Alessandro DeLuca

“Yes,” he replies, kissing the tip of my forehead, nose, and lips.

“Last night, you mentioned that someone would always watch me and be ready to protect me.”

“In this life, you can take nothing for granted, Bella.”

“Do you…do you already have someone watching me?”

He pauses. It’s so brief that I almost miss it. “Why?”

“Um, no reason. Just wondering.”

“Have you seen someone?” he asks, turning me away from him so that he can wash my back or hide his deception.

“No. I haven’t.”

His hands run down my sides, and he lifts my leg and rubs me between them.

“Alessandro,” I start. “Do you know who was responsible for—”

He repositions the showerhead spraying it against my pussy before rinsing away the body wash.

“God, I want you so bad.”

His hand massages my breasts and plants a kiss on my shoulder, nipping me before turning my head to kiss me. I moan inside his mouth as his fingers splay over my mound and then drop lower.

I turn around to face him, looping my arms around his neck. He lifts me and steps out of the shower as I wrap my legs around his waist. Reaching inside, he turns the water off, effectively shutting down all six showerheads.

Returning to the bed, he lies beside me and holds me in his arms. Briefly, he turns away from me and reaches for something in his drawer.

My heart seizes as I reach under his pillow while simultaneously wondering if he’s going for his gun. Shit! My hand is on the barrel of the gun instead of the handle as he turns back to me.

Slowly, I ease my hand from under his pillow, forcing a smile to my lips as he holds up a condom in his hands. I’m thankful that this wasn’t a real situation. I doubt I’d have been able to turn that gun around quickly enough to defend myself.

While he rips the condom and sheaths himself, I struggle to get my heart to calm down again and try to get back into the moment.

“There will be many things you don’t understand in this life, Mila. I don’t need you to question me, but trust me. I will never hurt you. Your safety is my priority, I promise,” he says, kissing me and grabbing my leg to drape it over his hip.

Carefully, slowly he slides inside of me and fills me up. Alessandro takes my breath away in more ways than one.

How can a violent, demanding, and cruel man be so gentle, careful, and thoughtful? This wasn’t what I expected when I came here searching for him.

Our kisses are slow and inquiring. The soft warmth of his mouth invites me deeper while I clench all around him, my juices coating him.

Alessandro’s eyes remain open and on me as he says, “Don’t close your eyes. I want to see what you’re feeling, baby.”

I do as he asks while trying to shut out the pain threatening to overwhelm me as memories of Carlo permeate my mind. A frisson of fear runs through me as I struggle to recall the features of my late husband’s face.

The features of a stranger overshadow every detail of his face. Greyish-green ones replace Carlo’s eyes. His broad nose reshapes into a longer, blunt nose. Thick, full lips are now full, pouty ones, and the scars that I recall are replaced by a warrior band tattoo.

“Don’t keep sliding away to that place, Tesoro,” he whispers, brushing my lips.

Forcing a smile to my lips, I kiss him back and say softly. “I’m here.”

“Good. Stay right here. Right with me,” Alessandro groans as he flips me on my back, stroking me deeper and more intensely than before.

I feel he’s deep inside me, touching organs and foreign places he has no business touching. Gripping my thighs, he pushes my legs wide and back and digs deeper. The intensity in his eyes communicates the seriousness of his requests.

I’m scared. There’s no way that he will allow me to escape after opening up to me so completely.