Mafia Princess

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Twilight...not mine (sigh).

Chapter Seventy-Eight

The next day, I was very quiet. Bella noticed it and asked if something was wrong. Yeah, Little One. I'm experiencing a moral dilemma. I love you and I've been lying to you since the day we've met. Will you be able to forgive me and love me in return? I just said that I migraine and she left me alone.

Shortly before dinner, Charlie called and said that his flight to Rome had been arranged. He would be arriving on June seventh with Emmett, Seth, Eleazar and Carmen. Charlie also said that Angie, Jessica and their boyfriends were going to be coming a couple of days later for an extended vacation.

I did the dishes and was totally spacing out. I reached into the soapy water, grabbing the wrong end of the knife that I had tossed in there. "Mother fucker!" I spat, pulling my hand from the water. My left hand was sliced along the palm.

"You okay?" Bella asked as she walked over to me. "Oh my."

"I'm fine," I said as I turned on the sink, shoving my hand under the water. I hissed.

"No, you're not," Bella murmured, taking out a clean rag. "You could need stitches."

"It's fine, Bella," I said as I pulled my hand out of the water and covered it with the proffered rag. "I just wasn't paying attention."

"That's not like you, Edward. What's wrong?" she asked, sliding up onto counter.

"Just dealing with some things," I shrugged.

"Are those things your feelings for me?" she questioned, her voice small and her eyes hurting.

"Part of it," I said, not wanting to lie to her anymore. "I'm freaking out, Bella. I care for you very much but I'm afraid that something's going to happen to you or to me and we're both in for a world of hurt."

"What could happen, Edward?"

"I could get shot. Jane could succeed in finding you and hurt you. Bella, I'm scared. I just found you and I do not want to lose you," I said as I pulled my rag away from my hand. The bleeding had stopped. It was a tiny cut, didn't need stitches.

"I don't want to lose you, either," she said.

"But it's a real possibility, Bella. I don't think you understand that," I said gruffly, searching for a bandage to cover the cut.

"Edward, I do understand it. Aro's goons could show up anywhere. Hell, his family is located in Sicily. His brothers or cousins or whatever are scary. I've seen pictures," she said. "However, you said yourself that Jane is in Italy but she doesn't know where we're at." She hopped of the counter and got a bandage, covering my cut. Sweetly, she kissed my palm. "I know you're scared. So am I. But I want to forget all of that shit. I want to spend time with my boyfriend, my family and my friends." She looked up at me and gave me a soft smile. "Are you freaking about the physical aspect of our relationship, too?"

"A bit," I said as I moved my hand up to her face. "I love touching you and making you feel good, but I don't want to rush it. Plus, seeing you is fucking hot, too."

"I am sexy," she quipped.

"And modest, too," I snickered. She shrugged. "Bella, I do not want to fuck this up. I know that I'm confusing and dealing with me is frustrating, but I'm a mess. I want to do right by you. Respect you. I know I said that we'd make love prior to your father coming to Italy. In retrospect, that seemed a bit hasty."

"Hey, it's okay, Edward," she said, tangling her hands into my hair. "If you're not ready, you're not ready. Though, you are the fucking hottest thing ever. Do you remember a couple of nights ago? How wet I got?"

"I do remember and I want more of that, but let's not put a date on when we want to make love. Okay?" I said, as I wrapped my arms around her waist. She nodded and kissed me sweetly. A weight lifted off my shoulders. I did want to make love to her and feel her, but part of me wanted to wait until she knew who I really was. Like she'd want to be with you then, moron. At least I bought myself some time. I didn't have a deadline.

"Why don't you go and relax? I'll finish the dishes," she said. I nodded, kissing her nose before going into the living room. Instead of sitting on couch, I aimlessly wandered to the piano in the corner. I sat down on the black piano bench and flipped open the lid. I looked back into the kitchen, afraid that Bella would yell at me for using the piano without permission. Nibbling on my lip, I pressed down on one of the keys.

Oh, out of tune.

I quickly ran my hands up and down the keys, playing a simple scale. I grimaced. Really out of tune. Bella walked up behind me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "I can call a piano tuner."

"It's not necessary," I mumbled.

"No, I want to. Obviously, you walked here and started to play because it brought you something. I'll call around to find out who's the best," she said, kissing my cheek. "You want to come to bed with me?"

"Just to cuddle. I want to hold you," I said quietly, my heart stammering behind my ribs. "Is that okay?"

"I was never a cuddler before but with you, I love it," she grinned, holding out her hand to me. I took it and we walked to our bedroom. We crawled into bed, our limbs tangling together and no idea where one of us ended and the other began.

I didn't want to lose this.

A/N: For those of you who are worried about the stall in lemons...there will be more. Edward does have ton of restraint, but he's human. He will fold. *Snickers evilly* You know the drill, my lovelies. Leave me some!

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