I raked my fingers through his soft, sexy, silver hair, but he grabbed my hand and kissed my palm.“Bella?”
“Hmm?”I blinked up at him dozily.
“I love you.”
I swallowed.“I …”
Shaking his head, he smiled.“It is okay if you are not ready to say it back.I have just learned from experience that if you don’t say how you feel when you feel it, you may not get the chance.Life is short.So I am going to tell you, Danica, that I love you.I love you, your daughter, and the new joy and people you have brought into my life.I didn’t think I needed any of it, but I know now that I was wrong.”
It was my turn to bring his palm to my mouth and give it a kiss.“I’ve fallen in love with you too.”
His smile was electric, and a moment later I found myself beneath him.Instinctively, I spread my legs for him to settle between them.
“We are in love then,” he said, still grinning down at me in the dark of the room.
“We are.”I spread my fingers through his hair again, loving the softness.
Without saying a word, he found his way back inside me, and we made love again.This time, slow, sensual, and utterly perfect.
By the time I fell asleep in his arms, I’d lost track of how many orgasms I’d had, and closed my eyes, blissfully happy, fully sated, and for the first time in my life, in love.
Maybe there was no other shoe waiting to drop.Maybe, just maybe, it was the St.Claire’s turn to win.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Tommaso
Ideally,Iwouldhaveloved to stay in bed with Danica late into the morning.With my face between her thighs, as she came undone over and over again—just like last night—but I couldn’t.I had animals to feed and a property to maintain.
So while the blonde beauty slept naked and peaceful in my bed, I crept out, got dressed, and headed to the kitchen to feed Portia and start the day.
My pig stood in the kitchen in front of me, waiting for her oatmeal and blueberries.Now that the new security system was fully installed, I was trying to make a habit of checking things first thing in the morning.So far, there’d been no nefarious nighttime antics, but I could feel it in my bones that it was only a matter of time.
Vincent was desperate, and I didn’t trust that that Clyde kid wouldn’t return just to wreak havoc.
Portia grunted and stomped her front feet in impatience as I scrolled through the video footage on the screen for the security system.
“Abbi pazienza, amore.Solo un attimo,” I told her, asking for patience.
Just as I was about to put the tablet down to get her breakfast, a flash of something on the screen—movement, and not from livestock—made me pause.
It was hard to see, since they skirted the edges and kept their heads down, but there were definitely two people in the barn, both dressed in black.
The timestamp said four-eleven in the morning.
I didn’t waste any more time watching the screen, and with Portia—my trusty sidekick—right beside me, I slid into my loafers and sprinted across the property to the barn and toward Midnight and Raven’s stall.I knew before I even reached it that something was wrong.Raven was distraught and kicking the stall walls.
I opened the door to find her in a panic, her nostrils flaring, eyes wide and wild, showing all the whites.
“Easy,” I murmured, going to her.I already knew that Midnight wasn’t there.I didn’t need to hunt for the little guy.He wasn’t that small, and the stall wasn’t that big.
“Okay … okay ….”
What did I do?Where did I even start?
A buzzing sound filled my ears, competing with Raven’s noises of distress.My fingers twitched and crumpled into fists at my sides as my gut spun, threatening to vomit up last night’s dinner.I reached for her, wrapping my arms around her neck to calm her as well as myself.
I just continued to console Raven as I racked my brain about the next step.Did I call the police?Midnight wouldn’t run away.And besides, the video footage of two people showed that they broke into my barn—how?—and obviously ran off with my foal.
