Arya's POV -

Since James was on bedrest the next day Elijah stayed with him while Rome and I went to explore Italy.

We woke up at around 9 AM, surprisingly at around the same time so neither of us had to wake the other up.

"Where to first?" I ask, using a hair tie to tie my hair into a low ponytail. I then grabbed my jacket and slipped it over my shoulders while watching Rome tuck his wallet into his pocket.

"You know what my answer is to that, sweetheart." He tells me, enveloping me in his arms and burying his face in my hair.

"More surprises?" My voice is slightly muffled by his jacket and he pulls away, brushing some of the hairs that already fell out my ponytail away from my face.

"You'll see soon enough."

So yes, more surprises.

The first place we went to is a coffee house called Caffè Florian. It was truly beautiful with all the pretty decor. We tried a bunch of different pastries like croissants, cookies, and brownies. Most people spoke Italian which didn't surprise me.

I also tried a food called macaroons for the first time. They came in multiple different colors and they were very tasty. There were a handful of gourmet options that looked absolutely mouthwatering and I almost ordered one.

We also tried various coffee options that did not disappoint.

I learned that the place opened for the first time in 1720. Holy cow that was so long ago.

After taking our time to enjoy the scenery and of course the food, we were back in the car and on our way to our next destination.

I was constantly fidgeting in the seat due to excitement and Rome warmly chuckled beside me but didn't comment on my actions.

"We're going to head to a place called Campo San Polo." Rome tells me and even though I'm happy he told me where we're going, I have no idea what that is.

"What's that?"

He gave me a little smile and when he gestured to up ahead my mouth parted while a huge grin made its way onto my face.

Poor James, he's going to miss out on what he wanted to do yesterday.

Ice skating!

"We're going ice skating?!" I get out of the car once Rome parks and quickly take his hand, beginning to pull him towards the large rink.

"Sì, baby." He replies, letting me pull him towards the place where you rent the skates. There's music playing and people in high spirits, laughing with each other.

"Do you know how to skate?" I question him while struggling to tie the laces to my skates, cause I certainly don't have much experience.

"I do, and I'm guessing you don't?" He raises a brow but for some reason I feel like he knows my answer. I watch as he kneels down in front of me and ties the laces for me.

"No," I pout and he presses a quick kiss to my lips.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you."

There's a good amount of people currently on the rink, some struggling on the ice so at least I won't be alone.

I take both of Rome's outstretched hands once he's on the ice while I'm still on the floor on the outside of the rink.

"I won't let anything happen to you, trust me." He assures and I nod, tightening my grip on his hands before letting him gently pull me onto the ice. I wobble a bit but he keeps me on my feet, slowly skating backwards.

"How are you so good at this?!" I yell, almost falling again.

Shrugging he continues to guide himself backwards while I go forward. I find this situation funny because the big bad Italian don is iceskating with me right now. Laughing to myself he looks at me with a confused expression.

I shake my head and he tilts his, beginning to let go of my hands and I gasp, giving him a look of disbelief.

"You wouldn't."

"What are you laughing about, hm?"

"I just found this funny because you're...you." I gesture towards him and based on his expression he has no idea what I'm talking about.

Leaning in close I whisper, "You're this big mafia man iceskating with me!" I squeal and lean back, still holding onto his hands for dear life.

Rome's face is completely blank for a moment and I'm about to question if he heard me before he starts skating even quicker backwards, almost making me fall on my face.

"What the-slow down!"

My wide eyes meet his amused ones and he bites his lip, slowing down his pace.

"That's not funny."

"It was a little funny." He retorts and I sigh.

"Want to try on your own?" Releasing his grip from me a little I shake my head frantically, clinging to him for dear life.

"I'll stay right near just incase, I promise." Biting the inside of my cheek I slowly move my hands away from his, balancing on my own.

"Good, now try to skate towards me, push your legs out but forward at the same time." Furrowing my brows at that I attempt to do what he says. I definitely look like a crazy person trying to skate for the first time. Oh wait, I am.

"That's it," He encourages, watching as I get closer and closer to him before he wraps his arms around me.

"Bene," He kisses my cheek and I beam up at him.

(Good.)

We do that a few more times. He skates a little distance away from me and I skate towards him, trying to avoid running into anyone around us. Eventually I begin to get the hang of it and we skate side by side with our hands interlaced.

"So what bar are we gonna go to?" I ask and he groans, narrowing his green eyes slightly in front of him.

"I don't want you going to one in the first place."

"You already said we could." I explain and he nods, "I know and we will. I'll pick one out for all of us to go to."

My eyes shift over to see 3 girls huddling near the side of the rink, their eyes on the man next to me with dreamy looks on their faces.

With my chest tightening a little I squeeze Rome's hand. He looks down at me and directs his gaze over to where I'm looking.

"Do you want to skate some more or get some hot chocolate?" He questions and I'm taken a little aback considering he's still looking at the girls.

"U-Um hot chocolate sounds good."

Suddenly he turns our direction and we're skating towards the girls. My eyes widen like saucers.

"W-What are you doing?"

Without an answer we skate a few feet away from the girls. Rome helps me off the rink and lightly pushes me to sit on the bench.

I open my mouth to question him again but he kneels and takes off my skates, then sits next to me to do the same. Glancing over to my left I see the girls still ogling Rome, one being pushed towards us by her other 2 friends.

