Chapter 14 #3
Flinging my head back with a cry of his name, I reached for the one thing that he still had on—the golden medallion around his neck. I held onto it for dear life, the gold chain caught in my trembling hand. My other hand raked across his back, my nails digging into his flesh as I came apart.
I saw hunger in those smoky black eyes, his desire evident even now that he had me. His eyes searched mine as he drove into me. “You were worth the wait and then some, Valentina.”
My back arched as he thrust into me, our bodies grinding against each other.
We found the perfect rhythm. Frenzied and desperate now that all pretense was gone.
There was no hiding our desire or pretending that we didn’t burn with it.
We were desperate for each other. Ravenous after all this time denying ourselves.
Euphoria gripped me as I found release and Enzo went over the edge with me.
We held each other tightly, breathing heavily, both of our bodies drenched in sweat.
Neither of us spoke. It was best that I didn’t.
Because if I did, I was liable to say something foolish.
Say something like I had never experienced anything like that with a man and I would never be the same.
~~*~~
WHEN I WOKE, THE TICKING clock on the wall told me it was afternoon. It was still pouring rain and I was still wrapped in Enzo’s powerful arms. He was waking up, the same as me. Smiling, he reached out a rough hand to gently cup my cheek.
A lock of hair had crested over his dark eyes, offsetting their dark intensity, the hair making him look exhausted as if he’d just run a marathon. A reminder that Enzo had put in a lot of work pleasuring me.
Pleasuring my body while managing to touch my heart in the process. Something had changed, though I barely had words to describe it. This feeling I had for Enzo. Did that mean that my loyalty had shifted? Could I be loyal to my immediate family while I forged a new family with Enzo?
Thinking of starting a family with him made me blush.
We’d just had some practice after all. Not too long ago, thoughts of settling down with anyone, much less Enzo De Luca, would have terrified me.
Would have had me running for the hills.
But I felt no terror now. Only the most exquisite sensations as pleasure turned me weightless as a cloud.
The things he’d said to me, the way he’d treated me.
With a ravenous hunger while also treating me like I was the most precious gift in the world.
This reminded me of the day in his apartment, when he’d asked if I had any food allergies.
Only this was far more profound. Far more sensual obviously, and yet, that moment in his apartment had been a promise of what I would feel in our moments after our first time.
How could a man make me feel all this over the course of a few hours?
“Did you sleep well?” I asked.
“Like the dead. You wore me out, Valentina,” he said, grinning. “Best sex I’ve ever had if you’re keeping score, princess.”
“I’m not keeping score, but I’d say same.” I laughed then as he covered my face and neck in kisses.
He wrapped a powerful arm around me, drawing me even closer. I snuggled against him, enjoying the scent of his cologne.
“I think I’m beginning to like this old, rundown house,” I said.
Enzo laughed. “You know, with the power out I’m going to have to cook all the meat in the freezer.”
“I’d love to help,” I offered, the prospect of spending the rest of the day with him sending delicious shivers through me.
Soon we were helping each other stand and he threw on a towel around his waist so that he could retrieve a robe from my bedroom.
He helped me into the robe, and I headed to the kitchen with him, where he got to work cooking all the meat in the freezer.
When he made the perfect pork chops and roasted potatoes for me, it was sheer bliss.
Next thing I knew, we were back in his bedroom and Enzo was reading early chapters of the translation of The Name of the Rose out loud to me by candlelight. And then I started giving him impromptu Italian lessons as the candles burned down. It was heaven.
Spending this time with Enzo showed me what I’d been hiding from myself all this time.
I cared for him. The thought of marrying him didn’t scare me or bring up resentment.
If anything, it made me feel the opposite.
For the first time, I felt like a giddy, excited bride.
The prospect of walking down the aisle now filled me with butterflies, not regrets.
I couldn’t deny my feelings for Enzo any longer.
Which meant that very soon, my feelings for him would be so strong, I wouldn’t have the power to hide them.
Falling head-over-heels for someone wasn’t the kind of thing I could hide for long. So, I would tell him. Soon.
We couldn’t go on pretending this was casual or a play for the cameras. There was something real here and I could feel it changing me. Changing me for the better.
The rundown safehouse had been the last place I wanted to be, but as that magical night wore on, I realized I never wanted to leave.