Chapter 22
Dimitri stared down at Giselle, watching her sleep as his chest ached with something he didn’t really understand.
Was this love? Was this burning need to make her happy…
love? He’d felt an immediate desire to protect her since the first moment he’d laid eyes on her.
But this… this tightening in his chest had been growing stronger every damn night.
He didn’t understand it, but after finally making love with her tonight, he was starting to suspect.
Love. He’d avoided love all his life. Why the hell had it happened now?
For a moment, he thought about calling his friends, Max and Luca. They were both deeply “in love” with their wives. Maybe he could call them up and ask them to describe the feeling for him.
And yet, he couldn’t seem to leave her. Watching her now, his world suddenly felt completely right and good. He wanted to conquer all the evil in the world, just so that Giselle would feel safe.
And that brought up the issue of her family. He grabbed her phone. There were twenty-seven unread messages, all from her family.
What was he going to do about them? They would eat her alive.
They would suck every resource out of her until she was just an empty shell.
He read some of their messages and each was more brutal than the last. They were leeches, using Giselle to fund their lifestyles instead of seeking the therapy and support they needed.
Her father was a raging alcoholic. Her brother was back on oxy.
And her mother had just purchased several expensive purses.
He was tracking each of them carefully in his effort to protect Giselle.
Her mother’s debts were now inching close to one hundred thousand dollars and the mortgage hadn’t been paid in three months.
Giselle had no idea that the bank was ready to foreclose on their home.
Dimitri could fix this, but should he? And if he did, what would happen next? He knew what people like that were like. If they ever found out that Giselle had access to his bank account and could fund their lifestyle, they’d become voracious.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he tossed the phone to the side.
Reaching into the side table, he found the velvet box.
He’d gotten the box on a whim a week ago.
The diamond sparkled in the moonlight filtering through the windows.
Gazing down at Giselle, he wondered what the ring would look like on her finger.
Because she was sound asleep, he reached over and slid the ring onto her finger, then held it up.
However, that roused her. He watched, fascinated as Giselle rolled over, sighed and smiled dreamily up at him. She looked so incredibly sexy like this.
“Are you okay?” she asked, rubbing her hand as she shifted in the sheets. A moment later, she froze, looking startled.
Immediately, his amazement at how beautiful she looked shifted to concern. “What’s wrong?”
She bit her lip, pulling the sheet higher. “I’m naked!” she whispered, as if admitting a naughty secret.
“Yes,” he replied, chuckling at her horrified expression. “Is that a problem?”
“I never sleep naked.”
He shifted slightly, pulling her closer. “Get used to it.” He pulled her onto his chest and ran his fingers through her hair. It was slightly tangled because of their previous activity, but the tousled look was a good one for his Giselle. So good that he wanted to ravage her all over again.
She laughed, then kissed his chest. “I don’t think I can.”
“You will,” he vowed, stroking her bare bottom. She was so perfect! The roundness of her butt made his body react all over again. Or maybe it was the way her soft breasts molded to his chest?
She must have noticed his increasing attention because she lifted her head, looking at him dreamily. “Is that normal too?”
“When you’re around?” He rolled over, sliding her leg around his waist as he shifted against her. He kissed one rosy nipple, enjoying the way it peaked immediately. “Yeah.”
She laughed, then gasped when he sucked on the tip, his hand moving lower.
He inched one finger into her already slick heat, testing her.
When he found her ready for him, her legs spreading wide to make room for him, he groaned, grabbing protection and rolling it on quickly.
“Are you sore?” he asked, gentling his finger’s invasion.
“No!” she whispered, wrapping one leg around his waist and tilting her hips invitingly.
He had never received a more enticing invitation. Sliding into her, he groaned as her muscles tightened around him. He rolled over so that she was on top, then gripped her hips, helping her move.
“Dimitri!” she sighed, rolling her hips so that she pleasured herself with his body.
He relaxed his grip, enjoying the way she moved, shifting and arching so that she could press against him.
It was hot, watching her use his body like that!
Reaching down, he used the pad of his thumb to help her.
Giselle grabbed his wrist, holding his finger exactly where she needed it.
When her climax came this time, it was quieter, her mouth opening and her head falling back as she gripped the headboard.
Dimitri prolonged the pleasure by sitting up and sucking on her nipple again.
That silent scream became a very loud one and he lost his control with the sound.
When her moans softened, Dimitri gripped her hips with his big hands, thrusting into her, arching his back until his own pleasure overwhelmed him.
