Luca Vitiello by Cora Reilly

CHAPTER 11

I woke before sunrise after less than two hours of sleep with my arm around Aria. For a few moments, I stayed like that, enjoying that she was relaxed in my embrace in sleep. Finally, I pulled back and reached for my cell on the nightstand. I quickly typed a message to Matteo, telling him that he’d have to talk to the manager of one of our whorehouses alone, then I wrote Romero. He wouldn’t have to guard Aria today.

“Business?” Aria asked in a sleepy voice.

I glanced toward her and shook my head. “I cancelled my plans for the day so we can spend some time together and get to know each other.”

Aria blinked, becoming more alert at once. “Really?”

“Really,” I said. Resisting the urge to kiss her, I swung my legs out of bed. “I’ll get ready, and then I’ll think of something we can do today.”

“Okay,” Aria said with a small smile.

Thirty minutes later, I was looking into the fridge, trying to figure out what we could make for breakfast.

Marianna had stocked the fridge well, but she wouldn’t come over to cook today. Aria came down the staircase in shorts, showing off those legs. “Can you cook?”

Aria huffed as she headed toward me. “Don’t tell me you’ve never made breakfast for yourself?”

“I usually grab something on my way to work, except on the days when Marianna is here and prepares something for me.” I couldn’t stop checking her out. “I love your legs.”

Aria ignored my comment and peered into the fridge. Her arm touched mine and I had to stare down at her, at the golden crown of her head and the way her nose crinkled in thought.

Aria reached into the fridge, taking out eggs and red peppers. She looked like she knew what she was doing. That made one of us. I stepped back and leaned against the counter to watch her cook, but Aria wouldn’t have it. She raised her eyebrows.

“Won’t you help me? You can chop the peppers. You know how to handle a knife, from what I hear,” she said teasingly.

I snatched a knife and stepped up beside her. Aria gazed up at me. She reached my chest and again a wave of protectiveness washed over me. Aria handed me the pepper and motioned at a wooden board. I’d seen Marianna use it for chopping before. While I cut the peppers, Aria scrambled the eggs, then poured them into a hot pan.

“What happens to these?” I showed her the peppers I’d chopped.

“Shit,” Aria said with a grimace, glancing between the sizzling eggs and the peppers.

“Have you ever cooked?” I asked.

Aria grabbed the peppers and thrust them into the cooking eggs. I doubted they’d get done before the eggs. Leaning against the counter once more, I enjoyed watching Aria trying to unstick the eggs from the pan. Her expression became increasingly frustrated.

“Why don’t you make coffee for us?” she asked with a pointed look.

She was really cute when she was trying to look angry.

I humored her and went over to the coffee maker while Aria muttered curses under her breath, trying to save the eggs.

When I finally put two cups of coffee down on the bar, Aria spooned the burnt mess of eggs down on two plates. I could stomach a lot, but this would be a new challenge. I sank down on a barstool and Aria climbed on the one beside me, watching me expectantly. Despite the burnt smell wafting up to my nose, I picked up the fork and shoved a piece of the eggs into my mouth. It was by far the worst omelet I’d ever had. Aria took a bite as well and scrunched up her face, then spit the eggs out immediately before drinking a large gulp of the coffee. She looked at me with watery eyes. “Oh my god, that’s disgusting.”

“Maybe we should go out for breakfast,” I suggested. I had a feeling that if Aria tried to cook us something else, we’d either get food poisoning or she’d burn down the penthouse.

Embarrassment flashed across Aria’s face as she glared down at her coffee. “How hard can it be to make an omelet?”

My chest vibrated with suppressed laughter, but it died when my eyes dipped down to Aria’s bare legs. We were sitting close enough to touch and, gauging her reaction, I put my palm down on her knee. Aria paused with her cup against her lips. She didn’t push me away or flinch, which I took as a good sign. I ran my thumb gently over her skin. “What would you like to do today?”

Aria’s brows drew together as she glanced between my hand on her knee and my face. Did she enjoy the touch? “The morning after our wedding night, you asked me if I knew how to fight, so maybe you can teach me how to use a knife or a gun, and maybe some self-defense,” she said.

That wasn’t what I’d expected. Shopping or something like that, yes, but fighting?

“Thinking about using them against me?”

Aria rolled her eyes. “As if I could ever beat you in a fair fight.”

“I don’t fight fair,” I teased.

“So will you teach me?”

“I want to teach you a lot of things,” I murmured as I cupped her knee.

