I lean down until my lips almost touch her flesh. “You’re sexy as fuck,” I tell her honestly.
Then I place a kiss just above her navel.
“So soft.”
Kiss.
“Natural.”
It’s not until she pulls on my hair I realize I’ve let her wrists go. “Raffaele.”
Rather than let her stop me, I place another kiss on her stomach.
“Warm.”
Kiss.
I let my gaze trail over her stomach, noticing small, almost iridescent and ghostlike stretch marks.
Finally, looking up at her tear-filled eyes, I say, “There’s no need to hide from me, Alina. One day I’ll know your body better than you do.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, she shakes her head. Her entire body’s trembling with pent-up emotions. “I c-can’t stand it,” she whispers, her voice shaking. “P-please don’t play with me, Raffaele. I know I’m not… beautiful.”
“What?” I growl, not liking what I’m hearing.
Alina carries on, ignoring my interjection. “But I’ll be a good wife, I promise. My dreams are important to me. Y-you can trust me.”
I’m so taken aback by this display of not just raw emotions but also of self-loathing that I don’t know what to say or do. I get she has wounds from how her sister treated her. Or… maybe the problem is that I don’t understand at all. I just think I do.
“Open your eyes,” I croon, waiting until her blue orbs meet my green ones. “You’re a beautiful woman, Alina. And I promise I’ll remind you every day until you believe me.”
Even though skepticism burns in her gaze, she doesn’t argue. She just nods slowly. Knowing that this isn’t a fight I can win in a day, I press one last kiss to her stomach. Then I lower her shirt, get us back to how we were lying before, and switch the light off again.
“Thank you,” she whispers, the gratitude in her voice making something shift in my chest.
“What kind of wedding do you want?” I ask, changing the subject. “Something elaborate? Traditional church ceremony?”
She shakes her head. “No. Something small. Intimate.” Her voice grows wistful. “Just a few people who matter. Maybe outdoors when it’s warmer—”
“We’ll get married soon,” I interrupt.
“Right, right,” she murmurs. “As long as it’s nothing flashy or expensive.”
The simplicity of her request pleases me. “My cousins will be there,” I tell her. “Enzo and his wife, Piper. Matteo and Raven. And Remus.”
“Raven?” Alina says, her voice suddenly brightening. “I like her.”
She falls silent again, but her body has softened against mine. The combination of the late hour and emotional exhaustion is taking its toll.
“We’ll talk more in the morning,” I murmur, settling more comfortably against her. “Sleep now.”
“Okay,” she agrees, her voice already thick with approaching sleep.
I listen as her breathing deepens and evens out, her body going slack in my arms. Even in sleep, she fits against meperfectly, her curves molding to my harder edges. The scent of her hair fills my senses as I close my eyes.
Mine, I think fiercely as sleep claims me as well.
After the wedding, she’ll bear my name. And eventually, when she’s ready, she’ll bear my children too.
