Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
He lifts me, the head of his cock at my entrance. His eyes meet mine, his expression hot and wild. Full of some emotion I'm not sure I know how to name. Obsession? Possession? Complete capitulation to the bond growing between us? Whatever it is, it's vast and powerful, pulling me under with it.
"Ti amo, mio sole."
I don't know Italian, but I know that one. I love you.
He thrusts forward, groaning as he fills me. I don't get a chance to respond. I don't get a chance to process either. He moves like a storm, fucking me hard and deep. Pounding into me until the door rattles, and I'm screaming his name loud and then louder.
I'm sure half the hotel can hear us. I'm also sure I don't care. Let them.
"Ti amo," he growls, his eyes at half-mast as he claims every piece of my soul. "Ti amo, Finley."
I splinter apart in his arms, shattering like glass. He falls with me, groaning my name low and deep. I float, caught somewhere between heaven and earth, in that place where forever doesn't seem so impossible after all.
Please, God, don't let it be impossible.
"Did you mean it?" I ask when he pulls me away from the wall, wrapping his arms around me. I hate how small my voice sounds and how vulnerable I feel, but right now, I am small and vulnerable. And I need him to tell me this isn't another dream.
"More than I've ever meant anything. I love you."
"Domani, I…"
He presses his fingers to my lips. "Not yet, mio sole."
I lift my gaze to his, not understanding.
"I know how you feel about me, Finley. I feel it when you touch me. But I don't want to hear you say it until you know that we're going to survive this," he murmurs. "That's when it'll be real to you."
"It's real to me now, Domani. You're real to me now."
A smile ghosts across his lips. "I know, tesoro. But you can't give me all of your heart right now because it isn't whole. Until you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this isn't the end for you, it won't be whole. When you know that you're truly free and this is just the beginning for you, you tell me how you feel. Until then, I'll wait. However long it takes."
"Domani," I whisper, tears welling in my eyes. What did I ever do to deserve him? How can I ever? He knows me better than I know myself. And he cares for me in a way that no one ever has, even at the expense of himself. I love him with everything I have. And I hate that he's right. Part of me can't belong to him right now because that part is still caged up tight, bound in ropes of fear. It never left my uncle's house. Until it does, my uncle still owns it. He still owns part of me.
But I'm so fucking scared that I'm going to lose the man in front of me; I don't know how to let it go. I have something to lose now. Something I need more than I need freedom or life or breath. And that's exactly why my uncle will fight like hell to take it from me.
"I need you to do something for me, mio sole," Domani murmurs a while later, running his hands through my hair. "I need you to stay here while I go back."
"No."
"Finley."
"No, Domani." I lift my head, pinning him with a fierce look. "If you go back, I go back."
"Chicago is the last place you need to be right now."
I laugh abruptly. "It's no safer for you. Don't think I don't know what you risked when you took me from my uncle. I was born into this life, too. I know the rules just as well as you do. You betrayed your oath. Your own family will hunt you down and kill you if they find you."
He says nothing, but he doesn't have to say it. I know why he's looking over his shoulder and being so careful. It isn't because he's worried my uncle will find us. It's because he's worried his own people will. He broke the rules when he took me. He interfered in Irish business and left his family open for retaliation. My uncle could start a war over it if he wanted. He likely will.
It's been his plan all along. To find some weakness to exploit. To find some vulnerability to use. He just never anticipated that they'd make the first move by taking me. He won't forgive that slight. Not now, not ever.
"You don't belong in Chicago right now, Finley."
"Well, you can't leave me here. Because if you do, I'll just follow you."
"Cazzo," he growls, pinching the bridge of his nose. But he isn't angry. I know he isn't because dark amusement glints in his eyes when he moves his hand. "You would follow me, wouldn't you?"