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“ Y ou again,” the nurse at the front desk barely looked up from her computer screen. “Is your grandfather okay?”

“He’s fine,” Tony said. “My, um, wife was brought in by ambulance. She was mugged at our bakery.” The nurse looked at him over her glasses, as though she seemed to figure out that he was lying to her. She shook her head at him and sighed.

“Can you just tell me if I can go back to see her?” Tony asked, nodding to the ER door. “I just need to see that she’s okay. I won’t get in the way, I promise.”

“What’s her name?” the nurse asked. He told her Aurora’s name and even her date of birth which he saw on her paperwork when he went snooping for Aurora’s phone number.

“You can go on back,” the nurse said, buzzing him through the double doors. “But if you get in the nurse’s way, I’ll kick you out myself. She’s in room 7. Take a left after the restrooms and it will be two doors down on the right. I hope that your, um, wife is going to be okay,” she said.

“Me too,” he shouted back over his shoulder to her. “Thank you.” She didn’t bother to answer back. By the time the doors closed, he was already down the hallway and rounding the corner to Aurora’s room. He just hoped like hell that she was all right and maybe even awake. Once she was up for a visit, the cops wanted to ask her a few questions about the attack. Hell, he had a few questions of his own, but they could wait until he was sure that Aurora was out of the woods.

Tony nearly ran into a nurse coming out of Aurora’s room. “How is she?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, I can’t share that information with you, sir. How do you know the patient?”

“She’s my wife,” he lied. Jesus, what was up with him and lying? If he kept it up, he would eventually get caught and then, he’d definitely get tossed out of the hospital.

“Tony,” the nurse said.

“Yes, that’s me,” he said.

“Great, she’s been asking for you,” the nurse said. That was surprising to him, but then again, maybe she was alert enough at the bakery to know that he had been there with her.

“She’s awake then?” Tony asked.

“She keeps drifting in and out. I’ll call the doctor to come in to talk to you when he’s free.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Tony said. He thanked the nurse and walked into Aurora’s room to find her lying on the bed with her eyes closed. He didn’t want to wake her, so he quietly crossed the small room and sat down on the chair that sat next to her bed.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him, wincing and moaning at the pain that the gesture caused her. “Ouch,” she grumbled. “How’s Elio? Is the bakery okay? Oh, God, who’s running it today?”

“Wow,” he breathed. “Slow down, honey. Elio is doing surprisingly well, although I think that he’s just putting on a brave face. As for the bakery, it’s fine and I put up a sign saying that we’re going to be closed for a few days. Elio agreed that it was the right call.”

She turned her head to look over at him and groaned again. “You just rest,” he said. “You can look at me all you want to later.” She started to laugh at his joke and moaned again. “Sorry, I’m an ass,” he insisted. He hated that she was in pain because of him acting like an idiot.

“You are,” she agreed. Now, it was his turn to laugh. “What did you have to tell the nurses to get back here?” Aurora asked.

“We’re married—again,” he said.

“I see,” she breathed, “well then, I’m going to need a ring—preferably a huge diamond one.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. The idea of Aurora wearing his ring did strange things to him. For a guy who never really wanted to settle down, he was sure thinking about it a lot around Aurora.

She laid back and closed her eyes, and Tony wondered if he should ask what was on her mind or just let her rest. The details that he had given to the police weren’t very helpful. He only saw a shadow of a man when he showed up at the bakery. He was early and thank God for that. If he had come in at his regular time, there would be no telling what he’d walk in to find.

Tony must have spooked the guy with his headlights because as soon as he pulled into the alley, the guy took off. He couldn’t tell the cops anything but the guy’s build and height because the bakery didn’t have many lights on. It looked to him as though Aurora had just gotten into work since nothing was being prepped, and the ovens weren’t even on. But none of that information was going to be very helpful to the officers who were looking for Aurora’s attacker.

“I can feel you looking at me,” she grumbled. “How am I supposed to sleep while you watch me?”

“Sorry,” he said, “my brain just won’t shut off. If you need me to go, I can.”

“No, I like knowing that you’re here,” she admitted. “I feel safe.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you at the bakery. I feel like I’m responsible,” he admitted. Tony had thought of improving the safety measures around the bakery, but his Nonno always told him that would be a ridiculous waste of money.

“No, it wasn’t your fault at all,” she insisted. She tried to sit up in bed and moaned, grabbing her forehead.

“Don’t try to sit up,” he insisted. Aurora laid back down and huffed out her breath.

“I feel so helpless,” she whispered. “I should have known that Joe would find me sooner or later.”

