A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Alena

When I got back to the estate, it was already late because I made a trip to the grocery store. A few black SUVS were parked outside, and the front door was wide open which made me wonder if we had visitors. They cars were parked in different directions, as if they came to stop in a hurry or they were running after something

After I have parked my car in the garage, I walked inside the house.

My eyebrows frowned at the sounds of grunting and groaning. They came all the way from the living room-not just that, they were figures of unknown men in black suits.

Some of them were lying on the ground, someone trying to help them. Their black clothes were stained with blood as it left marks on the marble floor. That was going to need a deep clean to remove.

I was surprised to find around ten men in the living room but there was no sign of Matteo.

There were only four injured men. Someone, 1 assumed was the doctor kept trying to help them, removing bullets, and stitching their wounds. I remained still at my spot as I watched everything in front of me. These were Italian men and they belonged to Matteo. They were in the mafia, it was obvious. They had the build and some of them were bleeding, for god's sake.

L

"Mrs. Lerclerc.. we thought you weren't going to be home tonight," Someone spoke, gesturing for me to leave the living room-as if I feared the blood.

They were wrong. I was never scared of blood or injuries, but I never liked the violence that caused them. Especially when I knew these men were in the mafia and they were probably running from a shooting scene. I always wanted to help people, but they put themselves in these situations.

"What happened?" I asked, heading to one of the men on the ground.

He was passed out and only let out a few groans when I touched his arm. My hand was stained with blood, and 1 immediately noticed he was shot there.

"We were attacked and some of our men got injured."

I frowned, "Where's Matteo

My heartbeat could somehow thump out of my chest as soon as another figure stepped inside the house. Matteo was being held around the waist and arm as he kept groaning in pain. His free hand was holding onto the side of his body, trying to prevent himself from losing too much blood-even when he was already losing too much blood.

There were a few cuts on me, our eyes met.

his face across his cheek and forehead His hands were red from the blood and as soon as he saw

One of his men carefully help him on the couch as he leaned back, clenching his jaw.

"Someone take her out of her." He muttered through gritted teeth, still pressing hard onto the side of his body.

No.

-"I stuttered, "Let me take a look."

"I have my doctor, Alena This is nothing you should concern yourself with. Please, let us be."

"You got shot, Matteo!"

He tried to push me away as I reached out to touch his face, but was stubborn, We weren't in good terms for months, yet I

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could forgive and forget for a little while. He needed tending as soon as possible and I could never ignore that.

"Mrs. Leclerc "

I cut someone off, "I'm a doctor. I know what to do,"

He turned to look at Matteo, somehow waiting for his approval or order but when Matteo nodded his head, he let me be

"Take me into my office."

Two of his men helped him up as they made their way to his office. I followed behind them closely and watched their every move. When we got inside. I was hesitating at first because I remembered when he told me, I wasn't allowed to be in here. I wasn't allowed to be in his room and his office.

But he didn't seem to bother at the moment. He did ask his men to bring him to his office, so I stepped inside and made my way towards him, who was sitting on the sofa and groaning lightly in pain.

"Bring her the things she needs and leave us.

Within minutes, they placed medical tools and a first-aid kit beside me before leaving the office.

I was left alone with Matteo

I was staring at him for a few seconds, seeing he was indeed in pain. His lips were red and slightly busted-maybe, he was punched on the face a few times before he got shot. He looked rough and I had never seen him like that before. Whenever we ran into each other for the past months, he always looked in a hurry and busy.

"I'll cut your shirt off."

He nodded, leaning back as I run the scissors to cut his shirt. Once I cut them, he was sitting in front of me t***ss. If we were in a different situation, I was probably going to take my time and stare at him because the man in front of me was looking like a Greek god, but he was hurt.

He was injured. I had no right to stare, anyway.

I frowned at the gunshot wound and sighed in relief when I was that it wasn't too deep. It was a graze, and it missed any important **o*ns-he was going to heal just fine. All he needed was enough rest.

I kept quiet, disinfecting the area properly before beginning to remove the bullet. He did groan and grunt a few times, but he managed it well by staying still, only gripping tightly onto his torn-up shirt. "You can ask me. You look curious," he said slowly.

I cleared my throat, "Who attacked you?"

"We were just transporting drugs when we got attacked. Angelo will try to figure out who it was because everything happened too quickly. I couldn't see who it was and then I got shot."

"Is this a normal

reoccurrence for you?"

He smirked. "Very much so. This isn't my first time."

""You've been shot before?"

"And I survived each one!

