Keeley's POV
What in the actual fuck, am I doing? Am I- am I flirting?
Hell, I'm flirting with some extremely good-looking, Italian man I just met. But my God, that boy was made of something else entirely.
The first thing I had noticed about him were his eyes. Within those dark ocean colored, sparkling orbs, I could see every single emotion that he was feeling so freely, and from that, I could see how I affected him just as much as he did me. His strong frame towered over me as I stood in front of him, but it let me see every fine detail on his face. His sharp jawline was shadowed with the smallest amount of stubble and his nose was slightly crooked from what I'm guessing to be a few broken noses. His tousled ebony hair was slightly out of place from where his hands had probably run through it. He was captivating. From the way he simply just carried himself to how he appeared to wear his heart on his sleeve, it made me want to know everything about him. And I'd be lying if I said it didn't scare the hell out of me.
I look at myself in the bathroom mirror, and I look like I just walked off a horror movie scene with the amount of blood on my body. I look like a madwoman. My hair was wild and matted with dark crimson, and my face wasn't much better. A deep purple and blue bruise had formed over my right eye and temple from where I had taken a hit. I couldn't see the side of my neck due to my hair and all of the blood. My clothes were sticking to me and were damp with various bodily fluids. The only thing I liked about my appearance was my eyes. For the first time in what seems like forever, they look alive. I'm a hot mess, but I feel good, and I'll take that any day.
I peel the blood-stained clothes off of my body and set them in a different hamper, knowing damn well I'll have to send them to my father's dry cleaners. I step into the hot shower and let out a small moan at how good the water feels on my skin. I let my muscles relax as I scrub my body till the water is no longer red.
I wrap a towel around my aching body, brush my teeth, and walk to my closet. I have no idea as to why I suggested going to that French restaurant. Not only is it expensive, but it requires me to dress nicely, and as of right now, I would really prefer to just put on a pair of sweats.
Much to my inner-protest, I slipped on one of my favorite black dresses that reached mid-thigh and had long, mesh, black-lace sleeves. Between the deep, scalloped neckline and the way it flowed, I felt undeniably pretty. I paired the dress with a pair of thick black heels and a simple silver coin necklace Brady had given me for my birthday last year.
I quickly pulled a few pieces of hair back into a twist and secured it at the back of my head, followed by applying makeup so I could hopefully hide how bad my bruise actually was. My neck looked fine, but I found a large enough band-aid and stuck it to where I had been grazed.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror and stared at the girl who I saw. She was glowing. The way she stood tall only added to the confidence that was radiating off of her. This girl looked like no one could stand in her way. It had been a long time since I felt this way. I did something good today, even though it did require killing people, but knowing that I made my father proud warmed me, and for just a second, made me feel like I actually belong here.
I look at the small clock that sits on my bathroom counter, and my eyes went huge. It's now about eleven and I have taken way too long to get ready. I hastily shove my phone, wallet, keys, and gun into my purse before kissing Gus and rushing out my door.
However, in my moment frenzy, I don't notice the muscled Italian body right outside my door with his arm in the air until my body hits his. I prepare myself to land flat on my face, yet it never comes. I open my eyes slowly only to be met with a pair of stormy blue ones. Luca.
His woodsy and masculine scent envelops me as I take in his all-black dress pants and button-up shirt with a thin silver chain dangling from his neck. His broad chest pushes at his custom-tailored shirt as each of his breaths become more labored than the last. I force my eyes back to his and I notice they have considerably darkened. Neither one of us speaks as all we can do is take each other in.
"I was-um," he clears his throat as it was considerably low and laced with his heavy Italian accent. "I was sent to come check up on you and see if you were ready for lunch."
I just stare at him until it hits me that I am still looking up at him from where I am dipped in his arms. I slightly cough before gaining my composure and standing back up. His gentle yet strong hands remain on my back as I gaze into those startling ocean eyes I have already grown so fond of.
"Yeah, sorry. I lost track of time," I finally manage to say. He gives me a slight nod, but neither of us makes any attempt to actually move.
It was finally me who unwillingly looked away and stepped out of his hold. "We should get going," I say without meeting his eyes. He looks at me looks almost as if he can see right through to everything I try to hide, and I'm not sure how to feel about that.