“You know the person who attacked you?” Tony asked.

“I do,” she breathed. “I dated him a few times, back at home. When I realized that he was becoming too clingy, I told him that we couldn’t see each other anymore.”

“I take it that he didn’t like the fact that you broke up with him,” Tony filled in. Some guys couldn’t seem to take no for an answer, and those were the guys that he wanted to pummel. But fighting outside of the ring would have gotten him in hot water with Jonesy. He’d have Tony’s balls and that was the last thing that he needed.

“No, he didn’t. In fact, he started showing up at places where I’d be, claiming at first that it was pure coincidence, but after a while, I could tell that he was stalking me. I was scared to even leave my apartment, and when I realized that I went down to the police station and filed a restraining order against Joe.”

“How did that go over?” Tony asked.

“About as well as you’d think,” Aurora said. “When I realized that he wasn’t going to ever stop, I packed my things and I left town, looking for a new start. That’s when I came here and started working at the bakery. Elio was so nice to me, and you were—um, you.” Tony started to protest, and she held up her hand. “Yes, I know that you don’t hate me now, but at the time, I thought that you did, and it was very lonely for me. I really don’t know many people around town—except for the regulars who come in every morning. I was planning on leaving, and maybe I should have because now that Joe is here, he won’t leave me alone. He told me that he’s been stalking me for weeks now, waiting for his chance to get to me. He planned on taking me with him, but when I fought back, he did this to me.” Aurora pointed to her bruised, swollen face and he wanted to go out and personally take care of this Joe asshole for her.

“So, now you’re planning on leaving town to get away from Joe. And when he finds you again, then what?” Tony asked. The last thing that he wanted was to give her ex another chance to get to her, but if she stayed in town, Joe would get his chance. The thought of that asshole taking her with him scared the hell out of Tony, but that was something that he’d have to overthink later. Right now, he was going to have to convince Aurora that she needed to let him keep her safe. He had a friend who worked for the local police department who would help him find her ex, but until that happened, he wanted to keep her by his side. The question was, would she allow that or was she going to give him a fight? If she did, he could always call in the big guns—his grandfather. Elio would be able to convince her to accept help, even if she was stubborn as a mule.

“Leaving town is the only way to keep you and Elio safe,” she insisted. “If Joe has been watching me, and I have no reason to believe that he was lying about that, then he knows that you and Elio are important to me.” Hearing Aurora admit that he was important to her made his heart do a little flip-flop in his chest. She had always made him a little nervous. Hell, he even told her that she made him tongue-tied, but he left off the part about her giving him butterflies every time she so much as smiled at him.

“He’ll come after you both to try to hurt me for not cooperating with him today. Joe will want revenge, and I don’t want to give him that satisfaction, so as soon as I’m discharged from here, I’m packing up and heading out of town.”

“What about your job?” Tony asked, hoping that the bakery would be enough incentive for her to stay.

“Please tell Elio how much I appreciate him giving me the job. I love that place, but I’ve already told you that I can’t stick around and let Joe hurt you. He’ll follow me and you will both be safe.” There was no way that he was going to let her leave town and have to deal with her ex all alone. What if he caught up to her again, and this time, he wouldn’t be there to stop him?

“What about Elio? He will need you to be here so that we can convince him to fight this cancer. If you leave town, he’ll think that you’ve given up on him,” Tony insisted.

“I’ll call him and explain everything to him. I’ll have to just make him understand that it’s for the best,” she insisted. She seemed to have all the answers to every question that he threw her way, but he was hoping that this one really tripped her up.

“What about me?” Tony asked. “I thought that you liked me. Are you willing to just take off and not find out if there’s something between us?”

“That’s not fair,” she insisted. “All this time, you’ve practically ignored me, and now that it’s not safe for me to stay here, you tell me that I should stick around to see if there’s anything between us?” Yeah, he wasn’t playing fair, but he also knew that playing dirty was sometimes the way to win the game.

He shrugged, “If that’s what it takes to keep you here, I’ll play dirty, honey,” he said, bobbing his eyebrows at her. She smiled at him, but he could tell that she was still on the fence about staying. “Listen, the cops want to question you about what happened, but the doctor won’t let them in here until you’re out of the woods.”

“Well, I should know something tonight,” she insisted. She was determined to give him a hard time. It was kind of cute and a whole lot frustrating, but he knew that she’d eventually do the right thing.

“Come home with me,” he breathed, not giving her time to think of another excuse to tell him. “Let me help you heal, and then, you can give the cops their statement. If you still want to leave after all that, I won’t try to stop you. I just don’t want you to go on the road in your condition. Please, Aurora. I can keep you safe while you get better, let me take care of you.”

