𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝

33

Mila

"Harder!"

"Faster!"

"Is this necessary?" I ask and Gio rolls his eyes and points to the punching bag, we're currently in his basement/gym where he's training me. "I don't need to train, or learn how to fight," I tell him.

"In this family you do, you need to know how to defend yourself, anything could happen." He tells me for what feels like the hundredth time, I sigh. "Now try again."

I get into position, Gio showed me how to position myself plenty of times, I throw my punches, I follow what he says and make sure my punches connect where I want them to, and I make sure to hit fast and hard. "That's better," he says as I continue to punch the bag.

I get confident with my punches. "I'm doing it!" I smile as I connect more punches.

"Make sure you-" Eventually the punching bag decides it's had enough and decides to fight back, hitting me in the face as it sends me falling on the floor. "Block." He finishes.

"Ouch." I frown as my vision begins to blur a bit before coming back.

Gios stands over me, his face is over mine as he chuckles. "Let's practice your blocking." He says as he holds out a hand for me, I groan as I grab it and pull myself up.

-

"How was your training," Victoria asks as I plop down on the couch in the living room as she cleans up in there. "I'm sure you crushed it." She tells me and I shake my head.

"Everything hurts," I whine, I was being a tad bit dramatic, I was sore but nothing a little ibuprofen couldn't help. "Is Alfie getting the kids?" I ask Alfie was one of Gio's guards and he had to work to get the kids to and from school, he always comes back looking like he got jumped by a zoo, but she nods.

"I'm still waiting for you to tell me what happened on your trip." She asks and my face heats up as I cover it.

"Please no." I pursed my lips to keep the smile off of my face as Victoria laughed.

We walk into the kitchen where Rosa is making the kids something to eat for when they get home, Gio sits at the table as he's on his phone, the doorbell rings and Victoria answers it, in enters Sergio, Dario, and Luca.

The two boys sit down next to Gio as they begin discussing work, Luca sits next to me at the island, and he smiles a sweet smile at me. "You're in a good mood," I tell him.

"I'm in my normal mood." He says and I raise a brow causing him to laugh.

Rosa places a plate in front of the both of us and I silently thank her with a small smile as my stomach grumbles. "Thank you, Rosa," Luca says as he digs into his plate.

"Where's mine?" Sergio whiles.

"Do I look like a slave to you? Come grab it, idiota." She tells him and Sergio jumps up to grab his plate.

"Thank you." He tells her before he looks at me and puts his plate down walking over his eyes narrow on my face.

"Why are you so close?" I awkwardly move my head back as he examines my face.

"Why is your nose bruised?" All eyes are on me as my brows furrowed.

"Is it?" I ask as I pull out my phone looking in the camera, my nose was bruised a bit from the punching bag hitting me in the face... multiple times.

"Yeah, it is..." Luca says as he also narrows his eyes on my face. "What's wrong with your nose?" He asks but no one gives me time to answer before all eyes are snapped to Gio.

Do they think he did this?

"What the fuck are you all looking at me for?" Gio asks as he realizes all the eyes are on him, even Rosas's glare.

"Wait guy-" I'm cut off.

"What the hell happened to her face?" Sergio shouts, Gio opens his mouth before he's cut off.

"You did not put your hands on her!" Rosa shouts and Gio looks offended at the accusation it almost makes me laugh.

"Did you do this?" Luca asks and Gio opens his mouth, he looks angry as he's cut off.

"What the fuck, man." Dario says.

Sergio begins talking before Gio gets a word in. "Who even are you!" Sergio shouts. "Why would you do this to her beautiful face!" It was hard to take the golden retriever of a boy seriously when he was angry and I start laughing as Gio shouts.

"What the hell is wrong with you all? If you would let me fucking talk you would know she hit her face on a punching bag! I would never fucking touch her!" I'm laughing as everyone's face comes to a realization.

A collective. "Oh..." sounds.

"Fucking idiots all of you." He says as the door opens and the kids run inside.

"Guys shoes," Victoria says as she helps them take their shoes off.

Luca walks over to the door and I hear the kids in excitement. "Uncle Luca!" They shout, even Cade which I smile at, I loved how he was comfortable around the little family we had here.

"Hey guys."

"You two go to my office, we'll talk in there," Gio says as Sergio picks up his plate and makes his way to the office with Dario.

Gio walks over to me. "That was funny to you?" He asks and I smile up at him. "Hmm?"

"Just a little bit funny," I tell him and he gives me a blank stare. "Come on, you have to admit it was a little funny."

His thumb rubs over the bruising bridge of my nose and I flinch a little at the contact, it does hurt to touch, and he pulls his hand away. "Rosa get me some ice." She pulls an ice pack out of the freezer and Gio holds it up to my face and lets it touch my nose, the ice pack instantly relived the burn. "Better?" He asked and I nodded.

I didn't know where my relationship with Gio stood, after the night we had sex everything changed but at the same time. Nothing changed.

We agreed to stay faithful to one another in respect of the marriage but did that make it real? It sure felt real when we did what we did.

But after we've never brought it up, I could feel myself starting to develop a little crush on Gio, which sounds crazy because we're married, and even crazier because I've always felt like this towards him, but I always assumed it was just the lust, I thought after we did it he'd be out of my system and I could live my life normally.

But I knew it wasn't that easy, as long as Gio was in my life nothing about it will be easy, I'll just fall deeper and deeper into the hole until it's too late for me to come out.

He moves the bag over the bruise as I stare up at him he puts the bag in my hand. "Hold it up." He tells me and I put the bag on my face despite it feeling like I was going to freeze my fucking nose off.

I didn't know if I liked the idea of that, or if it scared me.

All I wanted to know was if he was feeling it too.