Page 134 of Arianna

“You’re filthy, darling.” Sebastian sounds spent and satiated as he leans down over me, his chest heaving and his groans of pleasure echoing around the room.

“That was…” I bring him down over me by reaching up and winding my arms around his neck. “Perfect.” I’ve never felt this comfortable and vulnerable at the same time, but here I am, feeling all these emotions at the same time for this man.

Sebastian kisses the tip of my nose, then stares into my eyes. “It was…It was everything, Arianna.” Then we are kissing and eating each other’s lips.

No thing has ever felt this right.

We stay there, wrapped in each other, looking up at the stars, trying to calm our racing hearts. “I wish we didn’t have to go back,” I tell him what’s been bothering me since he told me this morning this would be our last night in Paris. It all feels like a fairytale, and leaving this magical place feels like it all could end at any second.

Instead of reassuring me all will stay the same, Sebastian does something better. He hugs me tighter to his naked body and kisses me senseless, letting me feel him.

Because that's how it is with us.

Words mean something, yes, but actions speak louder.

And he tells me all I need to know in a thousand meaningful kisses.

BASTIAN

Detroit Filth

“And who says romance is dead?” – A

I used to believe that the most precious things in life have a number on them. How that changed in two years is beyond me, but it did.

It changed everything.

It changed me.

My goals.

My life.

All of it.

The loud giggle of a toddler makes me look up from my spot on the kitchen table, where I am drinking my coffee and reading the latest polls in the newspaper.

I thought my Paris appearances and the gossiping would have a bad impact on the voting, but it had the opposite effect.

It boosted my popularity.

Setting the newspaper down, I look out the window to see my daughter and Arianna walking hand in hand around the garden.

My mother’s garden.

The one she would sit for hours at night with her father, watching the stars.

I smile when Ellaiza puts her hands up for Arianna to lift her off the ground and when she does, my heart melts.

The sight of those two disarms me.

I wish I could freeze this moment in time, not wanting ever to let go of it.

I watch them from a distance as Arianna shows Ellaiza all the flowers in the garden, laughing and handling my daughter just as you would a delicate flower, with love, tenderness, and care.

Fuck.

What has she turned me into?

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