She closed her eyes and laid back and for a minute, Tony thought that she wasn’t going to give him an answer. “Fine,” she breathed. “But I think that Elio should have someone with him too, just in case Joe shows up there.”

“Done,” Tony said. “His in-home nurse starts tomorrow, and she was a former Army medic. She’ll be able to handle Joe if he shows up at my grandfather’s place. I can also have Rocco and Luca stop by there a couple of times a day until you and I can check in on him.”

“It just seems like a lot of trouble that I’m putting everyone through,” she said.

“Not at all,” he insisted. “Just accept the help, Aurora. Let me take care of you,” he said again. He sounded like a lovesick sack, but he didn’t care. He wanted her to stick around, and if that helped, he’d do it all over again.

“If you’re sure, I’ll stay at your place until I can decide what to do next,” she said.

“Good, now let’s find the doctor and get some answers,” he said. “I’m going to step into the hallway and check on the status of your test results.”

“They won’t give them to you,” Aurora insisted.

“Of course, they will,” he said. “I’ll need to know what’s going on with my wife, after all.”

Luckily, Aurora only had a concussion, and although it was a nasty one, she didn’t have any brain bleeds or broken bones, so that was good news. They kept her in the hospital for two nights, and even though she protested that she was good enough to go home, the doctor disagreed, and Tony had to admit that he was happy about that. He needed a couple of days to get everything set up and get his cop friend to come in to talk to Aurora. He wanted her to file another restraining order, and his friend would be able to convince her to do it. He liked to scare the hell out of people to get them to do the right thing. He could turn a wayward teen straight and even had criminals wanting to reform. Tony was sure that he’d be able to convince Aurora to file that restraining order.

He also had to clear things with Jonesy, so that he could take some time off. He had a gym in his basement, and Rocco and Luca agreed to come by to spar with him, to help keep him in shape for his upcoming fights. Jonesy was reluctant to say yes to his request for time off, but he eventually agreed after Tony told him what happened to Aurora, and about Elio’s diagnosis. Jonesy even agreed to stop by and check on his grandfather for him, and Tony was grateful for his help. They were his makeshift family now, and he appreciated everything that the guys were willing to do for him.

When Aurora was released from the hospital, he had everything in place and was ready to bring her home. He even had the guys move everything out of her tiny apartment and into his house. He didn’t want her to have any excuses to have to leave to pick up something from there. Plus, it would give him the way forward to asking her to move in with him until they could find her a better, safer place to live. Her place was in a horrible neighborhood, even though she protested that it was fine, and he hated the thought of letting her ever go back there again. Of course, Aurora gave him hell, but Tony brought in the big guns, Elio, and she finally agreed to move in with him until she was able to find a safer place to live.

He helped her into his place and she looked around. “Your home is nice,” she whispered. “It doesn’t look like a bachelor pad at all.”

“That’s because Nonna helped me decorate. It’s also why some of my furnishings look like they belong in Grandma’s house.” Tony laughed and dropped her overnight bag at the front door. “How about I show you around, and then, you can rest a bit while I make us some dinner?” Tony asked.

“I’d love to lay down. I can’t believe how much just sitting in your truck has worn me out.”

“You’ve been through a lot, Aurora,” he said. “It’s understandable.” Yesterday, his buddy from the force stopped in to see Aurora in the hospital. He explained that putting in a restraining order against Joe was the only way that the local authorities would be able to help keep her safe. He warned her that not doing so would only mean that Joe could get close enough to her to hurt her again, and that was all Aurora needed to hear. She agreed to put in the restraining order and filled out the paperwork on the spot. His friend was good enough to offer to take everything down to the courthouse to file it immediately, and Aurora thanked him. Tony had to admit; he was relieved that she had agreed to file the restraining order. It would make his job of protecting her easier, and hopefully, would allow Aurora to relax a little bit, and maybe even stop talking about leaving town. He didn’t want to admit it, but the thought of her leaving broke his heart, and he wasn’t quite sure why that was.

He showed her up to his spare room and promised to wake her for dinner. Aurora started to shut the door and quickly pulled it back open again. “Hey, Tony,” she called. He turned and looked back down the hallway at her. “Thanks for everything.” Tony wasn’t sure what to even say to her. He’d do it all again if it meant keeping Aurora safe. He nodded and she shut the bedroom door. He just stood there like an idiot, looking at the closed door, smiling like a loon because he had the woman he had wanted for a while staying in his spare room. Now, his only problem was figuring out how to get her into his bed—because he knew that eventually, that was where she’d end up.

