Page 23 of Saint Of Envy (Tangled Hearts, Sinful Hands #2)

VALENTINA

I t’s hard to believe that weeks have passed since that terrible night in the desert.

I try not to think about it. I try to focus only on what I have now, which is a life free from control and forced submission.

There is so much for me to be happy about now that I try my hardest not to think about what I’ve lost.

Since I’ve recovered from my time in the hospital, I’ve been taking things slow, both physically and mentally. But honestly, I feel at least as if my body has completely recovered.

“Maybe we should take a trip,” Luc suggests one morning over coffee. “Get out of the city for a bit, take some time to relax and see new sights, and then come back to Vegas for a fresh start.”

“That sounds wonderful!” I exclaim. “But are you sure? Is it alright with Vincent if his consigliere takes off again?”

Luc laughs. “Technically, I was still fulfilling my duties even after I rescued you and absconded with you in Italy, and so I haven’t actually had a real vacation in a long while.

But yes, it’s fine with Vincent. I’ve already asked.

Isla even suggested initially. She thought you could use the chance to make a fresh start of things after?—”

He doesn’t finish that sentence, but I know where it was headed—after I lost the baby.

My body may have healed from the trauma I endured, but my mind is being peskier about letting it all go. The scars that I feel are internal, emotional ones that aren’t so easily patched up.

“It’s a great idea,” I say, moving past the awkward silence because I don’t want to dwell on those feelings for too long.

Even though I never planned on becoming pregnant, I wanted to see it through.

I wanted there to be a happy, healthy baby at the end of it—one that was created by the love that Luciano and I share.

“Great!” he says. “I’ll make the arrangements now.”

Within two days, we make the arrangements, set the vacation, and are on Vincent’s plane to a luxurious destination in Greece.

Unlike my last Mediterranean trip, I plan to enjoy this one to the fullest extent—starting from the moment we enter the hotel’s penthouse and Luc lifts me up and carries me into the bedroom.

I toss my head back and laugh as my legs dangle over the side of his arms. “Isn’t carrying a woman through the threshold supposed to only be for one’s wedding night?” I tease.

“I like to break the rules,” Luc grins mischievously. “Besides, I’m practicing.”

“Practicing for what?”

He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he sets me down on top of the bed and climbs over me.

Even though we are both still fully dressed, his cock is so hard and swollen that it visibly presses against the fabric of his pants, making the bulge between his legs press against me as I wriggle with delighted anticipation.

“Remember what I promised you back in the hospital?” he asks.

I nod, knowing full well what he’s referring to.

“And do you remember what you asked me in return?”

“Yes,” I grin. “I asked you what would happen if I never tired of making love to you.”

“Mhmm,” he nods as he unbuttons my shirt and pulls my skirt gently down over the side of my hips. “I’m about to test the theory of whether you will tire after hours of lovemaking.”

The very idea of spending hours upon hours in this bed, with Luc’s naked body intertwined with mine and my innermost crevices filled with his throbbing desire, sends me into an intoxicating delirium.

I absolutely can’t wait to spend most of this little getaway of ours in bed having sex.

And who knows, maybe it will create another little unplanned miracle.

I pull Luc’s shirt up over his head and toss it aside, practically giddy as I reach for his pants next.

My fingers fumble with the zipper because I’m too worked up and already practically vibrating with palpable desire.

So, he helps me, sliding his pants off and onto the floor beside the bed with ease before letting his weighty cock fall against the top of my thighs.

“You’re teasing me,” I whisper into his ear as he kisses the top of my collarbone, letting me feel his erection at my entrance without pushing into me just yet.

“Maybe,” he smirks as he traces the curvature of my breast with his tongue. “Maybe I just want to make this as satisfying as possible for you.”

I feel so worked up that it’s already nearly unbearable to wait any longer.

I’m not sure why everything feels so intense, but every sensation feels as if it’s amped up tenfold.

The touch of his skin against mine, the slow slide of his tongue across my breast, and the gentle pressure of his cock between my thighs—it’s overwhelming, as if all of my senses are on fire.

I dig my fingers into the sides of Luc’s waist and pull him into me, not wanting to wait even a moment longer. I think surprise overtakes him because he groans as if the feeling were unexpectedly intense.

Luc lifts himself up onto the palms of his hands and arches his back as he drives into me, unbridled, by taking his time now. He feels the same insatiable yearning that I do, and he can’t stop himself enough to slow down. It doesn’t take long before we’re both quivering into a roaring climax.

“I wanted that to last longer,” he pants against me as he lowers his face to my chest.

