Page 62 of Always Mine
I push my hands under the hem of her t-shirt and run them over the back of her thighs, the globes of her ass, and then up and down her back a few more times, before I grab two handfuls of her delicious cheeks and grind her into me.
“Deal-breaker, huh?” I taunt, positive I’ll see the evidence of the very opposite on the front of my gray sweats.
“Yes. Absolutely. No questions.”
“You don’t sound very convincing, Kitten, and I think you forget I keep secrets for a living. So you’ll have to kill me first.”
She stiffens at that, and I see apprehension flit across her face as she looks away from me.
“Hey, Soph, look at me.” I cup her face and bring it back to mine. I learned a long time ago, her mouth may be cunning, but her eyes never lie. “Where did you go, baby?”
“I’m done with secrets,” she murmurs.
“We’re not talking about my famous cheese toastie any more now, are we?”
“I know your job is to literally guard people’s secrets, which sometimes will be a blessing in my line of work—if I still even have a job to go to after tonight.” She scoffs. “But you and me...we just hit the fast lane, and yet I’m still stuck wondering about that night you told me there was nothing to stay for. I need you to help me understand why. If there’s an us. It won’t work past this point if we don’t trust each other. We need to communicate. Openly. Honestly. No secrets.”
I know I should tell her the full extent of what Arty is up to and what he had in motion during their catch-up tonight, but I need hard evidence from Avery before I can execute my takedown plan. When the time is right and I have all the information to back my plan, I will tell Sophia and loop her in to help. Until then, I just want to exist in this moment we’ve fought so hard for, just me and her.
Pulling her close, I kiss her nose. The insatiable urge to touch her spurred on by how our closeness makes me feel grounded in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. The undercurrent of restless energy that normally vibrates through me hums slightly differently now that I have her in my arms. She melts into me, nuzzling into my neck, almost like she wishes she could take back what she just said, afraid it might break this spell.
Even if the connection and intimacy we’ve shared is enough to make everything feel right for me, I can sense she needs the validation of words as confirmation her concerns have not fallen on deaf ears.
“What do you want to know, baby?”
“Why is my dad convinced we shouldn’t be together? What happened between you two to warrant his hostility towards you?”Confusion clouds her serene features. “It was never like this before. If anything, I would say he treated you more like a son. Tell me what changed.”
I knew this question was coming. I thought I would feel relief at being able to share the truth with her, but funnily enough, I don’t feel any joy at the thought of explaining it all, knowing full well it will cause a rift between father and daughter. Though, if I search deeper, there’s a gnawing knowing that I’m also petrified that she won’t forgive me for the decision I made. That she will think that I took the coward’s way out. Part of me wouldn’t blame her; the other part sympathizes with the younger version of me who ultimately placed blind faith in a man who’s now intent on fucking me over. When I tell Sophia the whole truth, I hope she’ll understand what an impossible situation I faced back then, but for now, I reveal just enough in the hopes it will satisfactorily answer her questions.
“I was forced into making a decision I didn’t want to make, and I made that regrettable decision based on my misplaced belief that your dad would do the right thing by me.” I run circles around the inside of her wrist as much to steady my elevated heart rate as to soothe her worry. “Let’s just say he doesn’t like the way I am taking back my control trying to right that wrong.” What I don’t admit right now is that I hope she will still want to be by my side when I go to Patrick to reveal the truth about Arty and inform him that his backing for Bella Donna is no longer required. Nothing would be sweeter than showing him that, try as he might, you can’t fuck with true love written in the stars. We’ve always been destined to complete each other.
She gives me an exasperated look. “Marco, that’s like giving me a riddle within a riddle.”
I kiss the top of her head and put some space between us so I can look her dead in the eye. “I know, and I absolutely promise you I will give you specifics soon, but for now can you accept this answer?”
She clenches her jaw, like she’s deliberating if she can take me at my word. There’s a warmth spreading through my chest. Like the snap, crackle, and pop of a thousand sparklers. Even my eyes, fully trained on her, feel the burn of the ferocity of my feelings for this woman. So I give her my truth.
“I already told you I’m all the fucking way in, Sophia. You’re it for me. From this time forward, there is anus. I know it feels like we got so wrapped up in each other we skipped over all the talking. But in my experience, sometimes you can say all the words and still feel empty. Talk all the talk and say nothing at all. The way to show you how deeply I care about you is to brand you with my love,“ I tell her, laying it all on the line. “I want to be there for every high and low, when you open your eyes and when you close them. I want to protect you, bring you pleasure, and feed you when you’re blissed out and hungry,” I continue, chuckling softly as I bring both hands up to cup her face. “I spent the last six years in a numb state. I tried to fill every minute of my time so I wouldn’t let my mind wander to thoughts of you and what we could have been. I worked around the clock for Vault Enterprises. When I wasn’t there, I tried to lose myself in the music, DJing at Bella Donna. I’d box to exhaustion so I could pass out into a dreamless state where I wouldn’t be haunted by the pain in your eyes. Rinse and repeat. Counting down the days, months, and years for the day where I could lose the mask and reveal the truth. I held onto a shred of hope that you could feel how much I still cared for you with every coffee, gift, and check-in text I sent over the years.” Unable to help it, my voice turns hoarse and my vision gets slightly misty. “I love you so fucking much it hurts. If you want to trust the truth of anything, please let it be that.”
With my confession, Sophia curls into me, burying her face into my chest, breathing me in as I feel a tear drop off her nose and roll down my body. I don’t push her to look at me. Or respond. I just give her the time to absorb my words. No expectations. She doesn’t talk, but I feel the featherlight touch of fingertips on my bare skin, and I close my eyes and let the sensation wash over me.Contentment takes over as her fingertips move up and down and around, tracing the words I got permanently etched on my skin for her. Right there, above my heart. “Ti amo.” I love you. And that’s enough. Because sometimes words aren’t needed at all.
I still her hand now lazily tracing the rose petals inked on my chest and thread our fingers before bringing them back over to cover the two tattooed words I hope she knows are for her alone. I use my other hand to gather her hair at the nape of her neck, tugging on it until she tilts her face towards mine. As soon as her glossed over gaze meets mine, I press my lips to hers and mutter, “Umami Papi.”
“What?” she says, puzzled.
“The secret to my famous cheese toastie is a drizzle of Umami Papi crispy chili oil,” I confess. “And a fuck-ton of love.”
If you were to ask me my idea of perfection right now, it would be this moment right here. Me, her, and our two hearts finally beating in sync.
Chapter thirty-nine
Things That Go Bump In The Night
Marco
It’slateandwe’regetting sleepy, curled up together in front of the fire, Sophia’s body slotting into mine just right. I realize I’m today years old when I finally understood the reverence of spooning. That moment your body connects with theirs and you just know they were uniquely made for you. Like multi-factor authentication for the heart, each connection point seamlessly molding you together and sending another signal to confirm this is your person. That Sophia is my person.
In our flurry of flying clothes, tangled limbs, truth pacts, and love confessions, I forgot to get a status update on Chiara. I know my team would let me know if anything went awry, but I feel a responsibility to always know her whereabouts.