Chapter 20 #2
Alessio hesitates only a moment longer before approaching the bed. He removes the phone from his pocket, placing it carefully on the nightstand alongside his car keys. The USB drive—that small piece of technology that started everything—joins them, a dark reminder of why we're here.
"I'll stay on top of the covers," he says, the mattress sinking under his weight as he stretches out beside me, keeping a careful distance between our bodies.
I don't argue. Having him near is enough—his steady breathing a rhythm to focus on instead of the echo of gunshots in my head.
I turn onto my left side, pulling the covers tight around me.
Behind me Alessio remains motionless on top of the covers. His presence radiates warmth, yet he maintains that careful distance between us. The barrier feels both necessary and unbearable.
The tears I've been fighting since the gas station finally spill over, hot trails streaming down my cheeks and dampening the pillow under my head. My body shakes with silent sobs.
The mattress shifts. Alessio moves closer, his strong arm wrapping around my waist over the blankets. His body forms a protective curve against my back.
"Shh, princess," he says, his breath warm against my hair. "You did what you had to do."
I press back against him, seeking more contact, more comfort. My back meets the solid wall of his chest. Through the layers of blankets and clothing his heartbeat is steady and strong while mine races with panic and grief.
Alessio tightens his grip around me, one large hand splayed across my stomach, anchoring me to him. He buries his face in my hair, inhaling deeply. The gesture is intimate in a way that should frighten me but instead makes me feel protected.
I buck my torso and turn to face him, our bodies separated only by the thin layer of blankets between us. His eyes merge with mine in the dim light, dark and intense. Something electric passes between us—desire, need, the desperate urge to feel something other than the horror.
"You saved my life today," he whispers, his voice fraught with emotion.
His gaze drops to my mouth, lingering there. The air between us charges with tension, making it hard to breathe.
"You know…you taste like…nothing I’ve…" His accent is deeper with each hesitation and suddenly I can't hold back anymore.
I surge forward, pressing my lips against his. This kiss is nothing like our first—it's desperate, frantic, consuming. His mouth moves against mine with fierce hunger, his hand sliding up to cup the back of my head.
Alessio shifts, his weight pressing me into the mattress as he moves over me.
The blankets tangle between us, a barrier I can't stand one more moment and start shoving them away as I moan into his mouth, wanting more—needing more.
My hands find his shoulders, fingers digging into the hard muscle there.
He breaks the kiss long enough to tear his shirt over his head, revealing the sculpted torso I've been trying not to think about ever since I bandaged his wound. The sight of him—all power and barely-leashed control—makes heat pool low in my belly.
His hands slide down my body, cupping my ass through the silk pajamas. "Fuck," he growls against my mouth. "Best ass in the entire universe."
The possessive appreciation in his voice ignites something ravenous inside me. I want him—all of him—with an intensity that should terrify me but feels like salvation.
Alessio's fingers find the buttons of my top, tugging at them roughly. I help him with them and it falls open. The cool air hits my skin, making me shiver as he tosses the garment aside. His eyes darken as they roam over my exposed breasts, his expression hungry and reverent all at once.
He hooks his fingers into the waistband of the pajama bottoms and underwear, dragging them down my legs in one smooth motion. I lie beneath him, completely naked and vulnerable, but I've never felt more powerful than I do under his gaze.
Alessio crashes his mouth down to my breast, his tongue circling my nipple before sucking it between his lips. The sensation shoots straight to my core and I arch my back, pressing myself more voraciously against his mouth.
Alessio trails his lips lower, leaving a path of hot kisses down my stomach. Each touch sends shivers rippling across my skin. My breath catches as he moves lower still, his stubble scraping deliciously against my inner thighs.
"Alessio," I whisper, uncertainty and need tangling in my voice.
He looks up at me from between my legs, his dark eyes burning with hunger. "Let me taste you, cara mia ," he growls, his accent thicker than I've ever heard it. "I need this."
Before I can respond he lowers his face to my center. The first touch of his mouth against me tears a gasp from my throat. His lips press soft kisses against my most intimate place, gentle at first, then growing more insistent.
My fingers twist in the sheets as his tongue sweeps along my pussy. The sensation is overwhelming—hot, wet, perfect. When he finds the sensitive bundle of nerves at my center, my hips buck involuntarily.
"Stay still," he commands, his large hands gripping my thighs to hold me in place.
I whimper as he continues his assault, his tongue circling and flicking with devastating precision. My hands move from the sheets to his hair, fingers tangling in the dark strands.
"Oh god," I moan, my head thrashing against the pillow.
The pressure builds inside me, a coiling tension that threatens to snap. Alessio groans against me, the vibration adding another layer to the pleasure coursing through my body.
When he slides a finger inside me I nearly come undone. He curves it upward, finding a spot that makes stars explode behind my eyelids.
"Alessio!" I cry out, pulling his hair as the tension inside me builds to an unbearable peak.
His mouth works relentlessly against me, his finger pumping in and out in a rhythm that has me climbing higher and higher. I've never felt anything like this—like I'm being unmade and remade with each stroke of his tongue.
The world narrows to just this—his mouth on me, his finger inside me, the pleasure spiraling tighter and tighter until I can't hold back anymore.
When the dam finally breaks it's like nothing I've ever experienced. I scream his name, my back arching off the bed as waves of ecstasy crash through me. My fingers pull at his hair, holding him against me as I ride out the most intense orgasm of my life.