31. Theá
Chapter thirty-one
Theá
L ight streams in through the curtains and I flinch, slowly waking up and taking in my surroundings.
I can hear the sound of waves crashing in the distance as I roll onto my side. Memories of last night come streaming in as I realise I’m in Antonio’s bed.
I clasp my legs together at the memory of the shower after our first round, which only led to rounds two, three, and four in the early hours of this morning.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Antonio’s deep voice says as he steps in from the balcony. He’s wearing nothing but his underwear, his morning wood visible.
“Hmm,” I hum, turning to face him. “I thought you would’ve tried to sleep in a bit after last night?” My cheeks heat just mentioning it.
A smirk pulls at his lips as he raises his phone so I can see it. “Augustus called. I didn’t want to wake you,” he says, placing the phone down on his bedside table before getting into bed next to me.
“How are you feeling?” He pulls me into his chest, and I let him, snuggling into his side.
I can feel his eyes on me, and when I look up, I find those pretty eyes looking at me as he plays with my curls absentmindedly. So gentle, a complete contrast to how he was pulling on it last night as he thrusted into me.
“Good, a bit sore.” I feel my cheeks heat and decide to hide my face in his chest.
He chuckles, the sound so deep and light-hearted, placing a kiss on my head. Fuck. I’m so whipped for this man.
“I’m sorry, tesoro , I really did try to be gentle.” His voice turns serious. “I’m sorry, let me go run you a hot bath.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and drape a leg over him. “Maybe later, I just want to lay here with you. I’m okay, I promise.”
He smells so inviting even after all of our antics last night; his fresh scent of jasmine and lavender still lingers both on him and the bedding.
Oddly enough, this is the most comfortable and serene I’ve felt in such a long time. Even though in the back of my mind, I know I shouldn’t be.
He rolls over, pinning me to the mattress. Giggles escape my lips as he snuggles into me instead. I thread my fingers into his soft, brown curls, twirling them around my fingers.
They’re so soft and perfect, looking effortless even when they fall messily into his face. My hair is probably a complete mess, especially after the sweat and hot shower.
I push my insecurities to the back of my mind as I take in the red scratches covering his back. I trail my fingertip along one of them, and he flinches in response. “These are pretty bad,” I whisper, guilt clawing its way up my throat.
“No, I love them, they—” he clears his throat, “they made it better.”
I look down at him, and now it’s his turn to hide in my chest from embarrassment.
“Are you getting shy?” I chuckle.
“No,” he says, still not meeting my eye.
“Can I ask you something personal?” I ask.
This causes him to look at me. “I don’t think we could get any more personal than what we just did, but sure.”
“Did you ever do anything like this with Valerie?”
Hid face contorts. I watch as multiple emotions run across his face before she sighs. “No. I had feelings for Valerie, but she never felt the same way about me. We’ve never even kissed.”
“Okay,” I squeak, feeling unsure about bringing this up.
“Are you really that worried about the Valerie situation?” he asks, and I’m surprised that there's no air of judgement or annoyance to his tone.
“I know you care about her…and Augustus even called it obsessed, so I’ve just been thinking about it a lot.”
He rolls his eyes at the mention of his brother. “You’ll come to learn that Gus can be quite dramatic. I care about her a lot, but after everything that happened, I realised that maybe I just liked the idea of us being together more than I actually liked her.”
I expect jealousy to flood into me at the mention of him caring for Valerie, but in reality, I just feel really sorry for him. I’ve quickly learnt that Antonio cares so much for everyone around him, and it's heartbreaking to see it not being reciprocated.
He moves slowly until his lips are hovering over mine.
“You’re one in a million, tesoro . No one’s had me the way you do,” he whispers as his lips meet mine, and we melt into the kiss.
The shrill sound of my phone ringing interrupts us. I sigh out, reaching to grab it and see my father’s name flashing across the screen.
Antonio moves to get up. “I’ll give you a sec.”
“He can wait.” I silence the call before pulling him back down to reconnect our lips. It’s less heated and more lazy as we just lay intertwined, kissing. It’s beautiful and I want to spend every morning with him, like this.
My phone rings again, and a curse slips from his lips as he pulls away. When I check it again, it’s Eleanor.
“I’ll go make us coffee,” he says and kisses my forehead, not letting me trap him again.
I grab my phone and answer the call. “This better be good, Elle.”
“How rude, what if I was dying?” she asks, her usual dramatics coming to the surface.
“Well, are you?” I can’t help as irritation laces my voice.
“No. But I am missing my best friend. What are you up to?” She perks up.
“I just woke up, about to get some coffee.” I sit up, pulling the covers up with me to cover my naked form.
“How are things with Mr. Perfect?” she asks. My eyebrow inches up at the nickname and that jealous feeling floods in again.
“Don’t call him that, he’s far from perfect,” I say, but my words hold no conviction because even I know I’m lying to her and myself.
She breaks out into a burst of laughter. “I’m glad to see nothing has changed, and you still despise his guts. Kylian made it sound like you were falling head over heels for him.”
“Kylian?” I question.
“Yeah, when I spoke to him he told me about how Antonio almost beat the shit out of him at the apartment when they were there,” she says.
“Since when do you and Kylian speak?” I furrow my brows.
“Theá, I gotta go, my dad is calling. I’ll call you again soon,” she says before ending the call.
I stare at the screen and contemplate what just happened. Eleanor is weird, but this is a new level even for her.
I hop out of bed, head to Antonio’s cupboard, and grab a t-shirt. It’s big enough to reach mid-thigh, perfect for around the house.
As I jog down the stairs, the smell of coffee takes over my senses. But as I get closer, voices come into earshot.
“What is this?” Antonio asks as I round the corner into the kitchen. I spot a small black box on the island and Augustus dressed in a leopard print shirt and jeans.
“Good morning, Theá,” he says, and Antonio shoots him a look.
“You guys just love showing up unannounced,” I say, walking over and offering him a side hug.
“Actually, he did say he was popping by; I just didn’t know it would be this early,” Antonio says. I stand next to him, accepting my iced vanilla latte from him.
“I figured I wouldn’t be interrupting anything, although…judging from you wearing a Luminoso Moda t-shirt four sizes too big for you, I assume I am.” He chuckles. “I just wanted to drop these off before the CFP dinner this weekend.”
“What is it?” I ask. Antonio opens the box and lifts two black lace printed masquerade masks.
“Masks?” Antonio asks, looking at Gus.
“Yes, we’re doing a masquerade theme, and it’s more of a ball this year, too. Since it’s here in Monaco, we decided to go big or go home,” Augustus beams. “Oh, and we’re all matching; that’s why I’m delivering these.”
“Who is we?” I ask, taking one of the masks from Antonio and holding it up to my face.
“Vitales and their plus ones, us, Ambrose, Val, Mattia, Adriano, and Nat.”
“Is Sel coming?” I ask.
“I’m not sure. I don’t think so, she mentioned something about prep for fashion week.” He shrugs.
“I’m going to head down to give Mattia his, don’t forget to wear them.” He points at Antonio. “No entry without a mask, pass the message on to your guests,” he adds before stepping into the elevator.
“ Ciao .”
“Bye,” Antonio and I say in unison.
“Well, I’m going to have to change my dress now,” I say, gazing at the mask.
“Time to go shopping.” Antonio smirks.