Page 25 of Stefano
Chapter Fourteen
Choosing Fire
Andrea
Again, I wake to warmth, to the heavy weight of an arm draped around my waist, to the steady thud of a heartbeat under my cheek.For a moment, I don’t move.I just breathe him in.Stefano.My savior.My torment.My protector.My undoing.
The events of the last day come rushing back—the zip ties biting into my wrists, Matías’s voice dripping venom, the fear that I’d never see another sunrise.And then Stefano, storming through smoke and gunfire like a dark god, his eyes locked on me as if nothing else existed.
He’s the reason I’m alive.The reason I can take this breath.The reason I can feel anything at all right now.
I remember the kiss, and I feel everything.
His arm tightens as I shift slightly, his body curling protectively around mine even in sleep.The heat of him seeps through my skin, making me shiver.My thighs press together involuntarily, need sparking low and insistent.
I should be afraid.After everything.After the way Matías touched me, threatened me.But I’m not.Not with Stefano.He’s the only man who’s ever made me feel safe in my own skin.The only man I’ve ever wanted to touch me.
I tilt my head, studying his face in the low light.His strong jaw, shadowed by stubble.A mouth that’s kissed me like I was both fragile glass and burning flame.His eyes are closed now, but I know how dark they get when they’re on me.How hungry.How dangerous.
He thinks he’s a monster.But he doesn’t see what I see.
I see the man who carried me out of hell.Who cleaned my wounds with hands that have broken bones but have touched me with nothing but care.Who kissed me so gently last night when he could’ve taken more.Who held himself back for me.
And I know what I want.Stefano.
I want him.All of him.Darkness and all.
I shift carefully, turning in his arms until I’m facing him.His eyes flicker open instantly, sharp even though he is still half asleep.The tension in his body is immediate, his grip tightening.
“Are you okay?”he rasps, his voice rough with sleep.
“Yes.”My hand lifts, brushing his jaw.“Because of you.”
He exhales, some of the tension easing.His eyes soften as they scan my face, lingering on the bruise on my cheek.His thumb strokes over it gently.“I should’ve gotten there sooner.”
“You got there before anything worse could happen,” I whisper.“That’s all that matters.”
His gaze darkens, his throat working as he swallows.The air between us shifts, thickening, heating.My pulse races.
