Lussuria (New Version) (32 page)

“Dominic punched you?”

“Yes. I’m thankful you have such protective friends, Doc. Hazel spoke with Cameron. He wanted to jump on a flight over because he’s worried sick. I’ll call him to let him know your surgery went well and that I’ll do everything in my power to look after you and make you comfortable.”

He softly kisses me on the lips...on the shoulder...on the wrist...on the side of my head, sending a crazy rush of blood around my body.

I forgive him.

Something Special

Bubbly nurse advises she wants to get me up on my feet soon and into a shower. I just don’t have the energy yet for this. I listen to Lucca negotiate with her, hearing her giggle. He’s charmed her.

Smooth.

She opens the door to the wet room and sits a shower chair near the shower and shows Lucca how to work everything.

“Don’t worry about her dressings on her feet getting wet I’ll redress them.” The nurse caps off the venflon used for my drips. Lucca scoops me up gently and carries me into the wet room area. He sits me on the shower chair still in my gown.

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it, please pull this cord any problems,” Bubbly nurse walks out leaving Lucca to shower me, after she is satisfied. I sit in the chair slumped to the side looking at my feet covered in cream dressings. I winch when I see the blood soaking through them. Lucca removes his clothes and shoes and sits them on a vanity shelf. My eyebrows rise at this vision of his brawny naked glorious body standing in front of me.

Perfection.

It’s distracting me from the pain because now I have little flutters in my stomach. He puts the shower on then unties my blood stained gown and throws it to the side.

He looks at me, inwardly gasping, then sighs and closes his eyes.

“Am I that frightful?”

“No, don’t say that. You are beautiful, I love you so much, I just can’t believe I harmed you. You’re perfect.” Fumbling, he wheels my chair over to underneath the water. He kneels down in front of me, the water hitting off his muscular physique, running down all the defined contours and soaking his long hair.

Sexy. Virile, yet vulnerable.

Fuck!

File C for cold. Cold water required to cool down my libido.

I’m in no fit state for passion and lust. He wraps his arms around my waist and places his head onto my chest listening to my heart beat. He looks up at me “Please forgive me, Doc. I promise I will never hurt you again.”

“I forgive you… Lucca I was so angry with you last night, I felt so betrayed but…” he’s about to say something, I place my finger on his lips and frown when I see the venflon in the front of my hand.

“I felt betrayed because I have fallen in love with you and I felt crushed to see you like that, I wanted to hold you, to tell you the truth and to tell you I love you but you wouldn’t let me in.”

His eyes widen and electrify restoring some of that sparkle. “You love me? Even after I was so terrible to you? You love me?”

“Yes I love you, I told you I would give you my heart, and I am hanging onto yours for the time being. Now can you wash the blood out my hair before I faint again under this steam. I’m not doing too good here.” He relaxes and claims my mouth owning my tongue and sucking my lip. Moaning in his husky deep voice “I need to get you out of here before I take you and you’re in no fit state. You are something special, have I told you that?”

“Yes.” I giggle. “Lucca, quickly do my hair, please. I feel light headed.”

He carefully massages shampoo into my scalp, allowing all the hardened blood to rinse away. I lean back letting the water assail over my breasts while my hair flows down the back of the chair.

“Fuck, you’re giving me a storming hard on” he groans. “Forget it, Romeo, keep washing,” I say to hear a ruffled gruff from behind me. I smile, knowing he still desires me even in my awful position. Once we’re washed, he picks me up and he sits on the chair holding me tightly into his chest wrapping his protective arms around me while the hot water cascades over us.

We stay like this tightly embraced.

Reflecting.

Forgiving.

Trusting.

“Lex, talk to me. Are you okay?”

“I’m so tired,” I say slumping my head further into his chest with exhaustion.

“I’m taking you back to bed. You need to sleep.” He stands, lifting me up and wrapping a towel around me. He dries my hair, then sits me down on the bed near the side and positions himself next to me with his arm wrapped around my towel.

Sleep.

****

I wake up after a terrible nightmare. Lucca still has his arms around me, nuzzled into my neck. I have silk sleep shorts, underwear and a vest on. Lucca has clean clothes on also. I look around the room; there are flowers and balloons, cards and gifts everywhere. I think I must have slept through my birthday or something worth celebrating.

