Chapter Ten

~ Nico ~

I was a little stunned at the opulence of place Luca said we were going to live in. He had explained that it was a villa, but this looked more like a palace to me. It was bigger than a city block.

"I'm supposed to be in charge of this place?" Pure doubt laced my voice. "How?"

It would be impossible.

Luca chuckled. "We have servants, remember?"

I was not reassured.

"How many people live here?"

"Me, you, my grandparents, the servants, and the guards. There are personal suites for other family members in case they come to visit, plus several guestrooms, but that's about it."

That was a lot of people.

"We have our own personal suite of rooms as well." Luca frowned. "It's more like a three bedroom condo than a suite, though."

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, there's the master bedroom, of course, but there's also a sitting room, an office, and a guest bedroom. There's even a small kitchenette in case we get hungry and don't want to go downstairs to the main kitchen."

That sounded amazing, and a little overwhelming.

Luca must have seen the panic in my face because he gave me a quick hug and then opened the car door and scooted out. "Come on, cuore mio . Let's go in so I can show you that there is nothing to be afraid of."

I took Luca's hand because why wouldn't I? No matter the situation, I knew he'd make sure I was safe. I trusted him with my heart so it made sense that I'd trust him with my safety as well.

Once I was out of the car, I grabbed Luca's arm, wrapping my hands around it. It was the biggest lifeline I had right now.

It was also very muscular.

Really, really muscular.

Damn.

Luca's low chuckle drew my attention. "What?" I asked.

"Your face."

"What's wrong with my face?"

Did I have something on my face?

"Nothing, love." There was still amusement in his voice. "Come on."

I held tight to Luca's arm as we walked up the wide stone steps to the massive double oak doors of the villa. The door was opened before we reached it so I assumed people were watching for us.

"Welcome home, Mr. Sabatino," the man holding the door said. He was dressed the same as the bodyguards were, but a bit older than any of them.

"Thank you, Alberto." He gestured toward me. "This is my husband, Nicolas."

The older man's shoes clicked together and he gave me a rather deep bow. "Welcome home, Mr. Sabatino. We are glad to have you."

"Nico, please," I corrected.

"Mr. Nico then."

Yeah, that was going to be fun.

"Can you ask Sofia to make us a light lunch?" Luca asked. "Give us about an hour. I want to show Nico to our suite and then I have to meet with Grandfather."

"Of course, sir."

"Come on, love. Time to face the firing squad."

I glared at him. "Not funny, Luca."

Luca chuckled and leaned his face down close to me. "It was a little funny."

Okay, maybe, but I wasn't going to let him know that.

I raised an eyebrow.

The amusement instantly fell off his face.

I smirked. "Do I at least get to wear a blindfold?"

Luca rolled his eyes as he hauled me into his arms. "You scared me there for a moment, Nico."

"You deserved it."

Luca growled as he lifted me up and placed me against the wall, trapping me there with his bigger body. I don't know if he was trying to intimidate me or scare me or what, but all it did was turn me on.

"You want to tangle with me, little boy?" he grumbled in my ear before biting at the tender skin of my neck.

I shuddered with want and then wrapped my legs around his waist. "Oh yeah."

Luca's eyebrows were raised when he lifted his head. "You're not afraid of me at all, are you?"

My eyebrows snapped together. "Why would I be afraid of you?"

Luca would never lift a single finger to hurt me. That knowledge was ingrained in my soul.

Still holding me pinned to the wall with his body, Luca cupped my face with his hands. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

"Hopefully as much as I love you."

Nothing could have contained my groan as Luca claimed my lips. I pushed into the kiss, wanting more. Our little interludes on the plane hadn't been able to make up for these last ten years of not having him.

I could have happily gone on kissing him until I used up all the oxygen in my lungs if it hadn't been for a voice clearing next to us.

I froze for a moment and then slowly turned. I winced when I saw a man I remember quite well standing there.

I let my legs slid down Luca's hips and then stood. I could feel the heat in my face as I flamed with embarrassment and I could feel Luca's body shake against mine as he stifled his laughter.

I slammed my elbow into Luca's stomach. Luca let out a small grunt and rubbed his stomach, but I could tell he was still filled with amusement.

"Nico, this is my nonno, Alessio Sabatino ," Luca said. "Nonno , this is my Nico."

"We've met," the older man said.

I couldn't tell if he was happy about that or not.

I gave Luca's grandfather a polite bow. "Sir."

"It's good to see you finally, Nicolas," Alessio stated before shooting his grandson a hard glare. "I was beginning to think it would never happen."

My eyebrows lifted in surprise, or maybe it was shock. "You were expecting me?"

As soon as Alessio's gaze snapped to me, I wished I'd kept my mouth shut.

"We always knew Luca was going to be bringing you home, Nicolas. It was just a matter of when." The older man sighed heavily. "He should have brought you home the moment he got out of prison. I doubt I'll ever understand why he waited so long."

" Nonno , I explained this to you," Luca said. "I had to wait until I was powerful enough to fight his parents."

Alessio snorted before turning and walking down the hallway.

I turned wide eyes toward Luca. "Um..."

"Come on," Luca said. "Let's go meet my grandmother."

I wasn't sure I wanted to.

Alessio stepped out of a doorway at the other end of the hallway. "Luca, we need to talk."

That didn't sound good.

