Married To The Mafia...?

The cold sheets clung to my bare legs as I lay wide awake in the pure black darkness, the only sound was the gently hum of the wide screen television down the hall and my deep shaky breath.

Almost at the immediate moment I stepped foot inside the penthouse I had run a steaming hot shower, I had allowed the water to cascade over my tense muscles, to loosen the grip on reality and the threat upon my life, even if it was only for fifteen minutes. I had dressed in pyjama shorts and one of Ethan's t-shirts which he rarely wore. Emanuel had offered to stay up and watch tv or order something from the kitchens to pass the time but I politely declined instead retreating to mine and Ethan's bedroom where I had laid alone, in the dark for the past two hours.

A subtle sound of moving hinges and the click of locks softly echoes down to the bedroom, I had presumed it to be hotel staff bringing Emanuel something to eat or drink, possibly even a message from Ethan but as voices lifted through the previously silent air I realised my assumptions were incorrect and that instead my husband had returned home for the night.

"Was she alright?" Ethan's voice drifted from what I could guess as the kitchen, his tone laced with a new concern that I was not yet accustom to.

"She was fine," I heard Emanuel yawn tiredly. "She was exhausted so just went to bed. I haven't heard anything the whole time."

"Did you check on her at all?"

I scoffed slightly at the new protectiveness that Ethan had suddenly developed. Naturally it made my heart sing to know he cared just a fraction enough to want to keep me safe at almost all to any cost, yet the degree to which it was beginning to escalate to was slowly becoming over bearing.

"Once or twice. She's fine Ethan. She's a lot stronger than you give her credit for."

"I know. I just-" Ethan paused to clear his throat and I strained my ears slightly in anticipation of what he would say next. "Nothing can happen to her. Ever."

Wildly my heart melted at the sincerity of his words and my insides turned to mushy goo. I stopped listening to Ethan and Emanuel's conversation at that point and only just heard the click of the enterance door and the shuffle of feet creeping down the hallway. Quickly I threw myself onto my side turning away from the door and pretended to be asleep. I paid full attention to the sound of Ethan's sock clad feet creeping across the plush carpets, the sound of running water and then the feeling of a new weight upon the opposite side of the bed.

Ethan's body moved closer to my back,one arm gently slid underneath my neck while the other wrapped securely around my waist. In his embrace I felt completely and utterly safe, the kind of place that I didn't ever want to leave. I felt his slightly chapped lips pushed a tender kiss against my jaw line and I pretended to only now stir from my slumber.

"What time did you get in?" I spoke through a forcefully groggy voice pretending to not have know he had only just got home.

"Just now." His voice was quieter than normal, "did I wake you up?"

I shook my head slowly and instinctively curled closer to his body, Ethan's arms tightening around my frame. "I-is everything alright?"

Immediately Ethan's body behind me stiffened and his breathing became deeper and heavier, I almost regretted asking the question.

"It will be."

"What about Brian and Jack did-"

"They've been dealt with." Ethan's voice was final but I pressed on further.

"You didn't-"

"They're fine Amelia," His arms moved so that I was facing him through the darkness, even with the blanketted black surrounding us I could still see the perfect outline of his face. "What's more important to me is that you're fine."

His words were sincere and I felt the stinging prick of newly building tears at the backs of my eyes. My heart broke for all the right reasons as his voice fell to a whisper, as I felt the sheets move slowly and the impact of his lips on mine sent my head spinning. I pulled against the material of his shirt bringing myself closer if it were at all possible, my left hand becoming lost in his dark hair. I couldn't help but feel that this is where we should have been almost a year ago, that it shouldn't have taken the threat of my insane brother to bring us closer.

Now that we were here, I didn't mind that it taken months of trial, of trepidation and/or tragedy to find it. It only mattered that we could stay like this forever.