Capello Brothers 3 Train My Heart (9 page)

"Aah signore
certainly, I have but one room remaining, our signature Giuliette e
Romeo room. Follow me, please" she asked, picking up room keys and
motioning them toward the sleek white hallway, "all of our rooms
are named and designed according to famous operas—will you be
seeing a show while you're here?"

"We're not sure
yet" Luca replied politely, before thanking her and acquiring the
room keys.

Imogen
collapsed on the bed as soon as the door was closed, "Oh, Luca, I
am so tired!" she breathed, "I need a shower, food and sleep".

"Is that all?"
he questioned playfully, dropping down onto the bed beside her and
pulling her on top of him.

"Hmm… no,
that's not all" she smiled.

"What else do
you need then Im?" he asked, leaning up to capture her lips.

"Just this" she
murmured, sinking deeper into his kiss. "But you promised we'd
talk; I've been worried about you".

"I know, but it
can wait"

"No, Luca, it
can't" she spoke, rising away from his kiss and sitting upright on
top of him. "So, talk to me Luca Capello or nothing else will
happen" she commanded playfully, adjusting her position and
purposely grinding against Luca's straining cock in the
process.

"You drive a
hard deal, Im" he said before lifting her off him and sitting to
face her properly. "I am ok, honestly. I wasn't the night I called
you and I'm sorry I worried you, but I had a couple of days with my
grandparents after I leaving my father's house and I've had time to
think…" he trailed off. "My father, he made it extremely clear that
he never wanted any of us in his life. He kicked me out, told me I
was no longer his son. He wants nothing further to do with any of
us".

"Oh, Luca" she
whispered sweetly, smoothing her soft hand across his cheek, "I'm
sorry this has happened".

Luca took her
hand in his and kissed her palm, "It's ok, Im, really. Being back
at the house brought back lots of memories, I started remembering
how bad it had been, how brutal he'd been, how he'd picked on us
when we were defenseless and looking to him for protection. He is a
miserable bastard; we are all better without him".

"Luca…" she
whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

"Im, I realized
that there is no part of him in me. I may be his son by blood, but
not by nature. You were right, I'm not like him. Ma, Roman and Dom;
they raised me and they did a bloody fine job of it and now I have
you to complete the picture" he winked at her.

"My nonno, I
told him about McNaught and explained that was why I needed to
visit my father; he lectured me about managing my temper better"
Luca smiled, rolling his eyes for effect, "but he also reassured me
that what I did was normal: you were in danger and I was protecting
you. Whereas my father was the one putting us in danger and hurting
us; I understand the difference now".

"So, you
believe me now?" she asked genuinely, "I always knew you were a
good man, remember?"

"I believe you
Im" he smiled back, "thank you for believing in me".

CHAPTER
TWENTY ONE

"There's
nothing quite like waking up in a new city" Luca yawned as he
rolled over and pulled Imogen into him.

"There's
nothing quite like waking up in a new city, the city of love no
less, with the love of your life" she whispered back, grinding back
into Luca's erection.

"Hmm… if you
insist Im" he said, sliding his hand over her hip and down to the
apex of her thighs.

"I thought
you'd be exhausted after last night's efforts Luca" she chided
playfully.

Taking his cock
and thrusting it between her legs, "Exhausted, huh? You
underestimate me Im", he whispered against her ear before slowly
sliding out of her heat then pounding back in; her stifled moans
all the encouragement Luca needed to take her as he pleased.

"Juliet's
balcony, then the markets, then some shopping. What do you think
Luca?" she asked as they sat at a café overlooking the Verona
Arena.

"Fine with me"
he smiled back.

"Really? Are
you sure there isn't something you want to do?"

"Im, I'm just
happy to be here with you; whatever you want to do, I'm happy with
that"

"Ok" she said
excitedly, pulling out her notebook and furiously jotting down
notes.

"Im, seriously,
you really need a new notebook—that ones a mess. Besides, I thought
I'd given you more than enough material to fill that one…" he
winked.

"Oh, you've
given me plenty Luca Capello" she smiled playfully, scribbling one
final sentence before closing it up and placing it in their
backpack, "ok, let's go".