It had been three very long weeks of cold showers, late-night encounters at the refrigerator, and having to see Aurora parading around the house in her skimpy little pajamas. She was driving him insane and every time he tried to make a move she’d shut him down.

They’d go into the bakery together every day because she insisted that closing wasn’t an option. She told him that if they shut down Joe would win, and she wouldn’t allow that. She was stubborn as a mule, and God, he wanted her with every fiber of his being.

After they closed the bakery every afternoon, she’d go back home with him where he’d spend the rest of the day and part of the night working out. Rocco and Luca usually came over after dinner to spar in his makeshift ring in the basement, and Aurora retreated to her room, shutting him out. Tony was starting to lose count of how many times he stood outside of her room, staring at the closed door, trying to work up the nerve to knock. But he hadn’t and now, he wasn’t sure that he could face one more cold shower.

Tony got up in the middle of the night after realizing that Aurora liked to raid the refrigerator at about two every morning. He knew that if he was in the kitchen at the same time as she was, he might get up the nerve to ask her to come back to his bed with him—but that never worked out for him either. Tonight though, tonight was going to be the night that he told her how he felt about her and hoped like hell that she felt the same way about him.

“Oh, did I wake you?” she asked as he walked into the kitchen. She asked him that every night and every night, he told her the same thing. He looked over her body and realized that she was only wearing a tank top and panties and damn if she didn’t look good enough to eat.

“Nope,” he breathed, “I just came downstairs to get some water.” That was his response most nights. They’d make small talk and then, he’d chicken out and go back to his bedroom to be alone. “That’s a total fucking lie,” he admitted. She put the ice cream back into the refrigerator and turned to look at him.

“What’s a lie?” Aurora asked.

“I’m not down here for water,” he said, “I’m down here because you’re down here. Hell, I come down here every night at this time just to see you. And then, you go back to your room, and I stand outside your door trying to work up the nerve to knock.” She crossed the room to stand in front of him and Tony was careful not to touch her. If he did, this might all be over, and he wasn’t ready for that to happen.

“Why haven’t you knocked?” she asked.

He shrugged, “Because I’m a fucking chicken. Because I was worried that you’d turn me down or tell me that you don’t want the same thing as I do.” There, he had laid it all out there and now, it was going to be her turn to decide if she wanted to be a chicken or not. He saw the way that Aurora looked at him at the bakery. She’d often come downstairs with him while he worked out, saying that she just wanted some company, but the way that she stared at him while he worked up a sweat turned him completely inside out with need.

“What do you want, Tony?” Aurora asked, stepping even closer to him. She was so close that all he had to do was tilt his head, and their lips would touch. It was all he wanted to do, and she did ask him what he wanted. Maybe showing her might be the better option.

“This,” he whispered, dipping his head to brush his lips over hers. He had kissed her a few times now, but not since she had moved into his place with him. Kissing her took on a whole new meaning when she moved into his house, and he wanted to be sure that she wanted him and didn’t just want him to keep her safe from her ex.

He broke their kiss, and she smiled up at him. “It’s about time,” she breathed.

“What?” he asked, not sure if he had heard her correctly.

“I said, it’s about time, Tony. I’ve been waiting weeks for you to do that, but I wasn’t sure that you still wanted to. I mean, you kissed me before I was attacked, and I thought that you might not want to anymore because I told you about my ex.”

“No,” he insisted, “me not kissing you had nothing to do with your ex. It had to do with the fact that you live with me now, and I didn’t want to overstep. I mean, I don’t want you to think that you have to kiss me because you’re in my house or anything,” he admitted. “I was afraid that you changed your mind.”

“No,” she whispered, “I haven’t changed my mind about you, Tony. I still feel the same way, even more so, if that’s possible.” He wasn’t sure what Aurora meant, and he forgot what he was even thinking as she went up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him. He loved the way that she seemed to take what she needed from him.

Aurora broke the kiss and grabbed the hem of her tank top, tugging it up over her head. His eyes followed her hands every move and when she removed her panties, he nearly swallowed his damn tongue. She was standing completely naked in front of him, and she was as beautiful in real life as she was in his dreams every night.

“God,” he whispered, “you’re gorgeous. Are you sure about this, honey?” Tony asked.

“I am,” she admitted. “I’ve never wanted this from any man except you, Tony. I’m just not sure what to do.”

