She lifted the object in her hand, and when it sparkled, I realized it was a ring. The ring I’d bought for her that she’d left sitting on my dresser.
“Would you marry me again, Luciano Salvatici? I promise this time, I won’t try to run away.”
I could barely breathe. This woman had brought me to my knees once before. In Venice, after I’d been a complete and utter jackass and tried to push her out of my life. Then she’d given me her body. But tonight...tonight she was giving me everything. Not just her body, but her unfailing trust. And the power of that trust—the love that fueled it—buckled my legs and dropped me to my knees in front of her.
“Natalie...” I reached for her, cupping her face again, tugging her gently toward me, pressing my forehead to hers as her love spun around me like a vortex, so pure, so warm, so perfect, exactly like her. “Oh, angioletto.” I kissed her, holding her so close, she became part of me. Part of everything I was and ever would be. “Ti amo di più.” I kissed her again, trembling from the love I felt for her, from the raw certainty that this was meant to last. And that I would prove that to her until my dying breath.
I brushed the hair back from her face with both hands and looked down at her. “I should be asking you that question.”
“Well, you kind of skipped that part last time, so I figured...one of us should ask it.”
The smile I heard in her voice tugged one side of my lips up. “I did, didn’t I?”
When she nodded, I pressed my lips to hers, very gently, then tilted her face up so her eyes met mine. “I didn’t know what love was until you came into my life. I thought it was a fairy tale. Something intangible found only in books. I certainly never learned it from my parents. But you changed all that. You changed everything with your mesmerizing smile and your sweet, unfailing compassion. You taught me how to love, and you saved me. You saved me from something I never wanted to be. Every single day you make me want to be better than I am. I’m nothing without you, Natalie.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “Marry me, angioletto. Be my wife, for real this time. Say yes, and I will spend eternity proving to you that this love—you and me—is all that matters. Say you’ll be only mine forever.”
“Oh, Luc.” She lifted her soft fingers to my face and skimmed them over the stubble on my jaw. “Everything I am, everything inside me, it’s already yours. I gave you my heart long before I ever realized I had. And I don’t want it back. I want you. I want us. It might have taken my head a while to catch up with my heart, but I already know our love is the only thing in this world that matters. And everything I’ve always dreamt of.”
Her lips lifted to mine, and as she wrapped her arms around my neck and drew me into the heat and life of her warm, wet mouth, I lost myself in her. I lost everything in her, never needing to be found again. This woman, this amazing, strong, beautiful woman who had captivated me from the very start, wore her courage like a crown, and tonight—finally—she’d become my queen. My queen, my life, my soul...the very heart of me.
“Is that a yes?” I mumbled against her lips, not wanting to let her go even for a second, even to answer, but suddenly needing—aching—to hear that one little word.
“Sì.” She laughed, the sound tickling my mouth and sending a rush of warmth straight into my chest. “Yes. Forever and ever, yes.”
“Grazie a Dio.” I took the ring from her hand, slid it over her tattoo—right back where it belonged—then pushed to my feet and lifted her in my arms. “Hold on to me, angioletto. I need to get you off this dock and into a bed.”
“I’m on a dock?” Her fingernails dug into my shoulders, and her body tensed as she wrapped her legs around me.
I turned toward the shore with a chuckle. “You love me so much you didn’t even realize you were out over water?”
“I clearly lost my mind.”
Smiling, I stepped off the dock and onto the grass. “Clearly. If you chose me.”
She tightened her arms around my shoulders and slid one hand up into my hair, flexing her body against mine as I walked. “I’ll always choose you, polpetto.”
A laugh erupted from my chest at her word choice, and I pressed my fingers against her ribs as she kissed me. “I’m a meatball now, huh?”
She giggled and squirmed in my arms. “Did I call you a meatball? My Italian needs work. I meant to say patatino.”
“Little potato isn’t an improvement.” I tickled her again.
She shrieked and twisted, shifting her center off balance, causing my hold on her to slip. Realizing she was going down, I quickly twisted and grabbed her so I fell back in the grass and she landed on top of me.
She shifted her weight to her knees. “Are you all right?”
Was I all right? I’d never been better. I lifted one hand to her cheek, then slid my fingers into her hair and tugged her mouth down to mine. “I will be when you kiss me.”
She sighed and pressed her mouth to mine, and I opened, sliding my tongue between her lips to taste her all over again.
Heat and life. I groaned as she invaded my senses and her sweet body stretched out on mine in the moonlight. She was everything I’d never wanted and the only thing I couldn’t live without. And part of me still couldn’t believe she’d come back. That she’d chosen me.
She kissed me deeper. Pressed the heat between her sexy legs right over my aching cock. Groaning, I rocked up against her, desperate to feel all of her against me, to slide inside her, to make her mine all over again.
“Mm, Luc...” Her fingertips clawed at my shirt, tugged it from my waistband, then worked the buttons free as she kissed me again and again. “I need you. Right now.”
God, I needed to her too. Couldn’t wait. I wrapped both arms around her waist and pushed up to sitting while she continued to drive me mad with her lips. “Condoms are inside. Just have to get there.”
