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The two go together, despite the fact that they aren't supposed to.
Like Axel and me. He swept into my life with the force of a hurricane and turned my world upside down. And now that I have found myself again, I find that I have changed. He’s helped me find a more assertive side of myself—a woman who feels more grounded, more confident. Somehow, meeting him helped me realize that I know what I want out of life.
I want him. I want my business to flourish. I want to grow my brand so it’s the best in all of Europe. I want my shop to be the destination for flowers and flower arrangements in my part of the world, if not globally. Big dreams for a girl who grew up in the Mafia and never thought she’d have a chance to spread her wings and explore her talent. But that’s how being with Axel makes me feel. Free. Free to explore what I want to do with my life. It’s like meeting him gave me a solid base from which to build, a framework to my existence that I had been lacking before and not even realized until he’d come into my life.
This past week has been the happiest I have ever been. We’ve agreed that, for the time being, we’ll stay in Palermo, where it’s safer, since the team guarding the Sovranos can also protect us. This frees up Axel to make the arrangements necessary to create his own security company. There’s also the fact that Freddie is still out there somewhere, and until he is located, it feels prudent to stay close to family. Of course, Axel will travel to London, as needed, to foster the growth of his business, as most of his contacts are in the UK.
I look up and at the painting of the three of them that hangs in the study. The Sovranos had agreed that Axel and Christian could decide what would be done with Xander’s paintings. They had been in agreement that the portrait of the three of them would stay in Xander’s home—now our home, and Axel and I had wanted it in a place where we could look at it every day.
As for the other paintings, the two of them decided they’ll auction them, with the money going to a trust that the Sovranos set up in Xander’s name. The interest earned from the proceedings will be used to fund artists around the world who are talented but need the extra help in getting their art out in the world. Axel and Christian will head up the trust themselves.
A shiver runs down my back. Heat envelops me a second before my husband’s voice reaches me, "I still don’t understand how he could have known that he was one of a triplet." He wraps his arms about my waist and pulls me up and flat against his front. Every ridge, every hard plane of his chest, is imprinted into my back as he tucks my head under his chin. "Do you think he knew?" Axel asks.
"No. I don’t know." I wrap my fingers about his forearm. I love the fact that, even though he's a Sovrano, Axel refuses to dress in formal wear. His preferred style of clothing is a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. I am especially partial to the grey Henley that he is wearing today. I turn my face and rub my cheek against the soft material that clings to his pecs. I breathe in that dark, edgy scent that is so very Axel. Strange, I never noticed what Xander smelled like. Maybe that relationship wasn’t all that I thought it was. Maybe it takes the real thing to let you know how many times you thought something was real but it wasn’t.
Axel's grip around me tightens, "Damn, but I can’t get enough of you, Mrs. Sutton."
Despite officially becoming part of the Sovranos, Axel had also chosen to keep the surname he'd taken after being adopted, and I had taken his surname.
I turn in his embrace and wrap my arms around his waist. "And I, you." I tip up my chin, "I can’t believe how happy I am. Like my life is only just beginning."
"You are my life," he lowers his head and brushes his lips against mine, "my heart, and my everything."
"And that is something I am still getting used to. Who’d have thought that under that mean, alphaholish exterior lies a heart that is secretly romantic?"
"It’s you," he peers into my eyes, "you bring out the best in me, Sunshine."
I lean up on tiptoes and press my lips to his. He tilts his head and deepens the kiss. A moan builds in my throat. My nipples tighten, heat coils low in my belly, and I press up against him, trying to plaster as much of my body to his as I can.
A groan rumbles up his chest. He slides his hands down my back to cup my butt and fit my hips to his. He may talk sweet, but when it comes to the carnal side of our relationship, his dominance seems to have intensified.
He hauls me up against him and the thick, rigid column of his arousal throbs against my core.
"Axel," I moan, as I wriggle to get even closer.
"How about we ditch going to the dinner and stay here and I can fuck you in our bed?"
He kisses me again before I can reply, and by the time he’s pulled away, my head is spinning.
"I know what you are trying to do," I murmur against his lips, "you’re trying to distract me."
"Am I succeeding?"
"Yes… I mean, no. I mean," I pull back and scowl up at him, "we can’t not go. We haven’t seen any of the family in nearly five days."
"Not complaining," he lowers his head and I evade him.
"We have to go, I promised Nonna."
His features harden at that.
"You have to make your peace with her, Axel."
He scowls.
"You know I am right."
"Doesn’t mean I need to do so."
