Page 137 of Fresh Canvas
The deep timbre of Val saying those words was the most beautiful sound. He had loved me this entire time. So much that he had erased himselfbecauseof it. Somewhere in his twisted, grieving mind, he had genuinely believed it was what was best for me. While I would never,everagree with his actions, his underlying message had been constant.
Love.
If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that Val Russo knew how to love.
He had proven it repeatedly with Stella, Camilla, his nephews, and his family. And I was now included in that sacred list.
Val loves me.
The words were simple yet carried a weighty promise. I could trust them. Trusthim. I couldn’t imagine surviving another day without him. The time that had passed had been enough for a lifetime.
Rain dripped from Val’s dark curls onto my forehead as he kissed me, my body humming from the sensation of it all. Before long, his soft kisses became wilder.
I didn’t resist the transition—only fueled it with my own passion. I parted my mouth, to which Val took immediate advantage of.
Before I knew it, my back was pressed against the slick side of his car. The hard planes of his torso pinned mine as his jaw tensed under my fingertips. I gasped as Val’s scorching hands slipped beneath the sodden hem of my white shirt, settling on the curve of my waist.
A low growl breathed into my mouth. Val’s kiss held all the prowess of a lion, domineering and unrelenting. Our weeks of pent-up longing had erupted like gasoline on fire.
Without breaking our connection, Val lifted me until I was sitting on the trunk of his car. He stepped in close, taking advantage of my new position to feather my neck with kisses.
My drenched hair tumbled down my back as I tipped my head. The falling rain peppered my closed eyelids as he kissed the hollow of my throat.
This man was going to be the death of me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I clutched the damp folds of his insufferable white button-up and yanked him back to my mouth. My annoyance spiked as the starched collar impeded my own path down his neck. A scoff rumbled from my throat.
“What?” Val pulled away, chest heaving.
“I’m going to burn these.” I flicked the collar of his stupid shirt.
“See Adams?” He breathed against my lips. “Iknewyou were an arsonist.”
“Shut up, Russo.”
Val robbed the air from me with another kiss before grazing the lobe of my ear with his teeth, but I wasn’t finished with my rant.
“I-I hate… those shirts. They’re…” His dark laugh brushed against my stammering throat. “...the worst.”
He pulled away, eyes lazily flicking up the length of my soaked body as I quivered on the trunk of his car.
“You seem to be having a hard time with your sentences there, Adams.”
A surprised laugh burst from me. “And you seem to be having a hard time with your arrogance again, Russo.”
Val’s robust laugh filled my soul. “Why must you always be so antagonistic?”
“If you wanted a doormat, you should have fallen in love with someone else.” I grinned, knowing I’d never be one again.
His mouth widened into my favorite crinkly smile. “Well then, we have a problem.”
Val swept a dripping lock behind my ear. “Because I don’twantanyone else. I want your sass. I want your snoring. I want you to hate my button-ups.”
Catching my face, Val leaned close, brushing a soft kiss across every inch of it. “I want you,Adams,because I love you.”
Tears smarted again in my eyes.
“Oh, Russo.I love you, too.”
