19. Luca
Luca
The driver meets us outside the conservatory. Giada's suitcase rests beside her feet in the rear of the car. Her hand lies inside mine, palm against palm, while snow runs down the windows in narrow trails.
"You can change your mind," I tell her.
Her fingers press into mine. "About going home?"
"About any part of tonight. The house is yours whether you sleep there or not. The marriage is yours whether you want me in your bed or across the hall."
"I asked you to take me home and prove that you want your wife."
"You did."
"I have not changed my mind."
The driver keeps his attention on the road. I want the partition raised, the car stopped, and my wife under me. I settle for drawing her hand onto my thigh.
"Say what you're planning," she says.
"Several things inappropriate for the car."
"The driver works for you."
"He does. I would prefer not to kill him for looking in the mirror."
Her mouth curves. "He has not looked."
"He wants to remain employed."
She moves closer until her leg touches mine. "I want firm pressure. I want you to kiss me. I want you to use your mouth on me again. After that, I want your penis inside me."
The driver raises the partition.
Giada looks at the black panel. "He listened."
"He values his life."
I bring her onto my lap and my mouth closes over hers. She catches my coat in both fists and pulls me closer. I hold her waist hard enough to give her the pressure she wants. Her tongue meets mine. Every restrained hour since she left my bed ends against that partition.
She rocks once over my erection.
"Home," I say against her mouth. "We do the rest at home."
The car enters the drive. Giada returns to her seat before the driver opens the door. I take her suitcase with one hand and offer her the other.
She looks from my hand to the house.
"Your choice," I say.
She steps out and places her palm in mine. "My home. My husband. My choice."
"Yes."
Inside, the foyer looks exactly as it did when I left. Her blue mug remains on the table near the stairs. One of her books lies open beside it. Evidence of her fills a house I once kept untouched.
I set the suitcase down. "Where do you want it?"
"Your room."
"Our room."
"Our room," she repeats.
I carry the case upstairs. Giada follows, closes the bedroom door, and turns the lock.
"Take off the pin," she says.
I remove the silver tardigrade and place it on the dresser.
"The coat too."
I obey. She points to the chair. I lay the coat across it.
"You said you would prove you want me."
"I intend to."
"Take off my clothes."
I reach for the buttons of her coat. "Tell me if anything hurts."
"I will. Firm pressure, plain questions, and no distance."
"No distance."
The coat slips from her shoulders. I remove her shoes, trousers, and blue shirt. Each piece joins mine until she stands in her bra and underwear. I remain in my shirt and trousers.
"You are wearing more clothes than I am," she says.
"I'm enjoying the view."
"I want the view too."
She unbuttons my shirt. Her knuckles brush my abdomen as she pushes the fabric aside. She kisses the center of my stomach, then opens my belt.
My hands close around her upper arms. "Giada."
"Do you want me to stop?"
"No."
"Then remove your trousers."
I do. She looks at my erection, then at me.
"On the bed," she says.
"Which one of us?"
"You."
I sit against the headboard. Giada removes her bra and underwear before climbing over my thighs. She takes my wrists and places my palms on her hips.
"Harder than this morning," she says. "I don't want you careful because I left."
"You will get exactly what you ask for."
"I want all of you."
My fingers tighten. "You own all of me."
I pull her down for a kiss. Her breasts press against me. She moves over my cock, slick skin sliding along the shaft, and bites my lower lip.
"Mine," I say.
"Yes. And you are mine."
"Every vicious part."
"All of it."
I turn us and put her beneath me. Her hair spreads across my pillow. I pin her wrists beside her head and wait.
"Yes," she says. "Keep me here."
My mouth travels down her neck and closes around one nipple. She pushes against my hold. I suck harder. Her thighs open around my hips, and wet heat coats my cock.
"Luca. More."
I release one wrist and move down her body. My forearm presses across her hips. She places both hands on my head.
"Use your tongue before your cock."
I lick through her wet folds. She jerks beneath my arm. I hold her in place and circle her clit. Her fingers tighten in my hair.
"There. Do not change it."
I keep the same pressure and rhythm. Her thighs close around my shoulders. She gives me exact directions until her body pulls tight beneath my mouth.
"I'm coming."
Her hips push against my forearm. I keep my tongue on her until she pulls my hair.
"Stop. I need your cock now."
I move over her and reach toward the drawer.
"Use the condom," she says. "I want children with you, but I do not want to change that plan tonight."
My palm rests on the drawer handle. "You want children with me?"
"Yes. Later. After we discuss when."
"Christ."
I cover my cock and return to her. She takes me in her hand and sets the head against her entrance. "Put it inside me."
I push into her. Her body opens around me, hot and wet, until my hips meet hers. I stop there.
"Move," she says.
I draw out and thrust deep. The bed strikes the wall. She wraps her legs around me and drags me closer.
"Harder."
I give her harder. My forearm slides beneath her shoulders and holds her against me while I fuck her. Her nails dig into my upper back. Each thrust drives her higher on the mattress.
"You left me for three hours," I say against her mouth. "I searched this city ready to tear it apart."
"You found me."
"I will always find you."
"I will tell you where I am next time."
"There will be no next time you have to flee after I refused to speak. You can always leave. I won't lock a door or order a guard to stop you."
"That sounds controlling."
"I said you can leave. I didn't say I'll let you go without asking what I failed to give you."
She catches my lower lip between her teeth. "Then give me a reason to stay."
