Page 185 of The Devil's Fire

“Okay, yes, but only a little!” I confessed. “It’s not like I could understand much of it anyway. Turns out my Italian sucks.” I huffed. I thought my Italian was still pretty good until I heard Damiano speak.

“You just found out?” He gave me a teasing smile, making me gape at him.

“You think I suck, too? Damn.” I mumbled.

“Considering you haven’t spoken the language in years, I would say it’s pretty good.” Damiano tried to cheer me up. “I’ll speak to you in Italian so you can improve.” He offered after seeing how bummed I was.

“Deal! But speak slowly. Seriously, you sound like Eminem rapping in Italian.” I said, earning a laugh from him.

“You always surprise me with your choice of words.” He shook his head. “You will be ready when I take you to visit my family in Italy.” Damiano smiled softly when I looked at him in surprise.

“I would love that!”

“I know. You’re going to love my mother and my Nonna. They’re going to give me hell for not telling them I have found someone. Nonna is going to be after my ass for getting you pregnant before marriage, but she’ll be happy. She’s been nagging about babies for years.” He scoffed, making me laugh as I could picture it perfectly. I suddenly had an idea that could hopefully help me negotiate to stay.

“I was thinking that maybe you could pick out a few places for us to look at before I get there?”A crease formed between his brows, and I hurriedly continued before he could brush off the idea. “I just need some time to explain everything to my mother. I can’t simply drop everything and say, ‘see ya, I’m moving out.’ Give me two weeks, and I promise I’ll be by your side for good.”

Damiano didn’t agree, but he didn’t reject my idea, either. I knew he needed time to think about it, so I let him be and resumed resting my head on his shoulder.

Damiano extended his stay and spent the next two days taking care of me. He did everything he could to make me feel better, and despite my body feeling a bit sore from staying in bed all the time, I was already better.

I didn’t know how, but I had finally, somehow, persuaded him to go back without me. It took some convincing, but he finally gave in.

“I’m heading over to Cara’s room to borrow some clothes.” I said to Damiano as I slipped on a robe.

“I’ll go with you.”

We made our way down the corridor as their room was a few doors down. I had texted Cara a while ago, and she left the door unlocked, so I could just come whenever I felt like it.

Coming to a stop in front of their room, Damiano pulled down the handle and swung the door open. He quickly shut the door, and my jaw dropped. My entire face burned hot at the sight I had witnessed.

Lorenzo stood butt naked, his back turned towards the door, as he pounded himself inside of Cara, who was bent over the armchair.

I put a hand up to my mouth, and what started as a giggle turned into a full-on fit of laughter, making it hard for me to breathe with tears blurring my sight. Damiano, on the other hand, had his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I guess we should expect pregnancy news soon.” I managed to get out between laughs as I tried to calm down and wiped away the tears. Suddenly, the door opened, clothes were thrown at us, and it got slammed shut. This time, we heard it lock.

“Keep it sharp, my brother!” I yelled to Lorenzo through the door. Damiano shook his head at me before grabbing my hand.

“I need to wash my eyes with fucking bleach.” He said with a scowl on his face and a mix of disgust. I burst out laughing again at the sight.

fifty-nine

Damiano

Althaia said her goodbyes to the others, and I drove her back home. Not ready to let her go just yet, I walked with her inside. She greeted her mother, and she received a curt nod from me as we made our way to her room.

“What time are you leaving?” Althaia stepped between my legs as I took a seat on her bed. She wrapped her arms around my neck. I held her against my body, savoring the moment, knowing I wouldn’t be able to hold her for a while.

“Once the others are ready, we will leave.” I sighed, still not happy that I was leaving without her. But I knew I had to be patient and give her the time to sort things out before having her all to myself.

“You’ll be fine.” She spoke softly before moving to straddle my lap and leaning in to kiss me.

The moment her lips met mine, I was overcome with desire, and I eagerly responded, losing myself in the intensity of our kiss. I held on to her tightly, unwilling to let her go, and wondered how the fuck she had successfully convinced me to leave without her.

The only thing that was keeping me sane was knowing Antonio would be here as well, keeping an eye on them both as an extra precaution.

“Althaia…” I gently held her hands to prevent her from removing my shirt. “You’re still sick.”

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