Chapter Thirty-Six
Gualtiero
The moment I entered my angel, the sanity I’d been barely holding onto dissolved into nothingness.
It had been hanging by a thread since the second I laid eyes on her again. I needed her back in my arms exactly like this.
Ella wraps her legs around me tighter as I push deeper, and pleasure rips through me so hard my vision blurs.
An inferno builds at the base of my spine. I’m teetering on the edge of freefall all over again, my fate entirely in her hands.
She splinters apart beneath me, only to be put back together by my love. It’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.
She has no idea what she does to me. Probably a good thing.
I keep pushing through her contracting walls, her pleasure gripping me tight as she rides out her orgasm.
“You’re mine too,” she moans, taking me completely by surprise.
Her body quivers beneath me as her eyes lock onto mine, bluer than I’ve ever seen them.
“Mine,” she repeats.
That one word proves to be my undoing.
She’s never laid claim on me before. It’s the most powerful aphrodisiac I’ve ever known.
Something primal tears loose inside me. I thrust into her faster, harder, trying to hold back for our baby’s sake while trusting he’s safely tucked away in Ella’s womb, that even this intensity won’t harm him.
“Angel,” I groan as I lose control, letting myself be swallowed up by the sensations ripping through me as I’m lit up from the inside out. Pleasure that only Ella can give consumes me whole.
I spill deep inside her, overwhelmed by what she’s just given me. If she wasn’t already pregnant, this would have been the moment we created a new life. Of that, I’m certain.
I pry her hands from my back and lace our fingers together beside her head. Careful to keep my weight off her and our baby, I bend to kiss her, even though I still don’t have my breath back. She’s my oxygen.
Desire stirs again almost immediately. I’m still inside her, softening, but I already want her all over again.
Ella breaks our kiss, panting for air. I roll us and tuck her against my side, pulling her leg over my hip. My hand drifts over her back while hers settles on my chest as she snuggles deeper into my embrace.
A deep satisfaction settles inside me. I feel impossibly close to her. It’s only ever been like this with my angel.
So many things only happen with her. The butterflies in my stomach when she smiles at me. The way I feel exposed and vulnerable beneath her gaze.
In this quiet bubble of bliss, it feels like I can see into her soul and she into mine.
These moments afterward, when everything is still and silent, are something I crave even more than the incredible sex we share. Nothing outside this room matters then.
It’s just her and me.
The complications of our situation fade away, even if only for a few minutes.
Everything feels perfect.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she whispers against my chest, her voice wobbly.
I’m on instant alert.
Did I hurt her? The baby?
I slip a finger beneath her chin and lift her face to mine.
Her eyes are glassy, fighting the tears. One escapes anyway, sliding down her cheek. I brush it away with my thumb.
“Why are you crying?” I ask softly.
The gentleness in my voice is at odds with the fierce need rising in me to fix whatever is hurting her.
She shakes her head and buries herself back against my chest.
“It’s just hormones. I cry for no apparent reason these days.”
There’s still a tremor in her voice, though, and I can’t shake the suspicion that she’s not being entirely honest.
Then she adds, “You better get used to it.”
And just like that, the tension inside me eases.
She’s really giving us another chance. She’s seeing me in her future.
Feeling unusually vulnerable, I let the words of my heart spill out.
“I can’t live without you, angel.” I press a kiss to the top of her head and pull her closer, unwilling to leave any space between us.
“I’m incomplete without you. You’re a part of my soul. Without you in my life, there’s something missing inside me. Please never run from me again. We belong together. You and I, for eternity.”
Her hand finds mine, squeezing gently.
“I can’t imagine my life without you either,” she says.
I release a long breath, and something inside me finally goes still.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I was so furious with you. But as the days went by, knowing Peanut was with me gave me such comfort.”
“Peanut?”
“Yeah. That’s what I’ve been calling the baby in my head. It’s gender-neutral that way.”
My hand drifts to her stomach, cradling it.
Awe moves through me. Our child is growing right there.
“I was so heartbroken over leaving you. But the thought of having a piece of you with me forever, a physical manifestation of our love… I can’t put into words how happy that made me when I thought I’d never see you again.”
