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)
“I want you to become proficient at using a gun.”
“Excellent. Yes. I’ve always wanted to be a badass heroine in a movie,” she says. “But I didn’t want to bring it up because I thought you would refuse.”
“You’re a badass heroine in my movie.”
“Really?” She perks up. “I have one request.”
“The answer is no.”
She bursts into laughter. “You didn’t even ask what it is.”
“Because I can see you’re about to set me up. So, no.”
“Wuss.”
“Who you calling wuss?” I slip my hand between her thighs, and her fingers tighten around the strands of my hair.
Slowly, my fingers crawl up her leg until I reach her folds. She’s already wet and ready for me. I flick her clit gently, and she purrs, her eyes slowly drifting close. I spread her legs apart and sink one finger into her, groaning when she whimpers, her mouth parting as my name falls sweetly from her lips.
“Valentino,” she begs. “Please.”
I’m tempted to undress and sink into her, but once that happens, we will not leave the room today. To make it better, I bury my head between her legs and suck her clit into my mouth. She screams, tugging my hair so hard it hurts.
Her juices run down my chin, and I run my tongue across her folds, sucking as much of her as I can into my mouth. She tastes divine, and I can feast on her every day for the rest of my life. I enjoy the way she writhes beneath me, and her little moans are like little shots of concentrated pleasure, going straight into my head and intoxicating me until my single purpose is to bring her maximum pleasure.
When I reach up to tweak her nipples through the silk fabric of her nightdress, she explodes. I lap all of her until there’s nothing left. I kiss the insides of her thigh before pulling myself up to stare at her face. There’s a faint pink flush on her skin, and I want to kiss her everywhere until I’m branded onto her skin, but there’s no time for that.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asks with a giggle.
“Do you have workout wear?” I ask.
She frowns. “Yes. Why?”
“Get up, baby.” I slap her butt. “Your first self-defense class starts right now.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
FRANCESCA
Valentino has always been soft with me, but during our workout this morning, he was anything but. I don’t know whether to be offended that he went so hard or impressed that he did.
“How do you feel?” he asks as we jog up the stairs.
I smile sweetly at him. “Like bashing your head against the wall.”
“Good.”
“My body hurts,” I groan. “As a coach, you should know that it’s different for first-timers. I’ve never done this before.”
“Trust me, I went easy.” We go into our bedroom, and he heads straight for the bathroom.
“I’ll run a cold shower to soothe your muscles.”
“Thank you,” I say sarcastically.
My phone beeps in my pocket, and I take it out just as Valentino peeks out the bathroom door. “The cold shower is ready,” he says. “Come here.”
“Okay.” I glance at the screen. “I’m—” The words freeze in my throat as I read the text from Thomas.
I miss you.
A couple of weeks back such a message would have made me breathless with excitement. But right now, all I feel is anger. He never fought for me and now that I’m trying to build a life without him, he intrudes into it with messages that a lover would send to his love.
“Are you okay, bella?” Valentino asks.
I almost fling my phone away with guilt. Quickly, I plaster a bright smile onto my face. “Yes. I’m okay.”
He doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t argue.
Keeping the mad smile on my face I walk to the shower. As I stand under the rush of warm water, different questions flit through my mind. Should I delete the text? What if Valentino finds out? Should I show it to Valentino? Should I even respond to Thomas?
The truth is that I don’t miss Thomas. In fact, I haven’t even thought about him for days.
By the time I leave the bathroom with Valentino, I’ve decided to delete the text. I’m more scared of what will happen if Valentino finds out and misconstrues it than what Thomas will think if I don’t respond.
I’m married now, and I want to make it work. No man, not my father, or my grandfather has ever treated me with so much care and intentionality as Valentino does.
“What is it?” I turn to see Valentino on the phone, his pants unbuttoned around the waist. He sounds harsh, but when our gazes meet, his eyes instantly soften, then he smiles at me before he turns away.
“Can Federico handle it?” he barks into the phone. There’s a pause before he speaks again. “I’m on my way.”