Saying that Aiden was mad that a new man was driving me home every other day would be an understatement. When Mariano pulled in in front of my apartment building, Aiden was standing there talking to Landon. I got off the car, and both of them strangled me into a hug so that it looked like we were a throuple. Landon pulled away a lot later after Aiden did and glared at me.
"Too many one-night stands, babe? I didn’t know you were that kind of girl." He taunted. I narrowed my eyes at him. That kind of girl?
Mariano stood there, leaning against his car and watched us.
The club was blaring hard rock music. It smelled like sweat mixed with expensive cologne. And, it smelled, vaguely, like gunpowder. But maybe that was just in my head, considering the number of guns I was near these days. The name of the club was The Nostra. I thought it was weird, as it sounded like something related to the nose. Landon explained that it meant 'the thing' in Italian. Too much of Italian. I was surrounded by everything from that damn country. God.Landon made me sit on a high stool at the bar - I'm too short for him, he's like 6', Mariano maybe is 6'3, and why is he interrupting my thoughts? - and ordered me a cranberry and vodka. I was underage, but Landon knew
I woke up in Mariano's arms, snuggled closely against his chest, his face buried in the crook of my neck. I could feel my hair stand on end as our skins kept touching, his soft, warm breath fanning my cheek. I don’t think I’d ever slept like this with a man, except Aiden. I realised I’d had another night without a nightmare. Maybe my shrink wasn't that bad."Hey." I whispered, but he didn't reply, probably still asleep.
Chapter 11The first place where I looked for Mariano was the basement. He wasn't there. He must be in his office, I decided. I made my way upstairs slowly, bumping into Luigi on the way, and telling him that he looked dapper in his suit.I stood on the first floor and looked for his office. Which one was it, again? There were too many doors, all the same looking. I looked back for Luigi, but he had already gone downstairs.
No, I was not thinking about green eyes. No, I was not thinking about being entangled in silken bedsheets with a heavy arm wound around me. No, I was not thinking about Mariano Wolfe Lionelli - Montefiore Rivera. Nope. Not at all. Nada.Yes, I was lying to myself.Mariano hadn't left my mind since the second I had turned my back to him. He was everywhere. In Aiden's green sweatshirt, in Felicia's Guide to Basic Italian, in Lando
The next morning when I woke up Aiden greeted me with a mug of hot coffee, and I readily accepted it, gulping it down in large sips. "Do you want to see Mariano?" He asked."No?” Oh. Right.
Stefano called Mariano from his phone, and I sighed deeply before pressing it to my ear."Sí, Stefano?" Mariano asked curtly. His voice sounded different on the phone. Hm. I'd never spoken to him on the phone. It was still a nice voice."Uhm.
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "No."He tugged at his hair in frustration, groaning, then reached out and undid the knot I had made and yanked the shirt off of my waist.I gasped. The gall. The audacity.
I set about laying the table. Mariano poured wine for us. He didn't seem to mind that it was the cheap variety.As I pranced around the room, making sure to twirl around in my skirt so I looked pretty, I felt the constant thud of excitement in my veins.We ate in silence, with Mariano commenting
Mariano and I had been married for 5 years now. It had been pleasant. No scratch that, it had been absolutely lovely being married to Mariano Wolfe Lionelli Montefiore Rivera.We loved each other so much, so hard, we needed nothing else.It was around 10 am on a rainy Sunday morning. I was in bed, naked, just having woken up. Mariano had had a meeting early in the morning so he'd left, leaving me in bed alone. I was about to leave this soft haven when the door to our room opened and Mariano stepped in."Good morning,dolcezzaBella." He said."Morning." I said, then rolled over to stare at him. "You're up early. And you're all dressed up."He was wearing h
He proposed the very day he was discharged from the hospital. Naturally, I was shocked beyond words. We'd known each other for all of a few months. I'd told him it was too early. But he'd insisted, and said we didn't have to get married right away."I'll wait." He'd said. "I just want my ring on your finger."So I'd said yes.We'd waited five years, until I had graduated, and had had a job for a year,Working was tough - being a mafia girlfriend and all. And I had to wear a bracelet every day to hide the black rose tattoo on my wrist which signified my allegiance to the Italian mafia.I was Donna, and Mariano had insisted that I just stay at home because he made money that was more t