His eyes snap back into focus as his head slightly shakes. A small smile graces his lips as he follows me down the hallway and to the foyer where everybody else awaits.
"Keeley, the hell do you think you're wearing?" Nick snaps at me the moment I step off of the last stair. I look at him and see that he is dressed similarly to how everyone else is. They all wear black dress pants with a crisp button-down shirt and dress shoes. Might I say they actually look good.
"For fuck's sake, Nick, we aren't having this discussion yet again. I have made it very clear that I'm going to wear what I want to wear."
Stefano lets out a small laugh but quickly covers it up with a cough. He knows me well enough to know I don't listen to anybody if I don't want to.
"Let her be, Nick. She looks nice," Callan's gruff voice breathes out. The Moretti's look a little startled at the sound of Cal's hoarse voice. My guess is that he hasn't spoken to any of them since they arrived a couple of hours ago.
"How about lunch, yeah?" my father steps in, trying to keep the peace. This seems to have become an everyday discussion where Nick tells me I need to change and someone has to step in before I tear his head off.
"We'll have to take a couple of cars considering there's eleven of us. Stefano and I will go in my car. Callan, take your brothers, Giovanni, and Matteo because your car can hold quite a few people. Luca, you'll ride with Keeley. Good? Let's go."
My mouth is slightly agape as all of the mafia men start to walk out of the house. Great. Now I'm stuck with one of the only people on earth who can make me feel like a pile of mush.
I follow Luca out of the house and lock the door before closing it tightly. "The Hummer is mine," I tell him as he looks around. He nods his head and together we walk to my car and get in.
We've only been on the road a few minutes, but I can't get over how attractive Luca makes just sitting their look. He has rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and it has my mind doing funny things.
Snap out of it, Keeley. You don't do relationships.
"So, tell me something about yourself," I tell him hoping I come off as friendly and not as desperate as I think I do. His eyes shoot over to me for a moment before returning to the road ahead of us.
"Not much to tell. I like to think I'm a pretty normal guy, you know, besides the whole mafia assassin thing." I let out a small laugh because I can tell that he is anything but.
"You laughing at me?" he says while feigning hurt. His hand slaps over his chest and his mouth drops open, causing another laugh to escape me.
"I just find it hard to think that you're "normal." That's all, really," I tell him as I send a quick glance his way.
"Okay then, Keeley. Tell me something about you. Something interesting." His body is leaning up against the corner of where the seat and the door meet, and he is staring at me with a smug look plastered on his handsome face.
"Well," I think for a moment as my gaze is on Callan's car in front of me, "I really hate peas."
He goes quiet for a second before I glance over at him. He lets out the loudest yet most beautiful laugh I've ever heard. It fills the air and I find myself letting out a small laugh with him. "What?"
"I asked for something interesting, Keeley," he finally manages to say. A bright smile is on his face, showcasing his pearly white teeth. "You not liking peas, as much as I agree with you, is not what I had in mind."
"Okay, then what do you want to know?" I ask without even realizing all of the awful things he could actually ask me to tell him.
He pauses for a moment before he finally speaks, "What is one memory that makes you laugh the most?"
Well, I wasn't expecting that, but a small smile crosses my face as I remember one of my favorite stories. "I remember, once, that when I was back at military school, my team and I were allowed one free day off base. We all decided to try and be typical teenagers, instead of our unruly selves, and we went to the closest mall. That, however, didn't really pan out like we had hoped, though." A small chuckle escapes me as I peek over at Luca. He's looking at me like the words that are coming out of my mouth are the air he needs to breathe, and for some odd reason, that look makes my stomach erupt with all sorts of weird feelings.
"The car the school had lent us broke down in the middle of nowhere. I remember all of us piling out and trying to figure out what had happened, even though none of us knew a thing about cars. One of my best friends, Brady, was trying to be all serious and mature about this whole situation, but in the middle of his little shpiel, it started downpouring." A carefree and loud laugh escaped my lips.
"Within minutes, everything had turned to mud. My friend, Dylan, went to go walk around the car to get inside, but he slipped in the mud and fell down this huge hill. Me, being the idiot I was, went to try and catch him, but he decided to take me down instead. I remember him and me flying down that hill and somehow managing to hit every single thing in our path. The other three, Brady, Lexi, and Alice, tried to help, yet that only resulted in them falling down the hill too. The one thing I remember most though," I laugh, " is the fact that once all of us stopped moving and just looked at each other, none of us could stop laughing. We were all cold and covered from head to toe in mud, but none of us cared because we were free. And that was a pretty damn good feeling."
