by Serena Light
"I'm sorry, sir," He apologized, lowering his head which pounded like someone was hammering against his skull.
"That's quite alright," Salvatore assured, giving him a once over. "Your tie is crooked."
"Oh," Alessio spoke in a small voice, trying to straighten it but eventually pulling off, feeling like it would suffocate him, a fine sheen of sweat covering his face as he felt ill and faint.
"You don't look so well," His boss noted, taking a step towards him and just in time as Alessio fell forward, blacking out for a moment.
"Fuck," Salvatore hissed, catching him as two men rushed forward to help him, lifting Alessio off as he checked his forehead. "Put him on the sofa,"
The two men put him on the sofa as Serafina rushed after them crouching at his side as she looked at him in concern. Grabbing a glass of water, Salvatore sprinkled some of it onto his face as Alessio squinted; opening his eyes with his vision blurred. Suddenly noticing Serafina beside him, he shook her off, struggling to sit up as one of the men helped him and she looked at him with a pained expression.
"I'm fine," He assured trying to stand up.
"Keep sitting," Salvatore demanded.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
Going to the dining room, Salvatore returned with a glass of orange juice, crouching before him as he handed the glass to Alessio.
"Qu'est-il arrivé? (What happened?)" Salvatore asked the man before him, watching him slowly sip at the juice.
"Je pense que j'ai trop bu (I think I drank too much)," Alessio responded, lowering the half-drunken glass of juice, Serafina looking between the two in confusion.
"Vous auriez dû appeler malade (You should have called in sick)," Her brother chastised. "Take the next couple of days off and rest up," Salvatore told him, picking him up as another man helped.
Serafina watched the two men help him into his car as the guard drove him back home, her brother turning towards her, chuckling at her distressed expression, ruffling her hair.
"Don't worry, he'll be alright." He assured her as Serafina couldn't understand why her heart was beating like it had just watched one of her loved ones being killed, the panic and fear slowly subsiding. "He just needs to rest."
"Was that..." Serafina swallowed, balling her fists to hide their shaking. "French?"
"Yeah, he's half French." Salvatore nodded. "His mom is French and after his dad's death they moved to France, but he and Niccolo always conversed in Italian, so he always maintained a good grip on that language."
Nodding, she allowed her brother to lead her inside as she was temporarily assigned another guard.
Throughout the day she did her usual errands, going over to her gallery and getting pictures developed, but throughout, she couldn't help but worry about Alessio. She called him a few times but he never picked up. Swallowing thickly, she went home, done for the day.
Serafina warmed last night's leftover, eating them in front of the T.V. before relenting to her worries. Grabbing her car keys and bag, she made her way out, stopping at the store to buy a get-well-soon basket before driving off to Alessio's house. Stopping before the bachelor pad, and told the guards to stay outside as she rang the doorbell. Anxiously waiting, she tapped her foot, wondering if he had gone to sleep, about to leave before the door opened to show Alessio standing in nothing but boxer shorts and a navy blue bathrobe, a towel over his wet tresses as he raised an eyebrow at the sight of her.
"Is everything alright, ma'am?" He asked in a slightly croaky voice, his eyes aloof and not holding the usual gentleness he regarded her with.
"I actually came to see how you're doing." Serafina forced a grin on her face, about to step in but jumping back when he halted her by slamming his hand against the doorway, blocking the way with his arm.
"It's not appropriate for a Regnante to come and visit their lowly servants," Alessio spoke in a cold voice. "Especially for a girl come to visit a guy in the middle of the night,"
"Is it a crime to check in on a friend?" Serafina bit back.
"Oh, we're friends now?" Alessio chuckled. "Last I recall I was the bodyguard whom you called to satisfy your libido when you felt the need."
"That's not true!"
"Really?" Alessio spoke sarcastically. "We sure as hell aren't a couple either. We're not friends. I'm not your boyfriend, alright? So stop acting like I am."
