19. Luca
It’s déjà vu in the best possible way.
Bringing her here again, I wasn’t sure it would bring her unwanted memories, but witnessing her joy as we walk along the beach hand-in-hand made me realize she’s made of stone and so much stronger than anyone I’ve ever known.
“I can’t wait to bring you back here during the season,” I tell her, pulling her close and placing a kiss against the side of her head. Her hair has started to come back, and I’ve heard Guilia talking about a pixie cut—whatever the hell that is. I then place another kiss on her hand over the scar, a permanent reminder of her ordeal. She doesn’t believe me when I tell her she’s beautiful no matter what her hair looks like, no matter what scars remain. It doesn’t change who she is.
Who she is is someone whose return to my life has given me new purpose. I can imagine a future again. A reason to keep going. All thanks to her.
She leans against me and puts an arm around my waist. “I kind of like it now,” she confesses. “Even if it’s still a little chilly. I like feeling like we have the whole beach to ourselves.”
“I know what you mean.” However, I’m unable to resist her ass before winking. “Maybe I just want to show you off.”
A devilish gleam touches her eyes when she grins up at me. “Oh, since you put it that way…” She’s giggling by the time I take hold of her, lifting her off her feet and swinging her in a half circle dangerously close to the approaching surf.
It’s magic, pure and simple. When we’re here, I can let go of everything else. Granted, there are still guys watching us from a safe distance, and there will be until this bullshit with Vitali is settled.
Emilia must notice my change in demeanor when I set her on her feet, since she frowns up at me before cupping my cheek with one hand. “What is it?” she asks, searching my face.
I glance over my shoulder to where Vinny watches the area from further down the beach. “I was wondering how long it will be before we can loosen things up a little, that’s all.”
She nods, her brow crinkling. “You said your dad thinks things could get settled any day now, right?”
He did, but it does not make me feel better. Not that he would explain why he holds that belief. Even Dante is frustrated as fuck, swearing up and down. He doesn’t know what our father has in mind. That might be the only slight consolation in the middle of all this. Knowing my brother is as deep in the dark as I am and how crazy it drives him.
We continue our walk, and I nod firmly, determined not to worry her. “He did. I believe him. Hopefully, he can work something out with Giorgio.” Word has it Giorgio Vitali rallied after he got word of a few things his son was hiding from him, including his penchant for abducting and torturing young women. Not that the Vitali family ever shied away from violence, but there are lines we don’t cross in our world. Like Papa, Giorgio is old-school. He believes in standards. What a shame he couldn’t raise his son to give a shit about those values.
“Either way…” she concludes, “… we are okay. We are going to be fine. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You don’t need to keep reminding me of that.” However, I do appreciate hearing it. Losing her was every nightmare come to life, and getting her back was the answer to prayers I don’t deserve to have answered. I’m not a good man. I’ve done terrible things. Yet somehow, someone up there decided I deserved her.
“There won’t come a minute when I don’t treat this like a gift,” I murmur mostly to myself while coming to a stop near the surf’s edge, taking her hands in mine.
She offers a confused smile. The morning sunlight makes her eyes sparkle. “What do you mean?”
Great. Now that I’ve said it, I can’t pretend I didn’t. “There’s a reason I’m better at writing letters than I am at saying these things out loud,” I remind her with a wry chuckle.
“You’re much better at expressing yourself than you think you are.” She runs her thumbs over my fingers, grinning playfully. “Go on. Tell me what you meant.”
“It’s actually pretty simple.” I draw nearer, my nose touching hers. She smells like vanilla and powdered sugar from our breakfast, and underneath it is a unique scent that belongs only to her. Delectable. “I lost you. I got you back, and I’m never going to take you for granted. Not for a single minute. I can’t promise you’re always going to like the things I do.”
“I know,” she whispers, but she hasn’t pulled away. If anything, she leans in closer.
“So long as you always know they’re for you. And hopefully, one day…” I trail off when my throat closes up.
