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“Mmm. Like?” she manages.
I change the angle of the kiss to deepen it and swipe my tongue along hers, tasting her. “You’re going to have to go for lessons to learn how to properly aim. And yes, I’ll be grading you. Sitting in on the meeting is a must, as well. To bring you up to speed on what we’re doing.”
Isabella moans, stepping closer to press her breasts to mine, her uninjured arm draped over my neck.
“Oh, and you’re moving out of the house.”
She stills at that. “Excuse me?”
“We’re going to have to find our own place. I’m not sure there’s room enough for you and me in this house, not when we take your attitude into account.”
She pauses only a moment longer before facing an outraged squawk, and I bury my smile in the crook of her neck. “You know, a normal person would ask their partner if they want to move in together,” she replies. “Hell, I’m not even your partner.”
I chuckle darkly. “What gives you the impression you’re not my partner? I told you I loved you.”
“Yeah, and talk is cheap. I need to see some action out of you if we’re going to actually do this. Otherwise, for all I know, you'll tell me you love me until I have a humpback and gray hair, and I’ll still be living at home with my parents.”
I shift her suddenly, her back gently pressing to the tile wall. “Woman, I haven’t had a chance to give you action yet. Although if you keep kissing me, I’m sure I’ll be able to rouse.” I jerk my hips against her, my cock semi-hard despite my exhaustion. “I want you to be my partner. For life, for love, for whatever bullshit comes our way. You have to know I’m never going to let you go.”
I reach for her with exaggerated sweetness, kissing her forehead, her nose, her cheeks.
“Whatever it takes to show you I’m serious, I’ll do.”
“For now, let me bask in this for a little while. Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted this, Ricardo? It feels like a dream. Like I’m going to wake up at any second and find myself right back in a world where you don’t want me.”
“I’ve always wanted you. The want has never been the problem between us.”
“The kindest thing you can do is tell me this is real,” she insists.
“This is real.” I brush my nose against hers before kissing the tip. “It’s very real. And I’m serious about moving in together as well. It’s the best way for me to be able to keep an eye on you. And I’ll personally oversee your education.” I rear back to smile at her. “You’ll have no better teacher.”
The icy chill in my blood finally thaws, and it’s all because of her. Her presence in my life and what it means to be here in this moment together. I’ll give her whatever she needs as long as she stays. Because Isabella Balestra brought me to life. Not even resurrected me from the dead because I can’t remember a time in the past when I felt so vivacious, so utterly joyful, as I do when I’m with her.
“Are you going to teach me how to burn people alive?” she asks.
Rearing back, I scan her face. “Did it really upset you? Knowing what we did to him?”
Her lips tweak. “No. I’m probably a horrible person because of it, but I wanted him to suffer, and there’s no greater punishment for him.”
We break away from each other to get to the actual business of the shower. We scrub soap along our limbs, sending the dirt and blood of the day sluicing down the drain and out of sight.
Tomorrow, there will be time for a meeting while we go over the plans for our next steps. Drago’s empire might be subdued tonight, but no doubt, in the coming weeks, someone or multiple someones will come out of the woodwork to either take a stand or to avenge him.
When they do, we will have to be ready.
Tonight, however, there is only me and Isabella.
We lie on top of the sheets, still dripping wet and wrapped around each other. And there’s no hesitation when I tell her I love her. No hesitation when she responds with the same, kissing me, looking at me with all the affection clear in her eyes. There is no one else for me, and there never will be.
I’ve spent my adult life looking for her in everyone I met and deluding myself into thinking that temporary pleasures would take the place of this very real connection.
It was time to stop running.
I’d found my home with her.
She fits perfectly at my side, her head to my heart, and our legs entwined together.
“You’ll let me pick the place,” she whispers in the comforting dark, her voice colored with sleep. “When we start looking for a house together, you’ll let me pick. I have a better eye for these things.”
