Page 69 of Precious Hazard (Perfectly Imperfect #11)

Only after she starts coming down from her high do I resume pounding into her, seeking my own release. Just two strokes get me there. My balls draw up, and I roar as my hot cum explodes into her, filling her with my seed.

My witch.

My precious little hazard.

One month later

Piazza Navona, Rome

As I approach the center of the square, the magnificence of centuries-old buildings on all sides takes my breath away.

The cobblestones under the soles of my heeled sandals are warm with the heat of the afternoon sun.

Clusters of tourists are gathered everywhere, their voices blending into a harmonious hum of several different languages.

The air smells faintly of roasted chestnuts, and the slight breeze carries the delicious aroma of fresh bread from nearby cafés.

I can’t believe I’m in Rome!

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I whisper, soaking up the view.

“Couldn’t agree more,” Arturo says behind me.

I turn around, finding him leaning his shoulder on the stone wall, watching me.

Earlier, he ditched his suit jacket in our hotel suite, choosing to head out without it.

The sleeves of his dress shirt are rolled up, the top two buttons are undone.

The open collar shows off a touch of his bronzed chest, his sexy-as-fuck collarbones, and his scruff-covered neck with the golden cross around it.

As I look at my man, I’m reminded of that not-so-long-ago day at Naos. Back then, it was the glint of the lights instead of the sun’s rays on his necklace that captured my attention as I walked up to him. All these months later, he still has the power to take my breath away.

“Are you going to finally explain why you insisted we come to Rome, of all places, this weekend?” I ask.

“Last week, after Drago mentioned the vacation he’s taking Sienna on, you taunted him about never taking you anywhere fun.

” He pushes away from the wall and prowls toward me with slow, predatory steps.

“And well, you know how much I love pissing him off. So I decided you deserve a getaway before them,” he chuckles.

“I left a postcard for him with the hotel reception, with orders for it to be sent as priority mail.”

“You’re still ticked at Drago for scheming with Ajello? Or do you still think he sold the Greeks’ property to you on purpose, setting in motion everything we went through?”

“Both. But also, I just don’t like him.”

“We’ve been over this, Arturo.”

“Mm-hmm. But the twisted dick still thinks he loves Sienna more than I love you.”

“You two really need to stop this childish behavior. Who loves who more is a ridiculous competition to be in.” I sigh.

I guess it’s better than the other shit they continue to argue about.

Sienna and I have been trying to resolve the ongoing animosity between our brothers.

So far, with little success. Drago holds Arturo responsible for my getting shot and nearly dying.

And Arturo is dead set on the idea that the entire clusterfuck wouldn’t have happened at all if Drago had better business sense.

As far as exploiting the Greeks’ collateral, that is.

“Is there any news on Stavros’s father?”

Arturo’s face contorts into a mask of rage.

“No. The motherfucker seems to have vanished and no one has been able to locate him. But he’ll surface eventually.

And when he does, I’m going to make sure his death is slow and extremely painful.

” He cups my cheek with his hand while his other palm settles over my heart.

“I’m still plagued by nightmares about that night. I almost lost you.”

“I’m fine. I’m here. With you.” Lifting onto my toes, I press my mouth to his.

He briefly pulls my lower lip between his teeth, but then, with a rather amused look on his face, lowers himself to one knee.

“Another reason why I picked Rome is because my jeweler is here. That way, when you once more tell me ‘no,’ I can pick up the new ring right away and ask you again.” He smirks, lifting an emerald ring in its velvet box before me. “Will you marry me , gattina ?”

My heart flutters as it does every time he asks me.

He’s been trying to correct his wrongs, starting with a romantic proposal that I never received before we agreed to wed.

Once I agree, he wants us to renew our vows.

To say the words of love to each other, and this time, we’ll both mean them.

To date, he has proposed more than a dozen times, approaching twenty, maybe.

I’ve honestly lost count. But it’s time. He’s redeemed himself enough.

I smile and reach for the ring. The long-awaited yes is ready to leave my lips when Arturo’s gaze snaps to the side. The mirth in his eyes transforms into frustration as he stares at something behind me.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“What?” I look around, not seeing anything amiss. “I don’t… What’s going on?” I gape at Arturo as he rises, throwing out a bunch of Italian curses under his breath, and stuffs my ring back into his pocket. “Hey! Give that back!”

“Nope. The little shit somehow followed me all the way here. I won’t allow any bad luck to spoil this for us.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“That.” He juts his chin to the right.

My gaze shifts in the direction he indicated. Darting past the tourists huddled in groups. Searching, searching. Until it stops on the ornate trash can near a restaurant.

On top, hind leg straight up in the air, sits a scrawny black cat. One who’s vigorously licking his ass.

I slam my palm over my mouth to stifle a laugh. Fail. Chuckling at the all-mighty Arturo DeVille. My man is superstitious?

“Why are you giggling? It’s not funny,” he grumbles.

Shaking my head, I grab the front of his shirt and pull him down for a kiss.

“Just give me the ring,” I murmur into his lips.

“No,” he rasps.

I rear back. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

“I want to make it perfect. And this is definitely not.”

