The Twelve Vitali Ch. 19

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xelliebabex
xelliebabex
5,507 Followers

"Matt has purposely left the apartment as a neutral canvas so that you can decide how to decorate; he made some suggestions, as did your brother, which is what inspired these. The rest is up to you entirely, there are only three rooms he's chosen to do himself, aside of the bathrooms, of course, those decisions had to be made much earlier, but they are neutral, so you can accessorise in any colour palette!" Vanessa continued to talk enthusiastically. Considering the last time they had met, where Vanessa had been quite cool toward her, Cat was quite taken aback by her effusive affection. Perhaps the engagement had changed Vanessa's mind about her in some way, she mused.

Matteo had seen Cat get swept up by Vanessa and took the opportunity to walk away with his cousin, Sebastian, who was a genius with technology and mechanical engineering. Sebastian had made sure every room in the house was equipped with the latest state of the art technology and space-saving gadgets. He indicated that Ricco should follow him and he led the way to the bedroom with Lucca trailing along behind them.

Ricco took in the bedroom with its custom-made oversized bed but said little, aware of Lucca and Sebastian's lack of knowledge about the change in leadership for their family and what it meant for himself. There was a lot he wanted to say, most of it in gratitude for his brother's acceptance of what he wanted and needed from their relationship moving forward into the future.

"So, are you giving your current apartment to Ricco?" Lucca casually asked about the stunning penthouse that Matteo currently lived in with Cat.

"I was going to offer it to you, but if you'd rather not move out of home yet," Matteo smirked. His brother was twenty-five and desperate to move out since leaving university, but with his father's declining health and Matteo's travelling he had stayed closer to home than he would have otherwise.

"Seriously?" Lucca gaped at him.

"You've earned it over the last six months," Matteo nodded. "If you don't want it though..."

"It's mine, don't even think about offering it to Zion or the twins!" Lucca grabbed the offer with both hands. "Fuck yes! This is so awesome!"

"When Vanessa is finished with this place she will give you a hand making that place your own, but I'll be leaving most of the furniture in place, you can get rid of or keep what you want," Matteo explained. "Most of that stuff won't suit this place, the dimensions are all wrong, according to Vanessa," he chuckled.

"When can I move in?" Lucca asked enthusiastically, thrilled that it was going to remain fully furnished, or as good as.

"You might want to wait until we've moved into this place. I'm hoping by the end of next week for the Gathering. Speaking of which... Are you handling the hunt this year?" Matteo asked.

"No, I offered to, but Papa still wants to do it, so expect it to be diabolical," Lucca grimaced. He knew Stefano and Roberto had been working on the hunt clues while he had been convalescing. He imagined it would reflect his father's dark mood at the moment. "Cat's pretty good at puzzles. Is she going to be joining a team this year?"

"We haven't talked about it, but I don't see why not," Matteo said thoughtfully. "She'd be at a disadvantage because she doesn't know the family very well, so she mightn't want to do it, and there's the whole wedding thing, in case you'd forgotten."

"Nothing to the wedding thing, she just has to choose a dress and show up, Mama will take care of the rest," Lucca waved away his concern.

"Cat likes to do a lot of that sort of stuff herself, she didn't grow up in a family like ours, don't forget. She's been meeting with Mama every day to work out the details," Matteo said seriously. "She's under enough pressure at the moment, so don't push her to join the hunt if she doesn't want to, okay?"

"Yeah, alright, but if she wants to do it, I'm not going to stop her," he grinned. "I'd like her on my team." He knew the teams were chosen randomly after nominations were given from each family, but he could manipulate the outcome a little if he needed to.

"Why don't you go and ask her, and while you're there maybe hint that the sooner she makes a decision about the interiors the sooner we can move in," Matteo encouraged.

"Great idea, or else they'll be talking about different shades of pink until midnight," he chuckled. "You're a brave man letting her choose everything."

"Not at all, she has perfect taste. She chose me," Matteo laughed and watched Lucca leave the room shaking his head.

"Lead on," he said to Sebastian. "Ricco won't be shocked, trust me, and I'd like his advice on a few things."

