Chapter Seventeen
Jane
A lessandro held me tight against his front while he slept soundly. Too bad my whole body vibrated with wakefulness.
Why had I thought changing my appearance meant I could stay here? Why had I presumed it would make me finally decide if his attraction to me was real...or not?
I managed to extricate myself from his hold, then padded naked into the bathroom. I flicked on the light and stood in front of the mirror, looking at my reflection with a critical gaze.
I was no different, and yet it was like looking at a stranger.
I glared. I refused to miss my mousey brown locks, it was too little too late for that now anyway. Knowing my new cut suited the bone structure of my face should make me happy.
So why wasn’t I?
I glanced down at the gold bangle on my arm. It never came off and was like a part of me now, perhaps the one thing that remained unchanged. Just like Alessandro’s devotion to me.
But how long would that last?
A tread sounded behind me a second before Alessandro appeared in the mirror, his naked bulk shielding me from the glaring light. I took a second to admire his wide, golden chest and shoulders, his rippling abs, before he slid his arms around me and murmured, “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing.” I grimaced. “Everything.” Then sighing heavily, I added, “I think I miss the old me, the one I used to see in the mirror.”
“You’re regretting your decision?”
My blonde hair swished as I shook my head. “No, just the reason behind it.”
He didn’t respond, just waited for me to better explain.
I dragged in a breath. “I’ve always felt this deep sense of abandonment from everyone I loved. I-I guess I’ve never been able to trust that anyone I cared for would stick around.”
His arms around me tightened just a little. “You thought changing your looks would prove my loyalty to you?”
I shuddered weakly. “It sounds so juvenile and silly when you say it out loud.”
“No, you can’t switch off how you feel. And I’m not going to lie, I was angry at first that you did what you did to gauge my reaction.”
“And now?” I asked weakly.
“Now I realize I still adore you—blonde or brunette—I just want you to be happy in your own skin.”
How did this man, this ruthless underworld figure, make me so happy? I smiled at him in the mirror before I touched my hair. “I think I’ll try to enjoy this look for a little while yet, grow it out for a few months before changing back to my natural color.”
“Then I’m going to enjoy it every bit as much.”
My stomach fluttered. “You are?”
“Hell, yeah.” He rocked against me, his cock thick and hard. He widened his stance behind me before he wrapped his fist around his shaft and aligned it to my core from behind.
Moving his free hand between the front of my thighs, he parted my outer folds, his thumb pressing and rotating my clit. I gasped, then moaned as electricity sparked through my nerve endings, my juices immediately drenching his fingers.
“You’re so passionate, little sparrow.”
“Little sparrow?” I squeaked.
He smiled into the mirror. “You can’t hide who you truly are—not from me.”
Then he drove into me while driving out every doubt I’d ever had.