*disclaimer*

Since I have posted this chapter after a large time gap I recommend reading the last few ones to catch up to where we are. Anyway, enjoy!

Also - here is an idea of what Leonardos house looks like.

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"Give me that, Charming."

I snatched my backpack from the arms of one of Leo's men Cade - aka Charming because he had blonde hair.

Once my bag crashed against my body I realised I'd jerked too much and hurt my gunshot wound.

Charming let out a snicker as I held my stomach. It started to sear in a way that made me groan. If I wasn't recovering from surgery I would have slapped the look off of his face.

I got into the car, and after a 20 minute drive through a town in Sicily, past lush green mountains, and over a swirly road we stopped outside some magnificent gates surrounded by a brick wall.

An armed guard headed towards the car and Leo said something to him in Italian before he nodded and opened the gates up.

And it was when we stopped at the end of a mile long driveway, over 200 acres of land was when I realised that this was a mansion.

A mansion, and not a small country.

Money really was beautiful. My jaw dropped ajar the second we stopped and I stared out the window as a an off-white mansion bathing in golden sunlight.

Saying this house was out of a movie would be an understatement. It was straight from a fairytale, one that took place in the mountains of Sicily and beneath a bright blue sky.

Mist lay on the tops of the surrounding mountains, clouds overlapped one another and bright green trees and plants stretched around the house. It was beautiful, and I had to wonder how much it cost.

"Holy shit...is that a helicopter pad?" I asked, squinting at it in the distance. I got a nod from Charming but nobody said a word to me.

They either didn't like me or weren't allowed to. They just put their heads down and carried strange boxes into the mansion. I got a feeling that I didn't want to know what was in them.

Dusk was settling very quickly, and some of Leo's men split up and drove away while Charming and Leo stayed.

I followed them up the stone steps outside the house,  seriously concerned as to how they couldn't be happy coming to this home. They were used to it, and it only reminded me how much Leonardo had.

If I thought the outside was good, the inside was even better. My mouth was wide enough for me to look like Ghost-face.

"What the-" I spun around to take in the foyer, which had giant pots of plants in each corner and marble flooring fit for a King - a very evil King at that.

"Show me my room." I said to Charming, and he rolled his eyes before taking me upstairs. I could barely walk let alone go up the grand staircase so we went up in the elevator.

My voice filtered out through the hallways as I rambled on about how beautiful this house was. I grew up in a tiny apartment in Rome before my Papa started saving and bought a house.

As soon as the door swung open, a gasp escaped me. I'd never seen in a room even remotely close to luxurious and this was luxurious. Tall and arched windows, pristine polished floors and mini chandeliers strategically placed around the ceiling.

This was heaven. A colour coded, off-white and gold heaven.

Stupidly, and without a thought I dashed up to the queen sized bed and landed on it like I was jumping in a pool, but let out a yelp when something jagged into my stomach.

My face twisted and I bit my lip. It was as if the stitches had torn open, but I managed to laugh it off.

Blondie had long left, and instead another figure took up the doorway. Light, curious eyes had settled on me.

"This isn't a hotel so you better stay in your room." Leonardo lowly spoke, his smooth and deep voice echoing around the room.

"Whatever."

"It's an order."

I sat up on my bed, ignoring the searing in my stomach. "Do you get off on ordering people around? Because I'd be happy to correct the Lucifer act you have going on."

"Try me."

"Will do." I replied while slowly getting off the bed. "And I'll do it while doing my nails at the same time."

I pressed my hand to my sore wound and looked for the wardrobes before realising there was a walk-in closet. Leo's stare followed me to the doorway and I opened the wardrobes, not letting my excitement show too much. I didn't need him getting cockier than he was.

"So, do you have any other women around here?" I asked. "I think it'd be tiring being the only female in this house if I'm staying here for a few nights."

"There's one, she has brown hair and loose hands."

Irritation choked in my throat before I remembered who I was. If anyone could annoy someone it would be me, not him.

I closed the wardrobe doors, ready to say another retort before the sharp pain in my stomach made me bend over. I let out a sound of intense agony, wishing I hadn't flopped on the bed the way I had. It felt as if I were shot all over again.

"Leo...please." I breathed, seeing him standing at the door and ticking his jaw l as if he was trying to stop himself, before he headed my way. He completely shocked me when he picked me up and placed me on the bed.

He leaned down so close to me I could smell his expensive cologne....and it clouded my mind like nothing ever had before. I think I even forgot about my pain for a second as he placed a palm next to me on the mattress, until he tried to pull my shirt up.

My hand shot over his and he gave me a confused look. He tried to lift my shirt up again but I wouldn't let him, and it only reminded me of when we were stranded in the forest and he did the same thing.

Leo's eyes flickered to my hand on his and he gave me a look telling me to listen. I sighed and let him pull my shirt up, which was now stained with blood.

He scanned my belly, and I'll admit just feeling his gaze on my bare skin made heat warm my cheeks. His brows pulled together as he stared at my wound and I knew it - I'd ripped it open.

"Do you ever consider thinking about what you do."

I gave it hard thought. "Nope."

He shook his head and straightened, walking out the bedroom door and returning holding a kit.

"No." I simply said before he tossed it onto the bed. He started to open it up despite my protests, and when I tried scurrying away from him he pulled my arm and dragged me back onto the bed.

There was no way he was stitching up my wound. Leonardo De Luca was the roughest man I'd met and I didn't even need visuals to back it up. I'd seen the way he grabbed my hand or tossed things around, including his phone.

And lets not forget, his hands were huge. With tattoos and long calloused fingers, some with bruises on them that I did not need to know how he got.

Sometimes I believed his strict, crisp businessman look to be a facade. There was a businessman; someone approachable and able to communicate for the better of his work and then there was him.

A tattooed, muscled devil. One who didn't care for the law or anyone but himself. The second option seemed more fitting to him but I wouldn't believe it.

The alcohol stung terribly, so much that I groaned and clung onto the sheets. "Hurry."

Leo's eyes halted on my expression, something very sinful and punishing flashing through them before he blinked it away.

After cleaning my wound he sat on the bed and pulled out the needle but before he could do anything I grabbed his hand, earning a silent warning from him to take it off.....but I needed him to listen to me.

"Please...be gentle." I pleaded.

The blue in his eyes grew darker. I saw his expression soften for a moment, in a way that transformed him into a completely different man.

But just like all things to do with Leo, it disappeared within a second.

He was gentle as he stitched my wound. His body slightly over mine, his every movement precise and strictly professional. Once he was done he put a bandage on my stomach and I couldn't help but feel a little empty when he stepped away to leave.

"Wait."

He stopped at the door.

"Why did you bring me here?"

My words made a weird tension emanate from him.

"I'm confused. I just....I want to know why."

"You were shot in the middle of the street."

"But you don't care about that stuff. Why didn't you leave me there to die?"

"I don't know myself."

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