When my laughter finally dies down, I look over to where Luca was and his eyes were swirling with warmth as a radiant smile stretched across his face. "You know, I didn't picture you as a delinquent, Ms. Military-School."
I shot him a quick smile. "Well, what can I say? I like to piss people off and use violence to solve my problems."
A deep belly laugh slips from his mouth and I can't help but join him. "So tell me, Mr. Moretti, what's your favorite memory?"
***
By the time we arrived at the restaurant, Luca and I were both in tears from laughing so hard. I had learned over the course of the hour drive that his favorite color is green, he's 19, he hates sheep with a passion, works for his dad as an assassin, and is a secret bookworm. Oh, and that he enjoyed messing with his brothers just as much as I enjoyed messing with mine.
"So you're telling me," I laugh as we step out of the car, "you got your ass handed to you on a silver platter by a twelve-year-old girl because you called her a "twerp"?"
He gave me an exaggerated look like he was offended, but I really knew he wasn't. "She caught me off guard and was completely vicious, Tesoro. You would have been pretty spooked, too."
(darling)
Tears were falling from my eyes from laughing too hard as I kept trying to a 17-year-old Luca getting beaten up by a twelve-year-old. We walked together to where our families were, me crying and him silently chuckling.
"The hell, Luca? You made the poor girl cry?!" Giovanni yelled. Everyone turned to us and I tried to speak up, but you know that when you laugh so hard no noise comes out? Yeah, that was me right now and all I could do was slap Luca's arm in an attempt to keep myself from falling over in laughter. Really, the story itself wasn't that funny, but the way he told it made me think it was the best thing in the world.
All of the boys started yelling at him and poor Luca didn't even know what to say. "Guys, calm down," I manage to say after taking some deep breaths. "I'm laughing at a story he told me."
All of them calmed down and after further reassurance that I'm fine, we all started to walk inside. Luca's hand urged me forward as it pressed lightly on my low back, and I'd be lying if I said that didn't make me all warm inside.
We are lead to a long table in the middle of the dining room. The dining room itself was like a scene from a movie. The floors were dark brown, as were the tables and finishes. Dim lighting filled the high ceiling room as shades of yellow and cream were painted on the wall. Rod iron Juliet balconies surrounded the few windows as fake ivy lined the wooden beams on the ceiling. This room screamed elegance.
Luca pulled out a chair for me, and after saying my thanks I sat down with him next to me. My father sat at one end of the table while Stefano sat at the other. I was sandwiched between Nick and Luca with Callan sitting beside Nick. Finn, Giovanni, Matteo, and the twins were across from us.
"This is a very beautiful restaurant, Keeley. Good choice," Stefano said while sending me a knowing look. I'm confused at first, but remember how the first place Stefano took me when I was assigned to work with him was a small French cafe with the absolute best pastries I'd ever had.
I return the look to him with a small smile.
"Hello, my name is Gabriel, and welcome to Bella. I'll be your waiter tonight. What can I get you started with?" our waiter speaks with a heavily laced French accent.
The men order first, and when it becomes my turn, the waiter falters the tiniest bit. "Et pour toi, ma belle?" he asks. I'm not sure how he knows I speak French, but I run with it.
(And for you, beautiful?)
"J'aimerais un verre d'eau." The whole table looks at me wide-eyed when I respond in French, but the waiter only gives me a small smirk. He nods his head and walks off, leaving me to face the stares of these giant men myself.
(I would like a glass of water.)
"Since when do you know French?" Sam asks in shock.
"I've known it for a while," I shrug wishing that I really had that water right now so I wouldn't be the center of their attention.
"So you speak Italian, Latin, and French?" Matteo's curious voice asks.
"Well, I speak eight languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Latin, Dutch, and Scottish Gaelic." I look around the table and everybody's face is filled with either shock or confusion.
Languages have always been easy for me. At Mount Reform, the more languages you know, the more missions you are qualified for. Whenever I wasn't busy with chores, missions, or training, I was in the library learning. I mean, Stefano taught me Italian and I learned Russian from elsewhere, but most of the time I would read books in different languages to learn.
