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“You. It belongs to you.”
He grins, satisfaction behind his amber eyes. “Come for me, baby.”
His words are a trigger that sends me tumbling toward release. Sparks burn hot behind my eyelids as the pressure explodes. I come so hard, my ears ring, and I struggle to catch my breath. The only thing holding me up is Christian. If he moved away, I’m pretty sure I would fall over.
“Sei cossi bella,” he says softly.
That’s another word I understand in Italian.Bella. He just called me beautiful. My heart closes up and the motion is so painful, I shut my eyes for a moment. My eyes flutter open to find his on me. His breathing is uneven and his gaze is filled with something soft and dark, something I’m not sure I want to understand. I look away and the spell is broken and the air is filled with a sudden coldness.
Neither of us moves or makes a sound. Then Christian clears his throat and steps away. Thankfully, my limbs are already functional. I manage to pull my dress down, hoping my cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. I don’t recognize the expression on Christian’s face. His eyes are carefully blank, bypassing all emotion.
But if there’s anything this has taught me, it’s that he cares. Deep down, he cares. And maybe he dislikes that. But I’m not against hoping that it could mean something for us.
“Can I ask you something?” I question softly.
“You’re going to ask regardless of what I say,tesoro,” he replies, his voice gravelly.
I swallow softly before speaking. “When I graduated college I had a plan. I realize now that it’s a plan that’s never going to happen. But I had high hopes.”
“What was your plan?”
“Traveling abroad for a year. Going to Venice, Rome, just painting and looking for inspiration. I was going to explore Europe and when I came back, I was hoping to have painted enough to have my own exhibition.”
“Like you said, that’s not possible anymore. Nice plan, though.”
“But it could be,” I hedge. “You could let me go. One year, Christian. And then I’ll come back to you.”
His eyes are simmering now, heat and anger in their brown depths. “You’re not going anywhere, Daniella. You’re my fiancée. The entire state of New York knows we’re fucking engaged.”
“But I won’t be in New York. I’ll be a thousand miles away on another continent.”
“No! You’ll be a thousand miles away from me as well. I won’t be able to keep you safe.”
“Why are you so scared of relinquishing control?”
His eyes narrow. “I’m not scared of anything.”
“Well, I call bullshit. The only reason you won’t let me leave is because it would drive you crazy that I wouldn’t be anywhere near you and you wouldn’t be able to boss me around as you wish. You don’t own me, Christian.”
He smiles. It’s a sardonic smile, cruel, biting.
“I seem to remember you saying you were mine while my fingers were inside you and you were screaming my name.”
My heart stops. I can’t believe he’s already using what just happened against me. My fists clench as I look at him.
If you go low, I go lower.
I take a deep breath, my gaze never leaving his.
“That’s just something I said so you would get me off faster. I had to stroke your ego somehow. After all, nothing we say during sex is real. Just meaningless words in the height of passion.”
And just like that, every single thing we’ve done, everything that’s led up to this moment between us is unraveled. Christian doesn’t say a word. He adjusts the cuffs of his shirt, tries to fix the mess I’ve made of his hair. When he realizes that’s impossible, he walks out of my room. And he doesn’t look back once.
When he’s gone, I take a seat on my bed, staring into nothingness for the longest time. And wondering what the hell just happened.
CHAPTER16
Christian
