Chapter 78 — Just Stay Here With Me

MAXIMILIANO.

"The jet's in New York. Did he say he's gonna fly out and bring her to Leandro's house?"

I stared at Niccolo's alias on my phone, sighing loudly as his question threatened to guilt-trip me for yielding to Lorenzio's request. "No. I dunno what he's up to. Just find her. She's probably in Rome."

"Lorenzio's a hundred percent sure it's his brother's kid?" Niccolo sounded more than curious now.

"Yeah. He said it can't be Raffaele's. Guy's not exactly the 'family man' type."

Niccolo scoffed on the other line. "And you think Leandro is?"

"Fuck. I dunno. Just find her. Hack the cams in their estate." I hung up on him and shut the fridge door with my elbow. I stifled a yawn and massaged the sore knots in my neck. I didn't get the few hours of sleep I thought I needed after Adreana and I dozed off.

But for now, an hour was enough. I still had shit to do. So did Adreana. This week wasn't a work-free honeymoon for either of us, despite my family knowing we just tied the knot.

Shit. I should've postponed that call. I knew if she found out about me calling Mykaela, it could trigger Adreana's jealous tendencies again. But of course I let my impulsiveness and lacking self-control take over. Like always.

Even worse, I brought up her bats hit ex again while we were arguing. Gauging her real feelings by reminding her of her traumatic past relationship wasn't part of my plan. But I just couldn't keep my trap shut.

I still didn't have all the details of everything Joachim did to her while they lived together, but it wasn't the best time to bring it up. And I had other matters on my mind. Questions I'd been meaning to ask. It shouldn't take her too long to give me honest answers.

I walked back towards the bed when I saw her hand fidget and fumble for the blanket.

Adreana was half-awake, her eyelids half-open now as she stared at the dark gray curtains. They shielded the sunlight seeping through my windows, enough to keep the room dim despite the time.

"Drink up. You're dehydrated." I stood beside the bed. I handed her the bottle of cold water I just grabbed from the compact fridge in the corner.

She lazily sat up and propped her weight on her elbows, trying to hide her embarrassed smile with her hair. My old padded blanket covered her from the chest down to her legs. She probably didn't expect to fall asleep at this hour. In my bed.

An hour ago, before we fucked the second time, I managed to convince her to stay here with me till the weekend. Then I'd asked her if she would sleep here in my bedroom. I reverted to a hormonal teenager again when she said yes.

Then we did it here. On my bed. Not as rough as the first time, because I just noticed she didn't actually prefer angry sex. And I kinda hated myself for a moment, because, for weeks, I honestly thought I already knew everything she liked and the things she could tolerate in bed.

"That was insane, by the way." I tried not to laugh as I sat close to her, right beside her legs. I loved that she was still wearing socks but nothing else underneath the blanket.

Adreana glanced at me and coughed, nearly choking on her water as she tried to hide her smile with her hand. "Are you fishing for compliments, Mr. Falco?"

"No. I'm just saying—"

"What?"

"Your stamina's impressive."

Her cheeks blushed hard when she giggled, the pinkish color gradually spreading down to the exposed skin on her chest. "You are fishing."

"I'm not." I feigned a scowl and scoffed. "I'm saying you're the one who surprised me."

"You were?"

"Sure. A lot actually." I smirked. "Thought you passed out the second time." But we kept going. She kept me going and really pushed herself, despite the obvious exhaustion setting in.

"I think I did."

A chuckle slipped out of me when she kept snickering. We played the staring game, my heartbeat already picking up the pace.

She looked perfect, all naked in my bed and just happy to hang out with me. But we both needed time to recover. So I'd keep my hands to myself tonight. But probably only tonight. "Hey."

"What?" Adreana murmured with squinting eyes.

"You really don't like it? We can redo it if you want." I glanced around my room. To some people, it probably looked too masculine and dark. And I knew she liked white and light colors, like pastels. If she would ask me to repaint and redesign the rooms, I actually would. "Repaint the walls, buy some furniture, make the closet bigger or build another—"

"This room?" Her eyes grew a little wider, her face somewhat flushed.

"Sure."

"But this is your room."

"Yeah. I'm just saying, if you'd like to stay here in my room, we could change it up a little."

"No." Adreana shook her head faintly and dropped her gaze. "We don't need to."

"You really wanna stay in Florence?"

"No." She flung me a nervous glance. Her dainty hand clutched the edge of the thick blanket.

"I mean..."

I sat hunched over with my thigh almost touching her socks. I prolonged a straight face, waiting for her to explain her plans. The sooner I got her to let down her guard and let me in, the sooner and easier we could compromise and work past our issues.

"Whichever you prefer, fine with me. But you're not gonna be staying at the hotel. That's out of the question. Okay?" I put on my best no-bullshit expression, waiting for her to cave while I caressed her warm, smooth skin under the blanket.

"You really want me to stay here?" She reached for my hand and tilted her head to the side, her eyes watching me closely. "For six months?"