I run my hands through his carefully groomed hair until I’ve mussed it up a bit.

“Why would that matter?” I ask teasingly. “You said that we were going to be at this for hours, so I assume we can just go again, can’t we?”

“And again, and again, and again,” he smiles as he kisses me more.

The second time is longer, as is the third. But by the fourth time I’ve orgasmed on a single night, my body seems overly hyped. When Luc’s cock simply touches me, I tremble as if the oven is already too hot to stand anymore.

“Okay, I need to pause,” I laugh in exhaustion.

“Are you sure?” he grins at me, nibbling the side of my ear and holding in a small laugh. “I thought you said that you wanted to go on for hours or even days.”

“I do, I do.” I laugh. “But I need to catch my breath and give my body a chance to regroup. Otherwise, it’s going to get to where all you need to do is look at me in order to make me break into orgasm. That would be a pretty awkward precedent to set once we get back from this vacation.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he laughs. “It might be kind of fun.”

I give him a playful smack on the side, and we both sit up to drink some water. Luc reaches for his pants on the floor to put on, and I can’t help but frown.

“Aw, do you really need to put your pants back on, though?” I tease.

“Actually, yes, I do.” He puts his pants on and promptly reaches his hand into one of the front pockets as I sit naked on the side of the bed, watching him and wondering what he’s doing.

Before I can think anything of it, Luciano gets down on one knee in front of me. In his hand, he holds a small black velvet box. And when he opens the hinged top, it reveals the most stunning diamond ring that I've ever seen.

“Valentina Ricci,” he says, completely taking me by surprise.

“I am so in love with you, as I know I always have been. You have my heart, and you always will. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and make you the happiest woman alive, if you’ll give me the chance and do me the honor of being my wife. Will you marry me?”

Tears fall from my eyes, dripping down my cheeks and onto my bare breasts as I stare at him, overjoyed. Luc, half-naked as he holds the ring up toward me with one hand and wipes my tears with the other, is everything that I’ve ever wanted, and I could not be more in love with him than I already am.

This time, when I get married, it will be my choice. It will be for love, and I will be the only one to determine my fate.

“Yes!” I say ecstatically. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you, Luciano! I love you so much.”

I cry happy tears as I throw my arms behind his neck and pull his mouth to mine. The kiss is one that I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for, even though my lips are practically sore from all the kissing we’ve done since we got here.

When I let go, Luc pulls the ring from its box and carefully slips it onto my finger. It’s stunning, and this moment is nothing short of perfect. Actually, it’s about to get even more surprisingly perfect now.

“Oh!” I say in surprise as my hand with the new diamond ring on it quickly touches my stomach.

“What is it?” he asks. “Are you okay?”

“Luc,” I say hesitantly, so that I don’t let myself get carried away again with false hope. “Luc, I think I just felt something.”

“What? What do you mean? Did I hurt you with too much sex?”

“No, no, not at all,” I say as I quickly get up and walk toward the floor-length mirror at the corner of the room.

I turn sideways and notice my profile. I have been feeling a bit more “round” lately than usual, and my clothes have been fitting tighter for no apparent reason.

It isn’t until I stand at the mirror studying my profile that Luc notices it too.

“Valentina, did your period ever return after the hospital?”

“No,” I say as it suddenly dawns on me that I’ve missed several cycles now. “Do you think it’s possible that I—oh! There it is again!”

“What?”

“I feel a fluttering inside,” I say as I rub my stomach with both hands and try to elicit the motion again as we both look in the mirror at my stomach.

When it happens a third time, there’s no mistaking it—it’s not just a “fluttering,” it feels like a tiny, definitive little kick.

I wanted a miracle, and I thought it was na?ve of me to think that I would ever get one.

But yet all the signs are now adding up—my rounder figure, the missed period that never returned, the increased hormones and sensations during sex, and now—the indisputable feeling that there is something, or someone, inside of me moving around to let me know they are still there and still alive.

I reach for Luc’s hand and press it tightly to my stomach. It might still be too light for him to feel from the outside. But then, when it happens again, his eyes quickly dart to mine without saying a word.

“You felt that too, didn’t you?” I ask, embracing the idea that the impossible has happened and that even after the horrid pill, our unborn child has survived.

Luc nods, and his jaw drops open for a moment before he pulls me into his arms and holds me.

“She’s still here with us,” he says with a reverent sigh of relief. “She’s a fighter, just like her mother.”

THE END

Did you miss Book 1 of the Tangled Hearts, Sinful Hands: Devil of Vegas? Check it out here or turn the page for a sneak peek.