Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
My hand glided under his hospital gown, and I examined the thick bandage that covered his shoulder. A bullet had pierced his skin, a bullet meant for my father’s face. It hit Bones deep, cutting up his flesh and making him lose so much blood. He could have died, probably would have if he hadn’t made it to the hospital in time. My father had thanked him for what he did, but I knew I had to thank him too.
Bones kept his head against the pillow and stared at me with the same intensity, as if he could scarcely believe I was leaning over him. Hardly blinking and always focused, he stared at me just the way he used to, like no time had passed at all. Three months hadn’t come and gone. Antonio had never bought my painting. The women he’d bedded had never graced his sheets. It was exactly as it’d been before.
“Thank you for saving my family…” I’d stopped crying thirty minutes ago, but tears welled in my eyes once again before they streaked down my cheeks.
He wiped one away with the pad of his thumb. “You’re the only person who doesn’t have to thank me, baby.” His hand moved to my other cheek and wiped the other drop away, next to the corner of my mouth. His eyes shifted down to examine my lips, to see his thumb gently caress me.
“After everything they did to you, I’m still surprised.”
“I didn’t do it for them. I did it for you.” His eyes came back up to mine. “Your family is everything to you. I’ll always protect them with my life. Because they are you…you are them.” His thumb brushed across my bottom lip, the pad of the digit rough against the softness of my lips.
“Griffin…”
His hand cupped my neck, and he brought my forehead to his, our skulls touching each other. He didn’t kiss me, but he released a quiet hum under his breath, like this connection was all he ever needed. He just needed me, not even my kiss or my body.
His fingers felt right against my skin, like they’d never left. I turned into his hand and kissed his thumb, feeling the heat from his skin against my mouth. I took in a deep breath, feeling the fire of desire that I’d missed for so long. I’d been in the longest dry spell of my life, and thinking about him with my hand between my legs wasn’t good enough. It was nothing compared to having the real thing—the real man.
“How long do the doctors want to keep you?” I asked, my forehead still pressed against his.
“Tomorrow.”
I didn’t want to lie in this small bed with these wires everywhere. I wanted privacy. I wanted to touch him exactly how I wanted, to say things I couldn’t say now with the open door. “Where do you want to go?”
He pulled away so he could look at me, the corner of his mouth raised in a smile. “I get to choose?”
“Of course.”
“I thought we decided we would live in Tuscany.”
After everything that had happened, Bones didn’t have to make that sacrifice anymore. He’d proven himself to my family and didn’t have to accommodate me anymore. “We can live wherever you want. How about Lake Garda? It’s nice there.”
He moved his hand to my waist, gripping my rib cage with his large fingers. He gathered the fabric of my sundress with his movements and gave me a gentle squeeze, like he wanted to pull up the dress and see the rest of me. “That’s too far away.”
“As long as you are there, no, it’s not.”
He tilted his head slightly, his hard face just as handsome as ever. “Now that I’ve finally earned your father’s approval, I don’t want to take you away from him. All I wanted was to be accepted by him. We can live in Florence.”
After everything he did, he was still making sacrifices for me. “Really…?” Tears welled in my eyes again. “You don’t have to do that—”
“I want to.” His large hand cupped my cheek, feeling my soft skin. “As long as you’re mine, I don’t care where we live. That apartment above your gallery is small, but for just the two of us, it’s fine.”
That was exactly what I wanted, to have the man I loved and my family. I wanted to see my parents all the time, see my brother and cousins. I wanted to see my aunt and uncle. I wanted to raise our family there. “Thank you.”
“You know I’m a selfish man, baby. I expect something in return.”
“Anything.” He was giving me my dream. There was nothing I wouldn’t give him.
“You. All of you. When I want. How I want. No questions asked.”
My mouth formed a smile. “Wasn’t that how it was before?”