Chapter Fifty-Six Ella
Chapter Fifty-Six
Ella
After the intensity on the beach, Tiero’s mood settles back into something lighter. We spend the evening in the hot tub, the water steaming softly beneath a sky streaked with stars.
Two small floating tables hold our dinner and drinks, gently bobbing between us. In between slow kisses and lingering touches, we play a few rounds of backgammon.
To my surprise, I win. His mock scowl makes me laugh.
“I don’t lose,” he murmurs.
“Well, you just did,” I reply sweetly. But I’m more than willing to console him.
My hands drift over his slick skin beneath the water. His body is warm and firm beneath my palms, and I savor every inch of it. Honestly, this is as much a treat for me as it is for him.
When I finally close my hand around his hard length, his breath hitches. I hold his gaze as I move my hand in slow, controlled strokes. His pupils darken instantly. He doesn’t look away.
The energy flowing between us is electric.
I love the effect I have on this man. How, when he lets me, he becomes putty in my hands.
The water ripples as he exhales roughly, shoulders tightening, jaw clenching.
Then he rises from the water, droplets tracing the planes of his body, and my pulse jumps.
He stands there in all his glory. I don’t hesitate and sink to my knees, the jets stimulating my body as I take him into my mouth.
His hand slides into my hair, pushing it away from my face.
“Look at me,” he murmurs.
I do.
His control is unraveling fast as I bob up and down his length, savoring the taste of him.
The sounds he makes are low and guttural, each groan a reward. I move with growing confidence, enjoying the way his composure fractures piece by piece.
Soon his breathing turns ragged, his grip in my hair tightening.
“Enough,” he warns, voice strained, his face contorting as he fights to hold back.
But I keep going, wanting his total surrender.
Then, finally, he loses the battle with his restraint. He grabs my head and holds me still as he erupts down my throat with a strangled groan. His savory taste explodes on my tongue, and I take everything he gives me, claiming the moment as much as he claims me.
He lets his head fall back as I clean him with long strokes before letting go of him with a tender kiss to his tip.
“Princess,” he says, voice still thick with pleasure, “if this is how you comfort me when I lose, I never want to win again.”
I smile at him, pleased with myself as he slides back into the water. He pulls me into his lap and kisses me, the heat between us reigniting as though it never dimmed.
“I have a present for you,” he says softly, his eyes still bright from the after-effects of his climax.
My brows furrow as I look at him. “You’ve given me so much already, Tiero. I don’t need another present.”
“I want to give this to you.” He leans over the edge of the tub and rummages through a bag. “I saw it when I was out earlier, and it screamed your name.”
“Oh? There are things other than you screaming my name?”
“Princess, I don’t scream your name.” Tiero pretends to be affronted.
“True, you moan it… loudly. And it’s music to my ears.”
It really is. There’s no better sound than Tiero when he lets go. I should make a recording, so I can listen to it when I play with myself in the lonely hours ahead.
Tiero doesn’t reply but smirks, his face gleaming with mirth. He hands me a square, flat box the size of a drink coaster.
Thank goodness it’s not another ring-sized box. I take it and open it gingerly.
My eyes widen.
Oh my God, it’s official.
Gualtiero De Marco is the sweetest man on the planet.
“I wanted you to have something you can wear every day and think of me,” Tiero whispers into my ear, placing a gentle kiss on my neck.
I’m staring at the necklace in my hands. It’s a smooth silver chain with three slightly larger links in the middle, each holding an intricate charm. I take it out of the box to admire it more closely.
It’s gorgeous and undoubtedly will become my favorite piece of jewelry.
“There’s an angel because you were my guardian angel the day we met,” Tiero explains as my finger glides over the highly detailed figure. What craftsmanship. Even the feathers in the angel’s wings are beautifully outlined despite the small size.
“The heart pendant in the middle was the hardest to pick. Do you have any idea how many types of heart charms there are? I chose that one because the entire heart is made from one sapphire, and the blue matches your eyes… and your earrings. But more importantly, I picked a heart because you’ve touched mine so deeply, cuore mio. ”
Cuore mio, my heart.
He’s been calling me that for a while. And now he’s making it part of his goodbye gift. Can this man be any more swoony?
“And the crown… well, you are my princess. And always will be.”
He stares into my eyes as he delivers these words. They’re so sincere, so… loving? My heart leaps and races. I hear the beat in my ears.
Tiero has put so much thought into this, and I don’t think I’ve ever received a more meaningful gift. He clearly considered each part of this necklace. I’m so touched, so lost for words, unshed tears glistening in my eyes.
I lay the necklace around my neck and try to fasten it, but the clasp proves tricky. It doesn’t have a standard closure. It’s the kind of thing you’d need an engineering degree to figure out.
Why would anyone invent something so unnecessarily complicated?
I squint at it, turning it this way and that.
“Here,” Tiero murmurs, amusement threading through his voice. “Let me.”
He takes the necklace from my hands and slides behind me. His fingers brush the nape of my neck as he secures it in place, his touch warm and tender.
I look down at my chest, where it rests perfectly against my skin. It’s elegant without being ostentatious. Something I could wear with jeans. With dresses. With anything.
Which means I will. Every day.
A giddy smile threatens to overtake my face.
Leaving him is going to be even harder now.
The water splashes around us as I turn back toward him, the floating tables drifting aside with a soft knock.
I slide my hands up his chest and kiss him, slow and deep.
“Thank you,” I whisper against his lips. “I love it.”
His expression changes.
Softness fades into something darker. More intent.
And then he does what he does best.
He takes over and shows me with his body how much I mean to him.
It’s just after five in the morning when I wake, a chill brushing over my skin.
I reach across the bed, but my hand only meets cold sheets.
Where is Tiero at this hour?
I sit up, scanning the room. There’s no sign of him anywhere.
No movement. No sound.
Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I spot his shirt on the floor. I pick it up and press it to my face, inhaling deeply.
It smells like him.
God, I’m going to miss him.
On impulse, I decide I’m stealing it. I’ll take it home and never wash it.
It will be a reminder of the best time of my life, of the man who raised the bar impossibly high for anyone who comes after him, and of Opposite Ella.
Maybe she isn’t temporary after all. I like her. She should stay.
Then sadness seeps in. This is our last full day together.
In a few hours we’ll leave this island paradise, and before I know it, I’ll be on a plane returning to my normal life.
A life without an Italian god undoing me multiple times a day and spoiling me in between.
I guess even paradise has an expiration date.
The house is quiet when I step out, washed in the soft colors of pre-dawn. The sky is slowly surrendering its darkness, streaked with muted pink and silver. The moon lingers stubbornly above while the stars fade, taking their quiet magic with them.
I spot Tiero down on the beach, a solitary silhouette against the pale horizon.
The sand is cool beneath my feet as I walk toward him, the steady rhythm of waves the only sound.
He turns before I reach him, as if he felt me coming.
There’s something different in his expression.
Stillness. Thoughtfulness. And something heavier than usual.
He draws me down between his legs on the sand and wraps his arms around me. I settle against his chest, his warmth immediate and grounding.
We say nothing.
The sea glitters faintly as dawn strengthens, and we watch the sun begin its slow ascent. It rises from the water like a molten coin, staining the sky in deep violet and soft crimson.
Encircled by his arms, chin resting on my head, I feel impossibly safe.
It’s as if the world cannot touch us here.
Time stretches.
Then, quietly, he breaks the silence.
“I don’t want you to leave,” he whispers against my ear.
The vulnerability in his voice catches me off guard.
“Stay,” he adds softly. “Stay a little longer. Here. With me.”