Weaving through
the busy streets, Luca and Imogen gave themselves over to the push
and pull of the crowd. “We must be getting closer” Luca shouted to
Imogen as they rounded one last bend and stood before the tunnel
that led into Juliet’s courtyard.

Walking
through, Luca felt less than impressed, every inch of the walls of
the tunnel were covered with graffiti and what appeared to be
chewing gum modeled into heart shapes. “I’ve seen undersides of
desks in high schools cleaner than these walls”.

Standing
shoulder to shoulder with hoards of other sightseers, Luca couldn’t
help but feel that the supposed meaning behind the tourist
attraction had been lost. The courtyard itself was much smaller
than he’d expected, Juliet's house and balcony lined the right-hand
side, her bronzed statue was at the far end, and most surprising of
all, souvenir stores lined the left-hand side. “Fancy an overpriced
keyring or magnet to remember this by?” Luca asked sarcastically,
nodding toward the stores.

“Oh Luca,
seriously” she smiled, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance. “This is
beautiful; I’ve wanted to see this all my life”.

“How can you be
so full of wonder for something that’s simply a work of fiction?
It’s not as though this is actually real. And, the story itself is
hardly romantic; four days of lust, carnage, family breakdowns, and
eventual death for both of them” he joked.

“Ever the
romantic huh, Luca” she laughed. “Look around Luca, everyone who is
here believes in what this place represents; true love despite the
challenges that were thrown their way. It doesn’t matter that it’s
not real, it matters that people believe in the power of love.”

“Well, I’m not
convinced about the Romeo & Juliet theory, but I believe in
us—is that enough?” he asked, locking his arms around her waist and
pulling her in tight.

“That’s all I
want you to believe in Luca; just us” she whispered in his ear,
bringing an immediate smile to his face. “Now, about that magnet…”
she laughed, breaking free of Luca’s grip and heading toward the
souvenir shops.

Arriving back
at their hotel, laden with shopping bags and exhausted from a day
of sightseeing, shopping, and snacking, Imogen pulled out the map
Luca had given her.

Spreading the
map out on the floor of the loungeroom, Imogen knelt before it,
“How long are we staying Luca?”

“In Verona, or
Italy?” he replied, walking out from the bedroom.

Imogen couldn’t
help but smile, “Italy?” she asked.

“Do we need to
put a time on it, Im? Let’s just enjoy ourselves, figure out the
details later”, he offered, peeling his shirt off and settling
behind her on the floor. “Come here” he whispered, pulling her back
onto his lap, “I’m glad you’re here; you make everything
right”.

“I love you,
Luca” she replied, resting her head against his chest and closing
her eyes.

When they woke,
on the loungeroom floor still curled around the outspread map,
hours later it was dark. The evening had already settled in; music
was serenading from the streets below and the smells of traditional
Italian foods reached their room with ease.

“Im, wake up”
Luca roused gently, “do you want to go get some dinner?”

“Noooo!” she
moaned exaggeratedly, “I’m too tired! I don’t care about eating, I
just want to sleep…”

“Too bad missy”
he replied, hoisting her over his shoulder and striding to the
bathroom.

“No, Luca. I
want to sleep” she complained, as he made quick work of stripping
her naked.

As he reached
in to turn on the shower, Imogen made a playful run for the door
but barely made it a step away before Luca’s firm hands found her
waist and pulled her back to him. With one hand wrapped tightly
around her breasts and his other sliding tantalizingly slowly down
her body, Imogen gave in to his touch and relaxed back into
him.

“Shower, food,
then bed” he commanded, lifting her into the shower before
stripping and joining her.

As she stood
under the stream of water and slowly began to wake up, she asked,
“How about we head off tomorrow? I was thinking we could train
across to Venice?”

“Is that what
you want?” he asked suggestively, reaching behind her for the
bodywash and gently running his soapy hands across her body;
feeling her melt into his touch.

“I want you,
now, Luca” she replied breathlessly, his fingertips trailing from
her breasts down the line of her waist before landing firmly on her
hips.