"You might leave me as a widow sooner than I thought,"

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The corner of his lips lifted as he shook his head. He was finding the conversation amusing but I didn't pay much attention to him or his stare. I was paying attention to his wound even though he was looking at nothing else but me. It had been a while since I saw him smile, too or heard his voice

"They can't kill me, Alena. It's not that easy"

"And if they do get to you one day. They'll probably come after me, too. If they don't come after me, I'm left with your debts to pay

His expression turned serious, "That won't be happening. Even if I die, you'll be taken care of. You wouldn't have to worry about anything. Nothing in your life is going to change."

"Do you t

think about it. Matteo!"

"About dying?"

"Mm, in your line of work. you keep getting closer to death when you leave the house.

He hissed as I took the bullet out but when he felt the relief, he leaned back.

"You're lucky it didn't hit any of your o***ns. It was just a graze." I spoke again as he kept watching me. It was starting to make me feel uneasy and a bit nervous, but I tried to ignore the feeling.

I couldn't tell what he was thinking but I knew if I looked at him I wasn't going to be able to look away. His beautiful eyes were always tempting, and I was bound to get lost in them. They were always strongly affecting me.

Who said brown eyes couldn't hypnotize? They were lying.

Told you I'm lucky." He breathed, "Besides, it's not just me now

"What do you mean?"

"I can't always risk my life. I have to remember that I have bigger responsibilities, now."

is that?"

""What is

"You"

Just like that, our eyes met in an instant. I was fool to think I could look away or ignore his gaze, but he seemed to surprise me whenever I least expected. I swear to God, I wanted nothing but to kiss his lips because I missed how he tasted-he had that effect on me, and I couldn't shake it off.

"You just don't want me to marry someone else." I said, jokingly.

He chuckled, "Maybe. I like knowing you have my last name,"

There it was. Another word and it gave butterflies in my y stomach

We kept quiet for a while as I cleaned his wound, still ignoring his stare. He wasn't groaning or hissing in pain any longer. Both of his hands were resting on his sides, so it took me by surprise when I felt him reaching out to lift my chin.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

His touch was soft and all he needed was for me to look into his eyes.

"What's wrong? Am I hurting you?" I asked, trying to ignore the rhythm of my heartbeat and the butterflies in my stomach.

He shook his head, "I just miss your face."

"Don't don't do that."

-

"Do what?"

"Say those things to me. We both know we'll be back to ignoring each other tomorrow. We've been doing that for months." I looked away, returning to stitch his wound before slowly patching it up and placing a bandage.

"I didn't mean to."

"Then, why did you?"

"It's complicated"

I sighed, feeling my legs hurt because I was being on my knees for too long.

When Matteo didn't get a response from me, he continued to talk. "Why didn't you have a boyfriend?"

Our faces were inches apart. I felt self-conscious as he eyed my every feature. It was as if he was counting my freckles across my cheeks-they weren't too visible, but they were obvious if someone was standing too close. Anyhow, we had been closer than this. Just not close and not doing anything.

"I did until he decided he wanted to break my heart."

"What did he do?"

I knew he was curious, but I appreciated the gentleness in his voice.

"He cheated on me. I found him having sex with his colleague in our apartment. I continued to speak, "We were in love for four years or I thought we were. Maybe, it was just me. So, when he was busy kissing and sleeping with someone else, I made it clear to myself that I never wanted to go through that pain ever again. I stayed away from love. I never got to know anyone else after him. I just didn't want to give anyone my trust."

"Did he try to get you back in his life?"

I scoffed, "Oh he did. He did it a few times until he gave up. He gave me all the cliche answers whenever I asked him. I wasn't a kid, Matteo. I knew he was a big fat liar and couldn't keep his d***k in his pants."

-He smirked, "He wasn't worthy of you. If he really did love you, he wouldn't cheat on you."

"Exactly, I told myself that many times whenever I felt lonely"

"You felt lonely?"

"Of course. Anyone would feel lonely when they're alone,"

He continued to look at me before reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. It was a gentle gesture even though it was quick, but it made my heart skipped a beat. Our eyes were staring into one another as I tried to control my breaths.

To my surprise, he leaned in to kiss my forehead.

It was a long kiss, and his lips were warm as I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment.

When he leaned back, I slowly opened my eyes to find him looking away.

Thank you for helping me, Alena."

Just as I was about to say

head "You're welcome. Don't push yourself too hard. There are painkillers in the fridge if it's too painful,"

onething. Angelo opened the door and stepped inside. I quickly stood up before nodding my

This was never a normal occurrence. If it was a normal person getting shot, I might ask for immediate scans to check for internal injuries, but it was Matteo and he seemed fine.

