Undressed By The Mafia God

"It’s nothing," Luca said, waving off Valentina’s concern with arrogance. "More like a pinprick."

Vee looked at him.

A pinprick.

Marriage to Luca Genovese, she was realising, required a very flexible relationship with reality.

"Go on in," Luca told Val. "Don’t let me keep you."

Valentina smiled, then turned back to Marco. Her husband shifted Matteo carefully against his chest and guided her into the mansion.

Luca watched them disappear before turning towards his own wife. She stood beside the car, leaning lightly against it, the simple dress falling softly around her body. The cast on her thumb made one hand look slightly ridiculous, which she clearly hated. Her hair was loose around her shoulders.

"Hey, you," Luca said.

"Hey..." Vee smiled up at him, settling back against the car so she could look at him without straining.

"That was unexpected," Luca said.

"Val?"

"Yes. Usually, after a crisis, she tends to bring out her claws."

Vee’s mouth twitched. "Yeah... I told her to stop doing that."

"Where was I when this happened?"

She thought for a second. "I had no idea at the time. You were trying to get Marco to safety, I think."

Luca glanced down at her, surprise softening his expression. "I don’t want you to be at odds with your sister on my behalf."

Vee looked at him for a moment, then sighed. "It was a fight we needed to have. She needed to understand and come to terms with some difficult things."

Luca said nothing. He had seen enough of Valentina’s fear to know it often came out as accusation. She loved Veronica fiercely, but everyone dealt with fear in different ways.

"I guess it worked," Vee added.

"Yeah," Luca said slowly. "I’m surprised, really. You are always so gentle with her."

Veronica’s gentleness with Val had always fascinated him because she so rarely extended that patience to anyone else. With everyone else, she had a tongue sharp enough to split bone and a temper that could frighten.

With Val, she had always softened.

"She is a wife now," she said. "A mother. Responsible for a human being. I guess it was time for the gloves to come off. Besides, I couldn’t stand her disrespecting you."

Hearing Veronica defend him—not because he demanded it, but because he was hers, made him look at her with even more tenderness.

"You are my husband," she said.

Luca stepped closer. "You’re damn right I am." He placed both hands on the car beside her, caging her in. "I earned my fucking place."

Vee looked up at him through her lashes. "Yes, you did, Daddy."

Luca chuckled, then leaned down and kissed her. He pulled back before the kiss could become too much. He rested his forehead against hers and sighed. "So..." His mouth twisted, somewhere between amusement and suffering. "My mum blabbed to my dad and now every member of my family knows that I can not get it up yet."

Vee smiled. "Don’t worry. I won’t tell Val."

Luca shut his eyes as though she had just driven a knife directly into his pride. "Oh, the humiliation..." he groaned, dropping his head forward with theatrical despair. "The emotional massacre..."

Vee burst into laughter. Luca lifted his head slightly, watching her laugh. "I’m content with you, Luca," she said when the laughter softened. "Just you." Her eyes moved over his face, tender and teasing all at once. "Yes, your body is an added bonus—"

"Added bonus?" Luca interrupted, deeply offended. "Girl."

"Oh God."

"It should be the whole package," he said, stepping back slightly as if presenting evidence. "What the fuck are you talking about? Name anyone this fine. No, name them." He gestured to himself. "This face. Legs for days."

"You are a menace."

"And eyes to drown in."

"Jesus Christ," Vee muttered, laughing again. "Get your ass out of your head."

"My ass is excellent too. Thank you for reminding me."

She covered her face. "Lord, I walked straight into that."

They laughed together after that. After a while, the laughter faded into a quieter silence. Luca looked at her again. His whole life standing in front of him.

"I love you, Mrs Genovese," he said softly. "You are the strongest woman I have ever been fortunate enough to know."

She reached for him, and he bent immediately, meeting her halfway. She kissed him softly at first, then deeper. He let her set the pace, let her decide how much closeness she wanted.

When she pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers once more. For a few seconds, neither spoke.

Then Luca exhaled.

"So," he said, "Don thinks he can help me." Luca looked towards the mansion. "When it comes to my personal life, I don’t trust Don as far as I can throw him."

Vee reached up and touched his cheek. "As long as we work through this together, we will be fine. It doesn’t matter what. Just let me be by your side."

Luca turned his face into her palm and kissed it. "Always...Always, Bambola."

"Do we head inside now?" she asked. "Or do you want to keep me trapped here?"

Luca’s eyes darkened with amusement. "I can keep you trapped anywhere." He slipped an arm carefully around her waist. "Come on. You need rest."

Vee leaned into him as they began walking towards the house.

*****

At dinner later that night, Don formally announced Veronica’s pregnancy. Even though Val was the only one still out of the loop.

It was followed by squeals, hugs, congratulations, and emotional noise.

Valentina rushed to Veronica. "Oh my God, Vee..."

"I know," Vee whispered, laughing through tears of her own. "I know."

Marco sat quietly, watching his wife. He knew something was wrong with her. Valentina was smiling too brightly. To anyone else, she probably looked happy. Emotional, yes, but understandably so. Her sister had come home alive.

But Marco knew Val. He knew the difference between her real smile and the one she put on. He knew how her fingers kept moving beneath the table, worrying at the edge of her napkin. He knew how her eyes sometimes drifted somewhere far away.

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