"Your drinks," our waiter spoke while setting them down in front of each of us. Thank God.
After he took our orders, all of us fell into separate conversations and things went back to normal.
"You know, Tesoro, I'm not going to lie, you speaking eight languages is pretty attractive," Luca told me in a low voice. I tried not to show him how much his words affected me, but ultimately I could feel a slight blush cover my cheeks.
"Do you now?" I ask and surprisingly, my voice comes out confident and sarcastic. He sets his left arm on the back of my chair and leans closer to me. His woodsy scent fills my nose and the thin silver chain that lays around his neck shifts off of his chest to dangle in front of him.
"Tell me something, Keeley. Diriez-vous que c'est intéressant que je parle aussi français?" he asks me in French. His dark ocean eyes are dancing with amusement as he searches my face for my reaction.
(Would you say it's interesting that I also speak French?)
I sit up straighter and a lazy smirk crosses my face. I turn to face him and he is much closer than I thought. Just two inches and my lips would be touching his.
"à interessante," I tell him in his native tongue. I can tell my eyes are alive and wild when I look at him. "Ma quello che mi intriga di più è il modo in cui la tua mano destra è nel burro."
(It's interesting. But what intrigues me most is the way your right hand is in the butter.)
His dark ocean eyes go wide as he whips his head to the table, where he did in fact have his right hand sitting in the bowl filled with little circles of butter.
"Shit!" he yells quietly. Luca yanks his hand out of the butter, but the ceramic bowl falls over and all of the little butterballs go rolling all over the white-clothed table. I burst out into a fit of giggles, trying to keep my voice down. Nobody even realized what was going on because they were enveloped in their own conversations, but when Nick sets his elbow on the table and straight into a butterball, I fucking lose it.
I burst out into laughter and tears spring to my eyes as I watch Luca's face go pale and the tips of his ears go bright red in embarrassment. I slap my hand down on the table and if they weren't looking before, they definitely are now. Luca is rushing to collect the dozen or so balls of butter that are spread across the table, and this for some reason only makes me laugh harder.
"Luca...what are you doing?" Stefano asks obviously confused as to why there's butter piled in his hand and why I'm now just shaking as no noise is coming out.
"He's-he's just a little hungry," I spit out while continuing to laugh as the blush is now slowly creeping up his neck. He shoots me a look and I look back to where Nick is. He's still oblivious to the butter on his elbow.
"Nick, you've- you've got a little something," I laugh as I bring a hand up to my mouth to stop me from going into another fit of giggles.
Everybody's gaze slowly moves from me to Nick's elbow as he lifts it off the table. Nobody says anything for a moment, and we all just stare at his elbow.
Then all at once, the entire table bursts out laughing. Nick's bewildered gaze is stuck on Luca whose face is the epitome of embarrassment.
After a minute or two, the laughs subside and I can finally catch my breath. We all sit in a comfortable silence until my father speaks up.
"On a different note," he starts. His face is red from laughter and he looks happier than I've seen him in a long time. "I've decided that tomorrow we are going to have our End-of-Summer cookout. You kids can invite your friends or whomever you want and it will start at noon. We'll have food and everything so it should be fun."
My ears perk up when he says that we can invite friends, and I immediately make a mental note to text the group chat later.
Gabriel returns to our table along with a couple of other waiters. With our food having arrived, we dine and talk for the rest of the afternoon.
***
By the time we got back to the house, it was well past nine o'clock. After Bella, we had spent our afternoon around the town going into some shops and really just getting to know each other better. Stefano is just as I remembered: blunt, funny as hell, and way too sarcastic. Giovanni reminds me a lot of Nick with the way he carries himself and the way he talks. Maybe it's just a first-born thing. Matteo is pretty laid back and easy-going, much like Finn is, but is goofy like Sam.
And Luca, well he's just Luca. The two of us spent most of the afternoon just talking to each other and telling stories. He makes me feel normal and like there isn't a care in the world. The way he talks to me and the way he tells these stories, I feel like I've known him my whole life.
"Well, goodnight everyone," I yawn as we step into the house.
"It's only 9:30, though. You sure you don't want to watch a movie with us?" Finn asks me. The look in his blue eyes tells me he wants me to stay, but I'm so unbelievably tired.
