“I know I am.” The wind picked up, and I shivered, burrowing closer.
He turned us back toward the house. “What do you think about it here?”
“What’s not to love?” I scanned the tourist-free coastal town with its pristine, very private beach then up the steps, not far from where we walked to the oceanfront villa.
“My sister urged me to purchase property here even if I wasn’t ready to build.” He pointed to about a mile down. “That’s ours. We can build a house whenever you want.”
I stopped, forcing him to as well. “You’re serious?”Could we have our own sanctuary here to get away whenever possible?
Nico grinned, and the sexy dimple on his left cheek deepened. My fingers curled at his waist from the need to touch him.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He chuckled, urging my feet to move again, and we angled toward the stairs that led to Sofia and Enzo’s place.
When we reached the stairs, we climbed them quickly, passing by the infinity-edge pool and hot tub. Last night, we’d gone in, and I wanted to do so again. Nico opened the screen door to the lanai, where ceiling fans swirled in a slow paddle above our heads as we crossed to the sliding doors. I loved how they had two entrances to the back, one with a lanai and the other a large glass slider that disappeared into the wall to offer the option of indoor-outdoor living.
His hand dipped under the back of my sweater, and my body heated at the simple touch as he ushered me in ahead of him. I gave him a hooded glance over my shoulder, telegraphing what I wanted.
Desire flared on his chiseled features, and my body responded with a surge of need. His hands latched onto my hips, and I shivered at the promise in his eyes as he guided me to the room where we were staying. Then all thoughts fled when he eased my sweater over my head, his fingers trailing in the wake of the thin cashmere, and my stomach clenched. His shirt followed mine to the floor.
Needing to touch him, too, I buried my fingers in his hair, rising on my toes to tug him closer, then brushed my lips over his in a slow caress. His deep growl sent shivers over my exposed skin, and I pressed against his warm chest as he teased my mouth open. I was barely aware of my clothes melting away as he explored my mouth. Heat radiated from his body, even more so with all our clothes gone.
He turned my body so that he was at the edge of the bed and then trailed kisses along my neck, his teeth scraping my hypersensitive skin. My pulse fluttered beneath his lips, and I ran my hands along his shoulders, reveling in the way his muscles bunched and flexed beneath the pads of my fingers.
When he slid his hands around my hips and lifted, I complied and wrapped my legs around his waist, clinging to his shoulders. He carried me as if I weighed nothing then settled his back to the headboard, and I straddled him. His hard length pressed at the apex of my thighs, and I moaned, needing more.
His hands explored my body, cupping my breast and rolling a nipple between his fingers, and I arched into his hand. Then the pad of his thumb found my clit, massaging in slow, tantalizing circles. Heat pooled, and I squirmed against him, craving friction, needing him to fill me. I trailed my hand over the hard ridges of his abdomen then gripped his hard length and gently squeezed, tearing a guttural moan from him. Power surged through me, and I lined him up against my entrance. His hand found my hip, the other spreading the slick wetness of my desire over the sensitive bundle of nerves, causing me to lose all sense of control I’d thought I had.
I sank lower, reveling in how my body stretched and squeezed him and in how it felt so incredibly full. Rocking my hips, I set a slow, sensual rhythm, my breath coming faster. I arched into him as he pressed against my core. He gripped my hips with both hands, increasing the rhythm, each thrust more powerful than the last. Pressure built in me, and I clung to him, urging him to go faster, harder. I would never get enough of him or what he did to me.
My body shook with need as I balanced precariously on the edge, desperate to fall over into bliss. “Nico, please.” I didn’t recognize my breathy voice, my body shaking with need. Perspiration beaded along my hairline, and waves of ecstasy flooded every hypersensitive nerve ending in my body as he masterfully played my body like a fine instrument.
“You drive me crazy, Mia.” His deep voice rasped against my heated skin. “I’m never letting you go.”
His words struck a chord deep inside me, and my head fell back as stars burst behind my eyelids in cresting waves. His movements increased as he chased my climax with his own.
My body was limp, spent, and exhausted as he trailed unhurried kisses along my neck. A whimper escaped my lips as he withdrew from inside, and I missed the fullness immediately.
He lifted me, pulled back the covers, then lay me on the mattress before climbing in beside me, pulling me to him so that my head rested on his shoulder, and I tangled my legs with his. I never thought I would have such a connection to a man, and I was never letting Nico go.
He pulled the sheet and duvet over us, and I snuggled closer. His fingers trailed circles along my arm as our heartbeats regulated and slowed.
“I think I knew you could be the one the moment I turned around to find you standing there on the beach, aiming a gun at my chest.” Nico broke the easy silence between us. “There was this connection—it’s hard to explain, but it grew stronger with each day we spent together.”
I tilted my head back to see his expression then smiled. “I know what you mean. I felt it too.” It was different, nothing I’d ever experienced before. Special.
“Our life won’t be easy. But it’ll be full of passion. And Mia”—he brushed a few strands of my hair from my cheek—“know that I’ll fight for you until the bitter end.”
I couldn’t stop the tears from welling in my eyes. For a girl who’d never meant more than a means to an end, a bargaining chip for power once my mom had died, what he said meant more to me than he could ever know. With that passionate statement, he’d told me I was worth fighting for, that I mattered. “Thank you.”
Nico leaned in and kissed my temple, whispering against my heated skin, “I love you, Mia.”
I moaned at the sweetness of how he touched me, physically and emotionally. “I love you too.” When my head stopped spinning from how he made me feel, I finished what I wanted to say. “And thank you for taking a chance and agreeing to marry me.”
In a low growl, he said, “It was easily the best decision I ever made.” Then he grazed his lips over mine until I opened for him. I knew then that I wouldn’t have changed a single second of my life, as it had brought me to this very moment.
The End
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