“No, baby, it’s never this exquisite.”
“You didn’t like it.”
A moment’s doubt creeps into her voice, and I answer roughly, “Previous sex doesn’t even come close to how good it is with you.”
“Is that a fact?”
Her soft chuckle makes me smile, and as I wrap my arms around her, I bury my face in her freshly washed hair and wait for my heart rate to go down. I am fighting more than my demons now. My enemies or my father. I am fighting my desire for one woman who appears to be a master burglar and has cracked open the safe I keep my heart in and is dismantling it from the inside.
It must beone hour later before we move to the terrace, the fireflies putting on a good show tonight. Jack is nowhere to be seen, and the food he ordered is covered, and yet so tempting I could eat it all myself.
Alice sighs with contentment as we sit in a comfortable chair, side by side, feeding one another tasty treats from our plates as we gaze over the vista, shrouded by the shadows and highlighted in parts by the moon.
“This is what I consider romantic.”
She smiles as the flames from the candles flicker in the breeze.
“I’ve never been romantic baby. It may shock you to learn that.”
She nudges me, and her impish smile lights my world. Reaching out, I cup her face and whisper, “How did we get here?”
“Fear, greed, revenge, and circumstance, I’m guessing.”
A sweet smile accompanies her words, and then she whispers softly, “But desire will keep us here. Familiarity, companionship, and a business contract.”
I nod, kissing her sweet lips, not really caring that she states facts. When I pull away, I say nonchalantly, “Well, I’ll take all the above because I never realized how pleasurable it would be to kidnap a woman and make her my wife. If I had, I would have done it years ago.”
I wink and she giggles, snuggling up beside me, her sweet voice wafting around us in the soft breeze.
“I never imagined life like this when I was in the convent. To be honest, at school and at home, I never had this freedom, despite the fact that you coerced me into marrying you.”
“Coerced.” I grin. “I kind of like that idea, but baby, you had a choice in the matter, and I didn’t sugarcoat it. What you see is what you get, and I will not pretend otherwise.”
We fall silent, merely enjoying the solitude. It’s been a crazy few days, and I am done with it. I am aching for home and for everything to be where it belongs, with one important addition. Alice.
The thought of bringing her home with me as my wife thrills me. She will sleep in my bed, be there when I wake, and I will fall asleep in her raw pussy. I will not tire of fucking my wife, and what happened upstairs is a mere taste of the depravity I have planned for her. But now, here in Milan, on our honeymoon, it’s just the two of us against the world.
“What happens now?”
She reminds me that we are not safe yet and have the added distraction of the mysterious keys.
“We should fetch the keys.”
“We have to go back there?”
She pulls away with a sudden start, and the anxiety in her expression is surprising.
“Don’t you want to?”
‘“No.” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t look Sister Agatha in the eye after, well, um, what I’ve done.”
“She’s not God, angel. She can’t conjure up a vision of your shame.”
“I’m not ashamed.”
Her fierce glare raises another smile, and she huffs, “It’s just, well, I can’t, so deal with it.”
Our fingers tangle together, and I raise them to my lips and kiss her wedding ring.