Angelo spoke to him in Italian, and I knew it was my cue to leave

"Just go to a hospital if you're still hurting." I added before walking out.

I did catch a glimpse of his face, but I didn't want to look at his eyes.

"Wait, Alena."

I stopped and turned to look at him. He was already standing up as he spoke to Angelo in Italian. Once they were done, Angelo excused himself and we were left alone, again.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"No, there's nothing wrong. They were just leaving."

"Oh, okay. I guess I should too?"

"Alena, can you please help me to my room?"

The question took me by surprise. So, in one night, I was allowed to be in his office and his bedroom. He was literally asking me to help him into his room which he made very clear, he didn't want me anywhere near it. He even said the word "please and he seemed sincere, too.

Did getting shot change him or something?

"Sure, I'll help you up.

I placed my arm around his waist and slowly walk with him out of the office. He wasn't putting his whole weight on me because he knew he was going to crush me, but he did lean in for support. His other hand was wrapped around my shoulder in case he was about to fall. When we reached for the stairs, I saw his men leaving.

Angelo was talking to them in Italian as they closed the door.

-Matteo and I walked up the stairs, straight into his room. When we got inside, I slowly help him towards the bed, but he didn't completely let go of me. I stole a few glances around his room and there wasn't anything weird-it was a normal bedroom with light colored decorations.

His room was spacious, bigger than mine. It was clean, too and everything was in place.

"Do you want me to help you clean up?" I asked before I could stop myself.

I was supposed to help him into his room and leave. I knew myself too well. I could never walk away easily whenever he looked or touched me, and I was pulling myself deeper into him, I was hoping he said no, and I could leave but I also wanted him to say yes. "Are you okay with helping me?"

"Yeah, 111 need to replace the bandage anyway once it's wet."

"Mm, right

As he slowly unbuttoned his pants, I immediately turned around A soft chuckle escaped his lips when he saw my reaction. I didn't understand what was going on with me. He had his hand and fingers inside me, but I was blushing to be in the same room as him because he was undressing.

Why was it bothering me so much?

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""You can look if you want to,

"I shouldn't Let me know when you're covered,"

"I'm covered."

I turned around, seeing him standing close and naked. My eyes widened before closing, "Matteo, don't do that!"

Another laugh escaped his lips as he reached up to cup my face. I was forcing my eyes shut even though another part of me wanted to look. My hands were staying still too because I was afraid if I might've touched his private part if I moved around.

"Are you blushing, Alena?" He asked, his voice low and deep.

Tm not. Please cover yourself,

"I can't take a shower with clothes on."

"Then, can you please go into the bathroom?"

e clean up"

"You said you wanted to help me cle

"I didn't think you were g going to be naked

"Just open your eyes,"

""No, I don't think I should"

"It's not something you haven't seen before."

"I haven't seen yours.

"Well, you can now."

"Matico!"

He chuckled, caressing my cheeks. "Open your eyes, Alena or we can just stand here. I don't mind doing this all night but I'm feeling a bit tired, and I can't stand so long without hurting myself."

I opened my eyes, but they remained focusing on his eyes. Due to our height differences, I had to lift my head to look at him and he had to look down at me. Both of his hands were still cupping my face. "Your cheeks are warm," he added. "Stating the obvious. Thank you."

"Help me into the bathroom, please."

Once we got into the bathroom, I couldn't help it any longer. He was standing in the shower facing the wall and I was standing near the door staring at his butt. They were looking great. I was silently wishing I could touch them.

"Can you please take the body wash for me?" He asked, turning on the shower.

I made my way towards him with the body wash in hand. As soon as I reached him to give the body wash, he grabbed my hand and pulled me close. My body slammed into his and he let out a wince, groaning at the pain. I accidently touched his

wound

Im sorry. I didn't-

He cut the off. "It's fine."

"You're going to get ine wet"

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He smirked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at me. Both of his hands were cupping my face again and I knew where. this was heading. He didn't bother to hide he was checking me out-my white shirt was clinging onto my body as the warm water poured onto us, "Can we just stay like this for a while?"

"Tm soaking wet, Matteo

"Take your clothes off."

"What?"

"Take them off

I was staring at him, trying to find any sort of amusement but he was serious, When I was standing frozen at my spot, I found his hands going down to lift my shirt and I didn't stop him. Once my shirt was off, he threw them out of the shower and went down to unbutton my

skirt. They fell off with just a slight pull.

He kicked it out of the shower, too,

So, here I was, standing in my undergarments in front of my naked husband.

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