Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 101247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
“What stage are we at?” I ask.
“We’re at the stage where I fuck you from behind. It’ll hurt, but don’t worry, you’ll like it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
FRANCESCA
Iwake up the following morning smelling of the cocoa butter lotion that Valentino rubbed on my burning skin. My bottom is still sore, but I feel more relaxed than I have in days.
I’m reminded of the reason by the heavy arm draped around my waist. Even asleep, Valentino’s hold on me is tight, like he’s scared I will disappear. A few days back, the fear may have been valid, but right now, it’s not. The thought of leaving him burns a hole through my heart. I tell myself I’m crazy to give myself so completely to him, but somehow, I want this marriage to work. There is something here. Something special. I may be inexperienced, but even I know, this is not normal.
No one I know has this.
An image of Thomas flits through my mind’s eye, and I remember the way he scurried away. A little furry animal saving itself. All I feel is a strange sense of detachment. When Nonno told me I’d be marrying Valentino Barone, I was heartbroken. I promised Thomas I’d end the marriage in two years, and he said he would wait for me. But now that seems so far away, so strange. What man allows his love to marry another man for two freaking years while he waits patiently in the background. The answer is clear. A man that is not in love.
“Hey.”
I turn my head to meet Valentino’s translucent gray eyes. In the morning, they take on a smoky appearance, like rolling fog over a meadow. These are the little things that feed my attraction to this unknowable man.
“Hey,” I smile at him.
“How’s the bottom?” he asks.
“I’ll live.”
He pulls me closer and kisses my lips softly before pressing a chaste one to my forehead. “What were you thinking about?”
There’s no way I’m telling him I was thinking about Thomas, so I waive his question with a joke. “Are you going to give me a penny for my thoughts?”
Valentino sighs heavily. “Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am, but there are no pennies in my wallet.”
I gasp. “A poor Barone? I never thought I’d see this day.”
He laughs, and I climb on top of him. “How come you’re not in a hurry to leave the house today?” I ask. “You’re always rushing to meetings…”
“I have a meeting,” he says, smiling up at me. “But I woke up to my wife’s smile, and now, I don’t want to leave.”
“Yeah right.”
One eyebrow rises. “You don’t believe me?”
“What’s your favorite color?” I ask.
He blinks at the sudden change of subject. “Uhh…gray?”
“You have to be sure,” I giggle.
He hums thoughtfully for a few seconds. “It’s a toss-up between gray and black.”
“Black suits you. Makes you look all dangerous and edible.”
He smiles. “What’s your favorite color? Wait, let me guess. Blue.”
I stare at him surprised. “How do you know that?”
“You wear a lot of blue.”
“I guess I do.”
He studies me for a moment, and I blush under his gaze. “What?”
“Got a question for you.”
“No need to be shy. Go on...”
He reaches up to smooth my hair back from my face in an affectionate gesture that causes my heart to melt. “Why did you drop out of college?”
“How did you know that?”
“It’s not a secret, is it?” he asks softly.
“No, I suppose, it’s not.”
He cocks his head and stares at me for a moment. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
I want to take him up on the offer, but it’ll be hypocritical of me to demand answers from him while withholding mine. After all, it was my idea to get to know each other.
“My father stopped paying my fees,” I say shortly.
“Why?”
I swallow. “Because he thought I was spending too much time with Thomas.”
Valentino’s arm tightens around me. “He shouldn’t have done that, but fuck me, that must be the man’s only saving grace.”
I smack his hand. Laughing, I say, “To be honest, I’m not sorry, either. I hated taking his money for anything. When I was nine years old I even went on a hunger strike because I didn’t want to eat the food his money bought.”
“How did that end?” he asks dryly.
“Principles are a fine thing, but it’s really hard to go to bed hungry when you’re just a child.”
He smiles.
“So we put up with each other but he never really loved me or wanted the best for me and that is why I was so astonished when he left me Terra de Barbiera. While he was alive, he wouldn’t even give me the time of day, but he willed a property worth millions to me. It still shocks me to this day.”
Valentino is silent for a while. Then he kisses my forehead. “A loving father would never have left that property to his daughter.”