“Some pain goes too deep,” Maddie says from the doorway.
I stand quickly and go to her. “You’re awake.”
She falls into my arms, and I hold her tightly against me. She’s wearing one of my dress shirts. It hits her knees, her body still warm from our bed.
“I’m sorry about your mom.” She looks up at me, her eyes misty. “I can’t imagine having one and then losing her. Especially when you were still a kid. That must’ve been so hard.”
“It was.” Claudio sinks onto the couch beside Antony. Gingero clambers into his lap, turns around, and curls up.
“I think my dad wanted me to find you.” I kiss her forehead. “I think he knew you were out there somewhere. I just needed a kick in the ass to finally find you.”
“That sounds like destiny.” She smiles, but then it falters. “But this isn’t real. This marriage. It’s a fairy tale. Fake. I’m your employee.”
Payton makes a choked sound. “What?”
I lift Maddie up so we’re eye to eye. “This is very real, little bird. Didn’t it feel real in our bed?”
She blushes but keeps her gaze on mine. “Yes.”
“You are mine. Now and forever. I intend to make you happy. I’ll make your life a fairy tale with a happy ending if you’ll let me.” I kiss her and press her back against the wall.
She wraps her legs around me, her fingers linking behind my neck.
Claudio clears his throat.
I ignore him and kiss my bride, my hunger for her lighting me up all the way down to my toes. I came down here to talk business, but I find myself walking away from my office, my little bird in my arms as I climb the stairs and take her back to bed.
Closing the door behind me, I lay her on the bed and yank her shirt open, buttons flying onto the floor. “This time I’ll wear you out so badly you won’t be up again until morning.”
She squeals as I climb on top of her and give her every bit of love I have. Lick by lick, bite by bite, and inch by inch.
16
Maddie
I roll over to find my bed empty once again. I huff out a breath and try not to take it personally. My body feels a bit sore but also relaxed from all the orgasms Renato gave me. After the first time he made love to me, taking my virginity, he pulled me from the bed and put me in the tub to soak while he’d changed the sheets.
I was mortified when I saw them. At least I was until I saw Renato’s face as he stared at them in an almost awe-like state. You’d think I’d given him the moon or something. When he was done, he joined me in the tub. I lay against him while he rubbed my shoulders and arms until I passed out.
He was so gentle with me. Lifting me from the tub and drying me off before carrying me back to bed. I love the way he dotes on me. I tried to lure him into making love to me again, but the last thing I remembered was his mouth between my thighs. Then it was lights out for me. But I hadn’t stayed sleeping for very long.
I’m finding I’m rather addicted to my new husband. Instead of waiting for him to come back to bed, I decided I would go looking for him. I’m glad I did. I found him in his office, surrounded by Antony, Payton, and Claudio. Hearing them all talk about his father and Renato having to get married settled some of my worries. Especially when Renato said that what we have together is real. And that he truly wanted me. He’s made that clear in more ways than one.
I sit up, seeing the sunlight peeking out from the bottom of the curtains. “Kittens!” I jump from the bed, feeling like a terrible cat mom. I haven’t been taking very good care of my fur babies. When I don’t see them in the room, I guess Payton must still be watching them.
Quickly, I go into the bathroom and get myself together. I snag one of Renato’s shirts and a pair of his thick socks. I pause when I hear something vibrating. I glance around the room until I spot my cell phone next to the bed.
“Oh, no! She’s going to kill me!” I dash over to my phone. The second I answer, Caroline’s voice comes pouring through the line.
“Where the hell have you been? I was about to buy a plane ticket home. You didn’t show for the Peterson hour, either.”
“Oh gosh, I’m sorry. I’m okay. Things are a bit crazy right now. It’s a long story.” I try to put her at ease. I feel terrible that I didn’t reach out to her. She's probably been so worried about me.