The doctor had told us that Mariano should stay in the hospital for atleast another week. He was fine, but they wanted to keep a check on him. Mariano was...a little against that idea. He wanted to go home. But in the end I did convince him to stay, and he begrudgingly accepted. He did get, a private room, though. Turns out the Riveras had actually financed a wing of the hospital, which was the reason they enjoyed so much prestige her. I had just thought it was a mafia thing.I was currently in Mariano's room just chilling around him when Emilio peeped in through the door."Hey!" He greeted me, and handed me a packet. "I got you a proscuitto sandwich."Yum."Thanks!" Mariano chimed in, "I'm really hungry."Emilio hesitated. "Its not for you. The nurse will get you your food,fratello."I giggled. Mariano had been begging me to get him food from the outside."Thanks, Emilio." I told him gratefully, and he left.I q
I cried in the shotgun seat as Emilio drove. Mariano was lying in the back. I'd taken off his suit jacket, and his white shirt was bloodied. I couldn't bear to look at him, so I stared straight ahead at the winding road."He'll be alright." Emilio promised."It's so near to his heart." I sobbed. "I love him so much. I can't live without him.""You won't have to. We have the best doctors."How could he be so normal about this?"Why didn't he wear a fucking bulletproof jacket?" I shouted.Emilio flinched. "He was in a hurry."I cried harder. He'd come to save me, and now he was passe
"Landon?"My heart sank. What the hell? What was sweet, sweet Landon who brought me pizza and brownies and made me laugh and watch Harry Potter with me doing here? The truth was hard to take in.I clenched my eyes shut, crying a lot more. Out of all the scenarios I had expected to play out, this had not been one of them. Of all the people in the world, it had to be him? I don't know what hurt more, my broken nose, or his betrayal."Hi, Izzy." He said.I shook my head hard. This was a dream. This had to be a dream. Landon wouldn't...But no matter how much I tried to lead myself astray from the truth, Landon had betrayed me. Landon was part of the Russian Mob.
I woke up in a car. My hands were tied behind my back, scotch tape on my mouth, andmy feet tied together in a way that was way too easy to untie by myself. I got out of the restraints but remained laying in the backseat as the two burly men sitting in the front talked in a language that definitely wasn't Italian.I pulled the tape off of my lips slowly, then waited for the pain to subside. I breathed deeply. This wasn't new territory for me. And I had been prepared for this situation. Mariano had told me not to worry if something like this happened. I just had to be brave and keep myself safe. He would always be righe behind me. He'd come save me, soon."Hey guys, the last time I woke up in a car I found the love of my life. Tell me, do you have hot men where you're taking me?"
Back in our room, Mariano began undressing, but I went straight to the bathroom with my night clothes in hand and changed.In the room, he was just in his sweats, and looked at me strangely, as I got into bed."Good night!" I told him cheerfully. He tipped his head to the side and stared. "Get out of bed."I shook my head, elaborately yawning. "I'm sleepy."He raised his eyebrows. "Now."With a smug look on my face, I went and stood in front of him.He wordlessly began unbuttoning my shirt, shrugging it off of me. I wasn't wearing a bra, and he smiled. "We're going to have some fun with you, today." With that, he gave me a little shove so I fell on the bed, and him on top of me.He always kissed me with so much passion it took my entire breath away. I had been kissed by him so many times now, but it always took my breath away. It made me fall onto the floor at his feet and worship him. It made me want to write
"Bella!" Someone was shaking me. "Bella, wake up!"I shook their hand away. "Go away, I'm tired."They sighed, "Bella, up."Ugh. I slowly cracked open my eyes. Mariano. "What do you want?""Wake up, its time for dinner. You've been sleeping for three hours."Damn.I shifted in the bed to make room for him. "Okay, ten minutes," Then I spread my arms, "Cuddles?"He sighed, and got into bed with me, snuggling close, with one hand wrapped around me and the other absently playing with my breast. He placed a small kiss on my forehead. "I'm sorry about my father. He was being an asshole.""It's okay." I assured him. "I can't expect your family to welcome me with open arms.""Your family did.""My family is also not the biggest crime family in the world."He chuckled. "I am very lucky to have you, Bella.""And I am lucky to have you." I smiled.We lay in bed for a while, but then he threw
For Christmas, Mariano got a star christened Bella. And he also got me a super beautiful charm bracelet. I'd only gotten him a cute T shirt and made him a cutesy card. My gift, was well, pretty rudimentary. But also because I'm poor, unlike him.But he'd put on the T shirt the next day, and smiled like a giggly teenager for hours after reading the card. Then he'd kissed me in front of my whole family, and Dad had turned away, rolling his eyes.It had been the best Christmas I had ever had.Before flying to Italy, Mariano and I decided to take a stroll through town so that I could show him my school and the places I used to hang out at with my friends.We met a lot of acquantainces, and I introduced him to everyone. But I mistook the s