Chapter Seventeen Ella
Chapter Seventeen
Ella
Birds are singing outside, and a few rays of light peek through the curtains.
Surprisingly, given the circumstances, it’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had in days. I was out like a log, not waking up once.
I stretch, enjoying the silky sheets sliding along my skin. Gualtiero buys only the best… or more likely, he has someone else do it for him.
Closing my eyes again, I roll onto my side, snuggling into my pillow. As I stretch out my arm, it hits something solid.
My eyes fly open.
My body stills instantly.
I blink, as if that might somehow change what I’m seeing. It doesn’t.
Gualtiero is fast asleep beside me, his bare chest rising and falling rhythmically, his lower half covered by the sheet.
God, I hope he’s not completely naked.
And what the hell is he doing in my bed?
I sit up and pull the blanket over my chest to shield my barely covered body.
With him still asleep, I study him. His face is peaceful. My fingers itch to trace the line of his jaw, the roughness of his stubble that once drove me wild, making my body burn with desire.
Ella, stop. Don’t go there again.
But my memories have stirred that desire back to life. I bite my lip to stifle any sound from escaping me. Damn him for being so devastatingly handsome.
Gualtiero’s arms are raised behind his head, making his biceps look even broader, more defined. I swallow and force my gaze away.
“Are you just going to stare at me?” Gualtiero asks, his eyes still closed. I startle, letting out a small yelp. “I can feel the heat of your gaze on me.”
My breath catches. Shit, he’s caught me.
“You know, you can touch me anytime you want, princess,” he adds, his voice hoarse from sleep.
His accent is stronger in the mornings, rougher, deeper. It does nothing to help my composure.
“What are you doing in my bed?” I ask, trying to infuse my voice with as much outrage as I can muster.
“Our bed,” he replies, rolling onto his side so he can look at me. “Couples share a bed.”
I blink at him in disbelief.
“You’re kidding me. We are not a couple, Gualtiero. And we never will be again. You kidnapped me, took me against my will—”
“I’ve never taken you against your will,” he interrupts with a smirk. “You’ve always come willingly.”
Anger flares hot and sharp.
“Oh, I so want to punch you right now and wipe that smirk off your face,” I snap, my voice low with fury.
“Good thing you know I wouldn’t tolerate it,” he replies lightly.
I glare at him.
“Do you really think you can just waltz in here and climb into my bed? I told you last night, but I’ll say it again, Gualtiero…” I spit his name. “You and I will never be together again. I’d have to trust you for that, and after what you did, I never will. I won’t sleep with you voluntarily again.”
I throw off the sheet and try to slide off the bed.
His reaction is instantaneous.
Before I can process what’s happening, I’m on my back, pinned beneath him, my arms held above my head, his body pressing mine into the mattress.
“Ella, Ella, Ella,” he murmurs, amusement flickering in his eyes. “You still have much to learn.”
My pulse spikes. I try to free my arms, but his grip is firm.
“I also made this clear yesterday, but I’m happy to remind you,” he continues, his voice dropping. “I’m in control. And I always get what I want.”
His gaze locks onto mine, the intensity there making my limbs go limp.
“And I want us.”
His weight shifts slightly, just enough for me to feel the hard line of him against me.
My breath stutters.
“You will come to me again,” he says, his tone certain. “Of your own free will.”
I shake my head, but the movement feels weak.
“Look at you,” he murmurs, his gaze sweeping over me. “Your body is already responding to me.”
Heat floods my cheeks, then rushes further south.
“Your pulse is racing. Your breathing has changed. And your nipples are straining against your negligee. That color, by the way, looks gorgeous on you. I knew it would.”
My core tightens. I’m helpless against my reactions to him. He needs to stop talking… and stop the subtle shift of his body against mine.
“And let’s not forget, I can smell your arousal,” he adds, brushing his nose along my neck. “It’s the sweetest scent in the world.” My face burns. He really had to mention that, didn’t he?
He licks his big, kissable lips. I watch, mesmerized, forgetting for a second why I’m resisting this.
“Your body…” he continues softly, his voice lowering, “it remembers.”
I swallow hard.
“You can’t deny what’s between us,” he says, his gaze darkening. “Not for long.”
The worst part is… he’s right. My body is betraying me in every way he just exposed. I hate it. I hate how closely he’s watching me.
Humiliation burns through me.
“Don’t,” I snap, struggling against his hold again. “Just don’t.”
His grip on my hands tightens briefly where they’re pinned above my head before he gathers them into one of his. His free hand lifts, his thumb brushing over my cheek with unsettling tenderness.
“I promised you I wouldn’t take you against your will,” he says quietly. “But when your mind catches up with your body…” His lips curve slightly. “I’ll claim once more what’s mine.”
Images of our time together on his island, all the ways he made me writhe and cry out in pleasure, flash through my mind in technicolor. A bottomless want pools in my core. I don’t want it there.
“And you’ll love every second. Just like you did last week. We’ll try out a few new things too. Oh, the plans I have for us, princess. We’re perfect for each other. You’ll see.”
That assured arrogance, thankfully, douses my desire.
“That’s never going to happen,” I say, my voice shaking. I’m not sure if it’s anger or something else entirely. “Now let me go.”
For a moment, he just looks at me. Then he releases my arms.
I suck in a breath as he shifts away, the sudden absence of his weight almost disorienting, the imprint of him still lingering on my skin.
He rises from the bed, wearing only his boxer shorts. The outline of his arousal is now at my eye level. Dammit.
My gaze lingers a fraction too long, making him smirk.
“You and I are meant to be, cuore mio. Make no mistake about it. You’ll come to accept it soon enough.”
“Did you not hear me?” I say, pulling on the outrage that still lingers beneath the surface. “You cut me off from everybody and everything I know. How can you think I could ever forgive you?”
“I’m sorry, princess. But there is no other way. It’s too dangerous for your friends to be in touch with you. I know this isn’t easy, but—”
“And how do you know that?” I interrupt him.
“Has your life ever been ripped away from you? Has everything you’ve built for yourself been destroyed by some misogynistic prick who then claims to love you?
How can that possibly be love? And then you expect me to return the sentiment?
What fucked-up universe do you live in?”
Despite my outburst, Gualtiero remains calm. It’s another thing I hate about him, his ability to stay unruffled.
“It will all be alright. You’ll soon get used to your new life,” he says evenly, heading for the door. “I’ll see you at breakfast. Mariella will come and collect you in an hour. Make yourself at home, read or have a bath. Relax.”
And then he’s gone. I stare at the closed door, my chest rising and falling too fast.
His confidence is infuriating. And worse… it’s getting to me. Doubts are creeping in.
He surprises me at every turn. Not in a million years did I expect to wake up and find him in my bed.
What now?
I can’t sleep in the same bed as him. That would be pure torture. With him so close, how can I stay strong?
I need to keep my distance, stay away from him as much as possible.
But how am I supposed to do that when he’s already inside my head?