Mariano (Made Men #1)

Ten

We were fools,
To think that your broken, could heal mine.
~ Lydia Hagen

I woke up in Mariano's arms, snuggled closely against his chest, his face buried in the crook of my neck. Another night without a nightmare. Maybe my shrink wasn't that bad.

"Hey." I whispered, but he didn't reply, probably still asleep.

I shifted more into him, my body reveling in his manliness. I turned on my back, careful not to wake him up. Staring at his lips, I sighed. What had happened last night? I distinctly remembered everything that had taken place till Mariano came. After that? I willed myself to remember.

Oh. I had asked him to kiss me. And said I was attracted to him. Fuck.

And he'd been pissed too.

Yayy me.

"Morning, Bella." Mariano whispered into my ear. I smiled up at him, my face contorting on instinct. "Morning." I said.

"Does your head hurt?"

I nodded. "A bit."

He hummed. "I'll have Aria bring you something for the pain."

"Thanks." I beamed. "I'm sorry for last night. You had to bring me here."

"I don't mind." He said warmly. "You're so beautiful when you wake up."

I blushed a deep shade of crimson. "Malto grazie." I said. He frowned. "That's not correct, mio tesoro. Malto means very."

"Oh." I blushed again, this time for a different reason. "I googled some Italian phrases."

He chuckled lightly, tracing my lower lip with his finger. "Did you hope we'd meet again?"

I shrugged.

He shook his head, standing up. "I'll be outside if you need me. Meet me for breakfast." He winked.

"Nope." I shook my head, getting out of bed. "I'll leave. Where are my clothes?"

"You'll eat." He stated. "I threw them away. I didn't like them."

I gaped at him. "You ass!" I exclaimed. "What gave you the right to?"

He shrugged, walking into the bathroom, then coming back out with a razor. "I don't need rights, Bella."

"What will I wear?"

"I will get you clothes, Bella." He sighed.

"Stop calling me that!" I snapped.

"Don't talk to me like that, Bella." He snapped right back.

I glared at him. Infuriating son of an asshole.

He sighed, then walked straight out of the room. I humphed and went to take a shower. I used his soap again. Maybe I should tell him to put a girls' soap here too. And some clothes of mine.

When I came out, a white cotton shirt - Mariano's no doubt, underwear and light blue jeans lay on the bed. I quickly put them on, and walked out.

"Donna! You're up!" Was how I was greeted when I walked into the kitchen.

"Yes." I told Aria. "What are you making?"

"Coffee and fette biscotte for today." She answered.

I hummed. "Come on, I'm gonna make American breakfast."

"Oh?" She gaped at me.

I shrugged and got to work. "Where are the eggs?"

After a half hour I had scrambled eggs, made toast, arranged for butter and jam, and fried some bacon.

Luca and Mariano walked in together. "What's cooking, Lucia?" Mariano questioned. "Smells nice."
He spotted me at the kitchen counter and sighed. "Come here, Bella." He said.

"I'm making you American breakfast." I grinned at him. "Sit down."

He frowned. "You're not supposed to work here."

"I'm not working. I'm making my boyfriend some breakfast." I stuck my tounge at him, and he shook his head, but sat down.

I served him eggs and bacon, then placed toast, butter and jam on the table, then set to brewing the coffee. "You guys sit down, too." I told the girls. "Eat."

They declined. "We will eat after you eat, Donna."

"Its Isabelle, or Izzy, please." I told them.

"Not Izz, Bella?" Mariano asked, teasing, looking up from his newspaper.

"Nah." I shook my head. "That's reserved for Landon. Even you can't call me that."

Luca smiled at me amusedly. So did the girls. "What?" I snapped at all of them.

Everyone shook their heads simultaneously. Huh.

Mariano didn't look up from his paper for the rest of the meal, silently nibbling on his toast, then walked away without saying a word to me.

"What happened to him?" I said to noone in particular as I sat down with my breakfast.

Aria sat down in front of me with a steaming cup of coffee, and leaned in. "Izzy, you don't talk about other men in front of your man."

"Oh." I made a big O with my lips.

"Oh." She taunted, grinning. "You're in trouble, have fun."

I laughed a little. "Mariano wouldn't hurt me."

She frowned. "None of the men would ever hurt their women. Unless they want to be hurt. I don't know what Don has told you, you're not from our world, but you will understand us later."

I flushed, feeling distinctly out of place. "He said something about punishing me."

She winked. "They're fun, really." I almost gagged.

I cleared my throat, embarrassed to ask what I was going to. "I heard some of the men referring to you as whores."

Aria laughed, her deep set eyes crinkling at the corners. "Its not a derogatory word around here. We're whores, that's who we are. Some of us were born into this world, others were saved from the outside and brought here. Everyone is respected around here. Noone can do anything to us without our permit. Mariano is one of the best Don's we've ever had. He's strong, ruthless, a great leader, and loves the family. My father told me that he's exactly like his great grandfather, Salvatore. Everyone loved him."

I nodded. She smiled, then continued. "You should ask him about everything. The positions, the oaths, the works. He won't hurt you, ever, I can see that. But you also need to learn your position as the Donna, and what is gonna be expected of you as his wife. You go to college, sí?"

"Yes."

"Good. Maybe he'll allow you to get a job. But its rare. The women are supposed to look after the house. We, at the Central, take turns. But the Don, Capos, Consigliere and Underboss have different houses. You'll live there, and do what he wants you to." She said all that with such excitement, such honesty, I wondered how they could accept such a world.

Frowning, I said, "That sounds awful."

"It may be to you. But, like I said, he may let you work. But its dangerous. Our second Donna was killed in a grocery store. Shot."

I gasped. "Now I get it."

She winked at me, and I stood up. "Thanks, Aria, we should definitely hang out sometime."

A smile took over her face. "Definitely, Izz."

I ventured off to look for Mariano.

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