Chapter 46
Salvario
I can do anything for her. I know this now with certainty. All that I am, all that the boy permitted me to hold, is hers alone, now and always.
I watch her lying beside me. Her eyes are fixed on the sky; she’s saying something about the stars. Her soft, giggling voice fills every cracked corner of my soul. I don’t care what she says, as long as I can hear her voice, watch her smile.
It’s freeing, losing myself in her. Giving her the reins to my life, letting her lead me toward the light. Once I’m rid of the boy, there will only be her. No more dark nights filled with nightmares. Just nights with her beneath the stars. Mornings with her in my arms.
I let myself dream again. Of peace... with her. Of a life where I keep her happy. Always.
But it won’t be easy. Alexander Bennett has to die—for me to be free of the haunting. And I have to make sure she never finds out. If she finds out, she’ll hate me, and there will be nothing to save me from that. It would be the end. The complete and utter end of Salvario De Falco.
She turns to me. Her warm brown eyes meet my gaze. In dim light, they’re almonds. In bright light, glowing honey. And sometimes, when the light catches them just right, they’re like champagne.
“Are you even listening?” She pokes my cheek. “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m listening. Keep talking.”
She smiles. “Okay, so I was telling you about when Avi and I used to make our own constellations—” She points to the sky and continues.
I pull her closer. She kisses me and keeps telling me her childhood stories. I close my eyes, listening to her voice, feeling her warmth against me.
“You’re such a liar, Salvario. You said you were listening to me.” She scolds me. That’s the last thing I hear before falling into a peaceful sleep.
???
“I feel so bad for him. He must be so lonely.” She pouts at the photo of Bruno that Antonio sent.
“Before I go back to Greenland, I’ll send him here.”
“Why? You don’t want him?”
“I like having him around, but he loves living with you more.”
“And us? When will we get to live together?” She holds my gaze, her eyes filled with longing.
“Soon. Everything will be fine soon. And then we’ll be together.”
“My family thinks you’re incapable of love. That you manipulated me into believing you love me.”
Sadness clouds her beautiful eyes. It has no place there. Guilt cinches around my chest, pulling tighter and tighter.
I cup her face in my palms. “Don’t worry. I’ll make this right.”
I don’t know how. But for her, I’ll find a way, no matter what it takes.
She hugs me, pressing her face to my chest. “I don’t want to be away from you. Not even for a day.”
I run my hand through her hair. “Neither do I, Princess.”
???
She clicks another photo.
“Yes—this one’s even better. I swear, if I started selling your photos, I’d be a millionaire in a week.” She pauses. “But why would I sell my man’s pictures? Never mind. Just keep going.”
She tilts her phone, adjusting the angle.
“You’re a work of art, Salvario De Falco.”
I smile at the way she mispronounces my last name. She always says it wrong, but I have no intention of correcting her. I like her version better.
“Yes, yes, yes—keep smiling!” She jumps around, clicking image after image.
My watch chimes at the last rep.
She pauses her photoshoot and sits on the mat—the one she claimed she’d use for workout but hasn’t touched so far.
The house gym is outside, so she suggested I work out in the back room that opens to the rear garden. One wall of it is made of glass, overlooking a flower garden.
“Finally… I have a picture of you smiling. And it’s so sexy.” She says it like she just won the lottery.
That’s how she reacts to everything. Finding joy in small things. Living fully in every moment.
I flip onto my stomach and start my push-ups. She goes back to her photoshoot.
“Stop. You’ve taken enough.” I mutter between reps.
“Just a few more.”
She clicks from far away, then inches closer. Then she lies down right in front of me.
“Look at the camera.”
I glance up. She grins wide and snaps more.
“Bring it closer,” I say.
She inches forward.
“More.”
She moves closer, until she’s within reach. I shift my weight to one arm, catch her wrist, and pull.
She yelps as I drag her across the floor. I set her phone aside, roll her onto her back, and trap her between my body and the floor.
“You’re all sweaty.” She trails a finger along my neck, nose scrunching.
“You said you’d work out with me. Let’s do it.”
She shakes her head, whining. “No. I don’t want to get sweaty.”
“Too bad. Too late to change your mind.” I push her sports bra up.
She taught me all the names of her different clothes yesterday.
I move down and peel away her yoga pants.
She keeps whining. “Nooo. Don’t be cruel.”
Her dramatic protests die the moment I spread her legs and put my mouth on her.
She moans as I slowly lick her. We both love this, the slow build, the hard finish that leaves her shaking.
Her fingers tangle in my hair. She holds my head.
“Wait.”
I look up.
“I want to do the same for you.” She breathes, pulling away.
“Lie on your back. Take off your shorts.” She turns onto her knees and hands.
I obey.
She positions herself over me with her pussy towards my face and her face towards my dick.
“Are you okay with this?” she asks softly.
I grab her ass and pull her to my mouth, groaning against her as she meets me.
“Perfect,” I manage, the word muffled against her.
I lick from her clit to her entrance, pushing my tongue inside her tight hole. She arches, pressing down onto my mouth, then takes me in her hand and guides me into her warm mouth.
My mind goes blank. Instantly.
She’s touched me there before, but never like this.
Never taken me in her mouth. My eyes roll back as she moves her mouth up and down on my cock.
I lose all rhythm in licking her cunt and start eating her out hungrily.
She moans with my cock filling her mouth, her speed increasing the more desperately I suck her clit or thrust my tongue inside her pussy.
The pressure in my balls builds higher. It becomes blinding, making me lose control of my body completely.
My mouth moves on its own. Her body shivers on top of me.
Her movements become sloppy as she fills my mouth with her warm sweetness.
The pressure in my balls moves to my shaft and, like a bow snapping, releases, filling her mouth with my cum.
She climbs off me and turns around, then straddles me again, her pussy pressing against my dick.
Her mouth comes down on mine, kissing me hungrily. I grip her ass, fingers sinking into the soft flesh. My dick hardens again.
I position it at her entrance and push inside. She breaks the kiss and watches me, panting heavily.
Outside, the sky has gone dark. Inside, there’s only a dim light and the sound of us—skin slapping, her moans growing louder.