“And you’ve chosen me every day since. When I stood at that altar beside you, and we said our vows, I thought I knew what it meant. I thought it was about survival. In some ways, it was… but it was also real.”
Something in my chest shifted. I swallowed as she stepped closer, slowly enough that I could see her fingers dancing against her sides before she forced them to relax. The fact that she was nervous only made me want to dive for her even more.
“I was afraid of you in that church, not just because of what you coulddo… but because of what falling in love with you would cost me.”
She stopped a step away from me, and I had to physically hold myself back from reaching for her. This was her moment, and I could see how important it was for her to say this, so I had to willingly give up control and let her have it.
“Being together isn’t easy. Or simple. But it is real.” She placed her hand on my chest, and I covered it with mine before I could stop myself. It was as if she knew I needed the physical touch to anchor her to me. “You live in a world that takes and takes… but you never took from me. You carried everything. You held the weight of every choice just to keep me safe. And I need you to know that I choose you, knowing and loving every part of you. I don’t need you to ever change for me.”
My heart thundered uncontrollably as I stared into her eyes, feeling more seen and accepted in that moment than I ever had in my life.
“So we may have said our vows in that church, but these are my promises to you. I promise never to run when it gets hard. I promise I won’t make you carry everything alone. I promise to stand beside you, to be yours forever, even when it’s dangerous. I’m not standing here as your wife because I have to. I’m here because there’s nowhere else I would want to be.”
She leaned into me, and I lowered my forehead to hers.
“I choose you, Santino Buccini. Today and every day for the rest of my life.”
There were a thousand things I could have said, but none of them felt enough. So I kissed her instead. She melted into the kiss, surrendering to every caress of our tongues as we moaned. I held her tighter, my hand travelling down her back and moulding her against me.
“Come over here,” she whispered against my lips, then broke the kiss to pull me over to the fireplace, where she’d laid out a bed of blankets and cushions, with some wine and cheese.
“There’s more?”
“Of course. As I said, it’s my turn to look after you tonight.” She smiled, pulled me down to the floor, and fed me a square of cheese as I grinned back.
Nothing excited me more than that smile, the one that showed mischief hiding behind innocence. Guns, fast bikes, torturing assholes, closing a lucrative deal used to excite me, but now it all came second to the way this woman made me feel. I leaned into her, brushing my lips against the delicate curve of her neck and pressing a soft kiss there.
Before I could take it any further, she pushed me back, forcing me away. “Do you think you can give up a little control tonight?”
I raised my eyebrow as I took a sip of wine to hide the shit-eating grin on my face. “Hm, I don’t know. It will be… hard.”
She smirked, glancing down at my already semi-hard cock as she slowly ran her hands up my torso beneath my suit jacket to my shoulders. Then she started to peel it down my arms.
“I’m sure I can find a way to help you relax and…” She brushed her lips against my ear. “...let go.”
I licked my lips as she began to undress me, undoing my shirt buttons with painful slowness and then reaching for my belt. I inhaled, leaning back on my hands and letting myself enter unknown territory. To me, control meant safety, and giving it up made me feel more vulnerable than I ever had. But the sultry look in her eyes was worth it.
When she had me stripped to my boxers while she was still wearing that stunning dress, my restraint slipped. I reached for her, pulling her to me, trying to capture her lips, but she threw her head back and giggled.
“You are so impatient!”
“I just want you,” I growled, grabbing her hips and forcing her to straddle me. She shoved me in the chest until I fell back against the cushions, and I groaned at the view that gave me.
“And you’ll have me,” she husked, running her finger down the centre of my chest. “If you’re a good boy.”
I let out a quiet huff of amusement. “I’ve never been a good boy.”
Her lips curved as she looked down at me.
“Maybe you’ve never wanted the reward badly enough.”
I grabbed her hips and pressed my rock-hard cock against her clit, showing her just how badly I wanted it.
She giggled and climbed off me, reaching for a bottle of scented oil. “Roll over.”
She might have been right, because for the first time in my life the reward of being good seemed worth it. Even though I hated it, because it meant I couldn’t see her anymore, I did what she asked. Then she straddled my hips again, and her oiled hands swept over my back, and I was transported to heaven.
“You’re giving me a massage?” I mumbled into the pillow as she began rolling her thumbs into my shoulders.