"Nico, our bedroom is upstairs, third door down on the left. Why don't you go wait for me there? Sofia is supposed to be making us something to eat. As soon as I get done speaking to my grandfather, we can have lunch."

I shot Alessio a quick glance before leaning closer to Luca. "He's not going to tell you to make me leave, is he?"

"No, baby," Luca replied. "He wants to talk to me about what happened to the D'Angelo family."

I wanted to believe him, but I wasn't sure if I did. Granted, Luca hadn't lied to me thus far, but I wasn't sure of Alessio's welcome. I couldn't tell if was really welcoming or simply acceptance since I was already here.

Luca sighed, grabbed my arm, and pulled me down the hallway to the room at the end. Alessio was sitting at a large mahogany desk on the other side of the room.

" Nonno , would you please tell Nico that he is welcome here?"

Surprisingly, the old man's eyes widened. "Nicolas, do you think you're not welcome here?"

Way to put me on the spot.

"I...uh..."

Alessio got up from the chair he had been sitting in and walked around the desk. He took my hand, holding it between both of mine, and then he stared at me so intently that before turning toward his grandson. "Luca, can you give me a few minutes with Nicolas?"

I almost begged Luca not to go, but I knew I needed to talk with the man. I needed to know now if I was staying or going before I got too comfortable here.

"It's okay," I told Luca.

"Are you sure?" Luca asked.

No, but I nodded anyway.

"I'll go check on lunch," Luca said before walking out of the room.

"Let's sit," Alessio said as he gestured to the small sitting area.

I walked over and sat on one of the chairs, folding my hands and sticking them between my thighs. They were trembling a bit, but I didn't want Alessio to see how anxious I was.

"Nicolas, do you remember what Luca was like before he went to prison?"

I nodded. Like I could ever forget. Thoughts of him had been the only thing to keep me going over the years.

"Luca was always a distant child," Alessio said. "I know it's due to how his parents raised him. My wife and I were not allowed to see him very often due to the work I did, but even then I could tell that there was something cold in Luca. As a mafia don, I loved seeing that. As a grandfather, I hated it."

I tilted my head, my brow furrowing. "What do you mean cold? I've never seen Luca being cold."

A small smile spread across Alessio's face. "When Luca was about twelve years old, we were visiting. Do you remember that?"

"Yes."

"That was the first time I ever saw Luca smile."

"Really." I was surprised. "But Luca smiles all the time."

"For you, Nicolas. He smiles for you. Luca doesn't smile for anyone else."

That was news to me, but we'd only been back together for like twenty-four hours or something.

"When he went to prison, I went to visit him. He didn't want to discuss what had happened or how he had ended up in there or even how to get him out. All he wanted to talk about was you and if you were okay, and then he demanded that I put a man on you."

"He did that?" Luca had said he'd been keeping an eye on me, but I hadn't known it had gone back that far. Gave me a bit of a warm feeling inside and I couldn't help but smile. "He worries about me."

"He's obsessed with you, and I'd worry about it if I didn't know you were just as obsessed with him."

I winced. "Yeah, well..."

It wasn't like I could deny that.

"In the last ten minutes, I have seem more happiness and warmth in Luca than I have in the last ten years. You bring that to him, Nicolas. You are his light. So, yes, Nicolas, you are very welcome here."

Tears flooded my eyes, both from Alessio's words and from my fear that he might not mean them. "How can you welcome me after what I did to him?"

Alessio frowned. "And what did you do to him, Nicolas?"

"I was responsible for Luca going to prison."

"Your parents were responsible for Luca going to prison, not you." The man's frowned deepened and he stared at me with hawk-like eyes before reaching over to grab my hand. "Surely you know that, Nicolas. You never did anything but love my grandson. You would never harm him. Everyone here knows that. If anything, you have been a blessing to him."

Nothing could have prevented the tears in my eyes from trickling down my cheeks. I couldn't believe after everything that had happened, he was accepting me so easily.

I had to wonder if I deserved it.

"Luca!"

I jumped when Alessio shouted.

The door instantly opened and Luca hurried in. He took one look at me before rushing over and going to his knees before me, grabbing my hands.

"Why are you crying, cuore mio ?"

I just shook my head.

Luca picked me up, turned around, sat in the chair, and then settled me on his lap. I buried my face in his neck and let my tears silently fall.

"What happened," Luca growled, anger infusing his tone.

"Nothing happened, Luca," Alessio stated. "Nicolas is just a little overcome at the moment. He's fine."

I didn't lift my head, but I did nod so that Luca would know that his grandfather was speaking the truth.

Luca rubbed his hand up and down my back. "Are you okay, cuore mio ?"

I nodded again.

"Here, wipe your tears, Nicolas, before Luca starts world war three." A moment later, a white handkerchief appeared in front of my face.

I chuckled as I took the handkerchief and wiped at my tears.

Once I was all done, Luca grabbed my chin and tilted my face up. "All better now?"

I nodded.

"Can you tell me what upset you so much?" Luca asked.

I smiled as I glanced at his grandfather. "It's a secret."

"What?" Luca exclaimed. "You're keeping secrets from me?"

I tilted my head back and grinned up at Luca. "Yep."

Alessio chuckled as he patted my knee. "You'll do, boy, you'll do."

And that might have been the best thing he could have said to me.