"Are you forgetting I murdered 22 men this morning and got shot in the neck? I think I well deserve a good night's sleep," I chuckle. Nick's eyes snap to mine and the realization of what I said sinks in.
"So you WERE shot?" he yells frantically. He looks from me to our father as his hands fly all around. I swear, not many things bring me more joy than watching Nick flip out.
"Goodnight," I sing while going up the stairs and sending a little finger wave behind me. I hear a chorus of snickers and goodnights as I walk down the hall and to my room.
Gus's head perks up when I walk in, and his little tail immediately starts to wag. I'm thankful I left some food out this afternoon so he didn't go hungry, as well as how my father installed an extra-large dog door that could only be opened by the little chip in his collar.
I give him a kiss and scratch his ears before walking into my closet. I step out of the heels that had been killing my feet all day and slip out of my dress. I take my bra off and put on a pair of faded-cotton pajama shorts and an old t-shirt that used to be Brady's before I took it from him. I throw my hair up into a messy bun before brushing my teeth and washing the makeup off my face. The bruise on my eye and temple is extremely dark and has been throbbing since lunch. I take some Tylenol before walking into my room and sinking into my mound of fluffy blankets.
I'm so fucking exhausted, and the weight of the day's events finally comes crashing down. I went on my first task since Mount Reform and sustained some pretty pain-filled injuries. I would never tell Nick that my face and neck are on fire and hurt every time I move, though. He has enough to worry about. He doesn't need me to be added to the list.
Not to mention I have four new housemates, one of which I thought was dead and one I feel so strongly about. Luca is just- I don't know how to even explain it. I hate relationships, I really do. They end in hurt and people get hurt, but, I can't just deny the attraction between the two of us. He stole quick touches throughout the day and blatantly flirted with me while I continued to just go along with it. He makes me laugh- God does he make me laugh, and the way he looks at me, it's like I actually matter to him, like he cares about the words I speak.
Gus lays across my body as I settle in a little more. But before I can get too comfy, a soft three-tap knock comes from my door just as I'm about to doze off. I let out a low groan into my pillow before hesitantly removing myself from the warmth of my blankets. The floor is cold on my feet as I walk over to my bedroom door. I twist the handle and pull it open, only to see Luca standing there with his dress shirt untucked and one of his hands on the back of his neck.
"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you up?" he asks in a gentle voice. The tips of his ears are light pink and his eyes won't meet mine.
"No, you're fine. Do you need anything?" I ask while rubbing the side of my face.
"Um -yeah. I- Keeley, your face, are you okay?" Worry fills his face and I realize that I'm only in my pajamas and that my face probably looks like I got hit by a truck.
"Oh yeah, just a little bruise. I'm fine." My voice comes out quieter than I wanted as I feel my head start to pound. I must have winced because his hand reached out to cradle my face.
"Come on," he speaks quietly as ushers me back into my room. I don't even question him as he leads me back to my bed. He waits till I sit down and tucks my blankets around me.
"That's- um that's a big dog." An awkward laugh escapes him as he tries to discretely scooch away.
"This is Gus, my best boy," I tell while scratching Gus's ears. Luca hesitantly reaches out and touches Gus, and I'm surprised when Gus lets him. Normally, Gus hates when strangers move towards him, but something about Luca puts him at ease.
Me too, Gus. Me too.
"So, um, did you need something or did you just come here to steal my dog?" I laugh. His ocean eyes turn to me and a small smile stretches across his face. I take in the way his stubble is a bit more prominent than it was this morning and how his black shirt makes his lightly tanned skin darker. His dark hair had that disheveled look to it as he ran a hand through it and his muscled arms stretch the shirt to where I could almost see every twitch his muscles make.
"Oh yeah, I was wondering if you um.. you had a towel? There aren't any in my bathroom, so..." he scratches his wrist and the tips of his ears are still pink. I feel a small smile appear on my face solely because of how he looks right now in the dim light of my room.
"They're in the bathroom closet," I laugh quietly. He gives me a slight nod before going into my bathroom. I hear a couple of doors open and close before he reappears, towel in hand, at the foot of my bed.
"So I think I'm going to head to bed now." He looks at me for a minute with a strange look I can't decipher before hesitantly walking closer to me. His broad frame towers over me as his arms go to either side of my thighs. I feel my breathing hitch as our eyes connect, and it's like all time stops. I'm not sure how long we sat there, staring into each other's eyes before he leaned down towards me. My eyes fluttered closed as he kissed the top of my head gently. His lips lingered there for only a second before he slowly retreated back up to his full height.
