Page 15 of Forgive Me, Father

“May you always find comfort in each other’s arms, strength in each other’s spirit, and peace in each other’s love.And when storms come may your love be the anchor that holds you steady and the fire that brings you home.

“Now, please repeat after me.”

“Alfonso Matteo Henrico Pontisello,” the priest said, and Camilla gasped.

A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of my lips, barely contained.There was power in our name.The Pontisello name.

The priest’s voice cut through the tension, steady and formal.“Will you take Camilla Elisabeth Katarina Santore as your legal wife?To love and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

“I do.”

He asked Camilla the same, and she hesitated for a moment.Silence lingered.I looked at her.She appeared frozen.

“Camilla,” I whispered.She shook herself out of it.

“Of course, I do.”

My lips curved upward once more, and the priest stated that I could kiss my bride.

I turned toward her, and her gaze slowly lifted to meet mine.I had to lean down, her height barely reaching my chest.Camilla was easily more than a foot shorter than me.

Warm breath brushed across my lips as mine hovered just above hers, the proximity making the air between us feel charged with something neither of us could ignore.

I loved the tease, it was my ultimate game, and then, when I couldn’t hold my hunger anymore, my lips crushed onto hers.

My tongue delved into her mouth, stroked her tongue, and in a few strokes hers came alive.

She cupped my neck and mimicked my tongue’s rhythm.She pushed herself closer to me as if her body ached for the connection.Something told me she needed a fuck more than I did.

My mind grew hazy, and the priest cleared his throat.He brought me back out of my thoughts, and the kiss broke apart.

Her breath came in quick, uneven gasps, and her eyes, wide and uncertain, were locked on mine, filled with a wild, untamed energy.

She let go of my neck, and there was a slight strain in my back muscle.

What the fuck was that?

I gave a curt smile to the priest and thanked him for his time.

We signed our marriage certificate as Nico showed the priest out of the room.

“Why didn’t you tell me you are a Pontisello?”

“Would it have made a difference?”

She thought about it before shaking her head.

“Good.There won’t be a consummation ceremony tonight.The earliest I could arrange for one is tomorrow night.”

She swallowed hard as her cheeks flushed once more.But she did not say a word.

“Is there a specific person you would like there?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered.

“I’ll have some clothes brought up to you and have Cartier bring a selection of wedding bands to choose from.”We hadn’t done this with rings.It was a bland ceremony.

Probably the opposite of what she’d wanted.Having her wedding at Hotel de Anna’s told me that much.