I didn’t need intimacy from the women I screwed. They were there for my entertainment and enjoyment. Their needs never mattered to me.
I paid them and left.
A simple transaction.
“Do you think you’ll ever love me?” Ava rested her forehead against mine, awaiting my answer.
I breathed harder as I considered her question, hating how my heart beat faster when she looked directly at me. She had the strangest effect on my body. Something I never felt with another person.
Only her.
“Yes.”
She gave me a tiny smile. “What about your brothers?”
“What about them?”
“You have to make room for them in our married life.”
“They’re not going anywhere,” I assured her.
“Then, yes.” Her lips touched mine. “I’ll marry you, Dante.”
ChapterFifteen
STEFAN
After we fed Ava enough food for an army, I led her upstairs and into the bathroom, turning the shower knobs until the water was at the correct temperature.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. That you’re alive.” I got on my knees and stripped off her panties. “I thought I was going to lose my fucking mind.”
Ava threaded her fingers through my hair. “I never lost hope you would find me.”
With each kiss, I whispered I was sorry and promised never to let her out of my sight. Most of all, I vowed to keep her safe. No one would ever touch the hair on her head again. I would kill anyone who tried to harm Ava.
We got into the shower, and I appraised every inch of her sexy body. She closed her eyes when the water splashed across her beautiful face. When she opened her eyes, she smiled at me. It was the same smile she’d given me the last time I saw her. Still the same girl I was falling in love with for the past few months.
I pulled her slim body against mine, and she wrapped her arms around me, leaning her head on my chest. “I thought I lost you.”
“You could never lose me, Stefan.” She moved her hand up my chest to cover my heart. “Because I will always be in here.”
I stroked her cheek. “Cuore mio.”
This was real love—the kind of love worth fighting for.
Worth dying for.
She was my heart, my soul.
I leaned against the tiled wall and cupped her breast, massaging her nipple with my thumb. As always, Ava was responsive to my touch. The tiny bud hardened for me, and she moaned softly. I just wanted to touch her, make sure she was real.
We stayed that way for a while. There wasn’t anything sexual about it.
When our skin started to prune, I lifted a bottle of shampoo and washed her hair, then rubbed body wash on her skin. I lathered the soap in my hands and rubbed it down her arms, taking my time when I got to her chest. Ava covered my hands with hers and held them over her breasts.
She licked her lips, drinking in some of the water that landed on her face. “I want you, Stefan.”
I brushed my lips along her ear. “After you get some sleep and recover, you will feel me everywhere.”
