She was mine, body, heart, future. And I would burn cities to keep her.
“Yeah,” I said roughly, meeting his gaze without flinching. “I do.”
He didn’t tease me. Smart kid. He just nodded like he understood the weight of it.
We trained for another brutal hour, sparring this time. I pushed him hard but not cruelly, letting him use his speed and agility against my raw power. He landed a solid hit to my ribs that made me grunt in approval.
Pride swelled in my chest, unexpected and sharp.
By the end, he was on the mat, chest heaving, blood trickling from a split lip, but his eyes burned with quiet triumph.
“Not bad,” I told him, offering my hand. He took it, and I pulled him up easily. “You’re starting to hit like you mean it.”
“Thanks… for this,” Matteo said quietly as we cooled down, wiping sweat from his brow. “For letting me stay. For training me like I’m actually part of this. Like family.”
I clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder, feeling the lean muscle already building there. “You’re earning it, kid. Every bruise. Every drop of blood. Keep earning it. This world doesn’t give respect for free.”
We headed downstairs together.
The estate felt unnaturally quiet without Aurora’s sharp tongue slicing through the air or her laughter echoing from another room. She’d been spending more time with Nonna Rosaand the children lately, or locked away in the library pretending to read while she processed everything I’d laid at her feet.
Avoiding me. Avoiding us.
I hated how much I missed her fire.
How my hands itched to pin her down and remind her exactly who she belonged to. How empty the bed felt even when she was in it, because she wasn’t reaching for me anymore.
No more soft whimpers when I cupped her pussy possessively in the night. No more defiant little “I hate you” that always ended with her coming on my cock.
The weight of her silence pressed down on me heavier than any punch Matteo had landed today.
I clenched my jaw as we descended the stairs, my blood still humming with leftover adrenaline and frustration.
Three days of this careful distance was unraveling me faster than any enemy ever could. Aurora was mine, and yet she was slipping through my fingers like smoke.
I would let her have her space tonight. But tomorrow?
Tomorrow I was done waiting. I’d drag her back into my arms, pin her beneath me, and fuck the fear out of her until she remembered exactly who she belonged to. Until she was dripping with my cum and whispering my name like a prayer again. Because running from me had never worked before, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to work now.
Thealertcameatdusk, slicing through the heavy silence like a blade.
My phone buzzed violently against my thigh while I reviewed security feeds in the study. Marco’s voice crackled through the speaker, tight and urgent.
“Intruder on the east perimeter. One of the motion sensors just went dark. Looks professional, clean cut on the feed. No amateur shit. Moving toward the rose garden.”
I was already moving, grabbing the loaded Glock from my desk drawer, chambering a round with a sharp metallic click. “Where’s Aurora?”
“Last check she was in the rose garden with a book. Matteo’s out there too. Said he wanted fresh air after training.”
Fuck.
Adrenaline surged through my veins like liquid fire as I sprinted for the east wing, Marco’s voice continuing in my earpiece. “Second sensor down. He’s inside the wall. Armed. Silenced weapon.”
I burst through the side doors into the sprawling rose garden. The manicured hedges stood tall and fragrant in the fading golden light, blood-red blooms casting long, ominous shadows across the stone paths. It looked peaceful. Serene.
Too fucking serene.
Then I saw her.
