Chapter Thirty-Nine
Colton
The dawn glazed Isabella’s skin, sunlight catching the curve of her shoulder where the sheet had slipped down. I’d been awake for an hour, just watching her sleep. Her dark hair spilled across my pillow, and one hand rested protectively over her stomach even in sleep. The morning light through the villa’s windows cast everything in warm amber tones, making the moment feel almost surreal.
The last few weeks played through my mind in vivid detail. The moment the doctor confirmed the baby was mine, relief and joy flooding through me, making my hands shake as I gripped the results. The drive home had been charged with anticipation, stealing glances at her while she read and re-read the paperwork. How she’d looked standing in our room at twilight, full of trust and desire as she beckoned me closer.
I remembered every second of our reconnection. The trembling in her hands as she first touched me, not from fear but from wanting. The soft gasps she made as I kissed down her throat. The way her back arched when I found sensitive spots. How she’d let me worship every inch of her, healing old wounds with new touches. But mostly I remembered her eyes—how they held mine as we moved together, showing me everything she felt. Everything she wanted. Everything she trusted me to give her.
Now in the quiet morning, evidence of our passion remained—slight marks on her breasts where I had gotten carried away, the shadow of stubble burn on her inner thighs from the long sessions my mouth spent between her legs. Hell, my own back still stung from the tracks her nails left. But these were badges of pleasure, so different from the marks of trauma that had once marred her skin.
She stirred slightly, mumbling something in French that sounded like “ mon amour .” I couldn’t resist trailing my fingers down her spine, loving how her skin warmed under my touch. The sheet slipped lower, revealing more of her back, and I traced each vertebra with reverent worship.
“Mmm.” Her eyes fluttered open, finding mine. Deep chocolate brown, still soft with sleep. “You’re staring.”
“Can’t help it.” I leaned down to kiss her shoulder, tasting salt and sleep on her skin. “You’re beautiful in the morning light.”
She rolled to face me fully, and my breath caught. Sleep-tousled and soft, wearing nothing but sunlight and satisfaction. The changes pregnancy had brought to her body were subtle still, but I noticed them—the fuller curve of her breasts, the slight roundness low on her belly where our child grew. Motherhood already made her glow.
“What time is it?” She stretched languidly, making the sheet slip further.
“Early. The villa’s still quiet.” I traced patterns on her hip, remembering how it had felt to grip her there last night as she moved above me. “Allegra and Clara won’t be up for hours. Cooper is most likely in his office already, poring over his books.”
Her smile was lazy, content. “Good.” Another stretch, more deliberate this time. “Though some parts of me are delightfully sore.”
Heat flooded me at the memory…how she’d wrapped her legs around me, urging me deeper. How she’d raked her nails down my back when pleasure overwhelmed her. How she’d whispered my name like a prayer when she came apart in my arms. The marks she’d left still stung slightly, a reminder that this wasn’t a dream.
“No regrets?” I had to ask, even now.
She rose up on one elbow, letting the sheet fall away entirely. Morning light caught the few remaining bruises from her captivity, nearly faded now. “Only that we waited so long.” Her hand found my chest, touching everywhere she could. “Though maybe we needed the time. To heal. To trust. To be ready.”
I caught her hand, pressed it over my heart. “I’ve loved you since that night in my penthouse. Maybe before. Even when you drove me crazy questioning my methods.”
“When did you know for sure?” She shifted closer, pressing herself against my side. “That this was more than attraction?”
“There were moments.” I rolled her beneath me, loving her soft gasp of surprise. “The way you studied manifests, brilliant and fierce. How you stood up to the board, never backing down. The night you fell asleep at your desk and I brought you coffee—you looked so soft, so human.”
Her hands slid into my hair as I kissed down her throat. “And when did you stop fighting it?”
“When they took you.” The memory still burned. “When I thought I’d lost you before I ever really had you. Before I could tell you...” I raised my head to meet her eyes, “That I loved you. Everything about you. Your strength, your stubbornness, your incredible mind.”
She arched as I found sensitive spots, remembered from our night of exploration. Her fingers tightened in my hair when I lingered in places that made her gasp.
“Colton.” My name was half-plea, half-demand.
I took my time, relearning every inch of her. Cataloging each response, each shiver, each soft sound. Her skin tasted like vanilla, warm and sweet under my tongue. When I finally moved back up her body, her eyes were dark with need.