"Fair enough," Sebastian walked over to a mirrored wall beside the large walk-in closet. "I still can't believe your wardrobe is bigger than Cat's," Sebastian chuckled, not realising Matteo would have to share it with his brother. "There's a manual override in the third panel down." He touched the tiled border of the mirror and a panel popped open. "It's voice-activated though, so you shouldn't need the override except in an emergency." He closed the panel and stepped back. "Go ahead."

"You remember when I told you Cat first brought up submission?" he asked Ricco, who nodded curiously. "I said that if that was what she wanted I would build her a red room of pain, just like the one in 'Fifty Shades'!" He said the last two words clearly and loudly, and the mirror slid across into the wall and opened onto a large room decorated in red and black.

"I've never read the books or seen the movie, so I'm just going to trust you on this," Ricco chuckled.

"One of my Dad's Kepts is obsessed with the books and movies, she came on board and made sure everything was perfect. Everything is new, but I expect you will want to bring your own equipment in as well, so we left plenty of space for you to fill," Sebastian spoke as he walked into the room. "There's a ton of tech in here, not all digital, but most of it hidden in discreet panels, but there is a master switchboard here," he popped open a pressure catch panel.

"Seriously? A bright green fucking chair? It just looks weird in this red and black room," Ricco frowned.

"It was there in the movie, apparently, you could have it reupholstered, I expect, but if this is what she asked for she's going to know it should be green," Sebastian said reasonably. "Honestly, I left the colours and styling up to those who know better. I just made sure all the working parts were here, and then some." He began to show them through some of the features he had installed in the room.

"Can you give us a minute?" Ricco interrupted Sebastian's spiel and hefted a coil of soft rope in his hand.

"Sure, I'll go see if Cat wants to know about the tech in the main living area. Are Lisa and Knox coming over this afternoon too?" He asked.

"I hadn't thought about it, but if you call Knox he can pick up Lisa and bring her over to talk to Cat about their needs for the living areas," Matteo said easily, aware that Ricco didn't sound happy about being in here and wondering why. He waited until the door had closed behind Sebastian before turning back to Ricco with a questioning look.

"You don't think it's hard enough for me already?" Ricco asked, a slight amount of anger and disappointment making his voice hard. "Do you even get how hard it is not to intrude, to always hold back? Fuck, Matt, why show me all this?"

"When we move in here, this place is ours, not mine, or mine and Cat's, ours, you included," Matteo tried to explain. "I want you to have what you want and need in this place, not just this room, but the whole place. Your office will be yours to do what you want with. We aren't always going to be joined together by force, and we won't always be with Cat together. She's fascinated by the fact that you're a rope Master. She's told me about your offer to tie her up as a gift for me. She wants that experience, and I believe she wants it with you in the near future, but we've only had her back for a few days. This apartment, including this room, will be ours, and now is the time to tell me what you need and want."

"And you? What do you want?" Ricco asked carefully.

"I've been watching the two of you together, and, surprisingly, I'm happy about it. Happy to the point where I have been thinking about what you said about voyeurism, I think I'd like to see the two of you together," Matteo admitted. "We aren't going to know what it will be like or how we will react until it happens, and I think Cat is always going to shy away from becoming intimate with both of us for fear of hurting someone until we push it ourselves. Or at least until I push it."

"So, what are you saying?" Ricco had uncoiled the rope and was tying random decorative knots as they spoke.

"I think it's time we had one of those talks, open and honest and cards on the table instead of these conversations between you and me and me and her. I think we are all so busy being considerate of each other we are forgetting that this is what we have all agreed that we want and the way it's going to be whether we are ready for it or not. You didn't take a step back from sleeping in our bed or being everywhere we are. The only thing you're baulking at is the intimacy. I appreciate that you were giving us time to adjust, but now it's like this giant thing between us all, and we either face it or it gets bigger and becomes a negative thing and breaks apart everything we've managed to build so far."

"Once you open this box I won't close it again," Ricco said.

