“In front of God and our family.”
“I did.” Another bead of sweat rolled down my neck, and leaning forward, he licked it up.
I shivered.
We gazed at each other, so deep, it was like I was looking at the dark sky, and he was looking at a star—me. I ran my hands underneath the lapels of his tuxedo jacket.
“I know what you’re saying to me without saying a word,” I whispered.
He lifted a thick eyebrow. “Speak for me,mywife.”
I cleared my throat and entangled the expensive fabric of his tux between my fingers, just like I wanted to entangle myself with him between the sheets. I didn’t try to mimic his voice but echo it. “I claimed you the moment I saw you, but tonight will be different. You are mywife, and I’ll be so deep inside of you, I’ll be inside of your soul. There will be nowhere to run to, because I’ll be in every muscle, every bone, deep inside your heart, rushing through your blood.”
He closed his eyes for a second, like he was breathing me in, and then opened them. My heart rate spiked, and it was like he’d heard it. I didn’t think it was possible, but…his pupils had dilated, and the intensity in his eyes was at an incomprehensible level, yet he ran his knuckle tenderly down my face. So wild, yet so controlled. “Perfetto,” he whispered, taking my hand and running my wedding rings underneath his bottom lip. He’d paired a band with the star engagement ring.
“Your eyes, Matteo,” I whispered. “The rest of the world can’t see what’s underneath their depths, but I can.”
“That’s because you’re my light,” he said, his voice almost hoarse.
“I’ll always be your light,” I whispered, and this time, when I went to touch his face, he stopped me by wrapping his hand around my wrist. Instead of my heart pounding against him, my pulse did.
He looked so deep into my eyes, I could feel him where he’d said he was going. My soul. “You are so beautiful,la mia stella. The most beautiful womanto me.”
This time, I met his stare and tried to challenge it with the truth in mine. “You’ve said that to me a million times tonight, Matteo.”
His eyes narrowed. “I haven’t said it enough.”
“You have,” I said, wriggling my wrist free and touching his face. “Your eyes. Your eyes speak the truth to me. They make mefeel everything, and it’s like a secret, a secret between us. Secrets that the world has no business knowing. These secret things are between us.”
He slid his hand underneath my hair, pulling my lips to his, and we started to kiss. It was a kiss that made me close my eyes and fade away from the real world.
In this world he brought me to, it was just the two of us.
As we kissed, we undressed each other, and I thought Matteo Fausti should have come with a bow bigger than mine.
He was his father’s son. His grandfather’s grandson.
He’d inherited all their sharp lines—a bone structure most models would be jealous of, but he was more rugged than that. Wild in a way that wouldn’t work on a catwalk but would out in the wilds of his life. He was tall, much taller than me, well over six feet, and wider than me, but with well-defined muscles inallthe right places. Broad shoulders. Thin waist. Muscular arms that seemed to match all the taut ripples in his stomach. He had a deep V that I traced with my fingertips, loving that he couldn’t control his reaction to my touch. A shiver ran through him.
His skin was dark olive, and not entirely flawless. He had scars that had come from his lifestyle. A nick here and there from sword fighting with his family. The time a man tried to shoot him, and the bullet had grazed his shoulder. He had tattoos that told a story of who he was. What he stood for. And, as I traced my fingertips over the star tattoo, feeling him shiver again at my touch, who he would always love.
Me.
His irises were mahogany, and when he looked at me, I was the brightest thing in them. Hisstella.And I loved that no matter if he was a million feet away or this close, I would always be able to know his thoughts.
His hair…as inky as the night sky, and as glossy as dark water underneath moonlight.
His lips were soft but somehow firm when they kissed me.
Inhaling, I breathed him in, thinking his scent was like a drug to me.
I couldn’t have chosen a favorite part of him if I tried—if my life depended on it—because altogether, he was more than I could have ever dreamed of.
Our hands seemed to be directed by our hearts, which were beating like we might die in the next second if we didn’t find life in each other. It was like we were clawing, trying to get so far underneath each other’s skin to find what we both desperately needed.
The connection that sucked me toward wherever he was, and he wherever I was, felt like the warm air circulating around our room. I could feel it between us. It was making me hot, breathless, needy for all of him.
He leaned closer and whispered against the pulse in my neck, “I need you now, my wife. Need to be inside of you more than I’ve ever needed anything in my life.”