“Please,” she whispered.
I caught her hands, pinning them gently beside her head. “Let me love you properly this morning.” I kissed her deeply, swallowing her moan. “Let me show you exactly what you do to me.”
Her legs wrapped around my waist as I moved into her, slow and deep. Different from last night’s passionate reunion, this was about savoring, about connecting, about proving how perfectly we fit together. Every thrust was measured, deliberate, drawing soft sounds from her throat that drove me wild.
“Look at me,” I murmured when her eyes fluttered closed in pleasure. “I want to see you.”
Her gaze met mine, pupils blown wide with desire. One hand cupped my cheek while the other went to my shoulder. The intimacy was almost overwhelming—no barriers between us, no fear, no hesitation. Just pure trust and love.
I kept the pace slow, though her body begged for more. Each roll of my hips made her gasp, her nails digging into my skin. When she tried to speed things up, I caught her hips, holding her still.
“Not yet,” I breathed against her throat. “Let me have this. Let me remember every second.”
She shuddered beneath me as I kissed down her neck. Her pulse raced under my lips, matching the thunder of my own heart. When I found that sensitive spot behind her ear, she arched with a cry that nearly broke my control.
“You’re everything,” I told her between kisses. “Everything I never knew I needed. Everything I never want to live without.”
Her hands tangled in my hair, pulling me up for a kiss that stole what little breath remained. “Show me,” she demanded against my mouth. “Make me feel it.”
I gave her what she wanted then, driving deeper, harder. Her legs tightened around me as pleasure built between us. Each thrust brought us closer to the edge, but I fought to maintain control. To make this last. To brand this moment into both our souls.
When she finally came apart, it was with my name on her lips and tears in her eyes. The sight of her pleasure undid me completely. I buried my face in her neck as my own release crashed through me, overwhelmed by the intensity of our connection.
I held her close while our hearts steadied. Her hair tickled my chest where she lay draped across me, one leg tangled with mine. My hands traced idle patterns on her back, memorizing the feel of her skin.
“I love you,” she murmured against my chest. “So much it terrifies me sometimes.”
I tightened my arms around her. “No more fear. No more doubt. Just us, facing everything together.”
She raised her head to look at me, and the love in her eyes took my breath away. “You’re so different, you know. From that rigid lawyer I first met.”
“You changed me.” I traced her cheekbone with my thumb. “Made me want to be more than protocol and procedure. Made me want to be worthy of you.”
“You always were. Even when you drove me crazy with your rules.”
Sunlight painted everything in morning gold, making her skin glow. Soon we’d have to rejoin the world—face the bank’s darkness, plan our revenge, protect what was ours. Yet all I wanted to do was to bask in our shared love.
“Sometimes I dream about that night. About what could have happened if you hadn’t found me in time.”
I caught her hand, pressing it over my heart. “But I did find you. I’ll always find you.”
“My warrior.” She smiled softly. “So far from that annoying lawyer who used to lecture me about protocols.”
“That man died the night they took you.” I rolled us so she lay beneath me again, my body covering hers protectively. “Everything changed when I realized I couldn’t live without you.”
Her legs parted instinctively as I settled between them. I kissed her deeply, pouring everything I felt into it. Every fear I’d faced when she was missing. Every joy when we found she carried my child. Every promise for our future.
She met my passion with her own, her body melding into mine like she couldn’t get close enough. When I slid into her again, it felt like everything was right and perfect in the world.
This time was faster, more urgent. Her nails raked down my back as I drove us both toward release. Each thrust carried declarations of love, each touch a promise of forever.
Later, we lay tangled in sweat-dampened sheets as morning light filled the room. Her head rested on my chest while my hand splayed protective over our child.
“We should get up,” she murmured, though she made no move to leave my arms. “The others will wonder where we are.”
“Let them wonder.” I kissed her temple, breathing in her familiar scent. “I’m not ready to share you yet.”
She laughed softly. “Always so possessive.”
“Only of what matters most.”
She raised her head to kiss me, slow and sweet. When she pulled back, her eyes held mischief. “Shower?”
“Together?”
“Mmm.” She stretched against me deliberately. “Unless you’re too tired...”
I rolled us again, pinning her beneath me as she giggled. “I’ll show you tired.”
Her laughter turned to gasps as I proved just how much energy I still had. How much I needed her. How completely she owned every part of me.