Tony froze. He wasn’t sure if he was hearing things or maybe he just misunderstood, but he was pretty sure that Aurora was telling him that she was a virgin. “Have you ever been with another man, honey?” he asked, needing to know for sure.

She shook her head, “No,” she whispered. She looked down at her body and seemed to realize that she was naked. Aurora tried to cover herself with her arms, but it wasn’t working.

“Honey,” he breathed. Tony hated that he was making her feel unsure about herself. “Don’t try to hide from me. I don’t care that you’re a virgin. I just need to know so that I can take care of you and make your first time good. You do know that it’s going to hurt a little, right?”

She nodded, “I can’t believe we’re talking about this right now. I’ve been waiting for the right man to have sex with, and well, I think that you’re that man, Tony. But if you’ve changed your mind, I’ll understand.”

He wrapped his arms around Aurora, “No,” he breathed. “I’m honored that you’ve chosen me to be your first, honey. Hell, it’s a complete turn-on, but I need to know that you haven’t changed your mind.”

“I haven’t,” she said, “I want you to be my first, Tony.”

He didn’t need any further confirmation. Tony lifted Aurora into his arms and walked across the kitchen, sitting her bare ass on the hardwood table. She hissed out her breath as he kissed his way down her body, settling between her legs.

“I’m going to taste you, Aurora,” he said. He wasn’t asking her permission—she had already given that, but she still nodded her head and closed her eyes. “Open your eyes and watch me, honey,” he ordered. He liked the way that she shyly opened them for him, and looked down her body to where he stood. “Don’t move,” he said. She nodded again, and he could tell that she was as turned on as he was.

Tony licked his way through her wet folds and when she nearly bucked off the damn table, he grabbed both of her hips, holding them with his big hands as he finished what he started. He practically had her levitating off the fucking table by the time he finished eating her pussy, and God, when she came, he nearly did the same in his boxers.

He pulled off his T-shirt and his boxers after lowering her back to the table. He knew that he wasn’t going to last long once he got inside of her. “Are you on the pill?” Tony asked.

She nodded her head, “Yes,” she said.

“I am clean, but I can run upstairs to get a condom if you prefer,” he offered.

“You don’t keep them in the kitchen?” Aurora teased. She went up on her elbows and looked his body over and when she bit her bottom lip, he wanted to cover his cock.

“Jesus, honey,” he growled, “you keep looking at it that way, this will be over before we even get started.”

She reached for him as he stood between her legs, his cock nudging the drenched folds of her pussy. “I don’t need you to run upstairs, Tony,” she assured. “I trust you.” That was a good thing because he wasn’t sure that he’d even be able to make it upstairs at this point.

“You sure about this?” he asked. “This is going to hurt at first.” His voice sounded rough and needy even to his own ears. She nodded again, and that was all he needed from Aurora. He slammed into her body, making Aurora cry out.

“Tell me that you’re okay, honey,” he whispered. He hated that he didn’t go easy on her, but he wanted to get the bad part over with quickly for her.

“I think I’m good,” she said, squirming around on the table.

Tony moaned, “Jesus, Aurora,” he grumbled. “You keep doing that and I’m going to come.”

“Isn’t that the idea?” she asked.

“Eventually,” he said, “but first, I need to hear you scream out my name again—this time while I’m deep inside of you.”

She smiled up at him and wrapped her legs around his waist. “I’d like that,” she said. Tony started to move a bit, and when she moaned out how good it felt, he knew that she was with him. He pumped in and out of her body and when he could tell that she was close, he snaked his hand down between their bodies and rubbed his thumb over her clit. She shouted his name, and Tony felt a smug satisfaction that he had never felt with any other woman.

“God, you feel so fucking good,” he growled. “This is going to be fast now, but I’ll make it up to you once I get you upstairs to my bed,” he promised, knowing that he wasn’t going to last much longer.

“Oh,” she breathed, “you want me in your bed?”

He stilled inside of her, wanting to make it perfectly clear exactly what he wanted from her. “I want you in my bed tonight and every fucking night after, honey. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes,” she breathed, pulling him down for a kiss that nearly had him catching fire. He pumped in and out of her body with a new purpose—chasing his orgasm. When he came deep inside of Aurora, he shouted out her name, feeling the importance of the moment. She had finally given herself to him, and that wasn’t something that he’d ever take lightly. Waiting for Aurora was hell, but now that he finally had her, there was no way that he’d ever let her go. Moving her into his bed was only the first step. Once he got her used to that idea, he planned on moving her into his entire life. But the one thing that boxing had taught him was patience and timing, and with Aurora, he had a feeling that he’d be using both of those skills.