My eyes widened. “Wouldn’t he also know by now that I don’t take orders lying down? Besides, I’m supposed to be his wife in a few hours. If he doesn’t want me to find him, then there’s obviously something wrong.” I closed my eyes remembering that I was supposed to get married soon. “Oh, God. The wedding!”
Alessandro shook me. “It’s okay. We can postpone if we have to. The father is ready to marry you whenever you’re ready.”
I huffed. “Of course he is,” I said sarcastically. The Belatoni’s were mafia. The priest would probably lick our shoes if we asked him to.
Just as I was thinking this, Belinda and Tony rushed over to us. I glared at Tony to let him know I was still mad. Belinda noticed and frowned. “What’s going on?”
I remained silent, making Tony sigh. “I kept something from Luca, so Clara’s angry with me.”
I pointed at him. “Damn right, I’m angry. You should have told him. Better still, Sophia should have told him. Luca is her son!”
“Okay, okay. Calm down,” Alessandro shouted. We all remained silent, so he took that as his cue to carry on. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I assume it has something to do with the fact that Luca has run off. If he’s upset, then we need to find him. Let’s start at Giovanni’s and work our way from there.” Alessandro’s baby blue eyes stared back at me, instantly relaxing me a little. I couldn’t help but smile back. Despite loving Luca with everything I had, I still couldn’t help having a tiny little crush on Alessandro.
He saw he had me and offered a cheeky grin in return. “Okay, you’ve said it now. There’s no need to start overpowering me with those blues of yours.”
I heard Mia laugh. “They have the same effect on you, too?” I smiled towards her, loving the fact that I could let her know he was a sexy beast without her getting jealous. I would never look at Alessandro in that way, but it didn’t stop me from admiring him.
“Well, the longer we stand here, the less time we’re out looking for Luca. All jokes aside, Luca has taken quite a shock today, and he needs us… And, I hope he’ll need me most of all.”
Everyone smiled sympathetically before we all gathered into a couple of cars out front. We went to Giovanni’s house first as Alessandro had suggested, but Giovanni hadn’t heard anything from him since he, and I quote “stole his car” that morning. He joined in with helping us to find him, though. We rang round and visited a few family and friends, but still came up blank. Everyone was helping with the search, so I knew he would be found soon. There were only so many places you could hide when you were practically famous. I knew that about their family. I could tell by the way everyone showed their respect everywhere we went. They were all smiles, all offering their hands of friendship, and anything they had to sell was offered to them for free. By the time we had gone round a few restaurants, bars, and bakeries, we had accumulated a picnic’s worth of treats for the whole family. If I hadn’t been so worried about Luca by that stage, I would have found the whole thing quite comical.
As we were all driving back to Giovanni’s, it was getting close to five. Everyone was tired, hungry, or both, but I was upset that we hadn’t come up with any leads at all. Giovanni was sitting next to me, and I could tell he was in deep thought. What about, I had no idea, but it was starting to worry me a little.
As I was thinking this, his phone rang. He said some things in Italian, and tapped his driver on the shoulder. He waved his finger round as if to say turn around and that’s exactly what he did. He shouted something to the driver in Italian before ending the call to whomever was on the line.
“Please say that was about Luca?”
Giovanni looked at me with a smile. “He’s at Godiver’s.”
I frowned, thinking I had already heard of that name. “Didn’t Tony already call there?”
Giovanni smirked. “He did, but Luca bribed the staff to keep quiet about where he was. It wasn’t until my uncle, Dietre, rang them that they told the truth. Dietre near enough owns the place, you see. No one there would ever keep quiet whenever Dietre was involved. Luca should have known.”
I sighed my frustration at the knowledge, but I was happy to know that we were on our way. I was worried for Luca, but at the same time, I was mad at him for shutting me out. Despite wanting to hug him, I was also going to give him a piece of my mind once I saw him.
Once we got to the club, all the men piled out before letting the women out. It was like a standard thing. The security got out first, then the men in the family, and then, finally, the women. I was impatient, though, and waiting was never one of my strong points. What made it worse was the fact that two men had to go in first to make sure all was okay before we could be let in.