"So you'd be alright if I went out with other guys?" Serafina demanded haughtily, her face burning.
"Sure, go ahead. I would actually encourage it," He raised an eyebrow, picking the basket from between her hands as she noticed him swallow, pain reflected in his eyes. "Besides, you were never mine, to begin with."
With that, he closed the door, leaving Serafina to stand in the doorway, her eyes wide as anger brewed inside her chest. Gritting her teeth, she furiously knocked on the door, Alessio opening it once more as she shoved at his chest, sending him stumbling back as she walked in, slamming the door to shut behind her.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" She demanded, glaring at him as he looked at her unblinkingly.
"Am I talking to my boss's sister or the woman who uses me as her toy?"
"You're talking to me!"
"And who are you exactly?" Alessio questioned, walking towards his open concept kitchen, taking out a slice of pizza from the box laying on the counter and putting it in the microwave to warm.
"Alessio, what has fucking gotten into you?!"
"You!" He bellowed, just as angry as her now. "It's fucking you!" He stated with such anger and loathing she was taken aback, freezing in her spot.
"You've tainted ever fucking memory I have! No matter what I remember – I remember you! It doesn't matter how far back I go – you're fucking there! Years before I even met you, even in childhood memories when you weren't even fucking born, I remember you." He exclaimed in frustration, gripping his hair. "I remember you not because you were there at the time but because they are memories I've shared with you, or they're memories that remind me of a feeling you once gave me."
"There is no part of me you haven't touched," Alessio spoke calmer now. "Every place I go I think of you – even the places I've never been with you because at some point I've been there and I've thought of you."
"You're everywhere...and it's fucking killing me." He whispered hoarsely, bracing himself against the kitchen counter as she stared at him with lips pressed together. "You're in my head. You're in my heart. And I can't get you out. Believe me; I've been trying for the past 2 years."
"I know you told me not to fall in love with you and I promised myself I would never fall in love with you. But it was 4 a.m. and we were laughing way too hard, and I felt happy for the first time in a long time, and I knew I was screwed." Alessio spoke with remorse in his voice, not looking up at her. "Why else do you think I was so distraught over you calling me Paolo? Because it reminded me that you could never be mine. After all, I'm just a lowly servant of your household in your brother's employment and you're the modern equivalent of a princess. Everyone knows that the servant and princess can never be."
Serafina looked at him in silence, never having even thought of what he would have felt, it never occurred to her that her bodyguard was in love with her long before she initiated anything with him. It suddenly occurred to her the pain he must have gone through when she was walking down the aisle to someone else and he never once spoke against her late fiancé, much less gave even a hint of his true feelings for her.
"I'm sorry," He heaved out, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger. "Please just...leave..."
"Alessio," Serafina called out to him gently, walking towards him as he shook his head.
"Please, ma'am...just..."
"Hey, it's Serafina," She informed him gently, cupping his chin into her fingers and turning his face to be looking at her. "My name is Serafina."
"You shouldn't be here..." He trailed, shaking his head. "You should never have come here..."
"You're n
ot feeling like yourself," Serafina murmured gently, placing a kiss against one of his bloodshot eyes before moving to the other. "You're sick and I'm going to take care of you."
"No, you need to leave." Alessio pulled out of her hold. "The guards will tell your brother and he will know. Please just go, Serafina."
"I don't want to; I want to stay here with you-"
"-I don't want you here." He interjected, moving away as a pang of hurt shot through her. "Please, don't make this any harder than it already is, just go home, I can take care of myself."
"Alessio..."
"Fuck, Serafina!" He threw his head back in frustration, whirling around at her again. "Just go-!"
He didn't even get to complete his sentence before she had cupped his face into her hands, kissing him with a feverish need. Alessio kissed back just as desperately, but then tried to push her way, trying to struggle with her as gently as possible because he wanted to kiss her – God, he wanted to kiss her – but he knew he couldn't, that he shouldn't.
