Bones (Bonetti Brothers #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY

BONES

I’m determined to find out what the hell she went through, so I know how to be there for her. I know she’s experiencing flashbacks. Is she having nightmares? How frequently does Manny cross her mind? It pisses me off, because I don’t want any man inside her head. Making her fucking cry. Those tears belong to me and me alone. She turns in the bathtub so her chest is pressed against mine, and I stroke my fingers down her back. I can’t help myself, there is never a time when I don’t need to be touching her.

“Are there any stores you like?”

“What?” she squeaks adorably.

I wrap my arms around her, holding her tight. “We are going shopping tomorrow. Are there stores you like to shop at?”

She giggles against my skin. “Luca, I haven’t been shopping since I don’t even remember when. Target or Walmart are fine.”

Wrapping her hair around my fist, I pull her head back, and force her to look at me. “My wife is not shopping at Walmart. You will have the best of everything.”

She flashes me a smile that makes my chest squeeze, and I don’t know why. “Like in Pretty Woman ? I’m no Julia Roberts, but that looked like so much fun.”

I groan as I release her hair. “Silly wife, she has nothing on you. There’s no woman more beautiful than you.”

Athena grins as she blushes. “Careful, Luca. I might start thinking you like me.”

As much as I planned to feel nothing for her, she made it impossible. Does she actually believe I don’t even like her? I have trouble imagining anyone could meet Athena, and not genuinely like her .

I clear my throat. “Are you ready to get out?”

Her face falls, and as much as I enjoy her tears, this expression I don’t like. If I’m honest with myself, and I don’t want to be, I prefer her smiles and laughter. This is exactly what De Luca warned me about. We both stand and get out of the tub. I wrap her in a warm white towel, and she races out of the bathroom like it’s on fire.

I dry myself off and head into the bedroom, climbing into the bed beside her. She turns away from me. “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”

I wrap my arm around her and pull her into me. “You think I don’t like you, Butterfly? When I got the call in Vegas that you got a hold of a gun, if you were any other woman, I would’ve instructed them to shoot you. I would not have hesitated, and I sure as hell would not have been panicking the way I was.”

She turns over in my arms, puts her arm around me, and kisses my chest. I clench my jaw and groan through my teeth. “You better go to sleep.”

With a giggle, Athena says, “Are you thinking about sex again?”

I admit to her, “There are very few moments of the day when I’m not thinking about being inside your beautiful pussy.”

Tilting her head back, she glances at me with a slight smile, and the moonlight outside shines just enough to see a beautiful blush appear on her cheeks. “I don’t hate that.”

Placing my hand on the side of her neck, I pull her closer and kiss her softly.

“Go to sleep, beautiful wife.”

I move to my back and take her with me, holding her close, and she rests her head on my chest with a sweet little moan.

When I witnessed Manny assaulting her on video, I knew I’d protect her. There is no reasoning behind how much it infuriated me, watching him with his hands on Athena. I had already decided she’d be my wife, so maybe that’s why I was driven to inflict so much pain on him. The truth is, Manny was going to die regardless, because he sent her to steal from me. Had I not needed to get married, I would’ve killed her too without an ounce of remorse. Yet now, as I look at my sleeping wife, it’s more than that. No woman has ever made me feel a goddamn thing beyond an orgasm. She does. She makes me feel things I am not fucking comfortable with. I close my eyes, trying to push all this bullshit out of my mind, and eventually fall into a deep sleep with my wife in my arms.

Waking up, I reach around for my wife, but she’s not here. Immediately, I consider she has once again attempted to run. Rising out of the bed, I grab a pair of sweatpants and pull them on, before making my way downstairs to look for Athena.

I stand in the entryway to the kitchen, staring at my wife. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. She is wearing tiny black shorts and a white tank top; my sister’s clothing from when she stayed here last summer, but we’re going to correct Athena not having her own clothes today. Her dark hair is pulled into a high ponytail. She moves around the kitchen, swaying her sexy ass with every movement, as she makes pancakes and bacon. I fold my arms over my chest as I watch her like a hawk. She stares at the pancakes and grumbles, “What kind of idiot can’t make pancakes?”

“Good morning, wife.”

She jumps with a start. “Oh my God. You scared me, Luca. I’m making you breakfast. Do you like pancakes and bacon?”

I smirk at her with a nod, which is a complete lie. I don’t remember the last time I even ate this early. However, if my wife makes me breakfast, I’ll eat it.

“Your coffee is on the table. I’ll bring your food in just a moment.”

“Do you need help, Butterfly? ”

Her cheeks turn bright red as she giggles. “There’s no help for me at this point. The pancakes are a little overcooked, and the bacon is,” she waves her hand in the air, “crispy.”

I attempt to give her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure it’ll be delicious.”

Walking over to the table, I take a seat and sip my coffee. She brings out a plate of food and sets it in front of me. I glance at the food and then at her. “Thank you, wife.”

I shake my head when she goes back to the kitchen and can’t see me, because this food is not overcooked. It’s burnt. I’m not sure how you even achieve the blackness of these pancakes. Athena comes in with her own plate and sets it down, before she takes a seat across from me. She glances at her food. “Don’t eat that. This is terrible.”

I cut a piece of the charred pancake and pop it into my mouth as she gapes at me. I chew and swallow. “It’s delicious. Thank you.”

Athena giggles as she holds a piece of bacon in her hand, staring at it like it personally offended her. “There is no way you think this is delicious.”

I keep eating with an exaggerated, “Mmmm.”

Had anybody else made this food I’d refuse to eat it, but when my wife goes out of her way to make a meal for me, I’ll eat it. Whether it’s pleasing to the palate or not.

We continue eating in silence, and if she notices me staring at her she doesn’t say anything. My eyes are always on her. She’s stunning and no matter what I do, I can’t get enough of her.

“You seem happier today.”

Her smile makes her face glow as she responds, “I’m excited to go outside today.”

I grab my plate and she grabs hers and follows me into the kitchen.

“You can always go outside whenever you want to, Butterfly. If I’m not here, take Jimmy with you. As long as someone is with you, it’s fine. ”

She shakes her head. “I’d rather stay inside. He doesn’t like me very much.”

I chuckle, because she’s probably right since she shot Eduardo, but it doesn’t matter.

“It’s his job to protect you, and I promise he will do what he’s instructed to.”

We put our plates in the dishwasher, and I pull her into my arms and hold her close. She wraps her hands around my waist with a tiny sigh. “I’m sorry about breakfast, Luca.”

I kiss her on the top of her head. “Don’t be. I’m not. It was perfect, like you. Let me get ready and we’ll go shopping.”

She squeals with delight, making my chest squeeze tight. I don’t know how it happened, but seeing my wife happy has turned into everything, seemingly overnight. I kiss her neck and break away from her, and go upstairs to get ready for our day out. I had no idea she had wanted to go outside so badly, but I should have. Nobody wants to be kept locked up in a house the way she has been. As I walk up the stairs, I decide to not only take her shopping, but make an entire day of it. While I have work I need to do, seeing my beautiful wife happy right now is priority number one.