Page 108 of Winter

Inca was silent, and Raffaelo, half-crazed, looked around. Her eyes were closed, the blanket soaked with blood.

“No … no …” The car screeched into town, towards the blue and red lights of the emergency vehicles, braking sharply, and he was out, opening the passenger door, desperate to get to her.

“Raff!” He heard his brother through the storm. Raffaelo gathered Inca up in his arms and trudged through the snow towards the emergency vehicles. Hot tears were flooding down his cheeks. He saw Tommaso’s expression when he saw her. Fear. Grief.

Then they were surrounded by paramedics and police and everything was a whirl.

Inca opened her eyes and drew in a long, deep lungful of cool fresh air.Alive.There was pain, yes, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Because, there, right in front of her, Raffaelo Winter saw her eyes had opened and his smile was better than any morphine.

Three months, four days, six hours. That’s how long they had been back in Italy. Back, safe, alive …

Inca stroked her fiancé’s face, marveling at his glorious beauty, the way he looked at her, the feel of his arms around her body. They sat in their bed, in their new villa in Naples, across the bay from Sorrento. They’d decided, like Tommaso in Venice, like Olly in Portland, on a new life, a new home.

It was summer, and the evening was sultry. They had dinner in a smalltrattoriain the city, then walked back up the hill to their home. As they walked into the villa, Inca had pulled her little white dress over her head, looking back over her shoulder at a grinning Raff. She lost her panties and her bra on the way to their bedroom; Raff lost his shirt and pants …

Now they held each other, enjoying the feeling of skin on skin. Nothing was hurried, nothing was desperate. They knew they had forever. Inca glanced down at his cock, thick, long, and rigid against her belly, and smiled, lying back and spreading her legs so he could plunge into her. They fucked slowly, leisurely, and came, shuddering and vibrating, kissing each other and murmuring their love.

Outside, the sun slid beneath the horizon and lit up the sky with fire as the lovers, catching their breath, began all over again …

The End