"Serafina," He groaned, pulling back just to relent and kiss her again, before pushing her away again. "We can't do this, Salvatore will-"
"I'll handle Salvatore," Serafina murmured against his lips, pushing his bathrobe off him. "But for now, it's just you and me, okay? Don't think about anything else other than the fact that I am right here for you."
"Serafina-"
"-Shut up and kiss me, Romano."
And he did, he kissed her like there was no tomorrow because there might not be for him. He couldn't bring himself to get enough of her. Craving her, needing her, his body yearning for her. Stumbling across the floor of his bachelor pad the two stumbled against tables and furniture, their need too acute to pull away from each other. Both of them leaving a trail of clothes in their wake as they collapsed onto his bed, Serafina clutching at his wet tresses before turning them over, straddling his waist as she pinned him down, the look in her blue eyes telling him that she had had control over him tonight.
Chapter XVIII: Infuriation
For the past 2 months, Alessio had been working for Salvatore's parents given that Serafina had gone on a multicultural tour around the world in order to get photos for her new exhibit: "Diversity". This time around, he wasn't the one to accompany her, rather it was his partner; Theo.
These two months away from her allowed him time to himself as well as to create a significant bond with her family, given that he was there five days a week and the Regnante's all came together at least once a week, if not twice.
Besides, working for Mr. and Mrs. Regnante, he had met a woman who was almost everything he wanted and had been flirting with her whenever they came across and wanted to ask her out. Due to that he wanted to ask Serafina a few things - about them, and he felt that maybe he wouldn't like the answer he could receive but there was nothing he could do other than accept.
However, some night he missed Serafina's presence, or her talk, or her warmth. But nowadays he just missed her and it had Alessio wonder if she missed him as well - he doubted it given that she had better things on her mind.
Currently, he stood in his kitchen, making a casserole and had just placed it in the oven when his doorbell rang. Grabbing his beer off the counter, he took a swig of it as he made his way towards the entrance. Opening it, he was surprised to be tackled in a hug, stumbling back as he tried to regain his balance, holding onto the person who had their legs wrapped around his waist and arms encircling his neck.
"Serafina," He chuckled, pulling back to see the ecstatic smile on her face.
Hugging her in greeting Alessio put away the beer bottle and lowered her onto the ground, grinning at him.
"Hey,"
"You're lucky I didn't have my gun on me, otherwise I would have shot you."
"Ouch," She winced with a chuckle; making her way over to him again and getting on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips as he took a step back, surprising her.
"I reek of onions," He stated with a forced chuckle, getting out of her grasp. "I've made a casserole, would you be staying for dinner?"
"I don't have an issue with staying," Serafina grinned, coming to sit on the barstool as he worked around the kitchen, cleaning up the mess he had made. "So...what have you been up to these past two months?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah I was temporarily assigned to your parents." He informed with a shrug. "Salvatore wanted me to take these two months off, but I said I wanted to work otherwise I would go insane."
"I see...and did you miss me?" She spun on the barstool, noticing that he hadn't looked up at her once.
"How inappropriate,"
"Tell me honestly, cupcake. Did you miss me?"
"Your parent's didn't allow me the liberty to miss anyone."
"Even at night?"
"Well, I would generally collapse to sleep."
"You're beating about the bush, Alessio."
"Eh, I didn't miss you that much." Alessio shrugged, swallowing the lump in his throat as he kept scrubbing at a clean patch of granite. "Oh, it's clean."
Serafina looked at his back in confusion, not understanding what had him feeling so tense and on edge. She had thought he would be happy to see her, but by the looks of it, she was the last thing he wanted to in his home. Getting off the barstool she walked over to him, placing a hand on his back as he gave a startled jump at the touch, the suddenness having Serafina take a step back.
"Ha, you scared me," He breathed out uneasily, placing a hand against his chest.
"What's wrong?" She knitted her eyebrows in concern.
"What? Nothing's wrong."