“Uh-uh.” She let go of me, wriggled out of her sweater, and tossed it on the grass beside us. Gripping my face in her hands, she kissed me again and said, “I want you naked. Right here. I don’t want to wait.”
This woman had already rocked my world. But here on the grass in the moonlight, she absolutely melted every part of me. “Are you sure?”
Her soft fingertip trailed down my cheek, leaving a line of heat in its wake. “Absolutely. I trust you. Completely.”
We both knew she wasn’t talking about pregnancy or her health or even her safety. She was trusting me with her heart, something part of me hadn’t ever truly thought she’d trust me with after all the ways I’d deceived her.
My vision blurred with all the emotions swirling inside me. “I love you, angioletto. I love you more than you will ever know.”
“Show me.” She shifted her hips back, just enough so she could reach between us, flick the button at my waist free, and slide her hand into my pants.
I groaned as she wrapped her warm fingers around my cock and stroked. Sucked in a breath when she did it again.
My hands rushed to the hem of her short dress and jerked it up her hips. While she continued to kiss me, to taunt me with her tight grip, I reached between her legs, found the scrap of her thong, and ripped it in two.
“Cazzo,” I breathed against her lips. “Stop teasing me and take me already.”
She pushed my pants farther down my hips, freeing my cock completely. Cool air washed over me, then heat was all I felt as she straddled my aching length. Heat and the slick, wet grip of her pussy as she lowered and took me in.
“Ah, sì.” I flexed my hips, driving myself deeper inside her, groaning at how perfect she felt. Bare. Skin to skin. Nothing between us. “Dammelo, angioletto. You are so fucking beautiful.”
“Luc...” She tightened around me, lifted and lowered, driving me mad with every slide and contraction of her slippery core. Her hot breath fanned my lips. “More. I want more.”
I wanted more too. Wrapping one arm around her waist, I held her close, thrusting higher every time she came down on me, striking that spot so far inside
I knew made her wild.
She groaned and tossed her head back, riding me faster. I kissed the sexy column of her throat, sank my teeth into her sweet skin, then suckled. Her pussy spasmed around my length, and she groaned long and deep, then gripped both sides of my face and kissed me. Hard. “Oh, yes. That’s the spot. Right there. Love me right there.”
All my focus zeroed in on that one command. On her, so tight and wet and mine.
I flipped her to her back, shoved her knees to her chest, and plunged inside her again and again, getting as deep as I possibly could, wanting to fill her completely—not just her body, but her mind, her heart, even her soul.
“Come for me, angioletto.” I kissed her, driving deep again and again, adding the pressure of my thumb right over her clit. “Come all around me. Take me with you.”
She groaned, wrapped her legs around my hips, and lifted every time I thrust. “I will,” she said, kissing me. “I will with you. Only with you.”
She gripped me so tight, I knew I wasn’t going to last. Tingles rushed down my spine and gathered in my balls. Unable to hold back, I flicked my thumb faster against her swollen clit. “Sto per venire,” I mumbled against her lips. “Come with me, Natalie. Come now...”
Pleasure ignited in my balls and erupted through my cock, sending a shock wave of ecstasy through my entire body. I rode the wave, continuing to thrust hard and deep inside her, and, seconds later, it hit her, causing her entire body to contract around mine and a scream to echo from her throat.
We were both sweaty and breathless when I collapsed against her. Gathering her in my arms, I rolled us to our sides. The cool grass tickled my cheek but the only thing I could feel was her slick channel still twitching around me and her hot, sexy breath rushing over my neck while she sucked in air and blew it out.
“What are you thinking?” she asked softly.
I brushed the hair back from her face and trailed my fingers down her delicate spine. “I was thinking it’s amazing how fast things can change. A few short hours ago everything seemed—”
“Hopeless?”
She’d just done it again. She’d crawled inside my mind and figured me out before I’d even realized what I was thinking.
Easing back, I looked down at her in the moonlight, awed and mesmerized by this woman. And completely fucking humbled that she loved me in spite of every one of my flaws.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “And empty. And now, thanks to you, I’ve been given a second chance.”
“We have a second chance,” she said, brushing her thumb over my bottom lip until it tingled. “You’re not the only one who made mistakes, Luc. I did too. I didn’t trust you when I should have. I won’t make that mistake again. This is our chance to do it right.”
God, I loved her. I didn’t deserve her, but now that she’d come back, I wasn’t about to let her go for anything. “A do over?”
“Yeah.” A mischievous smile curled her lips. “And speaking of do overs...” Sliding her arms around my neck, she drew my close and kissed me, rubbing her nearly naked body against mine all over again. “We definitely need to do that over.”
I chuckled. “Sex?”
“No-condom sex. That was way better than I thought it would be.”
My blood warmed. “No kidding. I’m getting hard again just thinking about how good it was. You’re lucky I didn’t know about that before.”
She pushed a hand against my chest, shoving me to my back in the grass as she braced herself on her elbow and looked down at me. “Are you saying that was your first time?”
I smiled, recognizing the victory in her eyes, loving that I’d been able to give her that. “First time ever, angioletto. I think that officially makes me yours.”
