Page 37 of The Vatican
The bastard.
Once I was moved into Francisco’s, he had informed me that we had a meeting with the adults this afternoon, and schedules had been rearranged for it, so it was a must. I didn’t mind, though. It was something that needed to be done.
So, now, we were making our way through the lobby of Kratos, heading towards the elevators. Our guards remained on the lobby floor as the elevator doors shut. Once inside, Francisco used his identification scan to lead us up to the top floor.
He looked down at me. “Nervous?”
I glanced up, one brow arched. “Not in the least,” I replied coolly. He chuckled but didn’t comment further.
Once we exited the elevator, we acknowledge Luca’s guards and Francisco used his palm to get us inside the foyer. But once inside the foyer, he stopped me. I looked up at him and the silly thought crossed my mind that I might end up developing a kink in my neck from looked up at him all the time. Francisco was almost an entire foot taller than me and it was annoying now that I was stuck with him for life.
“I need you to hear me out before we go in there, Fiore,” he started. I nodded for him to continue. “What they did was wrong-” Then he corrected himself. “I mean, what they did wasmisguided. But their…wish to see us together didn’t come from a malicious or controlling place. Considering who they are, it’s ridiculous to say it all came from a fanciful place to see us together, but that’s what it was. To them, as important as your mother is to all of them, it made sense in their eyes, that we should be together.”
“That doesn’t make it-”
“Luca,” he snapped, “listento me.” I shut my mouth. “Because I’ve been in love with you my whole life, I’ve paid attention. I’ve paid attention toeverythingabout you. Every fucking little thing.” I wanted to hear what he was saying, but it was hard to focus on anything else when he said shit like that to me. “And since I’ve been paying attention, I can tell you…” He grabbed me by my shoulders and impaled me with those black eyes of his. “…you have the power to do something no one else in this entire family can do. And that’s destroy this family.” My head jerked back, and I blinked at him in shock.
What in the actual hell?
“What are you talking about?”
His head tilted and his face softened and, Christ, he really was beautiful. “Baby, you are Ciro Mancini’s only niece. You are Phoenix Fiore’s only daughter. And you are Luca Benetti’s daughter-in-law to his heir. If you don’t forgive them, if you don’t accept this marriage-acceptme fully, sides will eventually be taken, Luca. Your unhappiness will begin to weigh on Aunt Frankie, and that is something Uncle Phoenix will not let stand. If he believes you are truly unhappy, he will support you in a divorce. And you and I both know my father will never allow that. Uncle Ciro will have to take a side, and we know he’ll take yours. Your mother is more important to him than my father is.” Tears started cascading down my face, and Francisco’s hands came up to cradle my jaw. “Be mad at them for what they did, but don’t punish them beyond what they deserve, Luca. Understand the power you wield but don’t abuse it. Don’t take it for granted, and don’t treat it carelessly. You, and you alone, have the power to destroy everything we’ve built here, and that’s…everything.” His hands ran up my face and into my hair. His fists tightened, and the look on his face took my breath away. “I’ll never let you leave me, Luca. I will never grant you even one night away from me. If you ever try to leave me, you will kick off an internal war that will burn down everything and everyone in Morgan City. Because I willnever,everlet you fucking go.”
“I…” I was at a loss for words. I’ve always just been Ria Fiore. I knew I had special privileges, but I never considered myself more important than any of the rest of the kids.
His eye came alive with love, lust, and possessiveness. “God, I want to fuck you up against the wall right now.” My eyes widened. “I want to fuck you until you’re screaming that you’ll never leave me.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his head down for a kiss. It was sloppy, painful, and frantic. His hands grabbed my thighs, and he had me up against the wall, my legs wrapped around his waist. I was wearing a summer dress because my body had ached too much to wear anything formfitting, so there was no protection against him except for my pink cotton panties. The friction burned.
“Francisco…” I breathed and wished I weren’t in pain or that we weren’t at Uncle Luca’s about to face them all. “Say it again.” I wanted to believe him. I wanted him to be telling the truth when he told me he loved me and would never let me go. I wanted what I was raised to believe in: a love that mattered more than anything else in the world.
“You’re mine,” he growled against my lips. “You’re mine, and I’ll never let you go. I will burn this entire city to the ground myself before I’ll ever let that happen, baby.”
“Uh…” the sound of someone clearing their throat had me dropping my head in Francisco’s neck.
“We’ll be right there,” Francisco bit out.
No one had access to the foyer, so it could only be Dad, Uncle Luca, or Uncle Ciro. But no matter which one it was, my face flooded with embarrassment at being caught with my legs wrapped around my husband’s waist like we were about to go at it in Uncle Luca’s foyer.
“Sure, no problem,” Uncle Ciro’s voice said. “Take your time, kids.”
“We’ll be right there,”Francisco repeated, and Uncle Ciro took himself off, but not before laughing at us.
Francisco set me back down on my feet, and I just dropped my head in his chest. “I cannot go in there now,” I mumbled.
Francisco’s arms came around my body, and he held me tight. “You’re the only person who can boast of being a Mancini, Fiore, and Benetti, baby,” he teased. “Fearlessness is in your blood.”
He was right.
I looked up at him, and grinned. “Well, then…let’s do this.”
He placed a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s.”
We walked into his parents’ house, hand-in-hand, and it felt good. It felt as if some of the control I lost with my parents taking away my choice in husband was reclaimed by choosing to make the most of it rather than fight against something that I knew, ultimately, I couldn’t win.
We walked in and everyone was in the living room. My parents were seated together on the right side of the couch. Uncle Ciro was standing behind Aunt Robbie, who sat in one of the single chairs. And Uncle Luca was standing near one of the bookshelves, while Aunt Remy sat in the chair closest to the fireplace.
Francisco escorted me to the empty side of the couch, opposite my parents, and he perched himself on the armrest behind me.