"Goodnight, Luca," I whisper. I want to push the feelings in my stomach and in my heart as far away as I can, but at this moment, I can't. I'm not sure if I ever can.
He turns to look at me over his shoulder as his strong hand rests on the door handle.
"Goodnight, Tesoro."
***
I couldn't sleep, and that pretty much sums up why I'm a hot and sweaty mess that is up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning.
"You are nothing but a pathetic little girl, Kitten."
I punched the bag three more times. I could feel my head throbbing with each hit I delivered.
"No one can hear your cries, Keeley. You. Are. Alone."
I deliver a kick followed by a series of punches to the spinning bag.
"You are weak, my love, and I will break you. That is a promise."
I feel a tear fall from my eye as I unleash all of my pent up frustrations on the bag. All I wanted to do last night was sleep, but my demons had other plans. I fucking hate it how even when I'm away from him, he still makes my life a living hell. I don't know what I expected when I got away. He promised he would hurt me, and dammit if I'm not hurt right now.
"Tesoro?"
My movements halt at the sound of Luca's dark and velvety voice from behind me. I grab the bag and hold it still, mostly as an excuse to cover up how I'm feeling right now. I slowly turn to look at Luca and put on a brave face.
"What's up?" I asked while wiping the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. I slightly wince when I press against the bruise.
"You looked upset. Is something bothering you?" His eyebrows furrowed together as he took a few steps towards me. He was only wearing a pair of low-hanging cotton shorts, and damn, you'd have to be blind to not be able to see how attractive he is.
His biceps were easily the size of one of my thighs and were supported by wide shoulders. I let my eyes drift down his tanned, broad chest to his chiseled stomach. His low-hanging shorts showcase his deep-V, and I've never personally found thighs attractive, but the way you could see the definition of the muscles in his legs was making me weak in the knees.
My eyes shoot back up to his dark ocean ones and a knowing smirk crosses his face. I clear my throat before speaking again. "I'm fine."
I walk to the side and pick up my bottle of water, and when I turn around, a murderous look is swirled in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Luca?" I walk towards him and that's when I realize: I'm in a sports bra and shorts. My whole back and all of its scars were on display for him to see.
"Who did that to you, Keeley?" I hadn't seen an angry side of Luca, yet. He just isn't angry, but as of right now, I know why he's an assassin. He's seething. His fists are clenching at his sides and the veins in his neck and arms are prominent under the anger rolling off of his body.
"It's okay. Don't worry about it." I go to walk past him, but his hand reaches out and his firm grip settles on my arm, but I'm not worried. I turn around and his face is lowered to where our noses are almost touching. His eyes are roaming my sweaty face searching for answers I know for a fact aren't there.
"It's not okay. Those- scars," he speaks sounding like the words coming out of his mouth are physically paining him to say. "You shouldn't have those. I give those to the deserving. You, Keeley, I know are not deserving of that pain."
I give him a soft look as I reach my hand up to cradle his stubbled jaw. I have no idea what I'm doing, but for some reason, it just feels right. "You're right, I shouldn't, but I do. There's nothing you can do about it now, okay? I'd rather not talk about it, so could we please just- leave it?"
I watched as the hate in his eyes slowly turns to something I couldn't quite detect, but nonetheless, his head slightly nodded. I gave him a gentle smile before leading both of us upstairs.
"Are you hungry?" I ask when we get to the living room.
"No, I'm actually pretty tired if I'm being honest," he yawns. Now that I take a closer look, I can see the dark circles under his eyes and the tiredness within those ocean blues.
"We can watch some TV if you want," I tell him hoping I don't come off as desperate. He lets out a low chuckle before nodding his head. We both walk to the couch and sit by each other, but not necessarily touching.
I'm flipping through channels when we both finally agree on some movie. I tuck my legs up under myself and pull one of the blankets off the back of the couch.
I'm not sure how long we had been sitting there, but I eventually feel myself lean closer to Luca and I noticed how his arms gently wrapped around my waist. I lay my cheek against his bare chest, and the warmth I feel causes me to unconsciously tuck myself further into him.
