Page 27 of Stefano
He follows with a roar, his body locking tight as he spills inside me, his grip bruising, his breath hot against my skin.He thrusts once, twice more, then collapses against me, his chest heaving.
For a long moment, we just lie there, tangled in sweat and sheets, our hearts racing in sync.His arms wrapped tight around me, his face buried in my hair.
“You’re mine now,” he murmurs hoarsely.“And nothing will ever take you from me again.”
I close my eyes, tears slipping free, not from fear, but from the overwhelming truth in his words.“I was always yours, Stefano.”
He exhales, his body trembling, and I realize this is more than sex.This is a promise.A bond sealed in fire and blood and love.
And for the first time since the nightmare began, I don’t feel broken.I feel whole.
Chapter Fifteen
Unmasked
Stefano
The morning after is worse than the battlefield.
I’ve woken up bloodied and bruised, with corpses cooling at my feet and the metallic sting of gunpowder thick in my lungs.But nothing compares to waking with Andrea curled naked in my arms, my cock still heavy inside her from the night before, and the bone-deep realization that there’s no going back.
She’s mine now.
Not just because I fucked her.Not just because she screamed my name as she shattered around me.But because I’ve given her something I’ve never given anyone—every part of me.The darkness.The rage.The hunger.And the part of me I swore didn’t exist anymore.
My heart.
Her breath is soft against my chest, her fingers resting over my heart like they belong there.She looks peaceful, despite the fading bruises marking her skin, despite the hell she walked through.My chest aches with the need to protect that peace at all costs.
But there’s a whisper in my head, insidious and sharp.What if Alceu is right?What if I drag her too far into my shadows?What if one day she looks at me and sees the monster, not the man?
I shove the thought down and press a kiss to her hair.Not today.Today she’s mine, and I’ll kill anyone who tries to take that from me.
The door creaks open softly.Mancuso slips in, his grin muted for once.He takes in the sight of us, Andrea asleep in my arms, the sheets tangled around our naked bodies, and lets out a low whistle.
“Well, well.Looks like someone finally staked his claim.”
