Chapter 39 #2
In this moment, between the ashes and the fire, between the judgment of old men and the blood I spilled, I realize I don’t give a damn about their approval.
I’m still here.
And that, in this world, is a revolution.
Their old world tried to break me. But I lived. Death did not come for us tonight.
Life did.
I sit on the edge of a bed that isn’t mine—yet feels like it could be. They brought me back to the Romano estate in Dante’s car. If anyone had told me I’d return here not as a prisoner, but as family, I would’ve laughed in their face.
They didn’t take me to my old room. Instead, a private chamber was prepared for my arrival. Candlelight casts a soft glow across the space, the air scented faintly with lavender. A silk canopy drapes over the bed, and a fur throw lies folded neatly at its end. My shoes are gone.
I wiggle my toes and wait.
He knows I’m here, and I’ve been dying to see him again.
My heart lurches in my chest when the door opens.
Francesco.
He doesn’t say a word. He just marches toward me in long strides. I jump down from the bed, a sob breaking through my lips as I run to him.
Our bodies collide in the center of the room. He grabs my face in his hands and slams his lips against mine, kissing me like he’s been dying to do it for a thousand years.
I gasp against his mouth, tears pouring down my eyes before I can stop them. My hands tangle in his jacket, pulling him closer, desperate to feel every inch of him.
He growls, pulling my lips between his teeth. I tighten my arms around his neck, holding him closer than ever.
“You’re here,” he growls against my lips, and I moan as his hands find my breasts through the material of my dress. “You’re here.”
“I’m here,” I gasp as he kneads my breast in his hands, kissing me harder and rougher.
I run my hands over his body, savoring him like it’s my first time.
The taste of his tongue, hot and sweet. The press of our bodies pressed together. The feel of his rough stubble beneath my fingers. Our combined warmth spreads through the fabric between us. His smell—musky and familiar and intoxicating—makes my head spin and my heart pound so hard it hurts.
I’ve dreamed about this moment for days, and now he is finally here.
His mouth moves lower, down to my neck, while his hands pull down the strap of my dress. It falls from my shoulders easily, and he pulls away just long enough to let me step out of it. I’m left in my matching panties and bra. His eyes darken as he takes me in, before his lips find mine again.
We move forward again, into each other, hips grinding together in perfect symphony as his hands find my ass, kneading roughly. I moan into his mouth again, pressing myself against him, and his hands slip back up to bury into my hair.
“I need you,” he groans, lifting me by my waist. “God, I need you.”
I wrap my legs around him as he walks toward the bed.
He sets me down gently before crawling over my frame. His mouth finds mine once more. I claw at his shoulders, his neck, the collar of his shirt, and his back.
He gets my silent message and pulls away to tug his shirt over his head.
I pull my lower lip between my teeth, watching him through hazy eyes as he undoes the buckle of his pants.
My eyes are fixed on his face, memorizing every detail.
He has changed since I last saw him. There are dark circles under his eyes, his hair is slightly longer, and he looks tired but somehow more beautiful than I remember.
I let my eyes take in his rippling muscles, and I notice a few healing bruises on his torso.
“What happened?” I murmur, brushing a fading bruise with my thumb. I don’t think I’m imagining the way his chest twitches under my touch or how his lips part involuntarily as he stares down at me.
“It’s nothing,” he says huskily.
I pant, and my eyes water with a need I can’t explain. Without thinking, I lean up and press a kiss to each of them, kissing them one after another, wishing my kisses could make them disappear.
“Lia,” he grunts, sliding his fingers through my hair as I pull one of his nipples into my mouth.
Then, gently, he pushes me back until I’m lying back on the bed.
He grips my hips in both hands, pulling me tighter against him, bending down to bury his face in my neck.
I feel the heat of his breath, and then his mouth is moving, trailing kisses along my skin until he reaches the hemline of my bra.
Slowly, almost reverently, he lifts it off my body, tossing it aside carelessly.
“Fran…” I moan as his mouth takes one nipple.
My hands find his hair, gripping fistfuls while I arch upwards.
His mouth trails kisses over my breasts, stopping occasionally to bite lightly before continuing to move downwards.
I moan again as he nips gently on the underside of my breast. My stomach clenches tight, and I want nothing more than for him to slam right into me.
His kisses move down to my stomach. He looks up at me through hooded eyes as he pulls the material of my panties between his teeth.
“Take it off,” I say impatiently, and he smiles against my skin before ripping the flimsy material off.
My pussy clenches in anticipation as he rubs the head of his cock over my entrance. When he slides slowly inside of me, tears spring out of my eyes.
My tears are not from pain, but from everything else. The fear. The hope. The memory of fire, of stone, of the blood I gave to survive. The way his eyes hold me now. The way I never stopped loving him. The way he never stopped loving me, amidst everything.
We move slowly, like the world is finally quiet. Like we have nowhere else to be but here.
His hands splay over my belly, trembling.
“Our family,” he says hoarsely.
I close my eyes and let the sound of his voice settle into me like a promise. I grab his back, pulling him down to kiss me again. He moves slowly, stretching me out, teasing me with long, slow strokes before he begins fucking me fast and hard.
My moans get swallowed in our kisses. My fingers scratch his neck, his back, his shoulders. I’m sure he’ll have bruises tomorrow. I moan in pleasure as his thrusts continue in a fast yet steady pace. My heels dig into the mattress as pleasure ripples through my entire body.
“You’re mine, Lia,” he grunts, slamming repeatedly into me.
“I’m yours,” I cry, arching my hips upward.
My orgasm knocks into me unexpectedly, faster than I’ve ever come. His name leaves my lips in a scream as everything comes apart around me. After a few minutes, he comes too, his body trembling over mine.
And then, we collapse onto the bed, clinging tightly together. A wave of exhaustion crashes over me. His breathing starts to calm, and his hands rub my stomach soothingly.
“I love you, Lia,” he whispers softly. “More than anything in the world.”
I smile against his neck, tightening my grip on him. “I love you too.”
He shifts, turning to press his face into my side and wrap an arm around me. I feel the heat of his breath on my neck as his weight crushes me.
“I can’t wait for the family we’re going to create,” he says.
When he leans up to stare at me again, he’s smiling.
Another tear slips down my face. He wipes it with his thumb.
He lays me back on the silken sheets, pressing soft kisses on my forehead, my neck, and my stomach. His touch reverent. Worshipful.
“You’re mine,” he whispers against my throat. “Always.”
We fall asleep tangled in each other. Our limbs are knotted around each other, our breaths moving in sync.
And for the first time in a long time, I feel no pain.