"In just over a week they are going to announce the table, and people won't care about intimacy between you and Cat, they'll expect it," Matteo shrugged. "If they don't already, I'm sure a few people are guessing. So, we may as well stop trying not to step on each other's toes and make this work. It's not like you haven't slept with her before," he said grudgingly. He knew he had to be the one to begin this conversation. He'd been watching how careful they were with each other, especially around him. He wasn't entirely happy about sharing the woman he loved, even with Ricco, but he couldn't shy away from it either if he wanted it all, his family, the chair and Cat.

"Thanks," Ricco said, genuinely grateful to his brother, who, on the surface, seemed to mean what he said, but he also knew it must have been killing Matteo to say these things on some level.

"So, what do you need in here?" Matteo asked.

"Nothing I can't pick up myself, I have stuff in storage that's better quality and will make sure the woman we love is safe at all times," Ricco assured him.

"I never had the patience for rope work, maybe you can change my mind," Matteo said with a smile, watching as Ricco's hands continued to fiddle with the rope creating a chain of looped knots.

"We can go back if you want," Ricco said, and Matteo watched as he held up his hands, stretching the rope between two fists, and, like magic, all of the knots disappeared and the rope fell.

"That's a cool bed you had made, by the way, but I like that we all snuggle together in the current one," he said honestly.

"Well, make the most of that cosiness, because it's not coming with us," Matteo chuckled and led the way from the room, finding Lucca looking for them in the main bedroom.

"Cat wanted to ask you a few questions," he said rapidly as he peered past them through the doorway into the playroom.

"Great, I'll go see her," he said, easily moving away from Ricco as the door closed.

"Why would Matt need a Kept when he's just about to get married?" Lucca murmured to Ricco.

"He doesn't. Why would you think that?" Ricco frowned, not understanding where that came from.

"That playroom tells me otherwise," Lucca seemed worried at the prospect. "Cat's great. Why would he need that?"

"He built it for her, it's what she wanted," Ricco reassured his younger brother. "Not every woman prefers a missionary sex life," he chuckled.

"Seriously?" Lucca seemed astounded by the idea. "She's a submissive?"

"Not exactly, but she enjoys some kinky stuff. Probably better not to let on to Matt that I told you though. You know how he can be," Ricco warned.

"No one would believe me if I said anything, and I'm hardly going to insinuate that the woman Matt loves is a slut directly to him," Lucca chuckled. "Wholly shit though, that's awesome! Lucky bastard."

"Yeah, I know, right?" Ricco agreed. "But it was always going to take someone pretty special to make him fall in love again."

"Shit, sorry, man, I forgot that you and she had a thing," Lucca apologised.

"Don't sweat it, I fucked up, I admit it. I won't make that mistake again," Ricco gave Lucca a crooked smile.

Lucca gave Ricco a speculative look as if the whole situation had just dawned on him. He had just thought that Ricco and Matteo were supporting each other when both Jacobi and Cat had left town, but as more pieces fell into place, he considered if there was more happening here than anyone realised. He needed to see his fathers' and get some answers to questions he knew he couldn't ask his brothers.

*****

Vanessa was good at what she did and had done her research. Cat had been able to see her clear vision for the living areas of the apartment and liked the colour scheme she had suggested to run throughout the penthouse. She chose quickly from the designs and samples she had been given, and even when she stopped to double check with Matteo, who had returned with Ricco, he had held up his hands in surrender and walked away again without another word.

The interior design she had gone with left her room to create artworks or mural walls herself once they were settled in and she had time to paint again. She realised she missed being able to be creative and wanted to ask Matt about going out to purchase supplies for her studio. He'd been so protective of her over the last few days she had very little freedom to do what she wanted or think about her own career. They'd finished relatively early, considering the number of decisions she'd had to make, and she had gone into the kitchen with Lisa to see the technical upgrades Sebastian had installed there.

Once they had finished the inspection and meeting with the decorators, Matteo had given Lisa and Knox the night off, saying that they would be going out for dinner and that either he or Ricco would drive, which was unusual, and she wondered what they had planned. She knew they both enjoyed not having to worry about having a glass of wine over dinner.

She said nothing as she followed them down to the car and sat in the back as Ricco drove them to a quaint little Italian restaurant where the staff all seemed to know him, and they were served quickly without even seeing menus.