“Luca, I’m serious. I know I have Romero and you, but I want to be able to defend myself if something happens. You said it yourself: the Bratva won’t care that I’m a woman.”

Aria didn’t know the Bratva. Even if she could defend herself, these fuckers would still be able to hurt her, if they ever got close. “Okay. We have a gym where we work out and do train. We could go there.”

Aria smiled widely and hopped off the stool. “I’ll grab my workout clothes.”

I hadn’t expected her to be this excited about the prospect of fighting.

The second Aria and I entered the Famiglia gym, every man in the room stopped what they’d been doing to stare at my wife. A glower from me quickly made them look away.

“Our changing rooms are men only. We don’t usually have female visitors.”

Aria grinned. “I know you’ll make sure nobody sees me naked.”

“You bet I will.” Not that any of my men would dare to look at her. They knew I’d crush them if they did.

Aria laughed, looking happy.

I led her toward the changing room. “Let me check if someone’s in there,” I said. The only dick Aria was going to see would be mine. I pushed inside. Three men were in different stages of undress. They turned to me and gave respectful nods.

“I’m here with my wife, and she needs to get changed,” I said, giving them a cold smile.

They exchanged surprised looks then quickly put on their gym clothes. After they’d left, I led Aria inside.

Her face pulled into a grimace at the stench.

Such a girl. “We’re not catering to sensitive female noses,” I said with a smirk.

Aria tugged her bag out of my hand and headed for one of the lockers. I followed close behind, then dropped my own bag on a bench.

Aria grabbed the hem of her shirt, then stopped. “Aren’t you going to give me some privacy?”

Was she being serious? I opened my gun holster and put it down, then pulled my shirt over my head.

Aria’s eyes took in my upper body, indignation flashing in her eyes.

She turned her back to me before she pulled her t-shirt over her head. Aria reached for her bra, but I beat her to it and unhooked the clasp with one finger, brushing her skin. I wanted nothing more than to turn her around and kiss her, but I took a step back and changed into my gym shorts all the while watching in rapt attention as Aria pushed down her pants. Two perfect ass cheeks came into view. She was wearing a fucking thong and then she pulled that down as well before she bent down to pick up her shorts and the sight almost undid me. Didn’t she realize what kind of view she just gave me? I exhaled. The small glimpse of her pussy sent blood into my cock.

I was almost relieved when she got dressed in tiny running shorts. When Aria turned around to face me, her eyes darted to the bulge in my pants and her eyebrows skyrocketed as her cheeks turned red once more.

“That’s what you’re wearing for self-defense lessons?” The shorts barely covered her upper thighs and were skin-tight, as was her tank top.

“I don’t have anything else. This is what I wear when I go jogging.”

“You realize I’ll have to kick every guy’s ass who looks at you the wrong way, right? And looking like that, my men will have a hard time not looking at you the wrong way.”

“It’s not my job to make them control themselves. Just because I’m wearing revealing clothes doesn’t mean I’m inviting them to look. If they can’t behave themselves, that’s their problem.”

Oh, they would behave themselves…

I nodded toward the door and led Aria outside, my hand in the small of her back. A few men looked up, then quickly down. I steered Aria toward the sparring mats, which two soldiers vacated with respectful nods the moment we approached. From the array of knives hanging at the wall, I picked one that was good for beginners and not too heavy, then held it out to Aria who took it with a look of confusion.

We faced each other on the mat. “Attack me, but try not to cut yourself.”

“Won’t you get a knife too?”

“I don’t need one. I’ll have yours in a minute.” My biggest challenge would be to fight Aria without hurting her. I’d never had to be careful in a fight before, but she was tiny in comparison to me.

Aria was obviously annoyed by my comment, but it was the truth.

“So what am I supposed to do?” she asked, eyeing the knife uncertainly. It was obvious from the way she held it that she’d never fought with one before.

“Try to land a hit. If you manage to cut me, you win. I want to see how you move.”

Aria glanced around us for a moment before she straightened her shoulders. She lunged forward, and I was surprised by how fast she could move, but I sidestepped her unpracticed attack easily. It was harder to grip her wrist without crushing it, and then I whirled her around until her back was pressed enticingly against my front.

“You don’t have my knife yet,” Aria said breathlessly.

I tightened my hold on her wrist ever so slightly then lowered my head to her ear. “I would have to hurt you to get it. I could break your wrist, for example, or just bruise it.” Aria held her breath, her pulse thudding under my fingers. I released her and she quickly dashed out of my reach, whirling around to face me once more.

“Again,” I said.

