Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 954 : Family

*Bianca*

A pregnant pause fell upon us.

Impatience had its hold on me as Leo stared at me wide-eyed. Without a shirt, his bare chest and the stitches in his shoulder were on full display as I sat on his lap, pretending I didn’t feel the erection pressing against my ass.

In any other circumstances, there would be some kind of hilarity in the situation.

But I said nothing, simply waiting for an answer as I kept my eyes locked on his, not willing to look away for a moment.

It’s overly warm in the house and I rest my hands on Leo’s hips, anxiously shifting on his lap as I wait for his response. The stare down seemed to last forever, sweat dripping down Leo’s temples as he held my waist loosely.

I frowned as he looked away first, eyes searching the room around us like he might find some kind of help written on the wall but I wasn’t having one bit of that.

“Leo,” I said sharply, my annoyance coming out through a deep sigh as Leo flinched in front of me. “You just promised you’d always be honest with me. Are you really going to keep staring at the wall like this?”

Leo cringed, finally turning his head my way with a defeated expression. “I know, I’m sorry. I just...don’t know how to answer that.”

“How about start with a yes or no,” I huffed, crossing my arms. Was this really such a hard thing to do?

“It’s not that easy, Bianca,” Leo sighed, brushing a hand through his hair. I could see his eyebrows creasing up like they always did when he was stressed.

“Then explain it to me. Why can’t you leave like you promised?” I said forcefully, probably pushing him too hard for answers I knew he wasn’t ready to give but we’d just vowed to be honest with each other.

I needed him to communicate with me here.

Despite his reluctance, Leo nodded. He fiddled with the ends of my long hair gently as he told me. “We still don’t have a successor in mind. My first choice would be Franky but he’s made it pretty clear he doesn’t want the leadership position. He likes working from the shadows. My second choice is someone actually from the Valentino bloodline but Elio’s baby girl is still a toddler. Alessandro and Mia don’t have any kids. Dahlia, his sister, has her own company to run and she’s childless as well. Tallon has a kid but they’re still just a kid too.”

“Then what about adopted family? Like you?”

“I thought about that but there’s nobody on our side to recommend and Alessandro’s training his own successor. We just don’t have anybody lined up to take my place yet,” Leo sighed frustratedly. “Even if I did, though, it would take time to train them and make sure they’re ready to take over. Transferring Dons can go badly, especially if it’s an inexperienced successor. I went through hell and back with Elio to get where I am and I still only got this position because he left the business earlier than expected.”

“There has to be somebody willing to take over,” I insisted, feeling like all of this was just insane.

“Of course there is but not anybody you would want running a criminal empire,” Leo said pointedly. “We don’t want another Michael running around causing chaos.”

I called a few more suggestions, trying to give an idea of what to do but each time Leo shut me down saying Alessandro wouldn’t approve or that he couldn’t leave the family in bad shape. Eventually, it just felt like we were going around in circles over and over.

“It’s starting to sound like you don’t even want to leave the Valentinos, Leo,” I pushed out of his lap frustratedly, getting to my feet. I gave him a hard look, both confused and a bit worried now as he stared up at me helplessly, not even trying to defend himself.

“Bianca...” He said softly but I wasn’t having any of that.

“You owe me an explanation, Leo. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, along with our baby but we’ve got to figure this out together,” I insisted, my look softening at the lost expression on his face.

I moved forward to sit down gently beside his knees, leaning over to cup his cheeks. He leaned into my touch, sighing in contentment like all he needed was my touch to be at peace.

“I told you the truth,” Leo said quietly, opening his eyes with a fragility I’d never seen before. “I never wanted to be the Don or boss of anybody. It’s not my style. But when Elio left...everyone had expectations of me. I stepped up because I had to. I’d willingly hand over the position of Don but...”

“But?” I prompted gently.

“But the Valentinos are the only family I’ve ever known,” Leo finished, looking like a lost child as he said it. “I was an orphan, Bianca. They were the ones who took me in and raised me up like one of their own. Leaving them...I just...the Valentinos are my family.”

