stay.”
My eyes narrow at him. “Would you like me to bark for you since you seem to think I’m a dog?”
This time, he smiles. “If it means you’ll actually obey me, princess.”
What a jerk. So smug and arrogant. “How many other cars do you have?”
Luciano narrows his gaze. “Five. You planning to take a bat to them too?”
“I’m seriously considering it.”
“Go ahead, baby. In fact, the baseball bat you used on my Range Rover is out in the garage. Just know I’ll be spanking your ass when you’re done.”
My heart squeezes and there’s a flutter low in my belly. “You saved the bat?”
“And the car. It’s parked in the garage. I figure I’m going to piss you off a lot so you might as well have something to take your anger out on.”
I grin and bring my hand up to my mouth as I stare at him, my eyes burning with happy tears. He saved those things like they mean something to him.
I mean something to him.
He disappears into the bathroom and then reappears with a glass of water and a bottle of pain medication. He stays on the doctor’s schedule like clockwork, and it’s really quite sweet. I’ve never felt so taken care of and loved before.
Once I swallow the pills, he leans down and plants his hands on either side of me. “Good girl. What would you like to eat?”
“I’m not really hungry.”
His expression changes, and I sigh because I already know I won’t win. Not that I actually want to.
“Is there any more of that Italian wedding soup you made?”
He rises, pulls a throw blanket over me, and then hands me the TV remote. “Good choice, baby. I’ll be back.”
I watch as he leaves the room, the gray sweatpants he’s wearing molded over his perfect ass. This is the first time I’ve seen him in something other than his dress shirts or suits, and I’m not hating it one bit. The man is fine, no matter what he wears.
I turn on Golden Girls. My eyelids are starting to get heavy when Luciano returns with a tray of food. More than just soup. He feeds me like I’m wasting away. And yet I never turn it down because he’s an amazing cook.
The man has many talents.
Once I sit up more, with pillows carefully propped behind my back, he lowers the tray and sets it over my lap, then sits at the edge of the bed to watch me.
“Are you mad at me about what I did to Joshua?” he asks.
I look up to meet his blue eyes.
I haven’t asked any questions about what he did with Joshua, other than asking if he was dead.
When Luciano told me that he was, I expected to feel something.
Mostly, I was afraid my feelings for Luciano would change, knowing what he had done that night when he left my bedside for a few hours and came back showered and in clean clothes.
Instead, though, a thrill spread through me. The man who I care about killed the man who hurt me because he hurt me. And that made me fall for him even more.
“No. I’m not sure how I feel, but I’m not angry.”
I’ve never been a stranger to breaking the law. There were times we had no food in the house when I was a kid, so I’d go steal from the grocery store. Maybe I should have felt bad about that, but I didn’t. It was survival. And maybe in a way, this is Luciano’s survival.
“He could have killed you that night,” he says tightly. “When I saw you in the hospital, I was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life.”
The thought of Luciano Ricci being scared of anything surprises me. He always seems so sure. So strong.
“I never stopped fighting,” I tell him softly.
“Fuck, I know you didn’t, baby. He looked like he got into a fight with a man twice your size. And I’m so damn proud of you for that. But I couldn’t allow him another opportunity to hurt you. Or another woman. I love you, baby, and I’ll never apologize for protecting you.”
My eyes burn with tears. I push the tray away, so he’ll take it from me. When he does and sets it on a nearby table, he comes back and sits closer to me, taking my hand in his.
“You really love me?”
His eyes sparkle, and the corners of his lips twitch. “More than I thought I was even capable of.”
My heart swells, and I sniffle quietly. “I love you, too.”
Slowly and carefully, he hovers over me, making sure not to put any weight on my body before he kisses me. And when he pulls away, the look in his eyes makes my stomach flutter. The man refuses to fuck me for at least a week, but then he goes and looks at me like I’m his favorite dessert.
I can’t believe I fell in love with Luciano Ricci.
How did I get so lucky?
I’m about to murder this man.
It’s been five days, and he is driving me insane.
“I can shower by myself.”
“Not happening, princess.”
I glare at him. “Daddy.”
“You still get dizzy.”
“Barely.”
“You almost fell yesterday.”
“I got up too fast. And that was an entire day ago. I feel great today.”
We’ve been having a lot of arguments since I’ve been recovering. He’s overbearing, controlling, and yet, despite wanting to strangle him at least ten times a day, I’ve never felt so cared for and loved.
He’s so annoying.
Twenty minutes later, I’m sitting on the built-in bench beneath the warm spray while Luciano massages shampoo into my hair.
His fingers are gentle around the tender spot on my head.
He was able to remove the bandage today, per the doctor’s instructions.
After severely bleeding following the attack, and not being able to get my hair wet since that day, I was starting to feel like a matted cat. But he doesn’t complain.
When I let out a little moan of happiness, he chuckles, though I don’t miss the sight of his cock hardening.
“It’s not so bad having me shower with you, is it?” he asks.
I sigh and hum, enjoying every second. “It’s tolerable.”
Luciano huffs, and it makes me grin.
“You’re such a brat sometimes, you know?”
“Yes. I’m aware.”
“Don’t ever stop,” he says as he gently tilts my head back to rinse off the shampoo.
I open my eyes and stare up at him, swallowing thickly. All my life, I’ve struggled with being accepted and loved, but Luciano gives it to me freely without conditions. He might be controlling, but he’s never tried to change who I am.
“I won’t.”
And that’s a promise.