“I already was, Matteo,” I countered.
He gathered me in his arms and carried me to our room. With the curtains still drawn, the light was hazy and dim.
He laid me on the bed, his touch changing. It became light, gentle, indulgent. His mouth was warm and teasing on my skin. His words were low, adoring, and sank into my heart. They broke it open, and I accepted him the same way my body accepted his. We moved together as if we’d done it for a thousand years. The world narrowed down to just the two of us.
After, lying in his arms, I sighed.
“I thought you weren’t gentle.”
“You bring that out in me, Piccolina.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
He kissed my head. “Little one. It means little one.”
He shifted to look into my eyes. “My tenderness—it is something you will only see in private. I need you to understand that, Evie.”
“I do.”
“What are you thinking?” he asked with another kiss to my mouth.
“That maybe I should be petulant more often…when we’re alone, of course.”
He chuckled. “Of course.”
“Why did you wait?”
“I wanted to know you were certain. That you wanted me as much as I wanted you.”
“I did. I do.”
“Then, as of now, we are truly married. You are mine.”
I snuggled to his chest. His. I liked that.
“I will never let you go, Evie.”
Those words from anyone else would have frightened me. Coming from Matteo, they were a promise. A confirmation that I had a place in his life.
And God help me, I wanted that.
Chapter Eight
Matteo
Evie slept in my arms, the breeze blowing the curtains into the room. The skies outside were heavy with rain today, the wind kicking up the white on the ocean, the waves a mixture of gray and dark blue.
I couldn’t recall the last time I was this relaxed. Content and happy. Every day with Evie was like another present I got to unwrap and discover.
She was clever and witty. Shy and sweet. Passionate and sexy when I lit the flame inside her. She had even instigated our lovemaking a few times, which delighted me to no end.
The first time she had dropped to her knees and taken me in her mouth was something I would never forget. The way her blue eyes stared up at me, her hair slicked off her face and the water from the shower clinging to her shoulders, running off her neck. She was hesitant, her confidence growing as she engulfed me, learning what I liked, what she liked. The heat of her mouth and the feel of her tongue were incredible, and I let my head fall back against the tile wall.
“Like that, Piccolina,” I praised.
“Cara, mine. God, yes,” I groaned when I felt her take me deeper.
I buried my hands in her hair, guiding her. “Suck me, Evie. Take all of me.”
She scraped the underside of me gently with her teeth and suckled the crown. Then she sucked me deep into her mouth, and I lost it, coming hard, cursing, panting, growling out her name.
Afterward, I held her in my arms, frightened by her sudden weeping.
Had I hurt her somehow?
I rinsed her off and carried her to our bed, letting the breeze float over us as she calmed.
“Tell me,” I demanded.
“Sex before—” She swallowed. “Sex before you was painful. Blaine held me down and forced himself on me at times. Oral sex was horrific. He used to, ah—”
Anger and rage built within me. “I will never force you.”
She met my eyes. “I know, Matteo. You make me feel safe. You show me I’m safe. I have never considered that act anything but demeaning. But not with you. Everything with you is so incredible. I didn’t mean to cry—it just hit me that you let me feel. You let me explore and try. And I want to try everything with you.”
I cupped her face. “I look forward to it, my wife.”
I tightened my arm around Evie, thinking of her passion. How, every day, she showed a little more of her true self to me. She became less afraid. More secure in the knowledge she was safe and would never be mistreated again.
Even now, I felt rage at the way she’d been abused. Blaine was dead—a fact I hadn’t shared with Evie yet. He’d paid for his treatment of her, and before he died, he knew what he was being punished for. Part of me wished he were still alive so I could be the one who watched the realization dawn in his eyes as he departed this earth for hell. But I was glad he was gone and she would never have to fear him again.
My wife would never have to fear anyone as long as I was around. Nothing in my life would touch her. I was determined. I frowned as I recalled there were only a couple of days left of our honeymoon. All too soon, we would be returning to reality—back to the world I once inhabited without a thought. Now I had Evie, that had changed. For the first time ever, I didn’t want to return to it. It was a strange feeling.