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“Move!!” I shouted as I soared towards him, picking up speed. He didn’t hear me.
“Liv, turn!” I heard Giovanni shout behind me. How the fuck do I turn?
Lifting one leg slightly off the floor and leaning on the other in the hope that I would turn left was a big mistake. I wobbled, slammed my leg back down and my skis were now vertical and I was zooming down the mountain at a deadly speed. Oh my god, this is how I die!
The boy jumped out my way just in time and I screamed as I realised I couldn’t stop myself. I had lost complete control of my legs and there wasn’t a chance of forcing them into a snow plough against the friction of the icy floor.
“AHHHHHHHHH!! Help!!” I screamed like my life depended on it. Suddenly, a powerful force slammed into my body from the side and strong arms snagged me around my waist. At the last instant, I was twisted in the air and landed with a thud on top of a hard body. I quickly pulled up my goggles onto my forehead and blinked rapidly down at Giovanni. He groaned loudly and his face scrunched up in pain as I realised he had taken all the impact of our fall.
“You...saved me,” I breathed.
His goggles were nowhere to be seen and he lifted his head out of the snow and opened his eyes.
“And you nearly killed me,” he grumbled, and I tried to scramble off him quickly in case he was really injured. His huge hands gripped my arms and pulled me back down onto his chest. “Where do you think you are going?”
“Are you hurt? Shall I call for help?” I looked up frantically and realised he had veered us completely off the run and we had landed in a pile of snow at the beginning of a thicket of trees.
“My stomach,” he grimaced. “Can you check it?” He screwed his eyes shut and dropped his head back in the snow. Shit. I pulled his tight top out of his trousers and put my hand under it on his chiselled abs. He wasn’t bleeding. “Lower,” he groaned, and I moved my hand down over his stomach, his taut abs rippling beneath my hand. Fuck sake Liv, this was not the time to get aroused. Everything felt fine and looked normal. “Owww, lower!” he growled in pain. I realised if I went any lower, I would be in his trousers.Ah.
Freezing my hand as it reached the band of his ski pants, I glanced up at his face. He lifted his head and rewarded me with the cheekiest smirk, and I gasped. He was faking it!
“You...!” I went to playfully hit his chest, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me up to his lips, smacking them against mine. I instantly melted as our lips parted and his hands went up into my hair, deepening our kiss. The sparks that were igniting through my body were causing me to moan as his tongue slipped over mine, the passion between us still rife. How would I ever get enough of this man? He had been the forbidden fruit dangling in front of me, tempting me and teasing me. I knew I would be ruined if I had just one bite. One taste. But did I listen?
I bit. I tasted. And I fell.
Control
Cecilia
“Ihate to admit it, mamma, but you were right,” my daughter smirked at me from across the wooden table we were currently having a large glass of wine at.
“Of course I was.”
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Maybe you could put your match-making skills to good use and find me a gorgeous man that Gio will tolerate. I can’t even look in a man’s direction without him scaring them off.”
She rotated her fingertip over the rim of her glass as she gazed out at the people zooming down the slopes. We sat in my favourite Après ski bar where the terrace overlooked the runs and you could watch people to your hearts' content. It was where Vinny and I spent most of our evenings, curled up under a fur blanket next to the open firepit.
“He is only looking out for you, mio amore. Men like him are raised to look out for the women in their life. He does not know any other way to be and, since your papi is not here to do it himself, Gio has taken that role on himself. He will be the same with Raya, I am sure,” I explained, sticking up for my eldest son. It was a trait most of society would frown upon. The overprotectiveness and what was deemed as controlling behaviour, but it came from a good place. It came from a need to protect and care. It took me a while to grow accustomed to it with Vinny and Salvatore to an extent. Once mafioso men care for a woman, they see them as their responsibility. When I first met the Buccini brothers, I was an independent, stubborn and feisty lawyer who didn’t need a man to take care of her. I still am that girl at heart but I quickly came to realise that Vinny wasn’t trying to control me or cage me. He was showing his love in the only way he knew how. He did learn how to let go a little over the years and gave me space when I needed it and we soon fell into an understanding of each other's needs that worked for us. I see so much of myself and Vinny in Olivia and Gio. I just hope their story has a happier ending, but there is one thing for certain in this life. It is short. And there is no point in wasting valuable time with the what ifs or buts. True love is the most powerful thing in the world and the one thing I wanted all my children to experience.
“I understand that mamma, but I am twenty-three and I have never had a boyfriend! It’s embarrassing. As soon as men hear the name Buccini they run a mile or I see the euro symbols in their eyes,” she huffed. My sweet girl was all about the fairytale. She wanted the perfect man to save her from what she deemed as a life of confinement. It was more than likely that she would marry within the mafioso. A man that Giovanni trusted and had earned his respect. A man who would protect her and care for her. But I knew that was not what my little bird wanted. She wanted to be set free. To find a normal, uncomplicated man who she could explore life with.
“When you meet the one Elle, you will know and so will Gio. He will back off when it is right,” I smiled reassuringly, but she tutted in response.
“Mamma, where is Liv?” Sani asked as he, Marco and Raya saddled up onto the wooden benches of our table.
“Skiing with Gio,” I smiled down at him fondly. His little face scrunched up, deep in thought.
“But she ismyfriend,” he replied, and Elle widened her eyes at me in amusement.
“Oh yes the Buccini men start young,” she chuckled, and I scolded her as Sani looked between us confused.
“Yes, she is your friend, Sani, but she is also Gio’s... friend,” I said carefully. Elle was trying to hide her laughter behind her wine glass.
“I think Gio loves her,” Raya suddenly interrupted, causing all of us to stare down at her in surprise.
“Does he mamma? Liv needs a prince,” Sani looked up at me hopefully and I couldn’t help the beaming smile and fullness of my heart for my youngest children. Clearly, it wasn’t just me who could see the importance Liv had on our family. On Giovanni.
“I hope so. But it is best we let them decide.”
