EPILOGUE
ROXANNE
“Stop troubling me, you little monster!”
I watched from the kitchen doorway, sipping tea.
“Your children are a menace,” I said, my smile betraying me.
Marcello came up behind me, sliding his arms around my waist and kissing the curve of my neck.
“Ours,” he murmured, lips pressing lightly against my neck.
I tilted my head.
“Uh-uh. When they’re trouble, they’re yours. When they behave, they’re ours.”
He smirked, lips brushing my ear. “And when are they yours?”
I turned in his arms, kissed him back deeper.
“Always.”
He glanced at his watch and called out.
“Kids! Zia Alessia’s here—time to go!”
We kissed the kids goodbye. Kyra and Romano had just left for Palma with Alessia.
The Leopardi estate would be chaos for a few days—Sophie and Matteo already plotting games, my mother fussing over Kyra’s hair, and Marcello’s mother pretending not to spoil them all. I sighed and turned towards Marcello.
“Finally, alone.”
He leaned in, kissing me deep and grabbing my ass hard.
“Are you wearing the thing I gave you?” he murmured.
I flushed. “Yes.”
He tapped something on his phone. My knees buckled. I grabbed his arm, breath catching.
“Go slow,” I hissed.
He leaned in, voice low and wicked.
“I decide the speed, mia metà. And how long you’ll beg.”
I paused, heart hammering, feeling the dark hunger in his gaze—patient and relentless.
“You planned this,” I whispered, teasing, letting anticipation coil between us.
I pulled him closer, teeth grazing his cheek—a love bite, a dare. Then I ran—barefoot, wild. Laughter spilled from me as I darted through the corridor, heart pounding, hair flying.
He chased me, shirt half-buttoned, eyes dark with intent. I turned a corner and slipped into the library, breathless. The door clicked behind me. He caught me by the waist, spun me into him.
His mouth found my neck, hands tugging at my buttons. He unhooked my bra and latched onto my breast—ravenous, reverent. I tried to push away, only to have him pull me closer.
“You sent them away just to do this,” I gasped.
He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. I stepped out of my shorts, unbuttoning his slacks.
He pressed me towards the table, body hot, mouth trailing fire across my chest. I arched into him, fingers tangled in his hair, wanting, aching, home.
One hand increased the speed of the vibrator, the other twisted my nipple.
His mouth found the other breast, teeth grazing, biting. I moaned, throwing my head back.
“Come for me, amore,” he commanded.
My desires sprawled across the oak desk. He pulled out the vibrator, spun me around—like he knew exactly how I needed to be undone.
“Bend over,” he ordered.
I obeyed.
“Look at us.”
I met my own gaze in the mirror as he thrust deep—his hunger, my surrender, the storm we’d become. One hand fisted my hair, the other kneaded my breast. Then he grabbed my neck, lips brushing my ear.
“Mine. Always mine.”
It was primal. Animalistic. Hot. His voice sent shivers down my spine to my already soaking core. I looked at him through the mirror—my partner, my chaos, my calm. The man who ruined me gently. The man I’d let.
“Yours,” I rasped.
I shuddered, fully undone, trembling in his arms.
And then I saw it. A figure standing in the doorway. Still. Watching. My breath caught in my throat as Marcello drove into me—hard, deep, unaware.
A hood shadowed his face, but I knew that stance, that quiet menace. My pulse stuttered. This was not an intrusion—this was a claim.
A low growl rumbled from the hallway—deep, guttural, unmistakably possessive. Like watching Marcello fuck me was a violation. Like I belonged to him. And this was betrayal.
Marcello didn’t notice. Or maybe he did. But he didn’t stop. And neither did I.
I threw my head onto Marcello’s shoulder, cupped my breast, fingers circling my nipple, grazing the edge of sensation. My gaze locked on the figure. I didn’t look away. Not even when Marcello’s mouth returned—biting into my shoulder, claiming me as I trembled beneath him.
And I stared at the figure, eyes locked into the faceless hood. He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just watched. Breathing heavy. Silent. Waiting.
And I let him.