AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dawn was flirting with the ink-stained sky as the first rays of light were seeping over the snow-capped mountains hiding the horizon. As my eyes adjusted to the unfamiliar surroundings, I felt a heavy weight over my waist, pinning me down, and noticed a tattooed hand coming out from under my neck. I froze.
Giovanni. I was in his bed. We had sex. And now he's... spooning me? I blinked rapidly a few times as my heart started to race. I was dying to turn around and get a look at the gorgeous man behind me but I didn’t want to wake him. Or maybe I did... Maybe he would do all those things to me again if he woke up... I smiled as I let my mind fill with dirty fantasies about what we could still get up to before the world woke up. But first, I realised I really needed some water.
As carefully as I could, I lifted his heavy arm off my waist and raised my neck off his other forearm. Leaning up on the mattress, I turned slightly to get a sneaky look at him. My heart fluttered and my stomach flipped. His long, dark eyelashes were fanned over his cheeks, lips parted as he breathed deeply and his black hair was soft and messy on the pillow. I let my eyes travel north down his taut pecs and abs to the sexy V that snaked down under the white duvet. I bit my lip as I contemplated moving the duvet away so I could see that perfect dick again. Just to be sure...
No Liv. Water.
I felt like a ninja, climbing out of bed as silently as I could and picking up his white shirt he had been wearing on our date. Throwing it over my head, my core instantly pulsed as my senses were awakened by his strong, masculine cologne and I breathed it in deeply. I opened the bedroom door and crept downstairs to grab a glass of water from the kitchen.
I froze on the stairs when I saw the dark shadows of two huge frames outside on the veranda and instantly panicked. But then I realised they were just bodyguards on night duty. As long as I didn’t turn any lights on, they wouldn’t see me in this... attire. As I reached the bottom step, I looked to my left at the little snug room in the corner where a small lamp was indeed already providing a warm glow to the room. I jumped, hand straight to my heart, when I saw a figure sitting in an armchair in the corner.
“Olivia? Sorry my dear, I didn’t mean to scare you,” came Cecilia’s smooth voice with that silky Italian accent.
My cheeks immediately flamed as I tugged at Giovanni’s shirt to try and cover my bare legs more. I was naked under this and as her brown eyes behind her cat-eyed glasses took in my body, she knew it too. A slow smile spread across her face as she lowered the book she was reading on to her lap.
“I – I was just getting a glass of water,” I mumbled, wanting the ground to swallow me whole. This was possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life so far. Quickly, I dashed into the kitchen and filled up a glass of water from the tap.Calm down Liv. She doesn’t know this is Giovanni’s shirt. She doesn’t know you slept in his bed or had the most mind-blowing sex of your life with her son.
As I turned and saw that mischief dancing in her eyes, watching my every move, I gulped. She definitely knew.
“Goodnight Cecilia,” I muttered, my head down as I made my way towards the stairs.
“Olivia.” I paused as her voice called out into the darkness. “Won’t you come and sit with me for a moment?”
What? Really? Now? Like this? Knowing that I didn’t really have many other options, I turned on my bare feet and padded towards her. She smiled and gestured to the other armchair by the bookcase. I put my glass down on the side table and pulled the shirt down to cover as much of my lower half as I could before I took a seat. My eyes darted awkwardly around the room and I pretended to look interested in reading the spines of the books.
“Do you like to read?” she asked.
I nodded as I forced my gaze back at her. She was lounging in the armchair, a long silk robe around her body and she looked relaxed. Unlike me, who was wearing practically nothing and sitting rigidly. “Gio likes to read too. I know he doesn’t look like the type,” she chuckled. “But looks can be deceiving.”
Her words sounded innocent yet they felt as if they were packed with hidden meaning. I remained quiet and she placed the book she was reading on the table between us. I didn’t recognise it. It was in Italian.
“Could you not sleep?” I asked when the silence became too much for me. I wanted to steer the conversation to more appropriate grounds, not Giovanni.
She smiled sadly and shook her head. “I rarely do. Side effects of the medication. I often feel like I have insomnia, hence why I need to rest sometimes during the day.”
I nodded my head and looked awkwardly back at the books on the shelves. She was being so open with me and it made me uneasy. I was her employee at the end of the day, yet she seemed to be talking to me as if she had known me for years or considered me a friend.
“You have never asked why I am on medication or why I needed a nanny to help with the kids in the first place,” she stated, cocking her head to the side to study me. It wasn’t a question, but she made it sound like one.
“It is none of my business,” I said quietly, and her smile grew.
“That’s what I like about you. You are not a gossip. You are someone who can be trusted, Olivia. That is a good trait to have.”
I relaxed a little at her compliment and started to fiddle with the bottom of Gio’s shirt on my lap. I was curious about her life and had often wondered what she was dealing with behind closed doors.
“You told me on my first day that you liked your privacy. I am a private person myself, so I respect boundaries,” I said back. Immediately, I looked away from her embarrassed.Yeah, alright Liv.You just slept with your boss... Where were your boundaries then?
“I am bipolar. Always have been but I also suffer from depression and PTSD since Vinny’s death,” she said seriously, and my eyes darted up to hers, shocked she had shared that with me.
“I’m sorry. That must be very difficult,” I replied. I know all too well what PTSD feels like, but to be dealing with all of that at once must be a lot.
She nodded, “It is. Every day is a struggle. But I have the most wonderful family to keep me going,” she smiled, and I beamed back, thinking of Sani and Raya and Elle. And then Giovanni.
“You really have raised amazing children, Cecilia. They are a credit to you,” I said genuinely.
Her eyes shone with unshed tears, and she raised her immaculate nails to her lips.
“Thank you my dear. They are my world and all I wish for them to be in this life is happy.” I nodded and smiled but her face was serious, her gaze piercing. “Out of all my children, I worry about Giovanni the most.”
