Page 46 of Third Degree

“Wait, this is your room?” I looked around the bathroom and peered through the door when I realized it was his bedroom. When I was here years ago, we only ever stayed downstairs in the guest bedroom. This room felt newer than the rest of the house, almost as if it had just been redone.

“Yeah. A few years back, I wanted to make a room that you would want to come to one day. We can always redecorate if you hate it, but I thought it would be a needed change.”

He beckoned me into the shower, and I got in there with him as his hands traced along my curves. My nipples pebbled immediately.

We took time washing each other and stealing kisses between stolen touches. When we were finished, I grabbed a towel, and he gave me one of his t-shirts that almost reached my knees. He ushered me to his bed before tucking me under his thick comforter.

It was the first time I had ever slept with another person, and I felt a little uncomfortable not knowing where to put my hands or feet. It wasn’t until he crawled in behind me and tucked me into the molded curve of his body that I felt like I had a place.

If this was what sleeping with someone else was like, I didn’t know if I would ever suffer from insomnia again. Drowsiness started to blanket me like when I was sitting in his car.

It just came… naturally when I was with him.

“This feels good,” I murmured.

“I would do anything, rosa mia, and I mean truly anything, to make sure that this is what the rest of our lives are like forever. This feeling? It is beyond just feeling good. It is indescribable.”

With his confession easing my mind, I let sleep consume me. It was one of the easiest and quickest ways I had ever been able to rest in my entire life.

16

Elio

49 years old

Waking up to Gianna in my bed was a complete surprise, surpassing any expectations I had.

Ever since Bea’s death, I had struggled with insomnia, haunted by memories of my past transgressions and the lies I told her about working at the club. Ghosts from the past plagued my mind, keeping me awake.

However, feeling the gentle rhythm of Gianna’s breath against my chest and the natural intertwining of our legs brought about a sense of peace I hadn’t experienced in years.

The hem of the shirt I had given her also inadvertently teased me throughout the night, leaving me painfully aroused.

As we boarded the plane back to San Diego, the reality of Julian’s wedding looming tomorrow, I yearned to keep Gianna secluded in my bedroom, shielded from the outside world. I knew that it was only a matter of mere months, if not weeks, before I would have to enact my plan and contact Ricardo. After I dropped her off at her apartment today, I needed to call him and figure out the plan now that Alex and Julian were informed.

We boarded the plane, and it was so fucking cute to watch how fascinated and in awe Gianna was. She kept thanking the flight attendant.

“Come sit next to me,” I murmured, gently grabbing her by the waist and placing her on my lap.

She was in the same outfit she wore yesterday without the jewelry, and she looked like a fucking gem. Her free spirit was something I was in constant awe of.

Just as the plane started taxiing down the runway, she wriggled in my lap to peer out the window. I held her tight against me.

“If you move any more, amore, I may not be able to let you sit here.”

She laughed joyfully and brushed a fallen hair off my forehead. Her touch was the only medicine I needed in this world.

“I have a question for you.” She turned toward me fully so I could see her big, amber-filled eyes.

“Yes?”

“Do you miss her?”

I knew what she was implying. When I first met Gianna, the wound of losing Bea was much rawer and newer, but now it remained as merely a scar on my heart, one that had healed.

“Of course I miss her.”

Gianna nodded empathetically.

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