Alvan's mind was thrown into chaos after the kiss, their first kiss as a married couple. He could still feel her luscious lips against his and her soft body pressed flush against his and he almost groaned in frustration. The ride home made him feel like he was losing it. Her scent filled the car, it was all he could breathe and savor. She was close yet so far away.
Even now when she wasn't with him, her scent lingered around him. He wanted to reach out and touch her, tell her how much he had missed her but he'd never do that. And then his anger returned.
"Are you even listening to me?" Diana sat up and looked at him, a frown etched on her face. "You've been distracted since you got home. Does it have anything to do with her?"
"It has nothing to do with her. I've just had a busy week. Can we just sleep already?"
"That kiss. Did you have to hold her like that? Do you like her? Because it seems to me like you do," Diana nagged.
"Are you being serious? You know exactly how I feel about this marriage and that's exactly why I'm here with you and not spending the night with her."
"Then why aren't you touching me? You suddenly seem appalled to even touch me or _" Alvan shut her up with a deep smothering kiss and she melted into his arms like butter.
She moaned when he sucked on her tongue while pulling her by the waist to his chest. They kissed for what felt like hours before parting to take a breath. Diana was straddling him and their foreheads were touching as they looked at each other with heated intensity.
His hands slipped under her shirt and unclasped her bra while holding her face with one hand. He pulled her for another kiss and his hands roamed to her tits and cupped them in his hands. He broke the kiss and peppered her with sloppy kisses from her jaw line to her neck and over her shirt to the valley of her boobs. He hesitated and then pulled her shirt to cover the rest of her upper body.
"I can't," he told her with a sigh. "Not when there's so much on my mind."
Diana placed a hand on his cheek and brushed her lips against his, "Then allow me to take those things off your mind."
"Diana!" he held her hand and stopped her from reaching for his belt. "Not tonight," he said to her.
She glared at him and turned to the other side of the bed and lay down without a word to him. He sighed and shifted to get comfortable in bed.
He closed his eyes and only thoughts of the woman in his bed filled his thoughts. Her presence had somehow unlocked memories that he had kept buried for so long.
"Jace," she whispered breathlessly as he roughly pushed her to the wall. "I can't do this anymore," she told him weakly.
He looked her dead in the eyes and scoffed at her words, "Bluff," he spat. His hand was on her neck, squeezing it gruffly as he slammed his lips into hers.
She tried to fight him but her body melted into him and she kissed him back, just as hard as he was kissing. Her arms moved to his shirt on autopilot and gripped the thin piece of material that failed to conceal his ripped body.
He kissed her so ferociously that she was soon out of oxygen, his death grip on her neck making the whole situation so lethally erotic. He placed his rough hands on her hips and lifted her off the ground without breaking the kiss.
She wrapped her legs around his waist while his hands rested on her butt. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair.
He bit back a groan and shot to his feet. Even the mere thought of her was giving him a boner. He threw on a shirt and walked out to get some air.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Javan glared at his brother as he approached the main entrance where he stood waiting for him.
Alvan ignored him and swung open the huge doors. He stepped out and walked towards the garage.
"Where the hell are you going to?" Javan walked after him and questioned once they were in front of the garage.
"I'm going for a spin. Do you have a problem with that too, mom?" Alvan said mockingly and turned to look at him. His nostrils flared as he faced him.
"We need to talk," his brother said through gritted teeth.
"Hell yes we do need to talk."
"You can stay mad all you want but she didn't have a choice either. She's here because it was the only way to protect her family," Javan snapped at him.
"I don't bloody care!"
"She is your wife now, Alessandro. You are going to have to protect her because she is not safe here."
"I don't fucking care what happens to her! She can die and rot here. Don't you have training with your father or something?" Alvan ran his hand through his hair, tugging the strands more than necessary.
Javan's body went rigid. He clenched his jaw and said nothing to refute his brother.
"When were you going to tell me about what was going on?" Alvan yelled and shoved him.
"Fucking hell! I can take care of my problems by myself but I'm afraid that Salvatore in your bed can't handle the three-ring circus in that house," he used his thumb to point at the mansion behind him. "Anything happens to her again, it's all on you, yet again," Javan shoved him back and tried to walk away but Alvan grabbed his arm.
"What do you mean 'it's all on me again'?" Alvan demanded.
"Why don't you ask her yourself," Javan pushed him away and stormed back in the direction of the house.
Alvan went back inside minutes after Javan. He kept replaying their conversation over and over again in his head and he barely got a wink of sleep. At the crack of dawn, he went back to his room to freshen up and change to his work clothes.
His heart almost dropped to the floor when he saw her standing in the closet the now had to share in only a towel. He tried to ignore her most of the time and left as quickly as he could.
"What are you wearing?" Camilla asked. Alvan could hear her voice from the staircase where he was with his father. "Is this how your mother brought you up?"
There was no response from whoever she was talking to.
"Are you dumb? Answer me when I speak to you. What's this nonsense you're wearing? You're in the Martinellis household so I don't expect to see you dressing like some crude village girl that you are," Camilla fired heatedly.
It felt like movement had seized in the entire house.
"The clothes in my closet are a little too revealing. It's not exactly my style. Most of them are undersized too," someone said softly. It was Gia.
Camilla snorted. "Move to the edge of the table, that seat is for Diana."
"As Alvan's wife, she is sitting there. Exactly where she should be sitting," his father said as they both approached the dining table.
Camilla glared at him and tried to control her anger, "How can you even bring a Salvatore into this house? Her presence alone in this house makes it unfit for the rest of us to stay."
"Are you saying you want to move out?" Omri asked as he sat down.
Alvan occupied his seat next to Gia and barely glanced at her or said a word to acknowledge her presence. She didn't make any effort to speak to him too and he was both disturbed and relieved all at once.
He ignored his surroundings most of the time and ate in silence. He was zoned out most of the time. The lack of sleep and overthinking the entire night had made his body and mind tired and he didn't want to waste more energy on family drama.
Javan was the only one that spoke to her till the meal was over.
"Sophia Allegra Martinelli Martinez! One more word from you and you will hear it from me," it was only the voice of his grandmother that brought him back to reality.
Sophia stood up in anger and stormed out of the dining hall.
The old lady marched up to Gia and held her by the ear. Gia was taken by surprise and before she could react, Ila started scolding her.
"Little girl, don't allow anyone to bully, not in this house, not anywhere. Do you hear me?"
Gia nodded her head before she finally let go.
"And you," she held Alvan's ear in the same manner. "She is your wife now, always make sure to protect her."
"Yes, nonna," he replied and gently tried to set his
poor ears free.
Ila smiled at him, "Good," she dusted her hands satisfactorily before exiting the room.