Page 140 of Deception

He grins, sliding a hand along my back, pushing me onto the smooth wood, rucking up my skirt and squeezing my ass. His scalding lips find the crook of my neck, jolting shocks of electricity down my arms, legs, deep into my core.

“Mmm … don’t hold back.”

“I don't want to be too rough. You know, for the baby's sake.”

“I’ll tell you exactly how rough you can be with me, Alessandro,” I hum, reaching back to grip the frigid pillar of smooth sex tearing from his boxers. “And don’t worry, no matter how hard a diamond gets, it can’t break me.”

EPILOGUE 1

Alessandro

Several weeks sweep by, our lives settling into a routine in the mountains, spring blossoming into glorious color in the Alps. The flowers sweeping the mountainsides are almost as beautiful as Isabella.

I finally understand what they mean by ‘glowing.’

She’s just beginning to show at the start of her second trimester.

It’s truly a miracle, reassuring any doubts I ever had about this choice we made to run away. Certainly, for the sake of our child, this place will be an incredible home to grow up in.

My parents, and their parents before them, lived a dangerous life. And they still chose to have us, to bring us into that life.

Not to say I’ve left it completely behind. Someday, we will exact revenge on Domenico.

But that task lies with my brothers, for now.

Angelica and Gigi have settled nicely into the east wing, the remodel refitting it for her and Isabella's decorative taste. It was a great opportunity for the two of them to bond as sisters.

And a good chance for Tomas and I to work on a project with our hands. Boredom remains the only challenge to overcome when neither of us has a job to do.

He’s taking it harder than I am, having been dedicated to my security for the better part of a decade. But time with Gigi and Angelica has broken down that barrier.

Still, I catch him sitting outside Angie’s door some nights when I pass the wing on my way to the kitchen. I guess that we all have some scars that are hard to heal. I’m just glad Adriano decided to keep Tomas here with us.

As for me, I read. I exercise.

Isabella and I watch movies and go on hikes. We have long, stimulating conversations, really getting to know one another.

And we only bicker every other day.

Usually it ends in sex, each time more incredible than the last. She’s daring. Insatiable.

Of course, daring has its limits when we have housemates. Added to the fact that Isabella needs plenty of sleep, our passions have some constraints that are wearing on my desire.

The animal within me and the one I brought out in her, writhe under the surface, howling to be let out.

These same thoughts are hounding me, chafing my libido, as I head to my office one night after dinner. Isabella finished and left me eating to go take care of something, but she wasn’t in our bedroom.

I sigh, sitting down at my computer, browsing over my notes. With no real work to do, I’ve taken to writing my memoirs. Letters to my brothers that may never reach them, things I wish I said to them growing up.

And most of all, letters to my child.

Whoever they are, they will be a Diamante. I’d like them to understand what that means, even if they never jointhe life.

I’m just tacking away at another line of text, my heart not really in it, when I hear a soft click behind me.

The bookcase …

My secret door is ajar when I turn, the dim, flickering light glowing from within.

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