You have a place in my heart no one else ever could have.

                        ~F. Scott Fitzgerald~

Mia

I sat on his lap, laying my head on his chest, and just like every time I did it, I closed my eyes, listening to his heartbeat. I felt his whiskey breath on my face; his left hand placed slightly beneath my breast while the other one still held his drink.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and I thought that should have been my line. Nodding, I felt his chin rest on my head as I opened my eyes, reaching out for his drink. He blinked, letting me have it, his lips spreading out in a knowing smile.

I had some idea about how it tasted from kissing him, but nothing prepared me for the actual taste. I hated it on the first sip; the taste of it was revolting.

"How can you stomach this stuff?" I asked in disgust, handing it back to him. He laughed softly, smacking me on the lips before draining the rest of it.

"Its an acquired taste." his voice still held some remnant of laughter; I turned to look into his eyes, they shined, a boyish mischievous twinkle gleaming at me like he wanted to eat me alive.

Sometimes like now, when he was acting boyish and playful, I wanted to whisper how much I loved him, but I didn't. Not because I was embarrassed to say it in case he did not say it back, but because I did not want to put him in a position where he wasn't sure what to say, or place us both in an awkward situation.

"Thank you for Angie and Mel," I said instead, palming his cheek, wondering if there will ever come a time when I didn't want to touch him every time he was near.

"Who the fuck is Angie and Mel?' His confused look was comical. "My own personal shoppers," I whispered, tapping on his chin with my index finger. It was either that or started kissing him.

"You love your clothes?" I nodded, abruptly getting off his lap before he got a chance to stop me.

Walking back to the house, I heard his footstep behind me. "Tell me about your day." I threw a glance at him without breaking a step, hoping he would tell me why he was worried.

I knew it was about me, but I wished he could categorically tell me what was happening. It's not like I'd forgotten Stefano was out there waiting to pounce on me the first chance I got. I hated to see the worry crowding his beautiful eyes, mainly because I knew I put it there.

"It was crappy, but seeing you at the end of it is the best and the only good thing about it." My breath hitched, a warm feeling spread through my body at those words.

His words, the way he looked at me when he said them gave the perfect appearance of a man who adored his woman. I sat on the bed, deciding it was the time to grab the bull by its horns. "Tell me why you're worried."

He feigned confusion, standing beside the bed with his hands on his chest. "Don't do that." I pleaded, sounding like I was about to cry. I was tired of pretending I didn't notice.

I wanted him to acknowledge my concerns. To see how much troubled I was at the thought of him getting hurt.

"I want you to be safe," I told him, awkwardly standing in front of him with my trembling hands folded together.

"I will." I honestly wanted to hit him at the confidence in those two words. He sounded like he thought he was perennial. I narrowed my eyes, not knowing where I got the nerve from to tell him I would never forgive him if he got himself hurt.

"I'm more afraid for you than for me," he said, brushing my hair behind my ear, smiling indulgently at me. "Remember when I told you they could only torture me, but not kill me?" I said yes, but my voice was so soft I wasn't sure he heard, so I nodded.

"I will be okay, Bella Mia." He said with conviction, and just like always, I believed him.

"Can I now see you in your dress?" he asked, turning to sit down on the couch, popping his leg across the kneel. He resembled a sultan eagerly waiting for one of his mistresses to start a striptease.

"You're not getting a striptease." I joked, picking up the dresses next to where he sat.

"That was on offer?" The fake shook on his face was my undoing. I burst out laughing, shyly moving to change in the closet. I was more embarrassed than shy. I didn't have it in me to change in front of him even though he'd seen me naked countless times.

"Why are you hiding, Bella Mia?" I wasn't exactly hiding; I was just changing away from his eyes, at least that is what I told him. But he was somewhat right; I was hiding.

The truth was, standing naked in front of him felt like I was giving him control of my whole being, not just my heart. It's ridiculous to think that, but its how I felt. So in my thinking, I was trying to salvage the remaining parts of me that still felt mine because my heart no longer was.

"I'm not hiding." I contradicted, coming out from the closet in the long bareback white dress and white high heels.

I stood at the entrance of the closet, but he could see me. He looked at me like I was a tasty morsel, his uneven breath visible from my distance. "I have never seen anything as beautiful as you." He stood, walking towards me. "I want you every damn time." He broke off, his hands around my waist. Then he swung me in a dance, holding me tight as he led me around—my forehead on his shoulder.

"Rom," I called, lifting my face from his shoulders, and gently touching my cheek to his, a smile fluttering at his lips as if he knew what I was feeling. But before I did, he said something I wasn't ready for. "Bruno will be with you at the party." His face, brooding, yet managing to give me a split smile. He looked almost like a god, powerful and secretive. He turned his head, kissing my temple. "Where will you be?" I asked in a whisper, knowing whatever he said wasn't entirely the truth. "Raph and I have a meeting in Italy, but I'll be here when you wake up on Sunday," I said nothing because there was nothing I could say.

"Be careful." He tilted his head in that way he did when he was trying to see my face when I refused to meet his eyes.

"I will be fine, Bella Mia. And I'll have Raph with me. Trust me; we are a lethal combination."

"What about when you're all three?"

"We are Indestructible." And I couldn't help it, I smiled.