"Don't lie to me,"
"Seriously, nothing is wrong."
"Okay, so this edgy behavior is just a constant with you, is it?" Serafina crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, I was hoping to have this conversation after dinner," Alessio muttered with a sigh and leaned against the counter. "But, since it's become inevitable, answer something for me,"
"Okay,"
"What are we?"
"What do you mean?" Serafina chuckled, looking at him in confusion, taken aback when he shook his head in disbelief.
"Look, during the daytime, I'm your bodyguard and you're the Regnante I protect." Alessio clarified. "But it all changes during night time when I literally lurk across your other guards and sneak into your house, or you somehow manage to get away from them and show up at my house. All this, for sex. So what exactly are we?"
"We...well..." She trailed, not having an answer as she stammered at the expectant look he was giving her, unable to respond. "I don't know,"
"Really?" Alessio raised an eyebrow. "Because I thought I was your fuck toy,"
"No! That's not what you are to me!"
"Then what am I to you, Serafina? Please tell me so I can sort through this complicated mess I've thrown myself into." He sighed dejectedly. "This was meant to be temporary,"
"Alessio, look-" She began to say, walking over to him and cupping his face into her hands.
"-I know you don't love me," Alessio interjected. "I know you can't love me, and I will eventually get over it. But, fuck Serafina, I'm almost 31 next month and I just want to settle down. I'm tired of being alone, I want a wife, hell, I want kids. And I know this dream of mine would never be achieved with you, so please, either end this or commit to me."
"What makes you think I'm not committed?" She looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze as he scoffed and shook his head at her naivety.
"Have you seen yourself? What guy wouldn't want to be with you?" Alessio chuckled humorlessly with resentment in his green eyes. "That, and the fact that Theo informed me of how you courted 3 different men on three separate occasions."
"He - what?"
"Don't worry, I found a girl too," He pulled away from her, standing as far away as he could. "You would know her; she lives in your parent's neighborhood and drops by every once in a while with a trey of cookies."
"Tatiana?" Serafina re
alized who he was talking about, the breath nearly being knocked out of her. "Tatiana Canali?"
She was only responded by a nod as Serafina let out a scoff of disbelief, never having thought that he would have found Tatiana. There was nothing wrong with her; the woman was a 27-year-old elementary school teacher, cute with shoulder-length hazel hair and rich chocolate eyes, a dimpled smile and a charismatic personality and an even more pure heart. She was wonderful, Serafina had no doubt, but the thought of Alessio with her had bile rising in her throat and infuriation overwhelming her senses.
"No," She shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest sternly.
"Your brothers and parents' think otherwise."
"Alessio, what the fuck?!"
"What do you mean by that?" He exclaimed in frustration, throwing his hands up. "You're not my fucking girlfriend, or my fiancé, much less are you my wife! As a matter of fact, you aren't even mine at all!-"
"-Again with that fucking shit!" Serafina exclaimed in agitation and was about to walk away, but halted when Alessio pulled her back by her wrist.
"No, what's got you so pissed off? Huh?" Alessio demanded. "Am I saying something wrong? No, right? Then what has gotten you so riled up? I'm 6 fucking years older than you, 6 fucking years. And at one point or another, I have to move on, I have to settle down, get myself a wife, and if I see Tatiana as a viable candidate, what issue do you have with it other than the fact that you'll lose your boy toy, that is?"
"Fucking hell, Alessio, will you stop calling yourself that!" Serafina demanded, both of them standing with hardly any space between them.
"Then what the fuck am I to you, Serafina!" Alessio's anger had jolts shooting through her as she glared at him, standing her ground. "Tell me what the fuck I am to you, and I might as well stop using it! Or are you too high and mighty to answer the questions of a lowly peasant?"
"Shit, this is the 21st century!" She yelled at him, her anger feeling hot and sharp. "There is no such thing as princesses and peasants in Italy! Stop living in the medieval times! In the 21st century; anyone can be with anyone!"