“Now?” he
teased, sliding one arm under her ass and hoisting her gently
against the shower wall taking her mouth in his as she moaned for
release.

Lowering her
gently downward and onto his length, Luca gave over to her hastened
speed and need, her rhythm gaining momentum and quickly bringing
them both to climax.

“So, Venice
tomorrow?” he asked, as their breathing slowly returned to
normal.

“Is that
ok?”

“Oh, Im, you’ve
just given me a new appreciation for water—Venice sounds perfect”
he smiled.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

“You ok, Luca?”
Imogen asked, feeling slightly concerned at Luca’s stand-offish
behavior. Every since they’d decided to head to Venice, he’d seemed
distant.

“Yep, not too
much longer to go”

“You seem a
bit… distant”

“No” he
replied, pulling her in close, “I think I’m just a bit over train
travel. I’ve done more in the past two weeks than in my entire
life” he exaggerated, rolling his eyes for effect and lightening
the mood between them. “What do you want to do when we get there?”
he asked.

“Everything—a
gondola ride, we could trip out to the islands and do some shop—ah
I meant exploring, I’d love to do a trip down the Grande Canal…”
she trailed off, “What do you want to do?”

“I’d be lying
if I said I was impressed with the thought of more shopping—“ he
laughed, “but, I’m happy to follow your lead; as long as you keep
me well-fed and satisfied” he winked.

“I thought you
were satisfied, Luca? God knows, I’m exhausted from keeping up with
your ‘satisfaction’” she whispered back, suddenly conscious of her
surroundings.

“Are you still
tired, Im?” he asked genuinely, “maybe it’s jetlag, you haven’t
really stopped since you arrived. Let’s have a rest today, recharge
and set out later this afternoon?”

“Ok” she
yawned, leaning into him and leaning forward to place a gentle kiss
on his cheek. “I’m definitely up for some sleep”.

Stepping out of
Venice train station, the buzz and hype of the city was contagious.
Tourists with luggage assessing their options from the mainland
across to Venice, the water taxi skippers bronzed and Adonis-like
in appearance nonchalantly draped across their luxury watercrafts.
It was easy to get swept up in the rejuvenating vibe of Venice.

Imogen followed
Luca as he approached one of the gorgeous skippers and negotiated a
fare over to Venice. Imogen stood, shell-shocked by the fast-paced
exchange and Luca’s amazing command of the language, “You never
speak Italian to me” she accused playfully when he turned to face
her.

Bending to her
ear, he whispered, “Tu sei il mio vero amore—
you are my true
love
”, holding her at arms length just long enough to see the
crimson blush hit her cheeks before whisking her forward and into
the arms of the waiting skipper.

“Signora, watch
your step” the skipper spoke firmly, helping her from the pier and
down onto the boat before reaching out to take the luggage from
Luca. “Signora, sedere” the skipper commanded, shuffling her to the
rear of the boat.

Looking to Luca
for a translation, he called to her, “Im, take a seat at the back,
the skipper needs the room up front for the luggage” before
stepping on to the boat to join her. “What do you think?” he asked,
stretching out and taking in a deep breath of fresh Venetian air,
“pretty amazing, huh?”.

“Yes,
amazing…I’ve gone from being exhausted to excited in an instant”
she smiled, basking in the warm sun and resting her head against
Luca’s shoulder.

“The skipper
gave me the address of his family’s hotel in San Marco Square,
they’ll do us a deal” Luca offered, “it’s right behind the clock
tower, unbelievable views he reckons”.

“Can we go
straight there Luca? I’m desperate for some sleep”

“Yep, straight
to bed for my princess” he smiled, holding her close as the taxi
made quick work of the journey across to San Marco.

“Can you grab
me my backpack Luca?” she asked after a couple of minutes.

“Why, what’s
up?”

“I just want to
write something down” she replied, as he smiled and rose to get her
pack.

“For you” he
said, passing her the notebook.

“Will you write
something for me, Luca?” she replied.

“Im, my
handwriting is crap, I’ll ruin your book”

“Please Luca,
write down in Italian what you said to me back on the pier” she
asked, and he smiled and obliged.