The Don's Trust

Chapter 20

Two days had passed by and Valentina had been busy learning for her upcoming test. In those same two days, she hadn't seen Vito once. He was away managing, what used to be, Christopher's work.

Deciding to take a break from the non-stop learning, Valentina cracked her knuckles and got up from the swivel chair. She pulled her bedroom door towards her and entered the living room. Valentina tensed up due to the figure she saw from her peripheral vision. She took a good second look at the person and her muscles relaxed when she saw it was Vito.

"I didn't know you were home,''

"Well, I am,''

Valentina mentally rolled her eyes at him for stating the obvious.

He stood up from his work, picked the empty mug up and headed to the kitchen to put it in the sink. Valentina went in the same direction and opened the fridge to get something to eat.

"You never call me by my name,''

His statement caught Valentina off guard. She closed the fridge and turned on her heel to face him. The longer she waited with getting a reply out, the harder it became for her to come up with one. Her mind went blank. She didn't know what his underlying intention was by shedding light on his observation.

"It's not as if you don't know it,'' His deep voice kept Valentina in a haze and his gaze only added to it.

With his left arm on the counter and his other hand on her hip, Valentina couldn't get out of the situation. His tall and broad figure towered over her and it made her feel small. His close proximity made her feel like she couldn't breathe.

"Valentina?''

He didn't have to say more. Valentina knew he wanted her to explain herself. It made her wonder how long it had been on his mind.

"I wasn't sure what to call you,'' When he only hummed in response she asked him if she should call him by his name.

Vito nodded and was slightly amused by her facial expressions and replies. It was as clear as water he intimidated her, so he stepped back to give her some space.

While Valentina was thankful for the space he gave her, she missed his touch. It the same feeling she always had about him. Even though he was intimidating and sounded cold from time to time, his touch was always gentle and warm.

Now that she had a better overall view of Vito, she spotted something she wished she hadn't seen. Valentina couldn't rip her eyes off the deep red-coloured specks on his white collar. Gulping, she thought of possible ways how it could have gotten on him and where it came from.

"Does it bother you?'' He placed his hand under her chin so she would look at him instead of the collar.

Valentina flinched but still truthfully said what she thought, "Yes.''

"I thought you would have grown accustomed to it by now,'' He dropped his hand.

There it was again. To her, his words sounded detached. As if he was void of emotions and wasn't understanding of her feelings. It bothered Valentina how Vito would say these kinds of things. Even more so because she knew he was far from being void of emotions and she knew he was more than capable of understanding her feelings.

Valentina had yet to realise that this part of him would never go away.

In Vito's eyes, he was making perfect sense. After all, she lived with the Don of the Grimaldi mafia. It was only to be expected that she would occasionally see the dreaded red colour tainting his clothes.

"Why did you agree to live with me?'' He asked.

Valentina opened her mouth but only for there to have no sound come out. She had to think before she could voice her thoughts. There were several reasons as to why she agreed to it.

"I had nowhere else to go,'' She fiddled with the hem of her sweater, "And Greg trusted you enough to let me live with you.''

"What about now?''

She raised her head with pure confusion written on her face.

"Say, I would give you your own place and send you enough money to live off of. Would you still live with me if I made that offer to you?'' He added.

"Now?'' She bit her lip and glanced sideways, "I'd still want to live with you.''

It took courage to say this directly to him. Nevertheless, she still said it because she wanted to be more upfront about her feelings.

"Of course you would. You like me,'' He mumbled, repeating her words from the other night.

Valentina and Vito both knew it wasn't true. They both knew she was past the point of just liking him. Valentina could feel herself burning out of embarrassment. She hoped Vito would have forgotten it by now. Valentina contradicted herself due to her wanting to be open and honest about her feelings towards him but at the same time, she didn't.

"I can't live with you?'' Vito could hear her voice waver.

He shook his head, "It was hypothetical.''

Vito was interested to find out what her view on their living situation was. Sure enough, he already had an idea what her thoughts on it were but it was something else to hear her say it out loud.

"Oh,'' She smiled sheepishly.

He released a low chuckle and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. An unconscious act he did to her out of adoration. With her hair out of the way, he got to see a better view of her features.

Valentina got more and more self-conscious as looked at her, taking her beauty in. She noticed his eyes flickering from her grey eyes to her plump lips. Engrossed by his heated gaze, she didn't even realise he rested his hands on her hips and pressed his muscular chest against hers.

Seconds before their lips connected to each other, her eyelashes were making rapid small movements. The kiss was as slow as always but hungry at the same time. Valentina gasped as she felt Vito's hands going down, taking hold of her bottom. When he lifted her up and seated her on the bar stool, his hands slowly went up and stopped at the hem of her light grey sweater.

Vito left her lips slightly swollen and began kissing her neck. Tingles erupted inside of her out of bliss. Valentina's breath hitched at the touch of his hand against her bare olive skin. For a short moment, goosebumps formed on her exposed skin due to the cold air. His hand remained on the same place, drawing circles as he continued marking her neck.

When Valentina felt him on her lips again, her eyes widened at the deepened kiss. A soft moan escaped her mouth as her grip on his shoulders tightened. Vito stopped drawing circles and moved his hand further up, her sweater rising up because of it. Valentina's body stiffened and eyebrows scrunched together. She wasn't ready to go any further. Valentina called him but her voice was muffled. She broke off the kiss, breathing heavily and looked at him.

"I'm not ready,'' Her voice came barely above a whisper.

Vito released a short hum and placed his hands on their previous position. He respected her for knowing what she wanted and when to draw the line. He didn't want her to do something she wasn't comfortable with.

''Vito?''

"Yes,'' His voice was husky.

"Are you mad?''

Sometimes, Vito wondered what Valentina's image of him was. This was already the second time she asked this to him. He looked at her smaller figure and saw a more fragile side of her.

"No,'' He pecked her soft lips.