A smile begins to stir the corners of her full mouth. “Yes? Complete the thought,” she teases.
I might scowl, but I don’t mean it. “You’re going to bust my balls, aren’t you? You’re bound and determined,” I growl out.
She looks down at my crotch, then back up at me. “Actually, I happen to like your balls the way they are.”
“Yeah, you do.” I brush my lips against hers, and her happy sigh makes me do it again. “But I mean it. One day, when we have a family, the things I do will be for them too. For all of us.”
The box in my pocket feels heavier than it already did, which is saying something. The weight of the ring I’ve carried around countless times is almost enough to crush me. I’ve always heard the saying about something burning a hole in somebody’s pocket, but I never considered it literally.
I have the whole night planned like I did before—dinner, champagne, and flowers. She deserves something special, something beautiful.
However, when I check in with my gut, this moment feels real. It feels right—the waves gently lapping at the shore, the two of us on the beach, nothing but sunshine and salt air. We might as well be the only two people on Earth when I gaze into her eyes, and she stares into mine.
“Marry me,” I whisper, my forehead touching hers. “Be my wife. Marry me, Emilia Washington.”
Her head snaps back slightly, eyes widening, her mouth falling open. “Did I hear that right?” she breathes out.
“You did.” I can’t believe I’m about to do something so corny, so unlike me, but she deserves this. She deserves the entire moment, beginning to end, which is what lowers me to one knee in the sand. Her hands are shaking, and tears well in her eyes.
“Oh my God,” she whispers, smiling and crying at the same time.
“I was going to do this the first time we were here,” I confess. “That was my plan. Giving you an amazing night, treating you like the queen you are. We’re still doing that tonight,” I add, and her head falls back so she can shout her laughter toward the sky.
“We don’t need to,” she insists, still giggling when she looks at me again.
“We will, but I couldn’t wait,” I conclude with a shrug. “It felt right… now, in this moment. I can’t wait to tell you how completely and totally I love you. How committed I am to our future. And how I’d be the happiest, luckiest son of a bitch on Earth if you would be my wife. Will you? Will you marry me, Emilia?”
“You know I will.” That’s all she manages to get out before her tears turn to gusty sobs, dropping to her knees to throw her arms around my neck. This is more than enough. Right here, the two of us wrapped in each other, it’s everything. All I will ever need.
“Oh, I forgot. Shit, I fucked it all up.” I could kick myself as I fumble in my pocket before pulling out the box.
“You didn’t fuck up anything,” she insists, beaming. “This is all so beautiful.”
I know she means it, but I’m going to do this the right way. “I’ve been carrying this around since before that first trip. My mother gave it to me for you.”
Her teary eyes bulge when she takes her first look at the ring. “Luca, it’s gorgeous.” She touches her shaking hands to her chest. “I can’t believe it. So beautiful.”
“Which makes it perfect for you.” It slides easily over her ring finger, and the center diamond sparkles wildly in the sun. My heart swells when she holds her hand out to admire it, tilting it back and forth to catch the brilliant sparkles that remind me of the sparkling water beyond the sand.
“I love it. I love you.” She takes my face in her hands and pulls me in for a deep, slow kiss that gives me no choice but to wrap my arms around her and clutch her tight against me.
When my stiffening dick presses against her, she releases a throaty groan before breaking the kiss to give me a wicked grin. “What a shame it’s too cold to strip you naked here and now,” she murmurs in a low voice.
“We’re not far from the house,” I remind her, groping her ass until she squeals and fights her way to her feet.
“Race you.” She’s already running by the time I stand, kicking sand up behind her, squealing and laughing. “Last one there has to go down on the other one first!”
Like that’s an incentive to beat her, though I doubt I could if I tried. Some people are better at running in sand than others. Since I am nowhere near as fast as she is, she’s waiting at the door by the time I reach the house, arms folded, her foot tapping. “I guess this means you have to pleasure me,” she observes with a dramatic sigh.
