𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚

Chapter 16

My eyes fluttered open to see Cristiano still fast asleep. My head was still resting against his chest, and one of his arms was wrapped around me, holding me close. I looked at the time, it was already 9:30. I needed to get up and start getting ready, but I didn't want to disturb him. He looked so peaceful, which was so odd to me. The word "peaceful" is not a word you would use to describe a Don.

I steadily slid my body away from his, trying to get out of the bed without disturbing him. Suddenly a hand grabs my wrist.

"Where do you think your going?" I turn around and see Cristiano awake, with his arm reached out gripping my wrist. He sounds irritated.

"I-I was going to start getting ready."

"What is time is it?"

"It's 9:30."

He lets go of my wrist and looks at the clock. He sighs, and quickly gets out of bed. He walks into the bathroom, but stops once he's in the door frame. He turns to look at me.

"We aren't suppose to leave the house for a few days. They're raising security measures after what happened in Chicago." He says, as if it's not a big deal.

"Who are they?" I ask him in an irked tone. I didn't like the fact that there were other people telling me what to do. Cristiano already had complete authority over my life, why did anybody else need to? He sighs angrily at me.

"They are the consigliere's of the family. When they advise me to do something, I don't have much of a choice."

He stares at me for a minute. I'm surprised he hasn't scolded me for delving into his affairs. I stare back at him, but my eyes start to drift downward on his body. I glance at his member, before looking down at my hands. He was big, even when he wasn't hard. I suddenly become aware of my bare chest being in full view of him. I was embarrassed by the fact I was still uncomfortable with our nudity. He scoffs at me and walks into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

I sit on the bed, waiting for him to finish showering. I shiver a little. It's starting to get colder out, it's almost December. As soon as he comes out of the bathroom, I get up and hurry past him.

"There's no hurry Gia." Cristiano says in a caustic tone, right as I shut the door. He's mocking me. It was always so hot and cold with him. Right now it felt distantly cold. Our relationship seemed like a roller coaster, up and down, it made my head spin.

The shower helps me relax. It helps me forget reality for a few minutes. But once that few minutes is up, I have to face reality again. As soon as I leave the bathroom I get dressed, and put my makeup on. There's a lavender colored dress with puffy sleeves that I've been wanting to try on since I got to the Villa. Since we can't leave, I decide to wear it.

When I'm all done getting ready, I look in the mirror. And for the first time in a few days I feel happy again. I feel pretty, but I wasn't dressing up for myself. Donna's had to be dolled up constantly, it was the rules.

I head downstairs, Cristiano is talking to Sergio, it's very discreet and they both look dead serious. Sergio nods, and leaves. Cristiano turns around and walks away. He didn't even notice me. He probably had a lot of work to do. I walk into the kitchen, where Beatrice is cooking. When she sees me she smiles, and motions for me to sit down. She puts a heaping plate of food in front of me. Usually I'd feel sick and not want to eat, but this morning I was starving. I start to cram down my food and Beatrice almost looks proud.

"Someone's hungry." She says with a kind smirk.

For a second I don't get what she means until it suddenly hits me. Oh right, I'm probably hungry from the sex last night.

"How did you...?" I ask, completely embarrassed.

"I came by last night to make sure you were ok. I heard...well, I'm sure you know." She winks and starts doing the dishes. I eat some more of my plate, and leave the kitchen. For a while I just wander around the house. I have nothing else better to do. An hour passes until I'm approached by a guard.

"The Don wants to see you." He says in a stone cold tone.

I nod, and walk toward Cristiano's office. I knock at the door, "Come in."

Cristiano looks up at me as I open the door and close it behind me. His eyes shift back down to his work. After a few minutes of me just standing there quietly, he invites me towards him with his hand. He looks at me up and down, before gently taking my hand and sitting me in his lap. I don't know why, but I have butterflies in my stomach. I can't help it. Despite all the things he's done to me, I still feel shy around him. Maybe he wants it that way? If I'm scared of him then I'll be more submissive.

Cristiano meticulously works through all his papers. Writing and reading, he almost looks obsessed. But that's his job, his entire life is being the Don. His hand brushes over my thigh, and I do my best not to squirm.

"I'm not going to have to force you against a wall this time am I?" Cristiano asks, still looking at his work, but grasping my thigh.

When I don't answer he looks at me, so I shake my head no. He puts down his pen, and brings his hand to my cheek. His lips touch my neck, I feel his soft kisses as he pulls me closer. As he places gentle pecks all throughout my neck, I see a picture of a woman. The photo looks old, like it was taken a long time ago.

"Who's that?" I ask, and he stops kissing me. He sighs, as he realizes what I'm looking at.

"That's my mother when she was young." Cristiano says, staring at the picture.

"She's beautiful."

"Was." He says, correcting me. He's right. Both of his parents were dead, as were mine. My memories of my parents funeral flow through my head. That's the first time I had ever even seen Cristiano. I remember I was silently crying my eyes out, as they lowered my parents body's into the ground. I looked up and I saw him. I didn't know his name then, but I knew who he was. I was only 8 years old, I was too young to comprehend what marriage meant. He would have been 12.

My eyes drift over to another photo, this one was of a family. A father, a mother, and a daughter. But it wasn't framed like the photo of Cristiano's mother. When I look closer, I realize it's a photo of the man with the face tattoo, and his family. Why would Cristiano have a picture of that mans family?

"Did you kill him?" I ask with a tinge of anxiety in my voice. He looks at me surprised, then his face becomes ominous.

"He had to die Giada. You know that." He says angrily.

"B-but...his family? You have a photo of them. Did you...? I ask him, as I start to get more nervous of his answer. He looks at me, right into my eyes.

"No. I wouldn't do that." He answers in a sincere tone. I put my head down, feeling like an idiot, and feeling bad because I accused him.

"I'm sorry." I say.

"You're forgiven." He says going back to his work. He works a little while longer, until he puts down his pen, and pats my back. I get up off of his lap, and he stands up from his chair.

"Let's not talk about my affairs from now on." He says with a smile. I smile and nod, he takes my hand in his, and we leave his office.