Luzo: Reign of a Mafia Don (20 page)

When it comes, do you take it?

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Carlo gave his wife a kiss on the neck as she washed the dishes. When she turned around with the sudsy sponge in hand he kissed her again. “You are still as beautiful as the day we married.”

“And you are still as naughty.”

Carlo pat his burgeoning gut and laughed. “I cannot get enough of you or your cooking, it is starting to show.”

“You are sexy, besides there is only more of you to love.”

“True,” he said and reached for the towel to dry the dishes. “Where is Viola?”

“At the market.”

“She is always at the market. Sometimes, I do not think she likes to work.”

“Eh, leave poor Viola alone. She is very helpful and Geo loves her.”

They had begun to call Giuseppe ‘Geo’ because they tired of
shouting his entire name each time he darted here and there. Always on the go, the curious boy and saying Geo reserved their strength.

“Speaking
of the giovani, where is he?” Carlo asked.

“
Ernesto and his wife arrived this morning to collect our son. You were asleep. Remember Ernesto asked if Geo could spend part of the summer in the country with his famiglia bello and you said yes?”

“Oh, sí, I forgot.
”

Sophie leaned on the sink.
She had something on her mind to discuss. “Is it wise of Luzo to flaunt his affairs so close to home and taunt his wife?”

“Gina is occupied spending my brother’s money. She is aware of his
mistresses’ bella, do not worry so much.”

“But Carlo…”

Carlo kissed her quiet, sucking her in to his desire. Sophie’s arms went about his neck and he lifted her up to his waist. “Ummm…Luzo is happy…that is all that matters donna…now ssshhh. Besides, he is in Venice. I do not wish to talk about Luzo’s personal life.”

“Famiglia is to be watched over, no?”

Carlo’s hand squeezed her bottom. “You cannot have eyes on a man’s heart. When love springs forth, let nature rain down upon it in blessing when it blooms.”

Sophie finally silenced as Carlo carried her upstairs. Carlo was right. 
Luzo deserved happiness.

***

A heart can skip a beat.

It can run like tribal feet.

The tempo can be light.

The vibration
can be strong.

A heartless man can s
ee through youth’s eyes wonder in small things, whether an old building or a location seen only in magazines. Through the excitement, there is bewilderment that what a young woman sees was never considered special until shown. That is what Maria Diaz did to Luzo’s soul. He laughed as she stood up on the gondola, gazing not at buildings but the sky.

“This is so beautiful,” she said in Spanish and reached her arms up. “I feel as if I can touch it.”

“You have never seen a sky?” he teased.

“Of course I have, bu
t it looks different from the many places we have visited.”

Her employer had shown her
a bevy of sights throughout Italy and there was more to explore. In a few short months she had experienced the decadence of wealth, a new culture, fine dining, and seen places such as Tuscany and along the Arno River in the northwestern region, he had shown her the famed city of Pisa and the Leaning Tower. The city still bore the striking remnants of its former golden days as a commercial empire during the Middle Ages and she was thrilled by the effect of being transported in time.

She had also begun having inappropriate thoughts of her employer. The handsome sophisticated Sicilian was always generous and kind. He was older than she, with such wisdom, she sometimes felt like a child. Her affection had become a burning desire for his touch that went unfulfilled. At night while he worked in his study she would l
ay in bed, touching her womanly softness, moaning in gentle whispers Luzo’s name.

He saw the low bridge nearing. “You must sit donna.”

She reclaimed the seat beside Luzo, smiling at the Baroque-style structures as they glided along the canal.

Luzo gave her a history lesson which comprised of his recanting of the old architecture. “Most of these structures date back to the
13
th
century. You see like that blue building is what is called a Byzantine-style home. The white one adjacent with the grand loggia is considered Venetian-Gothic.”

Maria stared at his mouth
as she listened but his eyes saw adoration of a young woman hoping to be kissed. He smiled at her inability to mask the innocence. She made him feel like a boy. He was a boy with her. Each week in her company he found it easy to relax and the time spent away on business became shorter because he could not stop thinking of the donna.

He had not behaved inappropriately, in fact, as he said when he offered her the job as caretaker for his property outside of Palermo; all he asked for
was fresh flowers and an orderly home. These sightseeing trips were repayment beyond her salary for enduring the seclusion without complaint when he was gone.

The Canalazzo
snaked its way toward the Santa Lucia railway. He picked up the camera and asked the gondolier to take their picture, which he quickly obliged. He knew who sat in his gondola, he saw the man following in the motorized boat and the others keeping watch on the bridges.

Luzo put his arm around Maria and the picture was taken and the camera returned to his hands
. “Grazie,” Luzo replied and later he gave an exorbitant tip before departing.

On the way to his country estate, Maria glowed.

“You have been wonderful to me Signore Palazzo. Gracias for everything.”

“I am the grateful one,” he said as the car finally arrived to the house.

They had a long day. Tomorrow he had to travel to Spain. Business cannot always be put aside.