Giovanni led the way, and I followed straight in after him. I didn’t care about protocol; I just wanted to find Luca. Once in the club, my heart dropped when I saw a woman up close and personal with him. The pain of seeing it gripped me, but I was pleasantly surprised when he shrugged her off. I didn’t know what he had said to her, but she quickly retreated, leaving me sighing with relief. I was glad that whatever he had going on in his mind wasn’t affecting us in any way. I wanted to kill him enough as it was for missing our wedding.
“Luca?” Giovanni asked as we approached the bar.
“What the fuck do you…” Luca swung around in his seat, obviously drunk and pissed off, but when he saw me, he halted. He remained silent, and the more I looked at him, the more my anger rose.
Without thinking, I walked up to Luca and gave him a great, big smack across the face. The girls gasped and the men moved forward, but they didn’t make a grab for me. “That was for leaving me without a word.” I smacked him again. “That was for not answering your phone and making me worry myself sick.” I smacked him again. “And that was for standing me up on our wedding day!”
At first, Luca looked shocked. He rubbed his face a little, but soon, his initial scowl was replaced with a smirk. “My baby loves me.”
All the men laughed, and I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t a joke. I was really worried about you.”
Luca stumbled out of his seat and stalked towards me. “Amore mio, fate la mia luce cuore con una fiamma eterna.”
I shook my head at him. “Don’t start with the Italian love shit! I’m mad at you.”
Luca pulled me into him. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. You make my heart light with an eternal flame.”
I caught a whiff of booze on his breath and turned my head away. “Ugh. You smell like a brewery.”
Luca leaned forward and inhaled deeply at my neck before pulling back to look at me. “And you smell like roses on a summer morning.” He pulled a silly, drunk grin, and I couldn’t help the curve of my lip. “Ah, there she is. I knew my amore mio was in there somewhere.” He leaned in close to my ear to whisper, “God, I wanted to fuck-love you this morning. I woke up and had the biggest hard-on for you, but you weren’t there. I was going to sneak into your bedroom and have my wicked way with you. But you weren’t there either.” His sexy voice took on a sad tone at the last sentence. He was hurting. I knew that much. He needed to know I was here for him despite my anger.
“I know what you heard was a shock today, but you need to come home and talk—”
Luca shook his head. “I’m not going back to my mother’s. Don’t ask that of me. I’m not ready yet.”
I looked into his eyes and saw the hurt. I could have pushed it, but I knew it wasn’t the right time. He was drunk and wasn’t in the appropriate frame of mind to see or speak with Sophia anyway. He may end up saying something he would regret come the light of day.
I turned to Giovanni. “Can we go back to your house?”
Giovanni smiled. “Of course.”
I turned back to Luca and pulled his arm over my shoulder. I held him up, but I knew full well that no amount of my strength would catch him if he fell. I just wanted him to know I was there for him. “Come on. Let’s get you back and in the shower.”
I rolled my eyes. “One thing at a time, tiger.”
Luca gave me another drunk smile, and again, I found myself smiling stupidly back at him. He kissed my head, and when we made our way outside, Tony was standing by the car with Alessandro. Luca looked up, saw him, and kissed me again. “I’ll be right back, amore mio.” He let go of me, stormed towards Tony, and punched him square in the face. Tony went down, blood seeping from his nose as everyone made a grab for Luca. “It’s okay. I’ve made my fucking point.” Luca flicked his hand and made his way back to me. He held me tightly to him, kissed me another time, and smiled like nothing had happened. “Are you ready to go?”
I nodded without saying a word, and we all piled into the cars. I was angry with Tony, but I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him after that punch Luca had dished out. It looked like it had been hard enough to knock his teeth out.
