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I pulled up to the estate and was pleased to see that he hadn’t changed the gate code since I’d been gone. Nazario was upset with me about the pregnancy, but over time, he might see it for the blessing I now thought it was. I’d been terrified at first. Not anymore, though. Even if he didn’t want me, I wanted this life created, and I would fight to my death to save it, circumstances be damned. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that. Only time would tell. I parked the car in front of the garage, then got my suitcase out of the trunk.
“Snap out of it,” I told myself as I slowly and begrudgingly moved up the walkway to the door. I was acting like a prisoner headed to her execution. Yes, Nazario had threatened me numerous times, but he’d had more than enough chances to follow through and hadn’t yet.
I pulled open the door and stepped aside, immediately feeling a sense of peace wash over me. This cold, barren home atop the cliffside was uninviting and dark to most, but it was home for me. I placed my suitcase by the door and ventured into the great room. There were no sounds or any sign of life. I left the room and grabbed my bag before heading upstairs. I managed to get it all unpacked, then I left my room in search of anyone.
I headed down the hallway and stopped outside of Nazario’s room. To most, it would be strange for an engaged couple to have separate bedrooms, but it worked for us. Most nights, we’d end up in one together anyway. I knocked on the door and heard nothing. I slowly opened it a crack and I could see the bed freshly made up, but no one inside.
I checked the home gym before going back downstairs where I checked the main rooms such as kitchen, recreation room, and garage, then finally paused outside of his office. When not working at the club, he often spent a lot of time inside there. I raised my fist, then knocked on the door. “Nazario,” I called out to him. “I’m ho—”
“Don Vaccaro is away on business, Viviana,” one of the maids told me, and I smiled.
“Did he mention when he’d be returning?”
“He didn’t,” she told me, then turned and hurried back down the hallway.
So, Nazario was gone. Again, this was my chance to get the rest of my things and leave, too.“I should tie you up and make you stay here in Sicily,”Andrea had told me when we’d said our goodbyes a few hours earlier.
I’d leaned up and kissed his cheek.“You know why I have to do this. I know you don’t like it, but I need to see this through.”
“Bella,”he murmured as he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. Someone’s first would always hold a special place in their heart, and no one could ever take this man’s, even Nazario. I loved Andrea, but I wasn’t in love with him.
“I’ll let you know if I need help,”I’d said to him and his two other brothers.“I know you’re there if I call. Ti amo.”
I’d then taken a ride to the airport and spent the entire flight trying to come up with a plan. It was different months ago when I returned to Napoli for the first time. I’d been away several years, and my body bore the scars of all I’d gone through. I was coming back to hook, then murder a lover. Now, I was returning to fight for something, instead of ending it. Before, I had memories to fuel my mission, but I had so much more now. I had Nazario and a promise of what we could be together. If only it was so easy to prove that to him.
I’d finally stopped overanalyzing everything, and arriving home to find the place empty did concern me. When I had messaged him earlier this morning, he hadn’t mentioned anything about leaving or else I might’ve stayed behind in Sicily another few days. After my visit with Veru, she made me some ginger tea and provided me with the recipe so I could have the staff here make it for me, too. Today was the first day where I didn’t feel nauseous. I didn’t want to waste this period without being sick, so I went back upstairs and filled up the bathtub.
It wasn’t long before I was submerged in the warm tub with bubbles floating lazily on the surface. I blew at a few and watched as they separated, then formed another one. It made me realize nothing had to stay broken. Anything cracked could be repaired whether it was Nazario’s heart, or my own. I closed my eyes and leaned back as I began to picture the homecoming I’d give him once he returned. He’d been a bit clipped with me in some of his messages, but I’d learned that was just how he was, so I didn’t read too much into it. I stayed in the water until my fingers and toes got pruny, then got out. Minutes later, I was inside his room. I walked over to the bed and picked up his pillow. Bringing it to my nose, I inhaled his scent which was still prevalent on the fabric. I set it back down, then walked into his closet. It was massive, even larger than my own which rivaled the sizes of some people’s bedrooms.
Everywhere, I was assaulted with his scent and I closed my eyes wanting to savor it. I needed him so badly. My body ached for his touch, and although it’d just been a few days, I felt it down to my bones. I let out a sigh, then ran my fingers over one of his dress shirts. Pulling it from its hanger, I carried it with me back to my room. Once inside, I finished drying off, then didn’t bother putting anything but it on. The sleeves were way too long, and the shirt practically swallowed me whole, but I wore it anyway. I even grabbed a pin from my top drawer and secured it.
Then, I stepped outside onto the lanai. It was windier than usual, but not unexpected during this season. I placed my hands on the cold, wrought iron, and closed my eyes. I ached so badly for him that I fooled myself into believing the breeze blowing over my skin was his caress. I’d become so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn’t realized anyone else was there until a familiar hand wrapped around my arm.
I went to turn, but another hand pushed me forward, pinning me between the rail and his hard body. “Nazario,” I breathed.
He didn’t say anything at first, but I didn’t need him, too. I knew his scent and his touch, both encasing me in warmth like a flame. Finally, he spoke. “I didn’t know you would be back tonight. I—”
“I-I told you this morning that I was coming home,” I stammered, growing a bit nervous at the low tone of his voice. Each word seemed clipped, and it was as if he had to force himself to get them out. “Did you not get my message?”
I stepped closer, and I nearly moaned at the feel of his erection against my backside. There was nothing but his thin shirt and the zipper of his pants between me and what I wanted more than anything else.
“I got it,” he told me, and before I could ask him anything else, he ran one hand through my still damp locks. I bit my bottom lip as he tangled his hand into it, then pulled my head taut. Pain shot from the skull to my core, and it only made me ache more. “I’m glad you showered.”
My brows arched at that. It was a very strange thing to come from his mouth. “You are?”
He stepped more into me, this time pinning me so tightly between him and the rail that the iron bars dug into my flesh. He then yanked my head to one side and I whimpered the moment his lips came down on my neck. The wind had nothing on his touch, and I nearly closed my eyes as he kissed his way up the side of my face, then bit down on my earlobe.
“It doesn’t help because I still smell them on you.”
“W-what? Who?” I asked, and as I squirmed and tried bucking him off of me, I was finally able to get some space between us. I swatted his hand away from my hair and nearly yanked a handful out as I tried pulling completely away. “What are you talking about?” I finally asked.
“Who?” he asked, repeating my question, before grinning ferally at me.
I was slightly fearful of the murderous look in his eyes, but I ignored it. “What the hell is your problem? Better yet, I thought you were away on—”
“The Catalanos,” he said, and I knew the color had to have drained from my face.
How in the hell had he found out about them? “Who?”
