30. Man Of His Word
Man Of His Word
Santino Buccini was a man of his word.
I woke slowly to the feel of his hardening cock inside me as he shifted his hips, rolling them into me with slow, deliberate strokes.
I moaned, feeling sore but not enough to stop him, because it still felt too good.
Sani was behind me, his arms wrapped tightly around my body, pressing my back against his chest as he fucked me slowly.
His mouth trailed kisses down my neck as he pulled me out of my groggy state.
“How long have we slept for?” I asked, my voice thick with exhaustion but also arousal as I shifted back into him.
“Nearly four hours. Go back to sleep if you’re still tired,” he husked, his lips moving against the shell of my ear. “But I’ve been a starved man, Ribelle. Will you let me take what I need while you do?”
His voice. God. It did such insanely erotic things to me. And when he talked like that, I was done for. The thought of him taking me, of him craving me so much he couldn’t wait, just made my desire flare in my stomach and my pussy clench around him in answer.
“Okay,” I whispered, staying in my side position, keeping my eyes closed and fighting back a smile. “Have fun.”
He hooked my leg over his, and his fingers found my clit as he rocked inside me.
I kept my eyes closed, biting my lower lip to stifle a moan and pretending to go back to sleep.
But of course, it was impossible. Especially when he picked up the pace, rolling those hips expertly and rubbing that piercing against a spot inside me that no other had ever come close to finding.
My body burned white-hot as I tried my best to stay still and silent. Why was this so arousing? Why was his taking what he wanted from me, while I gave him nothing but my submission, tightening my core with unbearable need?
I’d never been fucked by a man so confident in his ability to command my pleasure.
I’d never felt so much pleasure, full stop.
I lasted only two minutes before he was fucking into me with such abandon that I couldn’t keep quiet.
And when we both came, it was like an explosion of intimacy, a connection I’d never felt with another soul.
It was as if he knew my body better than I did.
He could sense when I needed it faster, slower, or harder.
When I needed his fingers on my clit while he pounded me into the mattress.
When I needed his mouth on my neck, sucking my nipples, or kissing me like I was his only lifeline.
Passion. That’s what it was. I’d never felt passion like this.
Afterward, I must have dozed off again, because Santino woke me hours later, not with his dick this time but with a soft kiss.
I moaned as his tongue slipped into my mouth, and I threaded my fingers through his hair, pulling him into me.
He rolled on top of me from where he had been perched on the edge of the bed, letting his body blanket mine as my hands wandered over his naked back.
I’d never get enough of his body. He was so masculine. So hard. So beautiful.
He broke the kiss as it started to grow heated again, grinning down at me as he brushed his nose against mine. “As much as I’d love to, Bella Ribelle, you’ll be too sore. Let’s take a bath instead.”
“Together?”
“Si.” He lifted me into his arms and carried me into the bathroom.
The scent of calming eucalyptus and lavender filled my nose, and I gasped at the scene.
He’d brought in the candles I’d left in his office, and the bath was filled with pink rose petals and bubbles.
He didn’t put me down. Instead, he stepped into the water, still carrying me, and then carefully lowered us into the warmth.
He positioned me between his legs, leaning back so I could rest my back against his chest and my head on his shoulder, while his hands glided over my skin, washing me.
“You really are a romantic, aren’t you?” I teased, twisting my head to glance at him.
He smirked, gave me a goddamn forehead kiss, and said, “For the right woman.”
My stomach swooped, and my heart squeezed with that feeling that was becoming all too familiar.
It was his utter certainty that I was ‘the right woman’ that made me want to run, because how could he be so sure?
But now that I was no longer fighting against him, I could see it for what it really was. Devotion.
No one had ever made me feel like I was their entire world before.
And it was terrifying how much I liked it.
So much could still go wrong between us.
But the thought of losing his devotion, of losing him, made me feel sick to my stomach.
I’d grown attached. I’d tried so hard for years not to become too attached to anyone after losing my mum, but he’d somehow succeeded in a few weeks.
“Where did you go?” he whispered, searching my eyes as his brows tensed.
