Filed to story: Bound by Honor (Aria & Luca) Drama Story
“Yeah, let’s leave the baby producing to our siblings. They seem only too keen to fill the earth with more inhabitants.”
I kissed Matteo long and slow. “Thank you. I know most mobsters would lose their shit if their wife suggested something like that. You wanting to do this is the greatest proof of your love I can imagine.”
“Do I really still need to prove my love for you?”
“No.” I pressed closer to him. “If anyone’s got more proving to do then it’s me. But I love you so much, it’s hard to put into words.”
We drove to the Hamptons afterward, even if Aria had given us the option to join them in the morning. I wanted to be under the same roof as Isa in the night. When we arrived at the mansion after midnight, the windows were dark. We headed straight for our bedroom as not to disturb anyone and went for another round of fucking, this time far less gentle, in our bed. Afterward we lay in each other’s arms, staring into each other’s eyes.
“Maybe we should relieve Aria and Luca,” I whispered. It was strange not to have the baby monitor at my side to listen to every sound Isa made.
Matteo chuckled. “Missing our little poo machine?”
I shrugged. “I do. It’s the first time we left her with someone else for so many hours.”
Matteo stroked my hair. “She’s fine. Luca and Aria are taking care of her.”
“We’re lucky,” I said quietly. “Without them, we wouldn’t be here today.”
“Yeah, they are our better halves,” Matteo joked.
“They are.” I traced Matteo’s tattoo. “Sometimes I worry about Isa.”
Matteo’s eyes became sharp. “Why? You know I’ll protect her.”
“I don’t mean an outside attack. I worry about her growing up in the Famiglia with all its old-fashioned rules. The outside world changes but our world remains mostly the same. Girls still remain virgins until they marry. Even if we don’t teach her those values, she’ll be surrounded by them.”
Matteo shook his head. “I really don’t want to think about our innocent little daughter ever having sex. I can see how crazy Luca gets when anyone comments on Marcella being ten and how it could be time to look for a good match for her.”
“As if anyone could ever be good enough for Marci in Luca’s eyes. I feel pity for the poor idiot who’ll have to marry her.”
Matteo grinned like a shark. “Luca and I will have a long conversation with him.”
“You two are impossible,” I muttered. “But it isn’t only that. What about arranged marriages, bloody sheets, cutting the bride out of her dress and all that?”
“How about we try to survive the first ten years before we worry about teenage years, and marriage and bloody sheets?”
I huffed. Matteo pulled me closer and kissed me. “Not all arranged marriages are bad.”
“Luca and Aria are the exception.”
“I was talking about us,” Matteo said.
I opened my eyes in fake shock. He growled and rolled on top of me. “Everyone always said I needed to teach you manners, where did I go wrong?”
He nuzzled my neck in a distracting way.
“Wrong woman,” I whispered then sucked in a breath when he licked a particularly sensitive spot at my throat.
“Just the woman I need,” he growled, but his wandering hands distracted me from a reply.
We fell asleep in each other’s arms but sometime during the night I woke and couldn’t fall back asleep. I carefully untangled myself from Matteo and tiptoed out the door and toward the nursery. The mansion was big enough so that every child had their own room and every baby their own nursery.
I hoped Isabella was there and not in Aria’s and Luca’s bedroom with them. I opened the door and froze at the sight before me. The small night light cast a yellowish glow in the room. Luca was asleep in the armchair and Aria was curled up on top of him. Isabella was fast asleep in her crib but I assumed she had kept them awake most of the night if they’d decided to sleep in the nursery. She’d been a bit fussy these last few days but I’d hoped she’d settle down tonight.
I took a step inside and Luca’s eyes shot open, tension radiating through his body, his arm coming protectively around my sleeping sister. Then his eyes settled on me and he relaxed. He yawned and glanced at the clock. It was four a.m.
He rose with Aria in his arms, cradling her to his chest and came slowly toward me.
I mouthed, “Thank you.”
Luca nodded. “Will Matteo be more tolerable tomorrow?” he asked in a low voice.
I rolled my eyes at him but couldn’t stop a smile from forming.
Luca shook his head and muttered something I didn’t catch before he walked off with Aria’s sleeping form.
I watched them a moment longer before I moved silently toward the crib. Isabella looked so peaceful and cute, I had to stop myself from picking her up and cuddling her. I didn’t want to wake her. I dragged the chair a bit closer and sank down with my chin on the rail so I could watch my baby. I reached out for her and stroked her cheek then her reddish-brown hair. It was a bit lighter than Matteo’s but darker than mine. Her eye color was still difficult to determine, a mix of blue and brown, but she had my freckles. They graced her cheeks and nose adorably.
“I knew I’d find you here,” Matteo murmured as he came in, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips. Those abs still got me every time. He leaned over me, his chin lightly resting atop my head.
“I still can’t believe she’s ours. She looks so innocent and peaceful.”