As we gathered at Giovanni’s house, I took Luca to the room he had stayed in the night before, and I helped to get him undressed. I ordered him into the shower. Instead of complying, he pulled at me to come with him towards the bed. We both fell in a heap with me on top of him. “If you think I’m having sex with you, then you have another thing coming.” I heard nothing, so I looked up. Luca was out like a light and snoring softly.
I guessed there would be no shower for him, then.
Sighing, I got up, turned the shower off, and made my way back to the bed to make Luca more comfortable. Once I managed to get his shoes off and cover him, I made my way downstairs to find Tony sitting on a chair with a fussing Belinda. He had tissues stuck up his nose, and his eye was swelling.
Belinda turned to me. “Your fiancé’s a maniac.” The tone in her voice shocked me. I had never been spoken to like that by Belinda.
“Just drop it,” Tony scowled.
I made a peace gesture towards Tony. “No, no. If Belinda has something to say, then, let her say it.” All went deathly quiet. Even Belinda halted for a moment.
“I know Luca is Tony’s boss, but that doesn’t mean he can throw punches willy-nilly like that whenever he feels like it. What gives him the right? I love you and all, but your fiancé is a fucking jerk.”
The whole room remained silent as they stared between me and Belinda. I inhaled a calming breath and stepped forward. “I will let that slide because I know you’re upset, but don’t—for one second—believe that Tony didn’t get that good punch for a reason. He was hiding something from Luca… Something vitally important. And, because of it, Luca feels betrayed. This issue they have is between them, and it should remain between them. I never once brought you into this argument, so I would expect the same from you. Do I make myself clear?” I stepped forward again and noticed Belinda involuntarily swallow in a clear indication of nervousness. I didn’t like making her feel that way, but I never once brought up Tony in front of her, so I was a little upset that she had done that to me.
“I’m sorry,” she offered. “I’m just a little upset by what’s happened.”
I let out a sigh. “That’s okay. But, you don’t know all the facts. I’m not saying what Luca did was right, but try to understand that there are always two sides to every story. If Tony and Luca have a beef with each other, then let them sort it out. Please don’t let whatever that may be come between us.”
Belinda dipped her head. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
I walked up to her and took her in my arms. “That’s okay.” I pulled away and gave her a cheeky grin. “Hey, I think this may be our first argument.” She laughed, and I noticed tears well in her eyes. “You know, I’m strangely turned on by this,” I joked. “Luca’s out like a light. Do you fancy coming to bed with me?”
Belinda laughed and Nicoli piped, “Hell yeah! Can we watch?”
Everyone laughed—apart from Tony, who punched him in the arm. “Watch it, Nicki,” he growled.
Nicoli put his hands up. “Sorry, but you have to admit, that would be one hell of a show.” Tony’s chair scraped as he stood up, and pretty soon, Nicoli was running out of the room, laughing. I couldn’t understand why Nicoli ran, though. He was just as big and butch as Tony was. With his jet-black hair and the same eyes as Luca, he was every bit the alpha male—much like most of the men in this house. They were all stunning, all muscular, and all had charm that would shoot the knickers off a nun. Not that I would tell Luca that, of course. I dread to think what he would do with Alessandro if he knew we very innocently flirted on occasion.
“I really do mean that. I’m sorry I snapped at you,” Belinda said, timidly looking at me.
I rubbed her shoulders. “Don’t mention it. It’s all forgotten.”
I looked around and noticed the others staring at us. Once they saw me looking at them, they all made a move to leave.
“What’s going on?” Belinda asked once she knew no one was listening.
“That’s not really for me to say. It was something his mum kept from him for years, and it’s quite rightly devastated Luca.”
“What’s he doing? Sleeping it off?”
I nodded. “Yeah. He passed out the moment his head hit the pillow.”
She looked at me sympathetically. “It was supposed to be your wedding day today. You should be getting shagged stupid rather than sitting here talking your troubles away with me.”
I laughed. “I would take being shagged stupid any day over what happened with Luca today. I just hope they can sort it out. Lord knows when we will be getting married. It’s like a quick order service around here. Whatever the Belatoni’s want, they get, and with a ribbon on top. Did you see the amount of gifts they all got today?”