“You know there was never a chance of me not finding you. I would have uprooted the entire world to have you back in my arms, to make right what I broke.”
“I’m glad you added the last part,” she jokes. “Otherwise, you’d sound kind of creepy.”
I swat her bottom playfully, and her giggle fills the room. That sound is pure music to my ears. I’ve missed hearing it. Other than that unfortunate swan incident in Monza, her laughter had been missing from our lives since I kidnapped her after her vacation.
Silence settles over the room then, comfortable and strangely nourishing.
Ella relaxes in my arms, her breathing slow and even.
“I can’t wait to hold our son,” I admit. “When I was little, Papa used to lift me onto his shoulders and carry me through the fields behind our house. From up there, the world felt vast and full of possibilities. I remember gripping his head, laughing as the wind rushed past us.”
Even now, the memory makes me smile. Papa was always tense, but in those moments, he was almost carefree.
“I knew he’d never let me fall. We used to walk to a dam at the edge of our property, where he kept fishing gear in a small shed. Sometimes we’d sit there for hours, just talking.”
“The day he taught me how to cast a line and reel in a fish is etched into my memory. He was always busy with family business, but that afternoon he gave me his full attention. It was just the two of us, and it made me feel invincible.”
I feel Ella smile against my chest as her fingers trace slow circles over my skin.
“What did the two of you talk about?” she asks.
“His childhood. The challenges he faced. The journey that shaped him.”
Even with Ella resting on my chest, I sense her frown.
I laugh softly. “He spared me the gory parts. He didn’t bring me into the family business until much later. But he always spoke about responsibility. About protecting la famiglia, and more importantly, the people you love.
“Whenever he talked about my mother, his face would light up. His love for her was undeniable. I expected it to be like that for everyone. It confused me when I realized it wasn’t.”
I kiss the top of Ella’s head. “Maybe that’s why he told me to wait for my One. To never settle for less. He said I’d recognize her immediately. And I did.”
My angel, my life.
I’d do anything for her.
Wanting to kiss her, I slide my hand from her abdomen and tilt her face toward me. When our lips meet, we lose ourselves in each other.
When we come up for air, I continue, “So you see, I can’t wait to pass those same lessons on to our son.
To teach him how to fish. To tell him stories about us and his grandparents.
I want him to understand what it means to protect the people you love.
Like my father did for me, one cast line at a time. ”
A shiver moves through Ella, goosebumps rising along her skin. Then I feel it too, and it hits me just how much I want this. How much this means to me.
“What if our baby is a girl?” she asks out of the blue.
“No. De Marco men always father a boy first,” I reply without hesitation.
“Well, you might be the first to break tradition. In my family line, there are only girls.”
The idea is absurd.
“The man’s sperm determines the sex of the baby, so I’m not worried. It’s a boy, angel.”
“That’s sexist,” she retorts.
I just shrug.
“Claudette thinks it’s a girl. And she’s a fabulous psychic.”
I already know who Claudette is, and how close she and Ella have become. Uberto identified her the moment he spotted her beside Ella on the ship’s camera feeds.
“Psychics get things wrong all the time. How would she know? My gut says it’s a boy, and it’s never steered me wrong.”
“We’ll find out in May. I don’t want to know beforehand. Is that okay with you? Or will you need time to come to terms with having a girl?” she teases.
“Very funny.” I tickle her side, and she writhes against me, the movement sending a ripple of awareness through my body.
“No, I’ll gloat when I’m proven right on the day of his birth.”
Her expression turns serious. “Honestly, though, Tiero. Will you be disappointed if our baby is a girl? Will you love her just as much?”
The doubt in her question cuts straight through me. How can she believe I’d love our child any less if we had a girl? And yet, thinking about the certainty with which I’ve spoken, I understand why she might worry.
I circle her belly with my hand, pouring every ounce of love I feel into the touch.
“No matter what sex our baby is, I’m going to love them because they’re a piece of you and me. A piece of our love. I’ll cherish and protect this child, and any others who come after, for as long as I live.”
It’s a promise. A vow I intend to keep.