In The Name Of Thy Father ~ A Borgia AU

Chapter Nine

Cesare looked over and watched as Lucrezia peacefully slept on the couch of the private jet. They had left early in the morning for their trip and his sister was still half asleep. They snuck out of the mansion with the help of Micheletto and got their luggage onto the jet without anyone seeing. Now they were on their way to the tropical refuge. He just hoped that on that island they would be safe from Sforza's men.

Moving from his seat, Cesare got on his knees in front of the couch. He smiled to himself as he brushed a strand of golden hair out of Lucrezia's face. Biting his lower lip to keep his laughter in, he watched as she wiggled her nose as the hair brushed over it. Lowering his head, Cesare brushed his lips against her forehead. "Wake up, beautiful."

Very slowly Lucrezia's eyes blinked open as she began to wake up. She rolled over onto her side as she smiled lazily at him. "Chez.... mmm...how long did I sleep?"

"Not long. We have another two hours before we reach our destination." Cesare ran a finger along her cheek. "I wanted you to sleep as long as you could. You didn't sleep much last night."

Stretching her arms over her head, she yawned. "I was worried that someone else was going to break in." Lucrezia confessed as she tucked her arms under her head.

Cesare's face softened. "Crezia, you leave the worrying to me. I will protect you." He got up and gathered his sister up in his arms and cuddled her. He nuzzled against her. "No one is going to get us. Not where we're going."

Her brows furrowed. "Are you sure?"

Cesare began to tickle her as his fingers moved up and down over her sides. "How dare you question me! Of course I'm sure!"

Lucrezia was laughing as she was being tickled and squirmed on his lap. "I trust you! I trust you!" she giggled as she tried to get out of his clutches. Yet the more she struggled, the more Cesare tickled her. "Don't make me call for Micheletto!" she playfully threatened.

"Oh really?" Cesare snickered. "Even if you do, who do you think he'd help?"

"Not fair!" Lucrezia spun around and straddled Cesare's lap as she took his arms and pinned them up against the wall. "No more tickling!"

"Ooo kinky!" He wiggled his eyebrows as he chuckled.

Lucrezia growled as she playfully slugged Cesare in the chest. "You are terrible!" She giggled.

"Ow!" Cesare gave her a boyish pout. "That's it! I'm putting a stop to those training sessions with Mikey!"

"But I like learning how to kick ass like you and Micheletto." Lucrezia replied sweetly.

Reaching out to caress her cheek, Cesare smiled softly at her. "But don't you realize sweetheart that it is my job to protect you and do the asskicking as you so put it?" he teased.

"Oh and what am I supposed to be, the fair maiden?" Lucrezia playfully shot back as she ruffled his hair.

Suddenly her brother got very serious as he pulled her close to his chest. "Crezia, you were already hurt because of the family business. If anything happened to you, I would die. Losing you would literally kill me. I will protect you with my life." He hugged her fiercely.

Burying her face in the crook of his neck, Lucrezia nuzzled against him. "You're not going to lose me, dear Cesare. Not when you're here to protect me. I never thanked you enough for always being there for me."

"You never have to thank me, never." he whispered softly as he caressed her back. As far as he was concerned it was his duty and his honor to protect her. If anyone dared to hurt her again he would kill them this time. He wouldn't be as kind to spare their lives this time. Sforza or anyone had better be on their guard.

"How long until we reach the islands?" Lucrezia lifted her head and ran her fingers through her brother's hair to fix the stray strands.

Yearning to lean against her hand, Cesare fought against nuzzling against her palm. If they were alone, then he would but with Micheletto here he held back. "It won't be long. When we reach there we will drive to the beach house. That will be our home for the unseen future."

A bright smile overtook Lucrezia's face as she hugged him. "I can't wait! Let's face it Chez, you needed a vacation as well." Pulling back she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You work so hard. Papa has you working until you're nearly dead. When we reach the beach house, we'll be under my rules. My number one rule is for you to relax." Her eyes twinkled with happiness.

The corners of Cesare's mouth twitched with amusement. "Is that so?" One thing he loved about his sister was her charm. She was bubbly and happy. How could anyone not adore her?

"Yes, that is so. No working. Relaxing Cesare. You and Micheletto both." Lucrezia laid down the law.

"I'm going to be on guard protecting you 24/7. That's the only working I'm going to be doing. I will never stop doing that." Cesare laid down the law.

Lucrezia sighed. "Of course, I know that. But that just means you'll have to stick to my side. Whatever relaxing thing I do, you'll have to do." she pointed out.

He opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it. She was right. If he was going to stick to her side 24/7, whatever she did, he would have to do as well. Honestly a little relaxation would do him some good. God knows he needed it. His father had him working more than his brother, Juan. "Ok ok I'll agree to this."

"Good then it starts right now. You are no longer hitman for the Borgia Family. You are simply Cesare. Relaxation starts now. We have an hour until we land so the first thing you need is a good back massage." Lucrezia moved so she was sitting behind him. Her hands started at his neck and she began to massage his muscles. She could feel how tense he was. She used her thumbs to work out the knots near the top of his spine.

The instant that she started the massage Cesare fought a moan. He knew he was stressed but he didn't know how tense and stressed he was until she touched him. He bit his lip as his hands gripped his knees until his knuckles turned white. Her hands were so delicate and the way her hands moved over his muscles had his body tingling. He couldn't explain the why of it but all he knew was it felt really good.

"You're so tense, Chez." Lucrezia spoke softly in his ear.

"You have no idea." he coughed as he shifted.

"This is why you need to relax." Lucrezia shook her head and chuckled. Her hands slid down over his spine and spread over his shoulder blades. Using the heel of her palm, she dug into a particularly stubborn knot. She winced as she heard him suck in his breath. "I know it hurts and I'm sorry."

"I'm fine." he shook his head.

Yet she knew that he was far from fine. She could feel how big the knot was and still she kept up her ministrations. Very slowly she felt the knot coming loose. She knew by the way his shoulders slowly started to relax. Once it was loose she moved on to another one until the muscles in his back were loose and relaxed.

"Thank you." he breathed as he sank back against her.

Sliding her arms around his neck, she rested her head upon his shoulder. "You're welcome. Something tells me we're going to have to do that every night. I can't let you get that tense again."

Cesare chuckled. "That's what working for Father does to you."

"If you're allowed to protect and take care of me, then allow me to take care of you. It's only fair, Cesare." There was a hint of worry in her voice. Lucrezia cared about him more than anyone else and the thought of him burning out or getting hurt scared her to death.

Taking her hand, he laid a soft kiss in the center of her palm. "We'll take care of each other. Just you and I, Crezia. We won't need anyone else."

Hugging him from behind, she nuzzled against him. "That's right, we won't need anyone else. Just you and I."