Rome stands in front of me and tugs me to my feet. I watch the girl take a few steps in our direction, definitely about to ask Rome for his number or something but before she can Rome wraps his arms around me, pulls me into him so our chests are pressed against one another, then finally smashes his lips against mine.

A small sound of surprise escapes me before I'm closing my eyes, melting into the kiss. Rome groans softly and trails his tongue along my bottom lip before slipping it inside my mouth to find mine.

I grow weak in the knees from the passion in the kiss and Rome must sense it because his strong arms lift me up and wrap my legs around his waist.

I have no time to feel embarrassed about the people around us because his kiss is driving me crazy. Wrapping my arms lazily around his neck I moan into his mouth.

Once another 10 seconds of kissing pass I pull back for a few seconds to gather myself however Rome has another plan. He starts to press kisses to the side of my neck, gently nipping my skin making my lips part in pleasure.

By now my face is on fire, my cheeks definitely pink and It's not because of the cold. Rome gently places me down on the ground and I bury my face in his chest. Timidly tilting my head to the side to look at the girls, I'm stunned to see that none of them are there anymore.

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While I sat on the bench with a heavy blush on my face, Rome went to put away our skates and buy some hot chocolate from one of the trucks.

Taking the drink when Rome handed it to me, I was able to hide part of my bright cheeks so I constantly took small sips of the beverage.

Rome never said anything about the kiss nor the girls and I figured it was a statement to them that he was already with someone.

And that someone was me. The thought sent a spark of pleasure through me and I peeked up at Rome nervously. Luckily he was looking elsewhere so I could quickly dart my eyes away before I got caught.

Once we finished our drinks Rome took us back to the main area in Venice near the bridge. We explored and went into multiple shops. Rome bought me some pieces of jewelry and I got a few glass souvenirs. I also got a cool looking hat.

I offered to pay for some of it but Rome simply gave me a look that shut down that option.

We ate dinner in one of the nearby restaurants and we ordered a pizza to share. It tasted a little different compared to back home but was still really good.

"How do you think James is?" I asked Rome as he drove us back to the hotel.

"Elijah has kept me updated and said he's fine. He's been icing it all day so he can go out to the club tomorrow."

"We're gonna go tomorrow?!" Eagerly shifting in my seat I watch his lips curl up slightly.

"Yes we'll go tomorrow night, remember that-"

"I have to stay near at least one of you, I know." I say firmly and I can see a playful glint in his eyes as he glances at me briefly before at the road again.

As we peacefully drive back to the house I've realized how much I've grown to love this man. Every day the love just increases and I can't stop it. I have a need to tell him how much I love him all the time.

"I love you." I blurt and I see a smile form on his face.

"I love you too, baby."

Nervously playing with my fingers as the same images I've had these past few weeks cross my mind, we get to the hotel.

The images stay in my head as we take the elevator up to James and Elijah's room to check in on them.

They stay in my head when James says he's okay and ready to party tomorrow.

They stay in my head while we ride the elevator up to our room.

And they will continue to stay in my head until I finally gather the courage to act upon it.

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The next day James was feeling a lot better and was 'ready to have a good time tonight'. Those were his direct words.

We decided to explore the hotel since it was fairly large and ended up finding an indoor pool with a hot tub. However the only problem is that we had no bathing suits.

"I didn't really think about bathing suits until we got here." James says while scratching his head, staring at the water.

"Yeah, we don't have suits so should we just skip the pool then?"

"Fuck no," James says taking off his shirt while Rome, Elijah, and I just stare at him in confusion.

"What the hell are you doing?" Elijah asks and James points a finger at him.

"What does it look like I'm doing. I'm getting in!"

"But you don't have a suit." I point out.

"Why do you think I wore shorts then, princess? You think I'm going to walk around Italy in these? I'd freeze to death." Tossing his shirt to the side he dips a foot in the pool and cringes.

"Yeah that's cold, to the hot tub." He turns and steps into the hot tub, dramatically sighing as he sits down on one of the seats.

"Now this is the life." He says, settling in the warm water. He then glances over at the 3 of us just standing there.

"Get moving! Go throw on some shorts and Arya, make sure you wear a shirt."

Well obviously I'd wear a shirt.

Rome and I connect eyes and I shrug, walking out of the pool room with the 2 of them trailing behind me.

Getting to the room I toss on a pair of shorts I didn't think I'd need but packed anyways. Rummaging around in the drawers I recently stored some clothes in I freeze as something gets thrown at my back.

Grabbing the clothing I see It's one of Rome's black shirts. Smiling at the man I take off the smaller shirt I had on and before I put the new one on Rome's arm wraps around my waist, his large hand resting on my stomach.

I gasp when he cups my jaw with his other hand, tilting my face towards is. His dark eyes are dilated slightly and he leans down, connecting our lips.

Turning around in his arms I grip onto his shirt as his lips continue to dominate mine. Disconnecting our kiss his lips trail down my jaw and down my neck to my chest.

Tilting my head back when he travels just a bit further down, a small sound escapes me when he sucks on the area right above my right breast.

One of his hands brush against my lower region and my breathing picks up. His fingers skim across my thigh, his rings cooling the heated area.

He gently bites down on the skin above my bra and then releases me, helping me put on his shirt. I'm still in a daze as he takes my hand and leans down, his lips touching my earlobe.

"Soon," He whispers and I swear my heart stops beating for a few seconds.