I swallowed and looked away, leaning my head back against his shoulder and gliding my hands through the petals and bubbles. I’d made my choice to stay, and I needed to own it. That meant being as truthful as he was with me.
“I’m scared to want you as much as I do, Sani.” There, I finally admitted it.
He rested his chin on my shoulder and lifted his hand, letting droplets fall onto my exposed breasts that peeked above the water. “Why?”
“Because… What if this doesn’t work out? What if my papi never stops until you are behind bars?”
“That won’t happen. They have nothing on me that will stick. Now tell me the real reason you’re scared of wanting me as much as you do.”
I exhaled, hating that he could dig beneath my exterior and expose my deepest vulnerabilities.
That I’d never been enough for anyone to stick around.
My parents always said their separation was a mutual decision, but as a child it felt like my papi abandoned us.
He stayed in Rome, and we moved on. Friendships never lasted because we moved around so much.
Mum died. It wasn’t her fault, but it still felt like I’d been left behind.
And my relationships always ended in betrayal or with me walking away because I’d had enough of being treated like less than I deserved.
I was better off alone. That way, no one could hurt me.
But for some reason, when I was given the chance to run from this man, I couldn’t.
Which meant I’d just given him permission to hurt me the most.
“I have a hard time… trusting this. We burn so hot, Santino. What if it fades? What if you realise I’m not worth all this trouble and get bored with me? And by then, I’ll have given you my heart,” I sighed. “I’m not sure I’m going to survive you.”
He stayed silent for a while, thinking over my words. Just when I thought he didn’t have an answer or a way to reassure me, he shifted behind me, forcing me to sit up and face him.
“You’ll always be worth the trouble, and I’ll never get bored of you.
How can I when you’re the air I fucking breathe?
I don’t want you to survive me, Aria,” he husked, his dark eyes sweeping over my face, taking in every detail.
“I want you to live by my side. For me. As I will for you. You just have to trust me. Don’t be scared to give me your heart.
It will be in the safest, most protective hands. I’ll never do anything to hurt you.”
I should have known he’d give me the perfect answer. “Not being scared of opening my heart to you isn’t easy, Sani. Maybe for you, because you aren’t scared of anything, but for me—”
He scoffed, shaking his head. “You think I’m not scared of anything?”
“You don’t seem scared of anything.”
He licked his lips, sliding back against the tub and holding my gaze.
“I’m no stranger to fear, Aria. I used to have violent night terrors when I was little.
I’d constantly dream that the men who killed my papi would break into our house and murder the rest of my family.
I couldn’t sleep alone for two years.” He chuckled sadly, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling.
“Mamma bought me a ‘magic’ racing car bed and told me I could race away from the bad dreams and into only good ones. It worked eventually. Fears have a way of evolving. I grew up not only watching my own back every time I stepped out of my family’s secure gates but also Raya’s.
She never left my side when we were kids, so I took on the role of her protector.
I feared more for her life than anyone else’s, including my own.
” He dipped his chin, and our eyes locked again.
“Now that I’m an adult, I have different fears.
I’m scared of the day Mamma won’t remember me at all.
I was scared you’d leave me last night after you saw a glimpse of the darkness in me.
I’m scared you’ll never trust me enough with your heart when all I want to do is live in yours. ”
I pressed my lips together, fighting back the emotions at seeing his vulnerability shining through. Witnessing something I knew few would ever see. He entwined his hand with mine under the water and tugged it, pulling me back to him, this time chest to chest.
“I know I may act it,” he continued, giving me a lopsided smirk, but his eyes held all his emotion. “But I’m not invincible.”
Without warning, I kissed him. The overwhelming urgency to comfort and reassure him that I was in this too forced the fear away.
When his hands slid into my hair and he deepened the kiss, I moaned.
We took our time, tasting each other and melting into the kiss as though the world around us didn’t matter. But eventually it caught up with us.
Sani’s phone started ringing somewhere in the bedroom. He groaned, refusing to tear his lips away from mine as I wrapped my hand around his hard dick, stroking it leisurely under the water. The phone stopped, then started again.