"You come here often?" Cat asked.

"Not as often as I used to, but that might change again. I'm a part owner, with an old school friend," he grinned. "Matt likes it here. We've been here a couple of times while you were away."

"Mainly when I needed to fight with him and wanted a public place so he couldn't hit me," Matteo chuckled.

"You two were fighting? About what?" she couldn't imagine them fighting about anything, they were so close.

"Cobi, Maryanne, you," Ricco admitted.

"Me?" she asked, not really surprised, they had both been far too accepting of the situation, as far as she was concerned. The fact that they had fought about it at least once gave her a strange sense of relief. "So, you weren't always as accepting as you seem to be of what's happening between the three of us?"

"Neither was he," Matteo said petulantly. "He thought I was forcing you to become a submissive!"

"Didn't like that idea?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Ricco.

"Not if he was forcing you, the way Ned did," he admitted.

"But that's all cleared up now, and you brought me into your fight club. Why?" she asked, eyeing the two men. The waitress came with food and Chianti before either man spoke again.

"We're moving into our house. Not his house, or your house or my house, but our home," Matteo began. "We're not a couple plus one, we're a trio, and we've been talking about it and pretending we're all fine, but if we're going to move on then maybe we need some ground rules. I don't want Ric to feel like a third wheel in his own home. Do you?"

"What my big brother is trying to say, without admitting it, is that he'd like to learn the ropes from the master, but to do that we all have to stop tip-toeing around the issue and each other feelings and just say what we want," Ricco grinned at his brother. "We agreed to this and have talked about it a lot. You agreed to this, not only to us, but to Papa, yet here we are still avoiding touching each other," he looked into her eyes.

"I needed time," she argued, her mind running through all of the questions she had been asking herself for the last few days.

"Sure, I get that, but we don't even hug anymore. You hug Lucca, and if I brush against your arm, you jump. I'm not going to hurt you, Cat. I never would," Ricco tried to explain how he was feeling.

"I touch you all the time," she argued, reaching across the table to touch his arm.

"Yep, you do, but I can't touch you without you cringing," he accused. "I'm patient, it can be on your terms and in your time, but Matt's right, we can't keep going the way we are now. You have to loosen up at least a little."

"Cringing is a bit harsh," Matteo chided his brother. He'd noticed her freeze up, and he could see how his brother might have taken it as cringing, but he knew that wasn't how she felt. "It's more like you freeze and look at me to see if I noticed it. You fall asleep practically on top of me to avoid any misunderstandings." He said gently. "The fact is, we have to ask... are you really not wanting any contact at all with him, or are you trying to be sensitive to what I want because I want this? I can't have made it any clearer."

"It's not sex we're talking about here, we can take that off the table for a while longer until you're ready, but any form of affection or acknowledgement that you do want this relationship would be good at this point. Otherwise, why are we bothering? We can just admit to Papa that it's not going to work and move on from there," Ricco said.

Cat sat in silence. She was horrified by what they were saying; she'd never meant to make Ricco feel as if she didn't like him at all. She still cared, cared deeply, possibly too deeply. She knew she still loved him on some level, and that scared her. They hadn't had a love like she had for Matteo, but she had loved him once, and she still felt that connection with him. He was a good and kind man. The man that had come and helped her when she needed it the most, the man who had introduced her to Roberto and supported her through her recovery and the court case before starting an affair with her.

"We have to be honest, Cat, it's what we've always promised each other. It's the only way this is going to work," Matteo said into the silence as Cat's brain worked furiously through her mixed emotions and genuine fear of her own feelings for Ricco. Honesty was what had got her this far and made her fall in love with Matteo, and she owed him at least that much, even if it hurt him a little.

"I love you," she said quietly to Matteo. "I love that you wouldn't let me run away. I love that you listen to me about what I want and need. I love that you are so honest with me. I love everything about you," she reached up and touched his cheek. "But I love him too. I didn't realise how much I still cared until I went to the facility and saw you both together when you came to get me. It reminded me of how he was when we first met and why I had fallen for him so quickly," she admitted and found it was their turn to be speechless, each for different reasons.

xelliebabex
xelliebabex
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