I softened, emotions welling up in my throat as I saw how much this was tearing Leo apart. For the first time, I saw how utterly torn between me and what he considered his family he was.

I’d heard it before. That Leo had been an orphan. But he’d never felt like one to me. He’d always been the composed, intelligent but sarcastic fun-loving asshole I fell in love with. It never occurred to me before that he still had a part of that lonely kid inside of him, clinging to the only people who’d ever given him love and affection.

No. Not the only.

I took a shuddering breath, thinking carefully before I leaned in to press a sweet kiss to the corner of his lips and then pulled him into an embrace. I hoped he could feel how much I loved him, how much I cared about him.

“I won’t ask you to leave if you don’t want to, Leo. That’s your choice to make. But I want you to know that they aren’t the only family you have. My mom loves you, the twins and little Rolando adore you. You’ve even won over my Aunts and Uncles. We want you to be a part of our family.”

I pulled back so I could see the expression on Leo’s face. I brushed my hands over his cheeks, holding him closely until our foreheads were pressed together. We breathed the same air, warm and enclosed in our own little bubble where the rest of the world couldn’t get to us.

“The baby and I, too. We’re your family, Leo. We love you more than anything in this world. There is so much more waiting for you outside of the Valentinos and leaving one position doesn’t mean you ever stop being their family either. They’ll love you whether you’re the don or not, just like we do.”

I smiled as widely as I could, as a few tears escaped my eyes, watching the emotions flicker across Leo’s face one at a time. Fear and wariness turned to a soft warm glow of love and awe.

“I love you,” He muttered, a smile creeping across his handsome face.

“I know,” I grinned, happily.

“Okay, you’ve convinced me,” Leo laughed, grinning brightly just like the man I first fell in love with and I couldn’t stop my own stupid smile from spreading as he lifted me up and plopped me into his lap.

Our hands intertwined on instinct as he laid a hand gently across my belly.

“I want you both to be safe,” Leo said gently, “so I’ll talk to Alessandro about seeing who he thinks may take over for me.”

“Are you sure?” I asked with a frown, “I don’t want you to push yourself to do this just because of me or the baby.”

“I can’t say neither of you have influenced my decision,” Leo admitted with a smirk, “But this is my choice. You’re right, Bianca. The Valentinos will always be my family, whether I work for them or not. Just as Elio is still like a brother to me even if he’s left. But you and the baby, you’re both my family too and I’d rather have you both safe and happy than be the Don.”

I gave a bright laugh, kissing him straight on the lips. We didn’t need any more words. We knew where we were going, and though we were still learning how to work together as a team, I knew we’d be okay.

Leo is the love of my life. Our baby will bring more joy to us once they are born.

As I fell into Leo’s embrace, his arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me down on top of him, all I could think of was how much I loved him. Of how much I loved the vision of our future I saw in my head. Of us and our baby and the mashed-up families we’d found coming together.

I pulled upward, resting above Leo as I ran my hands over his exposed abdomen, feeling his muscles flinch under my touch. He tasted like home as I explored his mouth, battling for dominance.

When we pulled back briefly for air, both of us gasping for breath, our eyes locked on one another. I giggled breathlessly as he held me tightly against his body, arms peeling my top from my sweaty skin.

It was sweltering in here but that was just how I liked it. Our passions ignited, and finally alone together, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, burying my lips against his as we lost ourselves to our passions.

His hands caressed my skin, diving up to my breasts and I moaned as he slipped us around so he was on top of me, pinning me down. He gave me a wicked grin, his lips as swollen as mine felt as he gazed down at me hungrily.

I was almost lost, ready to have him make love to me until I couldn’t move anymore when my eyes paused on his wound.

“Careful,” I said softly, leaning up to caress the edges of his stitches ever so softly. He shivered as I gently caressed around his wound, trying to make sure he wasn’t pushing himself too hard but there was no pain in his eyes as he looked at me.

Only a deep passionate look of a man craving my love.

So I smiled, pulling him down to me as I swallowed his lips with mine. I dug my hands through his sweaty hair, wrapping my legs around his waist, and hoped none of my family could hear us.

It was going to be a long night.

One that I would take deep pleasure in.