Belinda chuckled and moved towards the array of bags that were sitting on the counter. “Talking of which.” She pulled a bottle of Dom Pérignon out of one of them and shuffled back over to me with it in her hand. “I spied this as one of the gifts and thought I’d steal it if I could get a chance. Fancy a glass?”
I laughed along with her. “Of course. Just don’t get me into trouble. I hear they stick people in concrete boots and throw them into the river if you piss them off.” We both laughed again. Why we laughed, I had no idea, as something like that should have really scared the shit out of me.
Belinda popped the cork as quietly as she could, and like two naughty teenagers, we crept around the kitchen, gathering the glasses and making ourselves something to eat. Since learning Luca was safe, I had been starving. That day, like every day since Luca had entered my life, had been filled with tension, anxiety, excitement, and fear. It made me smile a little at the thought.
I wondered what the next day would bring.
I woke to the feel of Luca kissing my neck and fondling my breasts. I moaned, wanting to feel more … yearning to feel more.
“Amore mio, I have to have you. We need to get reacquainted after what happened yesterday. I’m sorry about the wedding. I’ll make it up to you today, though. I promise.”
My eyes shot open, remembering everything that went down yesterday. “Luca, stop.” He didn’t stop. In fact, his kissing intensified. “Will you stop? Right. Now.”
He stopped immediately, and I turned to find his shocked face. “You’re refusing me sex?” Why did that thought completely dumbfound him?
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Luca’s eyes went wide. “You’re stopping me from getting reacquainted with you. You know, it’s compulsory for you to have sex with me.”
I puffed out some air. “Oh, please. Will you stop this alpha male crap? You’re like a walking male hormone.”
Luca edged closer to me, a look of lust in his eyes. “Voglio fare l’amore con la mia donna.” He stroked my arms, making me shiver at his touch. Once he knew he had me, he smiled.
I almost caved, but knew I shouldn’t. Instead, I shook myself away from him and stood up by the bed. “Now is not the time to seduce me with Italian. We need to talk about yesterday.”
Luca perused my naked body. “You stand with your naked perfection in front of me and expect me to not want you? It’s not my fault you are such a seductress.”
I wanted to smile, but that would have only encouraged him. “What are you going to do today?”
Luca sat up and started edging forwards towards the end of the bed. “Well, first of all, I’m going to fuck-love my woman. Then, I’m going to marry her. After that, I’m going to fuck-love her some more. How about that?”
I rolled my eyes. “You can’t seriously think I’m going to marry you today.”
Luca looked outraged. “And why not? You were willing yesterday.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “That was before you found out about your father.”
He stopped getting closer to me and looked angry. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You know you have to talk to her about this.” I didn’t need to say who. He knew exactly what I meant.
“I can’t. Not today.” He got out of bed and stalked towards me. His muscular body stood proud and tall, and his erection was still present and as hard as ever. It made me question how I could be mad enough to turn this man down, but I knew I had to be strong.
“I need to have you, Clara.” I stepped back, but soon the wall met me. I was trapped with nowhere to go. Luca soon caught up with me, and he smiled as he traced his fingers delicately across my cheek. “You’re mine, and today I’m going to make sure it remains that way…” He leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Permanently.”
Closing my eyes, I shuddered. We had long surpassed that stage where the honeymoon sex period was over, but instead of it waning, it only proved to get stronger.
As my breaths became shallow, my thoughts waged war with my body. My head screamed no, but my body screamed yes. I was strong-willed, though, and Luca knew this about me by now.
“You’re not going to seduce me,” I whispered breathlessly.
Luca nibbled on my earlobe and trailed a line with his finger from my cheek to my left breast. My nipples were rock hard, and Luca relished in it. I knew he would. He loved the chase… Loved the fact that he could work me up, even when he knew I was fighting him. In fact, I think the more I fought him, the more of a challenge it became for him. I think it turned him on… If he were to admit it.
Luca - You Will Be Mine (Sicilian Mafia #2) Page 17
