Page 63 of His to Honor

Giulia’s expression is one of skepticism. I can’t say I blame her after how I behaved.

“You can cope with me dating other men?”

“It would rip me apart,” I tell her honestly, “but if that’s what it takes for us to be friends, then yes.”

“Friends,” Giulia muses. “And if I choose not to sign?”

“Then I promise I will never give you cause to run from me again. I love you, Giulia. I would rather stab myself in the eye than cause you pain.”

She grimaces at the imagery, then gets up, drops the envelope on the table, and walks to the window. She stares out over the magnificent view of the park for a minute and then turns around.

“Do you understand why I left Italy?” she asks.

“Because I scared you. I took away your choices.”

“And now you’re giving me back control?”

“Yes. Whether you dissolve the marriage or not, I won’t ever push you like that again.”

Giulia picks up the envelope and removes its contents. She scans the first page then glances up at me. “But you’ll still be you, right?”

I think about that for a moment, trying to work out what she’s looking for from me. “I’m not sure what you mean, sweetheart.”

“Well, I mean you won’t… uh… you’ll punish me for leaving you, right?”

Is it my imagination, or is there a hopeful note in her voice? Is she looking for a way to move forward? I get to my feet and stalk toward her. “Of course. You put yourself in danger when you ran. I can’t allow that to go unpunished.”

Her tongue flicks out and runs across her lower lip. “What would you do to me?”

“Well.” I wrap my left arm around her waist and pull her flush against me. I drop my head to whisper in her ear. “First, I’d order you to strip. I’d watch you every second as you bare your beautiful body to me. Then I’d bind your wrists and put you over my knee.”

“Then what?” Giulia’s voice is breathless. She’s aroused.

“I’d spank your ass raw and then show you what it means to be mine.”

She puts her hand on my chest, not to push me away, but to grab a handful of my shirt. “What does it mean to be yours, Matty?”

My heart skips a beat as she addresses me by my pet name and gazes up at me with wide eyes. It would be an innocent look if they weren’t darkened with desire.

“It means putting up with me being a dominant, possessive asshole. It means letting me fuck you any way I choose.” I pop open the button on her jeans. “It means your mouth, your pussy, your ass, are mine to stuff full of my cum whenever I want, wherever I want.” I give her a moment to process. “Think you can deal with that?”

“I guess it depends on whether you love me.”

“Oh, fuck, sweetheart,” I groan. “I do. I love you so fucking much it hurts.”

Lowering my lips, I capture hers in a tender kiss. She tastes of honey. As my tongue pushes past her lips, I slide my hand into her jeans to cup her feminine mound. She sways against me, then pulls back. “Wait!”

I withdraw my hands from her jeans and go completely still. Have I read her wrong? Perhaps that’s my problem. I think because I know her so well that I understand her needs.

“We have a little something to take care of.” She holds up the annulment papers and slowly rips them in two.

“Thank fuck!” I breathe out.

Giulia squeals as I bend suddenly and haul her over my shoulder in one slick movement. I stride toward the corridor, back to the bedroom where I slept last night.

“Matteo!” my woman, my wife, protests. “What are you doing?”

“What I said I would do, sweetheart. I’m going to punish you.”

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