Page 65 of Bound to the Mafia King

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Anastasia

Istirred from my sleep. I could feel the morning rays from the sunlight that streamed in from the balcony door we had left open last night. My body was spent and sore. I could still feel the beating of my core. The man had worked my body in ways that I had never experienced in my life.

I reached my hand, expecting to find him beside me, but all I felt was the smooth cotton sheets under my palm. I fluttered my eyes open to find an empty space beside me.

That was odd.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to rid my vision of the sleep that lay laden in my pupils. I sat up and pressed the sheets to my chest. The breeze blew in from the window, cooling the hot air I had been sleeping in. It cooled my heated face and awakened more of my body to the new day.

I could not believe this man had left me in bed alone. I wanted cuddles, and I felt a little cranky without them, as corny as that sounded. Sleeping in his arms gave me a peace I could not quite put into words.

The scent of flapjacks and freshly brewed coffee wafted into my nose from under the bedroom door. My stomach rumbled from hunger instantly.

I had worked up quite the appetite after round five of sex. Oh yes, we had made love in every inch of the room, closet, and bathroom.

I guessed he had a good reason for leaving me alone in bed. He was preparing sustenance for me so that I didn't faint.

I looked around the room for something to throw over my body and noticed his large button-down. I grabbed it and threw it over my small frame, already feeling comforted by the scent of his cologne on the fabric. The thing reached me mid-thigh and showed off my legs perfectly. I wasn’t ashamed to grab the fabric and breathe it in deeply through my nose.

Fresh pine and musk.

I would never grow tired of his scent. It sent my hormones into overdrive every time I got a whiff of it.

I left the room with bare feet and an empty stomach in search of the food he was preparing for me. This was a life that I could get used to. After a night of mind-blowing sex, I would wake up to breakfast being made for me without even having to ask.

I guess that was what happened when a man loved you. He was not afraid to go out of his way to offer you a little extra comfort.

My bare feet padded against the old hardwood floors as I followed the scent that led me to the kitchen. I stopped when I found him moving around the small space like he belonged there.

I leaned against the wooden archway and watched him move through the kitchen. For a man who said he didn’t have a domesticated bone in his body, he sure looked at ease doing domesticated things. He flipped the flapjacks and then he reached for the coffee pot in the center of the large island. Andthat’s when he felt my eyes on him. He lifted his gaze and smiled, not the little smirk that he usually did, but a full-blown cheek-to-cheek smile that had my center waking up and wanting more from the man who had taken me to heaven and back. His eyes moved up and down my body appreciatively, taking in my frame that drowned in his shirt.

“I like your shirt.” His eyes darkened, the hunger that had resided in them last night flashing across his pupils again. “Slept well,cielo?”

Now that I knew why he called me that, the word meant even more to me than it had before. I smiled internally, feeling giddy like a little child. My mother always said a woman was only truly in love when she was in touch with the little girl inside of her.

“I slept wonderfully, and you?” I pushed off the archway and stepped into the kitchen. I got myself comfortable on the highchair and stared at his face. “I am a little sore though. This guy that I know fucked me into oblivion last night. You think that I would have had enough, but it seems I’m craving a little more this morning.”

His eyes danced with mischief. “A little more?”

I nodded and leaned my elbows on the other side of the counter to him. I was planning on sprawling myself over the counter and giving him a little show, but my eyes stilled when I caught something sparkly reflecting off the counter.

My entire body went rigid as I stared at what it was. Was that…? Surely it wasn’t what I thought it was.

Valerio sighed dramatically, but my eyes were trained on the massive diamond that rested on my left finger. “I got that ring two months ago knowing that one day we would get to this point. You weren't supposed to be up yet. I was going to bring breakfast to you and then I was going to give you this—never mind.”

I stared at the ring on my finger in pure and utter shock. How had I not noticed it the moment I had woken up? The thingwas huge, but more importantly it had been placed on my finger, which meant that he wanted to…

My eyes moved from the sparkling diamond to Valerio who was looking at me with the same tenderness that he had last night. It was the look he had given me before he had told me he loved me. It was the same look he had on the plane when we were making our escape.

“Valerio…” I didn't know what else to say. I was at a loss for words.

“Cielo.” He stepped around the counter, the coffee he had been pouring long forgotten. “I am not very good with my words, so bear with me.”

I could hear the blood gushing past my ears. The ring felt like it weighed a thousand tons. My heart was light, and for the first time in years, this man had managed to unburden my soul.

He walked up to me and took my hands into his. His thumb rubbed the diamond on my ring and then he locked his gaze with mine. I could see the determination roaring in his pupils. He was a man on a mission, and he wanted to complete it.

---