She bit her lip, glanced at my mouth, then looked back up to my eyes with a heat that told me she wasn’t the least bit sated. Not even close. “You are mine, Luc. All mine.” She climbed over me and kissed me. “Take me inside and I’ll prove it to you all night.”
I groaned against her mouth. She didn’t need to prove anything. She’d already given me more than I could have ever expected.
She’d just given me a future. And I would never let anything tear us apart again.
Chapter Twenty-One
Natalie
A whisper soft brush against my nape roused me from sleep. Drawing in a deep breath, I snuggled into my pillow, then smiled when that brush moved to the side of my neck and I felt Luc’s tempting lips press a kiss right below my ear.
“Wake up, sleepy,” he whispered. “You can’t spend all day here in bed.”
I reached for his hand at my hip and pulled it against my chest, tugging him tighter to my back. “You wore me out last night. I need my beauty sleep.”
He chuckled in my ear, and unable to resist, I rolled the other direction and curled up against his chest, then pressed my face to his neck and inhaled his spicy masculine scent. “Mm.” I licked a spot on his throat, then bit down gently. “You taste good.”
A low growl rumbled in his chest as his hand slid to my lower spine, and he pulled me close. “Keep that up and I might get back in this bed with you.”
I eased away and looked at him, realizing he wasn’t naked the way he’d been when we’d finally made it to the bed and fallen asleep wrapped around each other. His hair was damp at the edges, telling me he’d showered, and he was wearing a dark blue button down rolled up to his forearms and open at his chest. I looked down to discover he wasn’t even under the covers with me. The blanket was separating our legs, and his were most definitely covered by a pair of taupe slacks.
Alarm immediately registered because he hadn’t said anything about having to go back to his family today. I’d hoped maybe we could have one day alone together before the craziness of his world consumed us again.
Pushing against him, I sat up and dragged the sheet to my chest with one hand while I brushed back my unruly curls with the other. “Are you leaving already? What’s going on?”
He sat up next to me and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Only for an hour. I have to go pick up the priest.”
“What priest?”
Grinning, he brushed the hair over my shoulder and kissed me, right behind my ear, right where he knew it drove me absolutely wild. “The one who’s going to marry us.”
“We’re doing that today?”
His smile widened. “You bet your ass we’re doing it today. I’m not giving you any reason to change your mind.”
He swung his legs over the side of the mattress, grabbed something from the foot of the bed, then came around to my side. “It’s already after ten, sleepy, so come on. I’ve got things to do and you do as well.” He held up my robe so I could slip my arms through the sleeves. “Bianca’s in the other room waiting for you.”
I tugged the light blue silk robe around me and swung my legs off the side of the bed. “Bianca who?”
Luc moved to the dresser. “Bianca Ciccone.”
My eyes widened as I stood and tied the sash at my waist. “From the Bandini fashion house?” Luc had introduced me to Bianca in Rome over a month ago when we’d been meeting with designers for Covet. “What is she doing here?”
“I called her. Told her we were getting married. She was more than thrilled to help out.”
I must have looked as stupefied as I felt, because Luc smiled, crossed back to me, and said, “Trust me. She picked some really great gowns for you.”
I didn’t doubt that. The dress Bianca had picked for me to wear to the Cipriani party in Rome had knocked Luc’s socks off. The night I’d worn it had been the first night we’d spent together but... “I don’t need a wedding gown. I don’t need anything fancy. When I asked you to marry me, I just meant—”
“I know exactly what you meant, angioletto. But I want to do this the right way. It’s important to me. To us. Let me handle the details. All I want you to do is relax, pick your gown, and let Bianca’s crew pamper you.”
Still in complete shock, I loo
ked up at him in the sunlight shining through the windows of our bedroom, all handsome and perfect and mine. “But your family—”
“The family that matters to me will be here today. Don’t worry.” He pressed his lips against mine, soft and swift and gone way too fast. Then he grinned, and his smile was so sweet, so happy, so full of excitement, it erased all the stress and worry I’d seen on his face the last few weeks and made him ten thousand times more handsome than I ever remembered.
“Here.” He slid a small rectangular box into my hands.
Still dazed by all the wedding news, I looked down at the purple box with its pretty white bow and said, “What’s this?”
“Early wedding present. Or late, depending how you look at it. Open it.”
I tugged the top off and stared dumbfounded at the cell phone inside. My cell phone.
Confused, I pulled it out and hit the power button. The screen flashed and booted up. “You’ve had this the whole time?”
“You left it in Tuscany. I didn’t want my family to find it. I planned to give it back to you sooner than this, but, well...” He scratched the back of his head. “Things were complicated.”
Meaning, he’d been afraid I’d try to call for help. Which, considering how angry and irrational I’d been, I probably would have done. And that would have put dozens of other people in danger.
“And before you go thinking I invaded your privacy,” he said quickly, “I didn’t. When I plugged it in when we were on the island, it downloaded dozens of texts, the last of which was from your mother. I didn’t look at anything else.”
Understanding dawned. That was why he’d made me leave that message for my mom. Not to scare or intimidate me as I’d foolishly assumed, but because he’d known she was worried.
“I know it’s too short notice for her to get here today,” he said softly, “but I thought you might want to call her.”