“But, I was just going to—”

His mouth slams against mine, cutting off the rest of my words.

Sometime later

New York

“Yes, I know it’s urgent, boss.” I shove the door shut with my foot and lug the bag of groceries to the kitchen.

In my hurry to get home, I almost forgot to pick up the ingredients for the lasagna I’m teaching Tara how to make tomorrow.

While Ajello yammers in my ear, I quickly put everything away and set off in search of my wife.

“Tara has already gone over the contract and picked it apart. Those assholes tried to sneak in a higher rate than we originally agreed on and added a penalty to the delay clause. My guess is they figured we wouldn’t notice. I’ll see if—”

I jerk to a stop halfway to the stairs, not quite believing my eyes. Water is streaming down the steps from the upper level and cascading off the landing like a small waterfall.

“I’m going to have to call you back.” I cut the line.

As I take the stairs two at a time, the soles of my shoes splash through the running water that quickly soaks through to my feet. Ridiculous squishing sounds beset me as I head down the hallway in search of the source of the leak.

“Tara!” I barge into our bedroom. “Baby, what’s going on here?”

“Oh, hey, darling.” My wife sticks her face through the doorway, grinning sheepishly. “You’re home early. How about you go back to the office and try again in an hour? Or maybe three. Tomorrow would be better.”

Her wet hair is gathered at the top of her head, several strands plastered to her rosy cheeks and forehead. The gray T-shirt she’s wearing is soaked through, clinging to her breasts and stomach. No bra today. Lucky me.

“I think I’ll stay.”

“Absolutely not!” She slips out of the bathroom through the narrowest gap, shutting the door in her wake, then leans on it as if she’s Cerberus guarding the gate. “The plumber is already on his way, and everything will be fixed in no time. I’ll text you as soon as it’s all done.”

A smile threatens to break across my face, but I keep it in, biting the inside of my lip. Throwing my jacket on the back of the recliner that’s started to absorb water at its base, I cross the flooded floor and lean down to kiss my wife.

“What did you do, Tara darling?” I whisper while nibbling her lower lip. “Leave the tub to fill up, but forgot about it?”

“Uh-uh. The pipe under the sink was dripping,” she explains while she climbs up my body to wrap her legs around my waist. “I knew your day was full of meetings and things, and that you’d be dog-tired when you got home.

So I tried to fix it myself because I didn’t want you to have to deal with the issue. Um… It didn’t go as planned, though.”

“Can I have a look?”

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she buries her face in the crook of my neck. “Please, don’t. It’s a disaster.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.” I adjust my hold, shifting Tara so I can support her ass with one hand while I reach for the bathroom doorknob with the other.

And open the portal to utter chaos.

Several jets are projecting from the cracked pipe under the sink like geysers, gushing in almost every direction.

The largest is blasting the opposite wall, resulting in secondary sprays as the stream ricochets and drenches everything in sight, including my toolbox, which is half-submerged right next to the open vanity.

“I… I tried turning off the under-the-sink valve, but I must have done something, and the handle kinda broke off,” she continues in a small voice, with her face still pressed into the hollow between my neck and shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll fix this mess.”

I kiss her forehead, then take her chin between my fingers and tilt her head so our gazes connect. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay , Arturo. What about the new flooring? It’s hardwood. And the entire house was just redone. What about the furniture? And…”

She continues spitting out concern after concern at a rapid pace as I wade across the water-sodden floor, carrying her to the towel cabinet while trying my best to avoid the worst of the spray. It appears like the safest spot, so I set my wife on the counter.

“…if it can even be fixed, that is. Shit. What if we need to replace all the pipes in the house?”

Water splashes my back as I reach into my pocket and pull out a small velvet box. I’ve been carrying it around since we returned from Rome, waiting for the perfect time.

Perfect. The only perfect thing in my life is my wife. With her, everything else becomes perfect.

“And what if insurance won’t cover it? And— Arturo? What the fuck? Get off your knee. You’re getting completely wet!”

I smirk and lift the ring up to her. “Will you marry me, Tara darling?”

She gapes at me. “Really, Arturo? You’re asking me now?”

“Really. The timing doesn’t get more perfect than this.” I shrug.

“We’re in the middle of a major plumbing disaster, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“I did. So? Will you be my wife, my precious little hazard?”

Her lips press into a flat line as she stares at me for a long moment before a beaming smile breaks across her stunned face. Those beautiful green eyes of hers fill with tears as she starts nodding.

“Yeah,” she sniffs, then lifts her hand. “I’ll marry you.”

Well, thank fuck!

I slide the ring on her finger until it rests butting up against the very first one I chose for her. The ring I gave her before my mind fully understood what this incredible woman meant to me, yet my heart already knew she was priceless.

As soon as the two center emeralds connect over the wedding band, sitting slightly askew to inadvertently form an infinity symbol, I spring up and scoop my wife into my arms, then scurry to our bedroom.

“Um… Can we skip mentioning the major leak and the flood when we tell our future kids about this moment? We can just say I agreed to marry you in Rome,” she offers as I peel her wet T-shirt off her.

I smile and capture her mouth with mine.

“Absolutely not.”