Breathing like I’d just run a marathon, I fell onto my side so I didn’t crush her, my cock still hard as stone inside her pulsing pussy. She stroked her fingers down my sweat-coated back, gasping for breath after I’d just ridden her until she was screaming from her own release.
“I love you,” she murmured in that soft voice that calmed me every damn time.
I kissed the top of her head, unable to repeat the words that were already on the tip of my tongue. I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me every time she said she loved me, but I couldn’t make the words leave my mouth. If I said them aloud, if someone heard me telling her how much I loved her, they would take her away from me.
It was better—safer—to keep the words to myself and just show her how I felt.
Once we could both breathe again, I lifted my head, kissing her long and deep before getting to my feet. “I’m starving. Let’s go eat.”
She sat up, unashamedly naked, her eyes roaming over me appreciatively. “You do look as if you’ve lost some weight since I saw you in New York. Haven’t you been eating?”
“Food wasn’t on my mind the last few days,” I said with a shrug, fastening my pants.
“Gian,” she scolded, but I saw her chin tremble slightly. “Promise me, no matter what, you won’t skip meals from now on. I can’t stand the thought of you being hungry.”
Leaning down, I brushed my lips softly over hers. “I wasn’t hungry. My focus was on finding you, and food held no appeal while I was worrying about getting to you.” She opened her mouth to argue, and I kissed it closed again. “But I promise not to skip meals. For you, precious.”
Chapter 7
Monroe
The legal drinking age in Italy was eighteen, but unlike my sister, who could drink the hard stuff and still be able to function, if I had one glass of wine, I was tipsy as hell.
Yet when we sat down for dinner, the first thing Gian ordered was a bottle of wine. He ordered it in Italian, and even though I wasn’t exactly fluent in the language, I still got the gist of what the waiter said when he told him how much the wine cost.
Over two thousand dollars.
I’d been in the process of taking a drink from my water glass, and it took everything in me to keep from spitting it out in surprise. As if he knew my struggle, Gian shot me a smirk before schooling his features and telling the man to bring the wine.
As the waiter walked away, I replaced my water glass and leaned forward to hiss at Gian, “I won’t drink more than a few sips. Why are you spending so much on a bottle of wine?”
“They don’t sell it by the glass,” he said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. The expensive material of his shirt stretched at the movement, distracting me momentarily. Not surprising. The man breathed heavily and I got distracted. Everything he did made me take a second and third look, entranced by his every move.
“But—”
With a look, he cut off my argument.
“Only the best for you,” was all he said before picking up his menu and skimming over the contents.
Blowing out an annoyed huff, I started to do the same, but the beauty of the sky over the Colosseum at sunset caught and held my attention. Lifting my phone, I snapped a quick picture and then texted it to Mila and Maverick. But before they could text back, I switched off my phone’s ringer and returned it to my purse.
When I lifted my gaze, it was to find Gian’s eyes glued to me. “What?” I asked with a shy laugh when he just kept staring.
“You are so damn beautiful,” he murmured. Reaching across the table, he gently skimmed his knuckles down my cheek before tucking a few locks of hair behind my ear.
I started to lean into his touch, but he quickly dropped his hand and sat back. He didn’t move his head, but his eyes glanced around rapidly, checking to make sure no one was watching us.
He’d been doing that all day as we’d explored the city together. Touching me as if he would die if he didn’t, and then moving away from me as if I were contagious or something. It stung that he didn’t want to be seen touching me in public, and I couldn’t hide how much it hurt.
With a muttered curse, he caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger and leaned in to kiss me, stealing my breath.
A long moment later, when he lifted his head, his eyes were full of need. “I don’t know if my enemies’ eyes are on us or not, precious. Once they find out who you are to me, they will try to use you.”
The stab of pain evaporated, and I wrapped my fingers around his wrist. When I felt his rapid pulse under my fingertips, my heart melted a little. “They’re going to find out eventually. I say just get it over with, and you won’t have to fight with yourself to hold back when we aren’t behind closed doors.”
“If I didn’t fight myself to hold back, you would be sitting in my lap right now. I want to feel your body against mine every moment of the day.” Releasing my chin, he caught my hand and intertwined our fingers, leaving them on the table between us. “I’m sorry I hurt you today by making you think I don’t want to touch you in public. It won’t happen again, I promise.”
“I know it won’t,” I told him confidently. “That’s just one of the many reasons I love you.”