I know I'm in too deep. Hell, I met him yesterday, and look where I'm at right now. But no matter what excuse I can come up with as to why I should push him away, nothing overpowers this feeling right here. I feel safe, something I've gone long without.
***
Luca's POV
"Ahem," I hear a deep voice grumble. I groggily open my eyes but quickly wish I hadn't. In front of me stands all of Keeley's family and my own, all of them giving me a pointed look.
"Can I help you guys?" I manage to spit out. I'm very aware of the fact that my ears are probably turning bright red and my voice came out a tad bit mumbled.
"Why the hell is my baby sister laying on your bare chest in a sports bra?" Finn speaks up. From the little time I've known Finn, I had never seen him even remotely irritated, much less the anger he is showing right now.
I looked down and Keeley's petite frame was sleeping peacefully on me as one of my arms was wrapped around her. As of right now, she looked nowhere near as stressed as she did this morning. The small, content look on her face was enough to slow my rapidly beating heart.
"I found her in the gym this morning and she couldn't sleep. We came up here to just watch a movie and I guess well fell asleep," I shrugged. When I finished talking, Keeley moved to where her head was tucked safely between my shoulder and chin. I could feel her warm breath on my neck as my arm instinctively wrapped tighter around her.
When I looked back to the guys, my family all had raised eyebrows while the Harris's gave me a death glare. I think I audibly gulped.
"He's got it bad," Sam speaks in a low and slow tone. Donnie slaps him upside the head before returning his gaze to me.
"You're treading in dangerous water, Luca. One wrong move, friend or not, I will not hesitate to hurt you. We just got Keeley back and even now, she's not herself. Those scars on her back tell us she's tough, but she's not strong enough to lose people she cares about. She doesn't love easily, Luca, but when she does, she loves hard. And hell, you better think twice about every decision you make with her because when she hurts, I hurt. I don't hurt well."
I'm not sure what to say to Dominic after he tells me this. From what I've gathered about this family, they don't openly share their feelings, even with each other. That added to the fact he's a highly respected mob boss, if I was standing, I would have run to hide in a corner.
"Understood," I tell him putting every single emotion I have into that one word. He gives me a curt nod before walking off with my own father who gives me a knowing look. I look back to the brothers and nobody says anything as they all just watch Keeley with a content look on their faces.
"She likes you, for whatever fucked up reason that it," Callan says, catching us all off guard. "When she's happy, I'm happy. Don't hurt her."
I slowly nod my head before he as well walks off. The others follow him out one by one, and my brothers each give me a suggestive smirk before leaving.
I glance at the clock and see that it is already ten. Had we really been sleeping that long?
I rub Keeley's back in slow circles while whispering her name quietly. She starts to wake up and freaks out for a moment, but when her golden-honey eyes meet mine, she instantly relaxes.
"What time is it?" she mumbles while wiping the sleep from her eyes. It pains me to see the large blue and purple bruise on her face. I know she's strong and can handle it, but I wish she didn't have to.
"It's ten. I figured I'd wake you up now so you could get ready," I tell her softly. She smiles at me as her angelic blonde hair sits wildly on top of her head. She slowly moves off of my chest, and I instantly miss the heat from her body.
"Guess I better shower then," she laughs. I watch her as she walks towards the stairs, leaving me to stare at the gentle sway of her hips and the beautiful flowers that decorate her left side.
"And Luca?" she says causing my eyes to snap to her hers. "Thank you."
***
"Keeley, your friends are here!" Nick yells from the foyer. I turn around from where I'm standing with Sam and eye up the three people who just walked through the door. A fiery redhead, who was a bit taller than Keeley, was wearing ripped skinny jeans and a tight black shirt and two guys stood behind her. They were wearing similar clothes, each in jeans and a hoodie.
"I'm coming!" I heard her sweet voice yell as she ran down the stairs and my breathing hitches when I see her.
She's wearing a pair of light-washed, high-waisted skinny jeans with a fuzzy grey sweater that buttons up the middle to a low V-neckline. A few small necklaces hang against her pale chest, and that blonde hair of hers is piled on top of her head in a bun. I noticed she covered up the bruise pretty well with makeup, although some was still showing, and a new bandage was on her neck. She looked absolutely gorgeous.
