CAPO

33. Tears.

"You love me?" She asked, bewildered.

Giovanni nodded slowly, "I do—"

She interrupted him, "You aren't someone who loves someone like me," She whispered, slowly shaking her head. Giovanni raised his left eyebrow, "Someone like you? You're perfect, baby,"

She sighed, stepping past him, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. "I'm not, Giovanni. You deserve someone who isn't afraid of you, someone who loves you right,"

Giovanni turned, facing her again, "You're afraid of me? Or afraid I might hurt you?"

"That's the same thing!"

Giovanni smirked, "Oh, but it's not. If you were afraid of me hurting you, you wouldn't have said yes when I asked you if I should come up with you. You're afraid of my life, tesoro. You're afraid of loving me and having it consume you,"

She exhaled deeply, her eyes finding his. He approached her, towering over her as he looked down. Only then did she pay attention to his exposed upper body, her eyes slowly trailing over his skin, taking him in.

"I want you to be consumed by me, Arabella. You'd be breaking my heart if you left me now,"

She parted her lips to say something, but Giovanni's thumb latched onto her bottom lip, the rough pad slowly, gently sliding over her lips, his eyes focusing on his movements.

"You're a murderer, Giovanni," She whispered.

His eyes found hers again, "And so are you, darling. We're perfect for each other,"

She shook her head, a ghost of a smile sweeping over her lips. "I can't live in fear with you, Giovanni. If they find you, they find me. And then they're going to kill us, and I can't die for you,"

Her voice drifted into the air as she watched Giovanni bend his knees, lowering down. He kneeled in front of her, his palms facing upwards, his eyes forward and his voice left unheard.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She whispered, ignoring the voice that told her to run her fingers through his curly, black hair. He stayed silent, and Arabella felt a tinge of sadness, her eyes clouding with tears as she followed his movements, bending in front of him.

Once she too was kneeling, she saw Giovanni's eyes glisten, tears threatening to spill. She instantly reached for his face.

"Please don't leave me," He whispered, slowly shaking his head. "I can't do this without you, Arabella,"

Her heart clenched in her chest. Then, he blinked and for the first time in three days, she recognised the man in front of her. A tear fell from his eye, his brows pinched together as he searched her eyes.

"No, Gio—" Arabella's voice broke, tears stinging her eyes, "It's okay, baby. I'm-I'm not leaving," She whispered, her hands taking his forearms tightly, a single tear falling from her eye. "I don't want to leave you, I'm just scared, that's all,"

"I-I won't hurt you," He stuttered, "I promise,"

She smiled, nodding. Her hands came up to his face, wiping the trails of salty tears from his cheeks. "You're pretty even when you cry," She whispered, smoothing her thumbs over his features, over his lips and his eyebrows and his nose bridge.

Giovanni's lips almost smiled, but they were cut off by Arabella's lips, pressing soft, warm kisses before she moved to his cheeks, then to his cheekbone, "Come with me," She whispered next to his ear, taking his hand in hers.

She led him to her bathroom, made him stand next to her as she opened the tap on her bath, making sure it was hot enough before she turned to him, his eyes slightly red and still wet. She practically emptied an entire bottle of vanilla scented bubbles into the bath.

The girl's fingers reached for his black belt, and he watched as she undid it, pulling it from his hips before she chucked it to the side.

Then, much to his surprise, the girl hooked her fingers around the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head. Then her sweatpants followed, and then her underwear.

"You already took a shower," He whispered.

She nodded, smiling. "Get in," She ordered gently, turning and making her way back to her bedroom, pulling a clean white towel from her closet and an oversized t-shirt she usually slept in.

When she got back into the bathroom, Giovanni was sat in the large bathtub, his hair wet and dripping on his shoulders, bubbles covering his body to just under his chest. He was staring out in front of him, not acknowledging the girl.

Arabella closed the tap, slowly stepped into the water, sitting across from the man. Then his eyes found hers and she smiled at him, but he didn't smile back with his lips, but with his eyes.

"Red?"

"No,"

"Oh, I know! It's black, isn't it?"

Giovanni shook his head, his eyes closed as he leaned his head against the edge of the bathtub. She sighed, "Tell me, please?"

She was guessing his favourite colour for the last thirty minutes, and she was surprised to find out that black wasn't it. She had guessed every colour she could think of, receiving a quick "No" everytime she said one.

"Dark green,"

Arabella's mouth fell open. "But I did say dark green!"

"No, you just said green. There's a large difference between green and dark green,"

She tsked, annoyed. They had been in the bath for around forty minutes now, and Arabella had drained almost all the water out once it got cold, replacing it with scalding hot water again.

"You can't guess mine," She teased. Giovanni's head lifted, and he shifted closer to her, now inches from her face.

"Purple?" Arabella shook her head. "Pink?" Again, she shook her head. "Give me a hint, doll,"

She smiled, "It's in the blue area,"

Giovanni hummed, "Royal blue?"

"No,"

The man groaned softly, momentarily looking around her bathroom. She shook her head and the man rolled his eyes, "Its pastel blue, isn't it?" Arabella shook her head and Giovanni sighed, "Tell me," He said.

"The colour of your eyes,"

Red, warm colour shot to Giovanni's face. He looked away, a cheeky grin crossing his face at her flirting. She laughed, "Didn't know big and bad Giovanni Armani blushes as much as he does,"

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Stop your teasing, Arabella. Before I take you over my knee,"

She bit on her bottom lip momentarily, his eyes flashing to the action, "Try, Gio,"

He smirked, and then surged forward, his fingers grabbing her waist and pulling her between his legs, flush to his chest. She yelped, the water spilling over the sides of the bath, dropping onto the floor.

Giovanni's lips latched onto her neck, making her throw her head back as he breathless moan bubbled from her lips.

"What a little tease," He mumbled against her neck, "Want me to teach you a lesson? Hm? Is that it?" Arabella hummed softly, "Which one of us is the teacher here, Giovanni?" The man laughed, shaking his head as he faced her again, "You, I suppose. Just not an Italian teacher though, you lack in that departement.

She gasped, swatting his chest, "Don't be mean, I'm still teaching myself just as much as I'm teaching them,"

The man propped up at that then, a light bulb flashing on in his brain. Giovanni smirked then, "I've got an idea,"