"Why? Too long?"

"I just..."

Again, her answer wasn't a flat-out no. I sat still and held her gaze. Waiting for a more honest response, I slid my hand up her leg and massaged her thigh. They probably felt a little sore. After every position we tried, I bet her entire body needed a long, soothing massage right now. "You wanna stay in Florence?"

Her brows furrowed as her eyes absently focused on my other hand on the blanket.

I should've picked a better time to bring it up, but underneath her uneasy and then skeptical reaction, I could tell she's already considering saying yes. "We can rent a house if you want."

"A flat? Near your mum's house?" Adreana murmured with a fairly surprised look.

"Whatever's readily available and convenient for you."

"But..."

"What?"

"A flat in the city's gonna cost us around a thousand quid a month. And that's just a small one-bed flat, which I'm not sure you're used to."

"Don't worry about that. Once all the paperwork's sorted out and I'm your husband legally, we'll change your name. Then we're gonna split my assets." By then she could finally hide from Joachim and his family permanently. "And you'll be safer."

Even though the bodyguards weren't going anywhere, Adreana still needed my protection and care. And once I was legally her husband, protecting her from her ex would be a whole lot easier. Locking her up in a gilded prison to keep her out of harm's way wasn't a choice I had, but I could still use my family's assets and influence to keep her safe and hidden from her former abuser.

After a moment of awkward glances, she cleared her throat and nodded weakly, then sucked in a gasp of air.

I stroked the side of her leg. I held my breath and massaged her other leg, just waiting for her response. I'd already learned that my lacking patience with other people didn't quite apply to her—a fact she probably liked about me.

"But I'm not taking half of your money." Adreana looked down and shook her head, frowning as if the thought scared her or something. "I-I can't do that, Maxim."

"You really want a new life? With your current salary?" I scoffed. "By next year, a million isn't gonna be enough."

"What?" She visibly swallowed and gawked at me, then covered her mouth with the blanket.

I raised a brow when she merely stared back at me for another few seconds. "In this economy? Come on..." I scoffed, keeping my voice low and my words measured.

"Just to be perfectly clear, I did not marry you 'cause I want your money. Alright?" She leaned over the other side of the bed and grabbed something on the nightstand. My shirt. It was on her in two seconds, as though being nude in front of me bothered her now. "Just for the record."

"Yeah. I know." I couldn't suppress a grin at her disgusted face when her fingers touched the damp spots on the covers. There were more than a few, which was why I told her she was dehydrated. I bet she badly wanted to change the sheets now.

"It's perfectly fine if I don't get anything from your inheritance. It's your money. Besides, I have a proper job now. I can handle my expenses." The way her voice cracked on the last part gave away her real feelings about the matter, that and the few other obvious signs she'd given me the past two weeks.

"That's not the issue, Adreana. I'm just asking if you're okay with staying here for a bit." When she bent down beside the bed to reach for her underwear, my cock twitched at the sight of her bare ass and shapely thighs. "If you'd like to live here with me."

"Yeah, but, not for long." She pulled a face like she tasted something too sour. "I mean, six months is... I-I don't know yet if..."

"What?"

"My job's important to me. I can't just..." Adreana sighed. Her tight smile failed to mask the defeated look in her eyes. "I need to work, Maxim."

The huge knot in my chest loosened at the frailty and restrained anxiety in her voice. "Okay." I stared at her bare face as her words sank in, digging deep to find a little extra patience.

About ten seconds ticked by with neither of us saying anything else. She wanted me to give her some time to think it through. But the way she looked at me told me she was more than willing to compromise.

"I'll find an apartment near the hotel. We can stay here during the weekends." I got up from the bed. I felt my heart jump when she finally gave me a smile.

***

Minutes later, we hung out in the bathroom with me leaning against the door, waiting for her to finish brushing her teeth so we could have lunch together. I was about to check my notifications when my phone trilled again. I took it out of my pocket, scowling at the name on my screen.

Adreana stared at me as I stepped away from the sink. "Work?"

I shook my head and sighed. "It's Nicco."

"Oh."

"Food's getting cold downstairs," I told her before leaving her in the bathroom. "Just say so if you want a drink. I'll fix you one."

She gave me a big, dimply smile and turned on the faucet. "Thanks for cooking, love."

"No problem." I made my way to the other side of the room before pressing the green phone icon, my gut feel telling me it wasn't a bunch of good news waiting for me on the other line. "Yeah?"

For a moment, Niccolo didn't speak, but the line wasn't dead silent. The noises on the other end sounded like he was drinking milkshake from a straw. "Found her."

My gut tensed up. I pressed my phone on my other ear while Adreana washed her face in the sink. "Alodia? Where?"

"Rome. How'd you know she's in Rome?"

"Enzo thinks so. Where is she? Staying at Rafa's place?"

"No, dude." Niccolo snickered. "In your hotel."