Gabriele’s POV
Basilio’s loud knocking woke me the next morning. I groaned out of bed promising to shoot the bastard once and for all to end my troubles the moment I saw him.
I dragged my robe off the floor and wrapped it around my body as I moved to the door with the sole intention of killing him.
“I know you want to kill me but I come in peace!” He rushed out with hands raised in surrender the moment I pulled the door open.
My eyes were narrowed as I glared at him, wishing my eyes could become lasers and I would melt him at that moment.
“I also made sure to knock in a way that only woke you!” He added, wiggling his brows towards Arianna’s sleeping form behind me.
If my gun was on me, I would have shot him. It didn’t matter who he woke.
I turned around sharply and saw that Arianna was still bundled up in the sheets. Okay, I would let him be for now.
“Bastard!” I hissed out as I pulled the door closed. “What do you want now?”
“First, your flight is in two hours and we have news on Gianni,” He said and the little amount of sleep left in my body disappeared.
“Where is that fool?” I snarled.
“We think he has someone in LA that might be working with him as well…”
Now I understood why my godfather came here so late last night. It was because of this issue with Gianni. He wanted me to get there and sniff out the fool.
“And we think he would be snooping around you. I have sent the men ahead of you to scout the area and make sure to point out anything out of the ordinary. I will be leaving with you,” he added.
I was lost in thought but the moment he mentioned the last part, I snapped out of it.
“No, you stay here and make sure Demyan doesn’t do something stupid,” I told him.
Basilio frowned but he nodded. “Yes, Fratello.”
I let out a sigh and made to return to my room but Basilio stopped me.
“Fratello, there is something else…” He started and I narrowed my eyes again. It wasn’t murderous but it was enough to pass my irritation at his constant job of bringing up problems to me.
“Didn’t you just say we had two hours to the flight?” I hissed out.
He ran his hand through his hair, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
“Actually it’s about Arianna… Do you really want to take her with you?” He asked.
“I know you will be with her and I kind of trust her but it’s America you are going to. She might want to run off again and the situation might not be as controlled as it is here… Maybe you could leave her behind this time…”
I corked my head to the side and allowed his words to sink into my head. He wasn’t wrong in having doubts, he was just wrong when he thought I would leave Arianna behind.
What if Brett returned? No, I couldn’t take that risk.
“I will take care of her. She is going with me,” I said leaving no room for questioning.
“Okay, Fratello. I will prepare the vehicles,” He said with a small bow as I returned to the room.
“Good morning Gabriele,” Arianna whispered as I returned to the room.
She was standing by the bathroom with a towel in her hand.
“What time are we supposed to be there?” She asked before I could even respond to her greeting.
My legs developed a mind of their own and somehow I found myself standing right in front of her. I snaked my hands behind her waist till they were resting on her butt and I kissed her cheek.
“Good morning my princess,” I whispered.
She dropped her eyes and I saw how her cheeks became pink as she blushed.
I raised her jaw and joined her lips together. My hands were already going over her body as my hunger for her grew.
“Gabriele… Don’t you ever get tired?” She mumbled against my lips.
I stopped and stared into her eyes. “It is what you do to me…” I said kissing her neck.
“Hmmm… Gabriele, you didn’t give me a response, when are we leaving?”
“In about an hour thirty minutes… That’s enough time for me to go at least two rounds before Basilio returns to nag,” I said smiling into the nook of her neck.
The beautiful sound of her laughter made my cock throb painfully as she pushed me away.
“No way! We need to pack up and you need to control that cock of yours,” She said running into the bathroom.
I followed her and got exactly what I wanted. Of course, Basilio still had to nag for us to leave the room but we made it to the airport in good time for our flight.
As soon as we got to LA, Jane received us and took us to the hotel where we only rested for a couple of minutes before she returned to take us to the building.
“Waoh, this is amazing!” Arianna exclaimed as we walked into the glass-enclosed structure.
I only smirked at her comment. It was nothing compared to what I was going to build in France once this paid off.
“Most of the investors have agreed to sign the contracts and production should commence at the factory by the end of the week. The public can’t wait to have this started Mr. Gabriele,” Jane said excitedly.
Arianna held tighter onto me and I could feel how excited she was as well. As soon as Jane left I pulled her into the office and started kissing her.
But she froze. She wasn’t responding.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered hoarsely.
She tucked her hair behind her ears and gave me a small smile.
“I am sorry Gabriele… I just got carried away… Hmm… Can I ask you for something?”
“Of course, anything at all,” I urged her.
“Can I stay here and work with you? The thing is, I don’t want to just stay home and do nothing… I can handle this, please?”
A warmth filled my heart and as I looked at her, I felt like I was in the presence of an angel. She was so hardworking not unlike the rest of the women I knew that only wanted to be pampered and treated like objects.
Arianna wanted to make an impact and do something for herself… For me.
I grabbed onto her waist and pulled her to rest between my legs.
“When I handle some of my enemies, we can both come work here for as long as you like. What belongs to me… Also belongs to you,” I whispered.
This time she started the kiss. I kissed her back with as much passion as I could muster.
Arianna had taken over every part of my heart now and it scared me to admit how I felt.
I was scared she would be taken away from me the same way my mother and sibling got snatched out of my hands.
The longer I pushed the thoughts away, the better I would sleep at night.
We returned to our hotel and made passionate love to one another, sealing the bond neither of us was bold enough to say out loud.
The next day, we returned to work to welcome the investors and the way Arianna handled everything was exceptional. I barely did a thing.
All I did was sit down and admire her as she moved around making sure everyone was comfortable.
It was late in the afternoon when my mood suddenly shifted and I felt a presence in the building.
Before I could make a move, the door to my office opened and Arianna stepped in. But she wasn’t alone.
She was with Brett fucking Harrison!
“What are you doing here?” I snarled jumping out of my chair.
Brett paused at the door and Arianna hurried to stand between us, stopping me from reaching him.
Why was the bastard everywhere?
“Are you following her around? What’s your problem?!” I hissed out as my anger boiled deep within me.
Brett had a smirk on his face as he watched me from the door.
“Gabriele… He is not here for any of that! Come on… He just came to invest like the rest of our guests!” She cried out.
“Actually, my investments conversation would have happened a long time ago but Gabriele didn’t let me speak,” Brett said in a smug voice.
My eyes turned red as all I wanted to do in that instance was tear him apart but Arianna prevented me from moving.
“Brett please, let me handle this. I will call you, please,” Arianna said turning to him.
He nodded at her and walked away not before flashing me his smirk.
The bastard knew exactly what he was doing. Arianna was just too innocent to see it!
“Gabriele calm down, Brett only wants to invest,” she said the moment the bastard left the room.
“That’s what he wants you to think but trust me I can see it in his eyes… That bastard wants to get into your pants!” I growled walking out of the office.
I was so pissed I didn’t trust myself to stay around her. I walked out and called my godfather and related everything to him.
“You are in love with the girl Angelo, you had better tell her before that American boy takes her away,” he said through the phone.
I couldn’t even argue with him because deep down, I knew he was right. I was in love with Arianna.
I fell in love with her the very first time I saw her. My body had realized it a long time ago but I was just too scared to admit it.
“Not many people are lucky to find love, my boy. Do not allow your fear of the past to make you lose the present…”