They stared into each other’s eyes as their pleasure coursed through them. She laughed, then leaned down to gently kiss him. It was such a small, delicate kiss, and he loved it!
When she pulled away, she noticed the sparkle on her finger.
He’d been aware of his ring there the whole time, and maybe that’s why he’d come so fast and hard.
When she lifted her hand, seeing the sparkles dance in the moonlight, she didn’t say anything for a long, tense moment before chuckling quietly.
“This wasn’t there before.”
Of all the things she might have said, that wasn’t what he’d expected, and he burst out laughing.
In fact, he laughed so hard, he nearly lost hold of her when she tried to roll away.
But he wasn’t that far gone. He held her hips, keeping her still.
“Don’t go,” he urged, burying his face in her neck as his amusement eased.
“Just…” he chuckled again, shaking his head. “Sorry. That was just…unexpected.”
“Unexpected?” she echoed, tracing her fingertips over his back and shoulders.
“Yeah,” he replied, lifting his head. “I didn’t think that the woman I proposed to would respond like that.”
Giselle stilled. Pulling away, Dimitri took care of the condom, then pulled her into his arms. “Why did you get scared all the sudden?”
“Scared?” she asked. He relaxed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. That was something, right? She wasn’t running away from him. He counted that as progress.
“Yeah. Why are you nervous?”
“I’m a little confused.” She looked at the ring. “How did we get to a proposal?”
He shifted slightly so that he could see her face. Giselle’s eyes really were the window to her soul. Or her thoughts, he clarified. “An engagement ring generally means marriage. You haven’t taken the ring off, so I’m assuming that means you aren’t opposed to marrying me.”
She grinned, shaking her head. “No, a ring does not automatically indicate a marriage proposal. And if you want to marry me, then you’re going to need to get down on a knee and ask the question properly, Mr. De Luca.”
“Is that right?”
She nodded firmly, but she still didn’t take the ring off.
Suddenly, she was flipped onto her back. A moment later, Dimitri was down on his knee. Naked. He even paused to take her hand into his. “Giselle Carrington, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She laughed, rolling onto her side as she stared at him. “Mr. De Luca, think about what we’ll say to our children?’
“How the hell does this conversation have anything to do with our future children?”.
“Our kids are going to ask how you proposed. Do you really want our children to hear how we were naked when you popped the question?”
He tilted his head, considering. Then he nodded, stood up and…
wrapped her up in the sheet so that she was a burrito.
The sheet was so tight, she couldn’t move.
Dimitri even tucked in the ends so that she was more securely wrapped.
Then he grabbed another sheet and wrapped it loosely around his waist. Getting back down on his knee, he glowered at her.
“One more time. And this time,” he declared threateningly, “you will give me the proper answer.” His growl was countered by the amused expression on his handsome features. “Will you marry me?”
Unfortunately, Giselle was laughing so hard, she could barely breathe, let alone answer. She wiggled and shimmied, but she couldn’t quite free herself.
“Giselle?” he teased, pulling her closer again. “I’m not hearing the right answer.”
That only made her laugh harder.
“Yes!” she gasped between breaths. “Yes! I’ll marry you!”
“Good,” he said with a firm nod. Then he unrolled her from the sheet and pulled her back into his arms. Before she could stop laughing, he kissed her deeply.
A long time later, as she snuggled sleepily in his arms, Giselle realized the reality of what she’d just agreed to.
“No!” she yelped, abruptly sitting up. After several rounds of sex, even Dimitri was pretty sated. Still, he opened one eye and looked at her. “No?”
Giselle shook her head. “I can’t marry you, Dimitri. I can’t!”
That roused him completely awake. “Why the hell not?”
“Because of my family! They’re horrible! And you’re rich! They’ll drain you of every penny! No!”
He realized what she was saying and sighed with relief. “I can handle your family, Giselle.” Then he tried to pull her back into his arms. It was late. They needed sleep. And he needed her close, snuggling her soft body against his.
“You can’t,” she replied, trying to wiggle away from him.
But he caught her and tucked her back against his side.
“It’s late” he grumbled, shifting so they were spooning.
“We’ll discuss this in the morning. But we are getting married.
I’ll handle your family, and we’re going to have lots of kids and be happy together. Any questions?”
Giselle heard the drowsy tone and knew that he was more than halfway asleep. She was pretty sure that she should argue, but Dimitri had a point. It was late and she could barely handle her family when she was wide awake. Trying to handle them when she hadn’t gotten enough sleep wasn’t a good idea.