And then—
Smack.
Fine.
If the big jerk wanted to know—
I'd tell him.
“Because I'm not pretty and sophisticated like Giselle and Eve.Okay?I knew you'd get tired of me soon enough.So, I left.Because staying and knowing one day you'd leave me—” my voice cracked then—along with my heart, “just hurt too much.”
Stefan's hand stilled on my behind.I heard him let out a frustrated sigh.
I braced myself.
Waiting for another smack.
Another spank that never came.Because before I knew it—I was being pulled up and spun around.And lifted up in Stefan's arms.He carried me to a black, oversized chair that I hadn't seen.He plunked down, and we sank into it.It wasn't leather like most of the furniture in here.Instead, it was a soft, fluffy material.
Stefan pulled an even softer black blanket around us and lay back with me still on his lap.
A minute or two later, he turned his head to me and spoke,.“Thank you for finally telling me why you left.”
A sarcastic laugh bubbled out of me.“I didn't really have a choice.Did I?”
“Ah, shit.”He let his head fall back against the chair.“I forgot to give you a safe word.”He looked at me.“I'm sorry.And yes, you will always have the power to stop things.My brain goes into overdrive when I'm around you.Fuck.I'm sorry.That was reckless of me.”
Did he just say—safe word?
“We'll decide on one later.Before we come down here next time.”
My eyebrows nearly shot off my face.“Next time?”
His hand cupped the side of my face, and he drew me closer.“There will be many, many next times, Francesca.I'm going to do all kinds of things to that curvy, beautiful body of yours.You have no idea the things I'm going to make you feel.”His lips touched mine in a devastating kiss.“And if you ever compare yourself to Giselle and Eve again, you're going to end up in exactly the same place.Do you understand?”
I moved back a bit and said, “But—”
And that was all he let me get out.“No fucking buts, Francesca.You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed while he kept talking.“And part of that appeal is that you have no fucking idea how stunning you really are.Yes, Giselle and Eve are pretty in their own right.That's obvious.Anyone with eyes can see that.But you have something different.Something they don't have.I felt an immediate connection to you the second our eyes met.And that would have happened whether I was bleeding out on a metal table or not.”
He held my head with both of his hands.“I love you, Francesca.With my whole fucking heart.And I've wanted to marry you from the first moment I saw you.I knew you weren't on the same page.But we were definitely in the same book.You just had to catch up to me.That's all.I was always going to make you my wife.Raul simply sped up the process.”His eyes stared deeply into my soul.“You were always mine, Francesca.And you know it.”
I couldn't have held back the tears that began streaming down my face.This man had made my heart explode.“But you saw where I lived.My horrible apartment.”I sniffled.“Do you know that I had to rely on the food bank for half of each month?”
Stefan nodded slowly.“I know.”
Oh, gosh.
He knew.
Of course he did.
“You found a way to feed yourself.And me.I'll always be grateful.You have no idea how much you healed me.”
The tears kept falling down my cheeks.“You would have healed up anywhere.”
He vehemently shook his head.“Not here.”He grabbed my hand and placed it over his heart.“Only you could have healed me here.”
