Prologue
Sophia
I loved him.
I’d always thought I had, but I knew that what I was feeling now was real love. Before I cared for him as a brother, and then later, I had crushed harder on him than any other teenage girl in history. But now…now I knew I loved him with every atom of my being.
“Are you sure you are all right?”
I lifted my eyes to his beautiful brown ones and smiled the kind of smile that I had only ever imagined in the trashy romance books I had to hide from my parents.
“I’m perfect.”
Without thinking, I reached down and trailed the tips of my fingers across the muscles of his shoulders and down his back. Tracing the light that fell from the window onto his skin.
The room was dark, but the city was always so full of light and life, and some of that light fell across the tanned, naked skin of his back and made it look like he was lying within a halo.
Which was kind of apt, because Matteo was an angel. My angel.
He was the man I loved and the man who would save me.
“Yes, you are.” As he was rolling to face me, my hand slipped, andhe caught it easily. Bringing my fingers to his lips, he kissed each one in turn.
“You are so unbelievably perfect.” Finally finished with kissing my fingers, he pressed his lips to my palm. A wave of pleasure swept through me, pushing away the aching sting between my legs.
What did a little pain matter when I wanted him this much?
“And you are mine.” Deep whisky-coloured eyes lifted to mine. “You are mine, aren’t you, Sophia?”
I couldn’t help it, I smiled. Heaving myself up on one elbow, I leaned over him. My long, dark hair was like a curtain to hide us from the world. I pressed my lips to his full ones.
For several minutes, we just lay like that, sipping at each other's lips. Tasting and savoring each other.
Matteo didn’t pull me down. His hands were gently on the small of my back, and his lips were soft.
“Say you’re mine, Sophia,” he mumbled against my mouth, and my lips curved up in a smile.
“I’m yours.”
His smile grew to match mine. His eyes blinked open, and this close I could see the gold and amber flecks in their depths.
“Promise?”
“Promise.” I nodded my head. “Cross my heart and hope to—“
He silenced me with a kiss. “Don’t finish that. I don’t even want to joke about you dying.”
He said it so seriously that I blinked in shock.
“I’m going to keep you forever.” He pushed my long dark hair back from my face and his eyes swept across it. “You know that, right?”
“Forever.” I nodded because forever sounded just great to me. I wanted to be with him forever so we could spend every night like tonight, tangled up in each other's arms, lost in each other.
“I’m going to get a ring—“
My smile slipped. “I don’t need a ring, Matteo. I know you love me. I don’t need a flashy diamond to remember that. I just need you.”
He surged upward, and the silk sheets fell to his waist, giving methe perfect view of his chiselled chest. Lifting a hand, he tugged at his hair, making the silky black strands stand up on end.