Fighting Aria was fun, and I could tell that she was growing annoyed by her inability to hit me. I’d never been beaten in a fight, and those men had been Made Men with years of experience and twice Aria’s weight.

When she tried to kick my balls, I snatched up her foot and tugged. I underestimated her momentum and she landed hard on her back, gasping and dropping the knife.

I knelt beside her, touching her belly. “Are you okay?” I murmured, trying to look calm because my soldiers were watching.

Aria’s eyes fluttered open. “Yeah. Just trying to catch my breath.” She glanced behind me toward my men. “Don’t you have a soldier who’s only five foot something and terrified of his own shadow who would be willing to fight me?”

There were definitely a few men around who would be easier opponents for Aria, but I’d never let anyone fight her, not even in jest. “My men aren’t terrified of anything,” I said loudly as I helped Aria to her feet before I faced them. “Anyone willing to fight my wife?”

A few of them laughed, and others quickly shook their head.

“You’ll have to fight me,” I told Aria.

Aria definitely didn’t want to give up, but I could tell that she was tiring. I was holding her against my body once again when a sharp pain in my bicep startled me. I loosened my hold and Aria managed to slip away, but before she could bring the knife down, I grabbed her wrist. My eyes darted to the spot on my upper arm where she had left teeth marks. “Did you bite me?”

“Not hard enough. There isn’t even blood,” she said, her lips twisting with amusement.

My stomach shook, but I held the laughter back. Aria’s eyes shone with pride as she peered up at me. Fuck. I wanted to laugh, but with my men watching, I couldn’t. A few low chuckles escaped anyway. Aria grinned.

I shook my head. “I think you’ve done enough damage for one day.”

Aria had never been more relaxed around me than after our training. It had allowed us to be close physically without her having time to worry about where it might lead. “Let’s get takeout,” I said on our way home. “What are you in the mood for?”

Aria pursed her lips. “I’ve never tried sushi.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Never?”

She shook her head. “But I’d like to give it a try. Maybe I’ll like it.”

There were so many other things she’d definitely like if she gave them a try, but I swallowed the words, not wanting her to get tense again.

I drove past my favorite sushi place and picked a selection of everything so Aria would find something she’d like, before we headed back home and settled outside on the roof terrace with our food and a bottle of wine. Aria tried every piece of sushi eagerly, nodding and humming her approval. I loved watching her.

“I’m surprised,” Aria said as she settled against the backrest. I had my arm thrown over it, close to her bare shoulders. I wasn’t sure what she was referring to. “I didn’t think you’d really try.”

“I told you I would. I keep my word,” I said. I wanted this marriage to work.

“I bet this is hard for you.” Aria motioned at the space between us.

“You have no idea. I want to kiss you really fucking bad.”

Aria’s eyes flitted to my lips. I put my glass back down on the table and leaned closer, touching her waist. “Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you.”

Aria opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything. Slowly, I leaned forward, giving her time to pull back, but she didn’t. I kissed her, forcing myself to go slow, but soon our kiss became more heated. It was a struggle to keep my hand on her waist and not explore the rest of her body. I pushed my thumb under her shirt and rubbed her bare skin. Aria moaned softly into my mouth. I wasn’t sure if she even noticed. I guided her back gently until she was stretched out on the lounge and I was half bent over her.

Aria tasted so fucking sweet as my tongue claimed her mouth. I could tell she was growing more and more aroused by the way she rubbed her thighs together.

I raised my head to gaze at her flushed face.

“I could make you feel good, Aria,” I said, my fingers twitching eagerly on her hip, wanting to head south. “You want to come, don’t you?”

Conflict danced in Aria’s eyes, but then a determined glint took over. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

My stomach twitched with suppressed laughter. “You are so stubborn.” I knew she was wet. The way she’d pressed herself into me, the way she’d moaned…Fuck.

I claimed her lips once more, my tongue teasing hers as I wanted to do with her pussy, my finger rubbing circles right above her waistband, knowing she’d feel it between her legs too, but Aria stayed true to her words, even as she panted and moaned and shivered under my kiss. Eventually I had to stop, because my dick was so fucking hard in my pants, it got too uncomfortable.

Aria blinked up at me dazedly.

“We’d better stop now,” I groaned. “My pants are getting tight.”

Aria looked smug and embarrassed at the same time. I chuckled, pressed another kiss to her mouth, then pushed to my feet and pulled Aria with me. She held on to my hand for once, surprising me, and fuck if that didn’t feel like a major victory. It was even worth the blue balls I suffered through all night as Aria slept in my arms.