I drive into her until the headboard knocks again. "This house belongs to you. My name belongs to you. Every hour of my life belongs to you."
"Your cock belongs to me."
"Especially my cock."
Her laugh breaks into a cry. I reach between us and rub her clit with two fingers.
"Keep fucking me."
"I couldn't stop now if the house burned."
Her body closes around me. She comes with my name against my mouth. I thrust through each contraction until my control breaks. I bury myself inside her and come, holding her against the mattress while every pulse fills her.
I remain over her until my arms threaten to fail. "Pressure or room?"
"Pressure."
I turn onto my side and take her with me, keeping her wrapped against my body. Her leg stays over my hip. Damp hair sticks to her forehead.
"Water," she says.
I reach for the glass on the bedside table and hold it while she drinks. She takes it from me after two swallows.
"I can hold a glass."
"I am relearning the border between devotion and being irritating."
"You crossed it."
"I suspected as much."
She finishes the water and sets it down. I clean us both with a warm cloth, return to bed, and pull the blanket over her legs.
"This is your room," I tell her. "Your house. Our marriage. None of it is mine to grant you. It belongs to us."
"Your office too?"
"If you want it."
"Your work contains confidential information."
"You are my wife and my partner. I trust you with my life. A financial report is not more valuable."
She runs one finger down the center of my abdomen. "I want to work with you. I do not want a position created to occupy me."
"You found a payment pattern three men missed. I would be an idiot not to use your mind."
"You are not an idiot."
"A rare compliment."
"It is a fact."
My phone rings on the dresser. The screen shows my Don's name.
I answer and put the call on speaker. "Tell me."
"Antonio gave Dario Giuseppe's location," my Don says. "I ordered Dario to kill him after we confirmed it. Dario shot him in your basement after Giada left the house."
Giada's finger stops against my skin. I cover her hand with mine.
Giada looks at the phone. "My father is dead?"
"Yes," my Don says.
Her fingers curl against my palm. "Thank you for telling me plainly."
"Mattia took Giuseppe alive," my Don says. "His alliance is gone. His people are scattering. Tommaso will take the capture as a personal insult."
"He should," I say.
"Mattia is bringing Giuseppe to your house before he moves him to our holding site. I told him Giada chooses whether she wants to face him."
I look at her. "Do you?"
"Yes. I want to tell him I would not choose him."
"He will remain restrained," my Don says. "When she is finished, his fate is yours."
"We meet tomorrow," I say. "We'll bring every financial connection we have."
"We?" my Don asks.
"My wife and I."
"Good."
The call ends.
She sits against the pillows with the blanket tucked beneath her arms. "You said we."
"I did."
"He did not object."
"He has learned not to waste time on objections he will lose."
I kiss her forehead. "Your answer on the phone does not bind you. You may change it before he arrives or while he is standing in front of you."
"I want him to listen to my answer."
"Then he will listen."
We dress. Giada puts on clean underwear, one of my white shirts, gray trousers, and her thick socks. I attach the silver tardigrade to a clean shirt before following her downstairs.
Mattia arrives with Giuseppe ten minutes later. Two men bring him into my office with his wrists bound behind him. His suit is wrinkled, and dried blood marks one side of his mouth. They place him in the chair across from my desk.
Giada stands beside me. I keep my hands at my sides.
"Do you want firm pressure?" I ask.
"No. I want to speak without being touched."
"All right."
Giuseppe looks from my tardigrade pin to Giada's clothes. "This is what Corsini stole from me?"
"No one stole me," Giada says. "I did not choose you."
His lip pulls away from his teeth. "Your father chose for you."
"My father is dead. His choice has no authority."
"You think this man wanted the marriage? He followed an order."
Her shoulder brushes mine as she moves half a step closer. "Luca chose everything after the altar. I chose him today. I would never choose you."
Giuseppe looks at me. "You want gratitude for keeping a defective girl?"
I take one step toward him.
Giada raises her palm. I stop.
"I am not defective," she says. "You are cruel, and your alliance failed. Those are the relevant facts."
Giuseppe opens his mouth.
"I am finished," she says.
I turn to Mattia. "Take my wife to the kitchen. Stay outside the door."
Giada looks at me. "Will you kill him here?"
"No."
"Will you tell me what happens to him?"
"Every fact you ask for."
She walks out with Mattia. The door closes.
Giuseppe leans into the chair. "She controls you already."
"She gave you an answer. You tried to deny her the last sentence."
"What are you going to do?"
I crouch until our faces are level. "You will answer every question we ask about Tommaso, his businesses, and every person who supports him. When you have nothing left to give us, Dario will determine how long your death takes."
The blood drains from his face.
I stand and straighten my cuffs. "You were promised my wife. You leave this house with the certainty that she chose me. Your life is in my hands."
I open the door. Two soldiers enter and remove him. I wait until the front door closes before joining Giada in the kitchen.
Susan sets plain pasta on the island. Giada sits with her hands around her blue mug.
"Do you want the details?" I ask.
"Not now. I want dinner and the financial records."
"In that order."
She studies me. "Did you participate in deciding what happens to him?"
"Yes. He will give us information. Dario will kill him afterward."
"Thank you for answering."
I take the seat beside hers. "Eat. The reports can wait."
She eats half the pasta before she points toward my office. "Now I want the reports."
I move the second chair close to mine. Giada sits beside me and studies the columns on the monitor. Her finger traces a sequence of payments without touching the glass.
I turn the screen toward her.
"What else do you see?"