56. Chapter 56
I f Alessia doesn’t want to leave me, I might really come to question her sanity.
My family is beyond fucked up.
Now, my conversation with Sarita yesterday is really plaguing me. Along with the guilt I have for not seeing Vita for who she really was much sooner. I’m failing this family miserably.
It’s late when I get back to our bedroom. Sarita wouldn’t see anyone as she locked herself in her bedroom, and I handed Mamma off to Ezzo to deal with. I’m sure she’ll be turning right back to her pills, and I cannot deal with that on top of everything else right now. Right now, I need to grovel. Beg my wife not to leave me. Ensure her that she is still safe with me.
Entering the room, I find Alessia pacing, and her eyes snap in my direction. We both stand there unmoving momentarily, then she sprints to me. “Are you okay?” She cups my face and stares up at me with worry tensing her face.
Bending down, I capture her lips in a tender kiss, savoring every moment. My tongue gently sweeps into her mouth, tasting the sweetness of honey, soothing the ache within me. I yearn for her to make me feel whole again, to help me forget my failures. I want to feel like the warrior she trusts completely, the one she puts all her faith in.
Backing her up to the bed, we begin undressing each other. No words are spoken as we get naked, and I climb over top of her. Our mouths find each other again, and I slowly enter her. No cuffs, no manhandling, no dirty words, no foreplay.
No, this is different. This is me showing her my pain and this is her letting me do it without words. She’s trying to shoulder some of it for me and only this once, I’ll let her. Because for this one instance, I can’t do it alone. It’s too much for me to bear. I’ve never felt like this before. So overwhelmed and a little lost. Everything in my life leading up to this day is finally coming to a head.
My strokes are long and thorough, our mouths never letting up their assaults on each other. Even when my name leaves her lips on a cry and I’m grunting through my climax. I only stop when I need to come up for air, my head falling against her shoulder.
“What can I do for you, baby?” she whispers, and I finally open my eyes. Her brown eyes bore into mine, face still full of concern.
“Don’t leave me,” I rasp.
The worry lines between her brows increase. “Leave you? Why the fuck would I leave you? If anything, you will try and send me away again for my protection.”
I shake my head and stroke her hair. “No. Never again.”
“Well, I’m not going anywhere.” Her arms wrap around my torso.
“I should’ve seen it coming. I should’ve known that Vita was up to something.”
“How could you, Massimo? She’s your sister, and it’s been no secret that she hates me, but I never would’ve thought she was capable of anything like that. I never took her threats seriously, so it should be me that should’ve seen it coming and didn’t.”
My hackles shoot up as my face tenses. “Her threats? She’s threatened you?”
Sighing, she moves some of my hair away from my face. “That day when she showed up at the hospital.”
“When you told me you could handle her.”
“Yes, and I did. But I still should’ve told you. That’s on me.”
“Tell me now.”
“She was pissed off about your father and said that I was to blame for that. I explained to her that if it weren’t for my love for you, then we would have declared war on all of you for your father’s actions. It didn’t matter though. She still blamed me and even blamed you.”
“If you would’ve told me—”
“What would you have done, Massimo?” I don’t answer because I’m not entirely sure. “You wouldn’t kill your sister for a stupid threat that you wouldn’t have taken seriously either.”
“I would have kept my eye on her. Maybe even saw the Russians coming and…”
“And you wouldn’t have sent me away,” she says softly. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a second. “There’s no point in going back to think about what any of us could’ve done differently. We’re here now, and I am so sorry you lost your sister, but what’s done is done.” She stops and studies my face as I just stare back at her. “You’re taking the blame, and you shouldn’t.”
“How can I not? I almost lost you again today.”
“But you didn’t. I’m still here. You protected me.” She smiles. “The way you yanked me out of that pool and then wrapped your body around me.” She wiggles her hot little body under me.
I manage to crack a smile, but it quickly fades. I stroke her hair more. “I have something to tell you.” Her expression drops. “I think Sarita is playing your brother.”
A giggle bubbles inside her as she tries to choke it down. “Of course she is.” She giggles more look at her in confusion. “Look, if you did to me what Tullio did to her, I probably would’ve killed you. He’s getting far less of what he deserves for humiliating her like that and breaking his word.”
“I thought you’d be upset.”
“I’m proud of her.” She shrugs. “Don’t get me wrong here. I love my brother to death, and if she were to try and physically harm him in any way, I would, of course, go after her whether or not he deserves it. But she will just play him the way she felt he played her. Only better.”
I stare at my wife in actual awe. “How the fuck are you so cutthroat one second and so angelic the next?”
“Angels fall all the time, baby,” she muses, moving her arms around my neck. “So, what makes you think she’s playing him?”
Yesterday…
We’re finishing a nice dinner and wine tasting out in the garden, where there’s a lovely venue in the center. The sun is setting, there’s music playing, and everyone is enjoying themselves. Everyone except Vita.
“I don’t know what to do about her,” I mutter.
“Who?” Sarita, the only one near me, asks.
“Our sister.”
She sighs. “I don’t think there’s anything any of us can do.”
“We’ve all gone through the same shit.”
“We can’t all be like you, Massimo. Strong.”
“You’re strong too. I don’t see you walking around with a chip on your shoulder.”
“Though my demons may be hidden, they are no less potent. I’m simply better at masking them. Believe me.” She sips her wine, and we grow quiet for a while as we watch everyone.
“We know.” She looks at me. “About you and Tullio.”
She snorts. “Of course you do. You know everything.”
Not everything . “Why? He made a mockery of you.”
“Oh, I know.” She smiles and gets to her feet. “And I won’t ever forget.”
“I like that girl,” Alessia says, grinning.
“Little psycho.” I look at her with disappointment. “My father went after your family, my sister went after you, and now my other sister is going after your brother. You sure you don’t want to leave me?”
“You sure I’m worth the constant headache you must have trying to protect me? Not to mention you’re down two family members because of me.”
“If I can’t blame myself for my sister’s actions, then you can’t blame yourself for theirs.”
“You really don’t resent me for it? Even a little?”
“Not even in the slightest.” Her eyes dart away from me. “Hey.” I turn her head back. “I do not resent you, nor will I ever. If I have to choose between you and any member of my family, it’ll always be you. You’re my wife and the best part of my life.”
The smile comes back to light up her face. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing you say sweet things like that.”
“Good.”
“I love you, Massimo De Luca.”
“I love you, Alessia De Luca.”