Hold You Against Me (Stripped 4)

His hands tighten, almost reflexively, before loosening. “I would have found you.”

Only he could make a threat sound romantic. “I came, didn’t I? I decided you were worth marrying.”

The corner of his lip quirks up in that reserved way I’ve come to love. “Thanks.”

When I was younger, I longed for freedom as if it were a place. I longed for love as if it were a person. In the end I found both back where I started, with the man who loved me all along. “And plus…this baby will need her father.”

His gaze snaps to mine. “What did you just say?”

“I mean, I don’t know if it’s a girl. It could be a boy.” With the hand not holding my bouquet, I run a palm over my stomach. I haven’t started to show, but I knew I was pregnant before I took the test. “I have this feeling, though.”

Giovanni’s hands shake in mine, and I grasp them firmly. He looks at me, his eyes dark and completely, utterly open. I can see deep into every dream, every hope he hardly dared. I can see the way it shatters him, having everything he ever wanted.

I walked into this church calm and confident. I comforted my sister and smiled at my friends. I could have withstood almost anything except the way this strong man’s eyes glisten with tears.

“No, Gio,” I whisper, my eyes pricked with heat. “Don’t be sad.”

He doesn’t say the obvious answer: I am happy. When you’ve been through what he has, when you’ve experienced that kind of loss, everything is tinged with sadness.

“I can’t…I can’t lose you, bella.” He’s gone completely pale, eyes stark with pain.

He’s faced torture and violence, but the thought of losing me is tearing him apart. And it’s breaking my heart. “You won’t lose me. Or this baby, Gio. We’re here forever. For always.”

The priest’s booming voice cuts in on us. “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

I do. That’s his line, but he’s fighting something deep and dark right now. A lifetime of denial, of grief. That horrible pleasure of having something you know you can’t live without.

There will be more violence in his future, more suffering, because that’s the condition of being human. And of being the head of the Las Vegas mafia operation. But he’ll face that with me by his side, every step of the way. Including here, now.

Without waiting for him to answer, I throw my arms around him. He catches me and holds me to him without hesitation, as if this is where I belong. His lips move over mine, hungry and hard.

“I do,” he murmurs between scorching kisses, between nips and licks that make my knees weak.

The priest sputters beside us, having finally realized that we’ve derailed off course. I pull back long enough to tell him, “I do too.”

Then Giovanni drags me back, one hand at my hip, the other cupping my face, this kiss full of possessive intensity too raw for a church. And definitely too sensual for an audience. I start to pull away, but he holds me closer while Lupo barks circles around us.

My lips curve into a smile beneath his. “We’re making a scene.”

“I’m not letting you go, bella.”

“Not even to take the dress off me?”

He presses his forehead against mine. “The dress definitely stays on this time.”

My laugh rings out when he sweeps me into his arms. He carries me over the lawn and across the threshold of a mansion made new with heart, with family. There are a hundred walls to paint, a thousand dark memories to wash away. And we’ll face them together.

* * *

Thank you for reading Hold You Against Me…

I hope you loved Giovanni and Clara’s story as much as I do!

If you’re new to the Stripped series, find out what happens when Clara goes on the run and Honor meets a darkly mysterious man in Love the Way You Lie…

“I’ve always been a fan of Skye Warren ever since I read Wanderlust. Her writing is flawless and tales captivating. Love The Way You Lie is no exception. 5 Stars.”

~ Pepper Winters, New York Times bestselling author of Tears of Tess