“Lucca, what day is it?”

“Its Tuesday morning. You slept on and off most of the day yesterday”. Smiling, he kisses me and strokes my arm with his fingertips. “Morning baby, do you feel better?”

“Yes a little.”

“You’ll need to eat something today and get hydrated, if you don’t, they won’t let you home with me.”

“Okay, I will, I can’t stay here, it’s too uncomfortable.” Lucca laughs, “I’m desperate to get you back into our bed and look after you properly by myself.”

“What is all this stuff?” I look around at the gift bags and flowers. “You had lots of visitors yesterday. Hazel and Dominic, Mamma, Papa and Anna were here. They brought you some new sleepwear, slippers, toiletries, make up, and a new outfit for wearing to go home in.

“That’s so thoughtful. I’ m very lucky, and grateful for their generosity.”

Lucca kisses my lips. “You’re fucking adorable. They love you…I love you,” he then trails sweet kisses up my neck to my lips. “My grandparents were here too and brought over a hamper of stuff and a gift of some sort, I’ll let you open it. You had flowers delivered from Donita and Fran, and also a bouquet from Vincenzo and Lorenzo. Hazel has brought your e-reader and some magazines.”

“My goodness, I’m overwhelmed. You really have lovely friends and a great family.”

“Well as you’re mine, they’re your family now, so get used to it. I‘ve charged your phone, and have you pills here. Marco brought your bag over.” Lucca kisses me, then stands off the bed and stretches.

“I missed my pill yesterday. This is Tuesday, I was here yesterday, and my last one in this pack is today.”

Shit!

“I’ll need to speak to the doctor,” I add. Lucca doesn’t seem fazed by this, but I most definitely am.

“Lucca I might ask them for advice on an implant or something, just to save me worrying about pills. You know, something more permanent.”

“Sure, baby, whatever is easiest for you, but don’t go getting harassed by it. It’s not necessary. What do you want to eat? I’ll have someone bring it to the hospital”

Bloody well is necessary.

“Can I not just have something to eat here?”

“No, you’re not eating hospital food, Annalisa can prepare something for you and Sofia will bring it over.”

“Okay, butternut squash soup then.” I give in to his persistence.

Bubbly nurse redresses my feet after Lucca showers me again. She removes the saline drip and anti-biotic drip from the venflon as I am now drinking fluids and have been prescribed a course of antibiotics. Sofia and Franco show arrive with my soup, some focaccia, juice, little truffles, fruit and a box of goodies for Lucca.

The soup is lovely, although my appetite isn’t great. I watch Lucca tip the bowl up and drink the rest of my soup. “Done, tell them you ate it all, so I can get you home.”

“Have you opened your gift yet, Lexi?” Sofia asks.

“No, sorry, I will now. I never got peace today from the nurses being so attentive.” I open a delicately wrapped heavy rectangle. It’s a mahogany wooden box with a gold catch on it, carved with lots of detail.

“Go on, open it,” Sofia encourages. Inside there is an old cookbook, a very old cookbook, barely held together and discolored slightly. It’s thick with pages and pages of Italian traditional recipes with italic fountain pen writing in English and Italian.

I’m speechless, it’s priceless, just so special. “Sofia, this is wonderful, really, but I can’t accept something so treasured. It must have been in your family for generations.”

“It has been in my family for years and years, we pass it down, and I want you to have it.”

“Thank you, but shouldn’t Marissa have it?”

“She knows the recipes inside out, she could re-write it from memory alone. I had her cooking when she was a mere toddler and Orianna has no interest in cooking, it has never been her thing. I do hope she finds a husband that can cook because she certainly won’t do it.”

“Wow, it’s the most thoughtful, generous, precious thing anyone has ever given me. I shall guard it with my life and look after it. I would love to be able to cook some of these recipes.” I stroke my fingers over it. I feel tears well up in my eyes.

“Don’t cry. I’m glad you like it. Now, I want you to make sure my great grandchildren learn to cook from an early age.”