He had begun keeping a journal the times he stayed
in the house. At night when he was unable to sleep, he had begun to chronicle his life. He found peace in writing his thoughts. One day, he might become too old to remember the sharp details. While relatively healthy, he wanted to leave behind a glimpse of the transformation of his life.

He removed his jacket and that is when Maria’s hand touched his, like a servant she sought to hang the garment as if he could not.

He held her fingers, entwined his with hers and she became nervous. “Your hands are very warm,” he said.

“I…I…do not think this is appropriate,” she stammered.

He released her hand, put away his jacket and went upstairs. She followed and he stopped at the upper landing when she said his name. “Sí?”

“Are you upset with me?”
she asked.

“No,” he answered. “I respect you. I only want
urgent use of the bagno.”

Her nervous laugh made him smile. “Mi scusi, nature beckons.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Maria had retired. He knew the moment she had. The silence told him. Lately, he had heard sounds coming from her room when he passed. They were soft; inaudible to one with lesser hearing but Luzo’s ears were those of a hound. She pleasured herself, that is what he surmised and the knowledge brought a smile.

He closed his journal, placed it in a lock box and then
it went inside a secret compartment beneath his chair.

He could not write about his day with her. He did not want those thoughts revealed. There are intimate moments that
should not be shared. She was falling in love with him. He could see it in the eyes, but she was afraid. In a way he was too.

What Maria saw was only a piece of his life. Here amid olive gardens and plush greenery she was protected from the harsh reality of a mafia world she knew nothing of.

He stood, stretched and then ascended the wide staircase to his bedroom. When he opened the door, he experienced a thump to his chest.

Nude
and as beautiful as he imagined was Maria waiting in his bed.

“I am a virgin
.”

Luzo disrobed.
“It is nice to make your acquaintance.”

She smiled as h
e sat and interlocked their fingers, but this time she did not speak of inappropriate behavior. He smiled at her timidity and found it refreshing as she stared at his scar but afraid to ask its history. He placed her hand upon the slight indentation below his rib where a bullet punctured his skin. This was the part of his life she did not know.

Her eye
lashes lowered modestly. “I am nervous.”

He lay down, bringing her with him in his arms. “Close your eyes donna
, listen to my heart.”

She snuggled close to his warm flesh. He inhaled her natural perfume as they simply cuddled. There was an elation to simply embrace
and talk.

“What do you see beyond tomorrow, donna?” he asked.

“I see happiness.”

He smirked. “What will bring this happiness?”

“Love, familia, my own salon.”

“A salon?”

“Sí, I enjoy doing women’s hair in many different styles.”

“I will give you a salon.”

“I will give myself a salon. I am saving.”

A chuckle. “Sí, of course, mi scusi.” It was very refreshing indeed to speak with Maria.

“You laugh at me?”

“No…no bella…I laugh at me.”

“Por que?”

“Because cara mia, I am much older than you, but you have taught me about love.”

“You love me?” she asked in wonder.

“Si, ti amo.”

“I am glad. I have loved you for months but I was afraid to say.”

“
And the fear has fled?”

“Yes. I c
annot deny what I feel for you any longer Luzo Palazzo.” Maria’s soft hand caressed his scar, a small action that produced a hot sensation inside. Then she kissed the healed wound. Gina never had, nor had Gina ever cared to ask, “Did it hurt?”

“Sí, at first, but then no.”

“My brother was shot during a robbery. He almost died. I am glad you are both alive.”

Luzo did not have a verbal response. His body
’s natural response had hijacked the immobility of speech in order to flex forward and kiss her. Very soft lips cushioned his and opened when he demanded with his tongue a place to dwell. The sweetness of this virgin was not her untouched condition, but her empathy and kindness. He had lost many things as a boy, gave away a woman who later brought his brother joy and had become hinged to a rusty nail of a wife whose actions were never genuine.

His mouth slid down Maria’s throat as he rolled her on her back and traced her collarbone with the point of his tongue. His eyes were on the loveliness of her skin, a warm color slightly darker than his own.
Without haste he tasted her flesh, leaving pinches of pink where he held on too long.

Her eyes fluttered open.

His desire wanted fulfillment. The virgin house she had guarded until Luzo was solidly occupied and a stiffening with a gasp dissolved into moistness below and juice-filled kisses above.

Her evenings of masturbation had paid off.

The pleasure of love-making was introduced to a novice easy and slow. Maria cried his name, each time her walls fluttered with exhilaration. She clung tightly when lifted, brought over his body and taught to ride a human stallion.

Slick with joined fluids, attached by labor’s perspiration, Maria called him loving endearments. They were not vulgar lies from a
n experienced wife, but believable truths from a virgin’s lips. Maria was not tainted by his past and sought nothing except his love. It was a new beginning; a chance to have happiness and seize it is what Alberti had advised.

Th
at thumping which occurred the first time he saw her was a sign. Their chemistry blended and an explosive combustion happened when the fated lovers united.