Evie awakened many strange feelings in me. Some I’d thought were long dead. The tenderness and care I felt for her deepened every day. The sense of rightness of having her by my side was certain and true. She was the softness I needed in my hard life. The sunshine to the constant dark that surrounded me.
She was becoming my focus.
She stirred, blinking awake and smiling at me.
“Good morning, Piccolina.”
Her eyes were clear and bright blue. I loved them happy, the color showing her emotion so clearly. She’d lost that look of fragility, her body filling out, her confidence slowly emerging. Her hair had lightened in the sun, gleaming red and gold under the light. I’d arranged for a hairdresser before we’d left, and although they’d trimmed several inches off the bottom, it still hung past her shoulders. The hairdresser had added some highlights, which brightened the color and suited Evie. There was the faintest hint of tint on her skin from the sun. I made sure she was covered in block so she didn’t burn. The freckles on her nose were a result of the days she forgot a hat, but I found them enticing and adorable. I loved to kiss them, tracing the faint glints of gold with my tongue.
“Hello,” she whispered, her shyer side showing. I was never sure which woman I would wake up to—the passionate wanton who would straddle my hips, taking what she wanted, or the demure angel I had to coax to open up for me. Both were equally pleasing and sexy.
I nuzzled her lips, smiling as she ran her hand down my torso, featherlight and teasing. I groaned when she wrapped her hand around me, slowly stroking and running her thumb over the crown in a sensual drag that drove me mad with desire.
“What do you want this morning?” I murmured.
“Pancakes,” she replied seriously.
I chuckled and rolled her under me. “You’ve woken the beast, my wife. He needs to be controlled first. Then you get your pancakes.”
She wrapped her legs around me, cradling me with her body. I felt her desire as I slid through her heat. “If I must,” she teased. “Your pancakes are so worth the extra effort.”
I nipped at her lips. “I’ll make it worth the work.”
Her smile was bright, her eyes filled with so much emotion, I caught my breath. “I know, Matteo. I know.”
Tenderness only she could inspire settled over me. I covered her mouth with mine, kissing her with long, languid strokes of my tongue. I caressed her, using my fingers to stroke her skin, my mouth to worship it, and my words to assure her.
“So beautiful,” I murmured.
“All mine. Forever,” I added when she sighed.
I groaned at the rightness of sliding into her. Feeling her clench around me. The passion in her gaze as our eyes locked. I slid my hands up her arms, locking them over her head as I moved inside her, the heat and clutch of her intense and perfect. I moved slowly, rolling my hips so we were never apart, our skin pressed together constantly. She moaned and whimpered, undulating with me, crying out in her completion. The sound of my name falling from her mouth did something to me. The part of me that was removed and broken knit back together, and I buried my face into her neck, breathing her name.
“Evie, I love you. I love you,” I repeated as my orgasm crested.
When, how, the circumstances that brought us together, made no difference. She was my wife, my love, my world. I knew this with a certainty that shook me. She had become everything I wanted, everything I needed.
I lifted my head, meeting her teary gaze.
“I love you,” I said again, wanting her to know how much. How real the feelings were for me.
“I love you too, Matteo.”
Her words filled me with exultation. Her beautiful, expressive eyes showed me how true they were. She felt the same way I did. I was hers.
I crushed her to me. “I love you, Evie Campari. I will keep you safe. Always, my innocent, my Piccolina. You are safe with me. And I will love you always. I can’t wait for you to join me in my life. I’m going to be even stronger with you by my side.”
“I will never leave it.”
I lowered my head and kissed her.
My perfect little treasure. My tesoro.
Evie
I stared out the window as the plane began its descent into Toronto. The clouds opened up, and I looked at the city coming into view, trying to calm my nerves. The entire trip, Matteo and I had been silent. I heard him flipping through some files, tapping notes on his laptop keyboard, but the sounds had ceased a while back.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.
To let him see my weakness and know he would already be disappointed in me.