Lucca bursts out laughing as he puts his hand around my waist and kisses my head. “Nonna, I’m sure our kids will be great in the kitchen. I’m not too bad myself, you know. If they take their beauty and kindness from Lexi, and my culinary skills, I will be a happy man.” Sofia smiles at him and Franco agrees with Lucca, patting him on the back.

Did I just skip five years into the future?

Maybe I have been asleep for a few months and have waked up pregnant. My heart is pounding, stomach rippling but not in my usual anxious way, more of an excited anticipated flutter. I like that Lucca intends to have me in his future but the prospect I would ever be a mom myself, having his children and speaking of such thing so early on in our relationship is freaking me out.

That’s a whole designated area in the mental library for those thoughts.

After the Doctor prescribes me strong painkillers to help with my wrist and antibiotics, I’m told I can leave. Lucca laughs a little at the irony when the Doctor suggests I will need physiotherapy on my wrist to help with the recovery.

Marco and Lucca pack the car up and we get ready to go. I leave round bubbly nurse a bouquet of my flowers; she’s overwhelmed, even more so that Lucca has gave her a kiss to thank her. I roll my eyes at the flashy outfit that Anna was responsible for picking. It’s a black mini skirt with gold embroidery and beading and a black sheer top with a gold camisole underneath and gold flat gladiator type sandals which are beautiful but look ridiculous as I have white dressings on my feet.

When we pull up to the farmhouse, I feel nervous about entering. Lucca looks a little better than that of Sunday, fresher and more relaxed. I really do want to make this work, so I am talking myself into telling him about my past. Lucca lifts me up and walks me straight through the house to the back, outside. He sits me down on the comfy love seat in the corner facing the pool and places a blanket over my legs. I watch the sun lowering in the horizon over the sprawling green countryside, and listen to the birds chirping from the orange trees. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

I waken to Andrea Bocelli’s, Because We Believe. I stretch out and laugh. This was the song I heard when I first saw Lucca and fainted at Sofia and Franco’s Villa di Tartufi. It’s a sign.

He leans over me, kisses my lips then lifts me up and carries me back through the house to the lounge room. He has the fire lit, pillar candles flickering, and there’s a vase of blue orchid flowers on the hearth of the fire surround. He has set a duvet on the thick carpet with lots of cushions. He sits me down on the makeshift bed, then returns with plates of food. He has made a warm salad with marinated scallops, king prawns, black pudding, rocket, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, caramelized balsamic onions and parmesan.

“Where on earth did you get the black pudding from? This looks lovely and smells great.”

“Marco picked it up from a specialist butcher in town. Since we won’t be going home soon, I thought I would bring home to you.”

“Thank you.” I surprise myself by eating it all.

Lucca sits behind me, wrapping his arms tightly around my body. I turn and face him, placing my hand on his cheek. “How do you feel? I need to give you your tablets soon.”

“My wrist is aching, but I’m much better than I was thanks. Lucca… I want to talk to you about something.”

“Okay. Sure, what’s up?”

“I want to tell you about my past.” I sigh.

“We don’t need to do this now. You can wait, or write it down for me.”

My stomach stirs in a twisting storm. “I…I ...don’t have my journal.” This was maybe the worst thing about Sunday night; knowing my escape to confession was obstructed.

“I’m so sorry. I was not in a good place, and my mind was all over the place. I regret what I did, Doc.”

“No, it’s okay. Its only paper. I just thought I would gradually be able to note things down. It just felt easier, like an opportunity to express some of my anxieties and sentiments.”

“I’m so, so sorry. I will make this up to you, I promise.” He pinches his brow with his middle finger and thumb while closing his eyes shut.

“Hey, it’s okay. Lucca, the reality is that I shouldn’t need paper. I need to learn to open up and talk about my worries. When I met Francesca, I realized that nothing good will come of staying closed, so here goes…”

I take a deep breath.

“My mom was abducted. She was backpacking in Australia with her friend when she was nineteen. She was captured, brutally abused and assaulted both physically and mentally for fourteen years. My grandparents thought she was dead. She fell pregnant and had Cameron and myself to a monster, an unforgivable evil bastard who took her life. Then she delivered a still born baby a few years after I was born and suffered a miscarriage in-between. She felt sorry for Simon, through time. That’s the reason I have nightmares, the scarring on my back, I was-”