Rather than answering words, I bend to throw her over my shoulder once I have the door unlocked. Her screams of laughter echo through the first floor as I carry her up the stairs, heading straight for the bedroom. I barely give her time to unzip her jacket when I’ve thrown her to the bed before I’m on her, my hands running over her body, unbuttoning her jeans, pulling off her shoes to peel the denim away from her soft legs and over her feet.
“What a shame you’re such a fast runner.” I toss my coat aside and tug off my sweater, but that’s all I can manage to do before there’s no choice except fall to my knees between Emilia’s spread thighs. There’s nothing I would rather do than run my tongue over her silky skin, inching my way closer to the place where she’s hot and wet, where her aroma draws me in and promises the pleasure of her addictive pussy.
“How do you do this to me?” she whispers. I look up to find her head rolling from side to side while she runs her fingers through my hair. “One touch and I’m soaking wet.”
She isn’t lying. By the time I reach the crease between her leg and her plump, smooth lips, there is a wet spot spreading over her thong’s crotch. I brush my nose over it, inhaling deeply, pulling her into my lungs, and letting her wreak havoc on my senses.
There’s nothing in the world but this now. My entire focus is trained on her, on this. I peel away her thong and part her lips with my tongue, driving it deep, lapping as much of her wetness as I can before going back for more and more.
By the time I close my lips around her clit, she’s moaning my name, her body undulating like the waves outside. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life doing this to her. Kissing, touching, and licking until she falls apart. I plan on making it my life’s mission to unravel her every chance I get.
“Oh, fuck yes,” she whimpers out between panting for air, scraping her nails over my scalp, holding my head close, and riding my face as pleasure takes over for everything else. She’s losing herself, and it’s because of me and what only I can do to her body. I can suck on her clit and caress her skin, and she’s helpless. “Just like that,” she begs, hips frantically jerking. “Make me come.”
All I can do is obey and hang on for dear life when her hips begin to buck and her thighs close around my head, blocking out everything but the blood rushing in my ears. I can’t help but chuckle as pride surges through me with the flood rushing from her when she explodes, screaming for me.
Instead of letting up, I work two fingers inside her tight channel, playing with her G-spot while her juices run onto my palm, and she continues moaning, writhing. “Come for me again,” I growl out, reaching up with my free hand to play with her tits before flicking my tongue over her clit again. I want her to feel everything, to experience pleasure like she doesn’t know exists. Because she’s mine, she’s agreed to always be mine, and that makes it my responsibility. I must be the luckiest man on Earth.
By the time she practically collapses against the mattress, flushed, glowing, and moaning hoarsely, I am painfully hard and aching to be free. “I need inside this pussy,” I mutter as I kick off my shoes and shove my pants and boxer briefs down to my ankles. I’m dripping, so ready to sink in deep and let her consume me.
And when I do, when our bodies are locked together, and she wraps her arms and legs around me to draw me deeper, I know I’m home, where I belong and the only place I want to be. “I love you,” I manage to whisper, kissing her before I begin to move before she begins to move with me.
Fuck, she’s so tight. Made for me. And when I ride her hard, when I drive her into the mattress with every deep stroke, she takes it and begs me for more. “Yes… harder,” she hollers, her nails running across my shoulders and making me hiss with pain that softens into pleasure, making my cock surge and my hips pump faster, driving harder the way she wants it.
“You feel so good,” I groan out, closing my eyes, focused on the sensation of her pussy gripping me tighter, on the sloppy sound of her juices when our bodies crash together. Faster, harder, rutting like an animal until she arches against me and screams my name. Another few pumps, and I let go, pouring myself into her, giving myself over to what she does to me. I can’t control it. I never could.
Not that I want to.
“I love you… fiancé,” she whispers before giggling breathlessly. I push myself up on my forearms to find her grinning from ear to ear. “That sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“Not quite as good as husband,” I reply, rolling onto my back to smile up at the ceiling while she curls up next to me. “But I like the sound of it.”