Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
She shook her head. “My choice, dumbass.”
“But shouldn’t—”
She kissed me into silence, then grabbed both of my hands and put them on her breasts like I didn’t know what to do, so plump, soft, I angled my head and kissed her deeper, pressing her up against the counter while she slid a hand into my briefs and tugged them down.
I cursed against her mouth, pulling free long enough to kick them away and devour her until I tasted all of her.
She kissed me the way she liked to fight me, with every ounce of energy she had, fighting for dominance while I picked her up and walked us back toward the bed.
I set her down on the blankets, refusing to break away from her mouth as she lay back and took me with her. Our hands tangled and our tongues matched like we wanted to be wrapped up in one another.
Heart pounding, I reached between us, swallowing her moan with my lips, keeping each sound with me like a stolen gift.
Panting, she pulled back from me, sliding her hand between us, batting mine away and gripping me, then guiding me to her entrance. “Ciao, Ivan.”
“Is this hello or goodbye?” I was afraid to ask.
“Hello.” A tear ran down her cheek. “Goodbye isn’t in that definition of ciao, I looked it up.”
“Did you now?”
“Yup, they updated it.”
“And you noticed that in that book you were reading upside down earlier, hmmm?”
“It may look old, but it has a lot of secrets.” She kissed me and held me so close that it was impossible not to move.
“Mmm…” I kissed down her jaw. “This is going to hurt at first.”
“I’m not worried.”
“Why?”
“Because”–she cupped my face with both hands—“I trust you—I trust you with me.”
I shoved forward, she let out a pained gasp. I went completely still. “Are you okay?”
She kissed me instead of answering; I moved as slow as I could, with each thrust I felt her relaxing more and more until she pulsed around me. I could feel it like my own release. I leaned down and tugged her ear with my teeth and whispered, “Ciao, Bella.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“Always be ready for the worst-case scenarios, they happen more than you realize. It’s not always a happily ever after, oftentimes, it’s a funeral.” —King Campisi
Bella
I was full. Full of him.
I didn’t want him to leave. He kept kissing me, kept moving, and when his body shook over mine, all I saw was his beauty and dedication to me. No matter what, he had been loyal to me. He’d taken care of me, regardless of what could or would happen to him.
He sacrificed for his Family.
For mine.
For me.
He wasn’t the hero people expected; he was the villain everyone needed.
His head lowered, his dark hair covering part of his bright eyes in a way that made him look even more mysterious, while his biceps flexed on either side of my body as he held himself over me. “What?”
“You’re pretty.”
He snorted out a laugh. “Wow, sex and compliments? Sign me up.”
“New rule,” I said. “You know, after we get out of all of this without dying and saving the world.”
“Naturally.”
“…Always say hello and goodbye. No matter what.”
“Every day?”
“Every day. I want my days to start with Ciao Bella, and I want them to end with Ciao Bella.”
He kissed me on the nose. “As long as I’m alive, I promise.”
“So, stay alive.”
“Not really keen on dying, Bella, but what’s one small sacrifice to save the many, you know? I mean, I wish I could be that guy who’s all ‘burn the world, I’ll just save her.’ But that’s a romantic idea that, in the end, I can’t stand beside. Too many people have already died, so if it happens to me, don’t think I went out all sad, think of it like a celebration. Think of it, like winning.”
“But I’d be losing.”
“But everyone else would be winning.” He pointed out, eyes sad. “Your dad, your mom, your sister, Bam-Bam, we can’t let this person gain even more of a foothold in the Family, they’re obviously powerful enough to try.”
I took a deep breath. “Let’s eat, then come back to bed.”
“To cuddle?”
“Yes.” I laughed. “I’m going to cuddle you so hard you get me pregnant.”
He quickly looked away. “Nothing, it’s nothing, just, the past never really stays there, does it?”
“Meaning?”
“It can’t help but repeat. It really can’t.”
We didn’t talk about it during our quick meal, or when we were tangled in bed again, kissing, and touching, laughing and living.
He distracted me so much I forgot to ask why that would make him think that the past was repeating itself. Why his words felt familiar.
And when his phone finally went off, while we were eating, I knew, I knew it was time.
I just wasn’t sure if it was a hello or goodbye.