His Bambina

Chapter 3

Aria's POV
Slowly I start to hear mumbling and shuffling. I open my eyes to see unfamiliar surroundings. I slowly process where I am, this must be Vincenzo's home. Wait, who's carrying me? I breathe in and a familiar intoxicating scent fills my nose.
Oh my gosh Vincenzo's carrying me. An embarrassed blush rises to my face, "Good morning principessa." His warm chuckle is music to my ears. His emerald eyes glance down at me and butterflies erupt in my stomach. His charming smile almost causes me to forget my predicament. Almost.
"Um-" I clear my throat and try to sound more confident, "Um, you- you can put me down now."
He laughs and shakes his head no, "We're almost there."
Soon we enter two large doors and he sets me down on a large and extremely comfortable bed... on the floor. I look up and the light outside shines through his large windows. I rub my eyes, desperately trying to adjust to the harsh sunlight, making him chuckle. "Sorry about that." He closes the blinds, dimming the light making my eyes adjust comfortably.
His room is simpler than I had expected. What did I expect? A dungeon, coffins, spikey chains? Maybe a throne in the middle of the room to sit his ego.
Instead, there is a desk at the far end of the window and a large flat screen tv in the far-right corner across from us. The wall has an opening in it and the wall ends for you to enter to which I assume is an add on to the room. From what I can see through the opening it looks like it's a personal kitchen.
The room is decorated with grey tones, and the wall behind is dark grey stone. His room is large and definitely expensive, but it is also comforting and beautiful.
"Are you still tired baby?" I blush at the pet name and shake my head no. "Are you sure?" I shake my head and my stomach grumbles.
Vincenzo laughs, and his laughter seems to light up the dark room. "Come bambina, let's get you some food."
With that said, he walks past the open wall and sure enough it's a kitchen. It's roomier than I would have imagined. A small table for four is at the far left of us. He motions for me to sit and starts going through the fridge.
"Ham or turkey?"
"Ummm... ham?"
A few minutes later he sits down next to me with a plate with a sandwich in his hands. He sets it across from me and tells me to enjoy. "They should start making dinner in a few hours, but this should tide you over until then."
"Thank you, Mr. Bernardi."
"Please Aria, if you're going to address me that way I'd prefer you to just call me Vincenzo."
He wants me to address him with his first name? I suppose he can see the apprehension on my face because he sighs and scoots closer to me. "Despite what you and your father may believe, I am not keeping you here as some kind of pawn or prisoner. I simply just want to get to know you better."
"You couldn't have just asked me to lunch?" I can't bite back my comment. I know he is offering my family protection, but at what cost? What benefits will he get from separating me from my family?
He smirks at me, "Your father would've never just agreed to me asking you out on a date. Besides if I took you out to lunch that means you could still see other men, and I can be a very selfish man Aria. I don't like to share." I suddenly become nervous under his intense gaze.
"You mean... You- you want me-"
"Yes, as simple as that. I want you. I've heard of you before, but when I saw you in person that night I was astounded, bewitched by you. You, Aria, are the most beautiful girl I have ever met, and I would love to get to know you better. I would be honored if you called me yours and let me call you mine." Whoa, hold up. What?
Is this man clinically insane?
"I- I'm sorry sir, but I hardly know you." I keep my voice low, afraid to upset him.
To my surprise Vincenzo smiles and stands, "Then we shall take this day as an opportunity to get to know each other." With that he kisses the crown of my head and heads off to change into a fresh pair of clean clothes. 
I can barely process this new information. I had just arrived, and we had only met once before, how can he already want me to be his? I don't care how hot you are sir, there's no way in hell.
              I finish my sandwich in silence and get dressed for the day. I settle on my white blouse with gold buttons and my black, tight slacks. I slip on my nude heels and let my hair fall loosely. I don't normally dress this fancy around the house unless father requests a meeting, or we have visitors. Since I am the visitor, in this case, I believe I should dress respectfully.
              He renters the room in black jeans and a grey button up shirt. Still fairly nice, but definitely more casual than what he wore earlier. His gold watch shimmers under the light. I wonder how heavy it must be lying on his wrist. I trace the tattoos that peek out of his shirt with my eyes, then trail up to see his lazy smirk.
              "Are you ready for a tour of your new home?" His words are sweet but also set me on the realization that I have no idea how long I will be staying here. Will this become my new home, permanently? I'm not sure how I feel about such an idea.
        
              He reaches out his hand but I pretend to not notice and begin walking. We walk down the stairs to begin our tour. He shows me rows and rows of rooms, some occupied and some empty. The second to last floor contains a large meeting room, a few doors he neglected to show me, and his extremely large office.
              Then we make it to the main floor, where I'm greeted with the smell of food cooking, and chatter can be heard close by. We don't turn to the kitchen, however, and turn right to continue walking down more hallways of doors. This level has the main living area, a theater room, a game room, and the kitchen. Who knew they would need, yet find, such a large home for them all to live. Nerves rack my brain making me wonder how many really live here.
              "So, what would you like to know?" I take a deep breath. What do I want to know? What I really want to know is why me? How long will I be here? Who is the real Vincenzo Benardi?
              "How long have you been the boss?"
              Vincenzo shrugs and gets a satisfied smirk on his face, "I took over my father's place when I was 15, so going on almost ten years now."
                Wow. For such a young man he has been in charge for a long time. I want to ask why but I'm sure he will tell me on his own if he wants.
              "What's your favorite color?" He chuckles at my ridiculous question but tells me it's black. Somehow, I'm not surprised.
               We talk some more, walking aimlessly through the house, even walking through the halls more than once. Later it feels like I know mostly everything about him, all except for the one thing I want to know the most. Why me?
              "La cena è pronta!" A woman's voice erupts from the kitchen and Vincenzo leads me to the dining room. Two large and extremely long tables are filled with food and plates.
              People start filling in the chairs, and everything seems so elegant for a normal dinner. I look at Vincenzo confused but he keeps his head straight forward and his right hand on the small of my back. I look to the right and see my family sitting at the far end corner of the farthest table. My efforts to walk towards them are halted as Vincenzo gently pushes me to the left to sit at the end of the table closest to us.   
              Suddenly I feel like an outcast. My family and friends are all sitting together, far away from me. Was this intentional? Or did they choose their seats and there's just no more room for me? I feel like a high school girl with no place to sit in the cafeteria.
              "Come, mio fiore." His voice is smooth yet demanding as he holds a chair out for me. I sit at the right side of Vincenzo and an unfamiliar younger man sits across from me. His his hair and facial features remind me of Vincenzo, but instead of striking green eyes he has hazel ones. Food begins being served and Vincenzo serves me my food.
              "Principessa, this is my youngest brother Stefano. Stefano, this is Aria." Little brother. That explains the resemblance. He smiles at me and I return the gesture. We eat as the men and women around us laugh and talk as if strangers weren't even present at the dinner table. Actually, it almost feels like they're ignoring us. As I try to observe my surroundings not once do I see anyone glance at me or my family. No, the only eyes I notice are Vincenzo's, and Stephano's when he's dragged into the conversation.
              Vincenzo leans over close to me and whispers in my ear, "Eat up bambina, soon we will retire to my room and finish our earlier discussion from this morning."
              He's expecting an answer... tonight. My heart rate increases, and he looks me in the eyes and smiles. I've suddenly lost my appetite thanks to the important thoughts now running through my mind. I push my plate to the right and count down the long and nerve-racking minutes that loom over this dinner.