CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Raya
WATCHING STEFANO CASTELLO SLEEPmight be my new favorite pastime.I was supposed to wake him ten minutes ago, but instead I’m curled up here, just staring at him.
Creep behavior?Yup.Regrets?None.
Five minutes.Just five more minutes, then I’ll wake him.
Today was...peaceful.Slow and lazy.Quiet and indulgent.No calls.No chaos.
Even the sex was different—sweet and slow.We took our time andreallyenjoyed each other, sank into it.A lotof eye contact and very few words.
None were needed.
Alas, the day’s over and he has important affairs tonight.And with Lorenzo due back in the morning, I need to be exactly where I’m expected to be.
Light and careful, I trace the thick arc of his brow with my fingertips.He’s divine art.A romantic soliloquy.A sexy saxophone note.
I’m about to lean in and brush a light kiss against his jaw when he stirs, mumbles something garbled, then bolts awake, features warped with frantic panic.
But the second his eyes find me, he relaxes, shoulders sagging with what seems like relief.“You’re here.”He pulls me close, arm anchoring around me.He inhales deeply as he repeats.“You’re here.”
“I’m here…” I softly agree.“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You will.”The words are uttered with complete certainty, but tinged with a hint of sadness.
They’re also very muchtrue.
“Did you dream about me?”I ask.
He doesn’t answer.And I don’t push, because I don’t truly want to know.The future has already been decided.What’s to be will be.
I sweep a lock of hair from his forehead.“It’s more than fifteen minutes past wake-up time.You’ll be late.And you don’t do late.”
“Hmm.”He buries his face in my hair.“Just let me hold you for a little bit longer.”
“Of course, my needy king.”
His response is a firm pinch to my ass.
~
AS OSCAR PULLSinto the parking lot of Mirabella Villa, Stefano hands me back my long-confiscated phone.“If Lo asks, you haven’t seen me all weekend.”
I lift a curious brow at him.“Is there a disagreement between you two that involves me?”
His answer is to take my free hand and press a kiss into the center of my palm.“I haven’t had a weekend that actually felt like a weekend in years.Thank you for…” His words trail off, eyes dropping to my mouth.“You’re going to fuck me over.I know it.And still…against my better judgment…”
“Screw you over?No interest.Screwyou?”I give him a wink and flirtatious smirk.“That, I’m definitely down for.Kidnap me anytime, my needy king.”
Before he can stop me, I’m already out the door and jogging toward the bridge.Desperate to get away from the intensity of his soul-stripping stare before I cave at his feet and tell him everything.
Once I’m back in my room at the Pink House, I check my phone.And that’s when it becomes clear why Gio wasn’t surprised to see me with Stefano this morning.
Yes, Stefano had been updating Lorenzo as me, but that’s notallhe was doing.
Found in my message thread with Gio is a photo of me lounging on Stefano’s couch, looking completely at ease.Tagged with one short, elegant caption:Now fuck off.
