Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 193(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 193(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
“Mm-hmm,” her mother hummed in agreement, the sound somehow loaded with innuendo.
My cheeks were still burning when she set a steaming bowl of soup in front of me, along with a thick slice of warm bread slathered with butter. I tasted my first spoonful and let out a low moan of appreciation.
“You like?” Mamma Giulia asked.
I nodded. “Mmm, I am already addicted.”
“Good.” She patted my cheek in a similar gesture to what she’d done with her daughter, warming my heart in the same way her soup was heating my belly. “I will make it for you whenever you want.”
I loved how open and welcoming she’d been with me, making it clear that if I was important to her son, then I mattered to her as well. She was everything you could ask for in a mother…and the complete opposite of my own. “Thank you.”
Falling in love with Rafa’s family was just as easy as it had been with him. And it made me feel even more deeply for him.
By the time Gabbi and her mother left on their golf cart to head back to their home, my belly was full, and so was my heart.
The house was eerily quiet when I climbed the stairs to our bedroom.
Our.
I wasn’t sure when I had started thinking of this place as home, but that was exactly what it had become.
Slipping beneath the silky sheets, I let out a slow breath, unsure if I would be able to fall asleep without Rafa next to me. But my worry must have been for nothing because the next thing I knew, the mattress dipped under his weight.
The scent of his soap, fresh and clean, wrapped around me like a warm embrace. I must’ve been in a deep sleep if he’d managed to shower without waking me.
Then his hands were on me.
I hummed in appreciation as he trailed his fingers over my skin, nudging the straps of my camisole down my shoulders.
But reason took over when I remembered how I’d felt when he left. And that there was a lot we needed to talk about. If he kept going, I would be lost to the fiery passion that burned between us, and we’d never finish our earlier discussion.
“Rafa.” My voice was soft, but he still sighed, his hands pausing their exploration.
Then he reluctantly leaned back, propping himself on one elbow. “What, cara?”
I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, he gripped my chin, tilting my face to meet his intense gaze.
“I love you.” His voice was rough with emotion. “I’m going to marry you. We’re going to have a family. End of discussion.”
My lips parted in shock.
Rafa was the only person I knew who could effectively bulldoze over an entire conversation with one declaration.
Hearing those first three little words from him changed everything. They made me better understand how Rafa had reacted to everything—the woman he loved had been threatened.
“I love you, too.” I traced my fingers along his jaw, feeling the tension beneath the whiskers. “But I don’t want to be your arm candy. To go from one gilded cage to another.”
“You won’t be arm candy, cara. You’ll be my queen.” His eyes burned into mine as he added, “And you won’t be in a cage. You’re free to come and go as you please.” His thumb brushed against my lower lip. “As long as you have guards with you.”
I couldn’t be annoyed by his insistence that I had security to protect me. Because that was Rafa—fiercely protective and unwilling to risk anything happening to me. I had to accept this side of him because it was part of why I’d fallen so hard and fast for him.
And I couldn't ignore that he lived in a dangerous world. Just being with Rafa made me a target because his enemies would know that I was his weakness. I wouldn't risk what we had for anything. If that meant having a security detail, then so be it.
With a soft laugh, I twined my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his. “Fine, but I get to pick the wedding date.”
His low growl of approval sent a shiver down my spine. “We’ll see.”
Then his hands were back on me, sliding beneath my camisole to push away the thin barrier between us. I melted into his touch, my body already responding to the possessive stroke of his palms.
But when I stroked my hands down his broad chest, I felt the brush of something cool against my finger. I glanced down and froze. A massive, sparkling diamond twinkled in the moonlight shining through the crack in the curtains.
The ring was an undeniable symbol of everything Rafa had just declared…and it had already been on my hand before we even started our conversation.
I gasped, my heart racing as I lifted my hand. “Rafa, how? When?”