I watch from afar as she gives a tight hug to each of them, and I become slightly uncomfortable when the guy who I heard her call Xavier wouldn't take his arm off from around her shoulders.
"Dude, you can't make him disintegrate with your eyes. Plus, those are Keeley's only friends. I'd hurt you if you scared them off," Sam said jokingly, but I could hear the underlying threat in his voice.
"I'm not going to scare them off, Sam." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding before turning back to him. "Do they know about your family?"
"No, and they can't. We can't have innocent people getting caught in the crossfire," he explains to me. I nod my head in understanding as I watch Keeley lead her friends over to where I am standing.
"Guys, this is Luca. Luca this is Aubrey, Xavier, and Alex: my friends," she introduces. She smiles at me and something in her eyes looks like they're searching for validation.
"Nice to meet you all," I tell them while shaking each of their hands.
"Damn, TaterTot, you didn't tell me the new housemates were hot," Aubrey says slyly while eyeing me up and down. I shift uncomfortably as Keeley laughs.
"Really, Aubrey? You just met him. Couldn't you have waited twenty minutes to make him uncomfortable?" Alex pleads. He sends me an apologetic look while Xavier joins in with Keeley's laughter.
"Aye, Sam!" I turn to see Donnie walking towards us with a heavily tattooed guy beside him. He had a carefree grin on his face, but when he looked at Keeley, something in his eyes shifted and I hate it.
"Ryder, glad you could make it, my man," Sam tells him as they give each other a three-pat hug. When they pull away, Ryder's eyes don't even move to me but rather to Keeley.
"Hello, Angel. Miss me?" he smirks. I wasn't sure what to expect when I turned to look at Keeley, but her rolling her eyes definitely wasn't it.
"Shut the hell up, Ryder. You don't just get to ignore me and then act like everything is just peachy. That is unless you would like me to cut your neck again because I would gladly do it." Keeley's voice didn't waiver the entire time she spoke, and the way she looked at him made me let out a low chuckle.
"Who are you?" Ryder asks, finally looking at me. I see him give me a once over before his eyes meet mine.
"Luca. I live here," I tell him with no emotion. I watch his face fill with confusion as he turns to Sam and Donnie. They give off an awkward laugh before leading him away from the group.
"Really, Luca?" Keeley asks while giving me a look. "You couldn't have been a bit nicer?"
"Eh, I don't like him. Hungry?"
We spend the rest of the afternoon eating, talking, and playing games. And as much as I hate to say it, I actually really like Keeley's friends. Each of them treats Keeley like she's a part of them and that she's always been in their group. The only person I didn't like was Ryder. The way his eyes hungered for Keeley put me on edge. At some point during the night, they had made up and he continued to make her laugh. I loved seeing how happy she was, but fuck, I've only known her since yesterday and I feel the need to swoop in and steal her from him.
Everybody was long gone by ten o'clock, and I had just finished cleaning the kitchen. The Harris's and my family had retired a while ago, so when I looked out to the deck and saw Keeley there, it startled me. I walked to the back door and pulled it open. Her head turned to look at me over her shoulder and she gave me a small smile.
The wind was a bit chilly, but it didn't faze Keeley. Her head was laying back and her eyes were closed as the wind blew over her face. I sat down next to her on the steps and rested my forearms on my knees. Neither one of us spoke, but rather just enjoyed the sounds of the crickets and of the whirling winds.
The stars lit up the night sky with how brightly they shined.
"I love the stars," Keeley breathed out. A content smile was graced upon her lips and when her eyes turned to mine, I was taken back by their beauty. "I love how they are really just a fiery ball of gas ready to combust, yet are so beautiful. I love how they can only shine in the darkness and I love how they are born in chaos, but still can make me feel at peace. I just- I just love them."
I looked over at her and took in the grace that composed her. The way her head was tilted back and how her hair now hung down her back. How her eyes were on the stars but her mind was somewhere else and how just the outline of her face was made of elegance.
I didn't respond to her because there was nothing to say. I simply just sat there and admired the girl who stumbled into my life, the girl who finds beauty even in the night. I sit there and admire the strong woman who one day, I can only hope to call my own.
________________________________________________________________________
Holy crap, I love this chapter. I know it's long but I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed it.
What do you all think of Luca? I would love to know.
Please vote and comment! See you in the next chapter!
Happy Reading!
Word Count: 7890