And the craving only grows more intense as his lips touch mine.
Last night was my first kiss.
This is my second.
But I’m not even worried that I’m doing something wrong.I’m just letting him lead, the waves of pleasure and bliss intensifying as his tongue enters my mouth, playing with mine, making me sigh and moan and lean towards him, needing to be closer.Needing more.Needing to feel his lips and his touch everywhere.
His strong thigh is between my legs.I long to press against it, get some release that way.
But he grabs my waist and pushes me back against the wall when I do.Breaking the kiss.It feels like I’ve been plunged into an ice-cold bath.
“You are eager, aren’t you?”he asks, the darkness in his eyes reminding me of sunlight glinting off a frozen lake.
I lean my head forward for another kiss instead of answering with words.
“Not here,” he says, releasing me.“Not like this.”
“But I…”
“No,” he says and takes a step back, opening the door in the process.“Not in a room that reeks of garbage.”
“Will you come to me later?”I whisper as I pass him.
“Nothing will stop me,” he whispers back.
And the raw need in his voice makes me feel like the most special girl in all the world.Like the princess in any of the fairytales.Maybe his kiss last night already worked, already broke my curse.I think maybe it did.But the one we just shared certainly did.Because it was magical.No other word to describe it.And I need more of that magic.I’ll never get enough of it.
Chapter28
GIANNA
I’ve been absolutelyunable to sit still all day.Both my sisters have been asking me what’s going on with intensifying urgency, but I can’t tell them.This is so far outside of what we’re allowed to do that I can’t drag them down with me.Just knowing about it and keeping it a secret would make them culpable right along with me.Plus, Chiara is already much too set against the traditions of our family and has refused to participate in anything.Lidia is just too good.I can’t lead them astray.I can’t set this bad example for them.
Because whatever Matteo and I started must remain a secret forever.Even if my father gives his blessing, which he might never do, the kissing must always remain a secret.
So as much as I want to tell my sisters, and the whole world, about the magic we created, I can’t.
The sun has long since set and I’m so high up in this skyscraper that sometimes I can see stars out my bedroom window.Tonight is one of those nights.Their cool white light calms me the way nothing has been able to all day.
The apartment is quiet, both Chiara and Lidia are already asleep.I cracked open the door in anticipation of my promised visit and cool air is seeping in from the hallway, brushing against my overheated skin.
I wore a pale gold silk nightgown and matching kimono.No shoes, so little makeup I might as well not be wearing any and just a splash of my favorite perfume—the way I’ve seen women in movies do when getting ready to be with the man they love.Or the husband on their wedding night.
Weird as it is, that’s what this feels like.Exactly like the kind of wedding night I never thought I’d get.One where I am willing and in love, instead of being forced to spend forever with a man I didn’t choose.
Every creak from the rest of the apartment sends my heart fluttering and has me turning to the door in anticipation.But so far, none of them have materialized into Matteo walking in through my door.
It’s late.Past two in the morning.Maybe he’s not coming.
I haven’t let myself think that at all, because every time I do, a cold so complete and devastating washes over me that I can hardly breathe.
Kind of like the cold washing over my bare legs now.
It’s coming from the hallway beyond my bedroom door.
I hear no footsteps, no creaking, no breathing.
And yet there he is, coming into my room, materializing out of the darkness in the hallway to stand before me bathed in light all his own.Like magic.Like a dream.
