Chapter 15

Maty

The Maldives are a dream come to life, a paradise of crystal-clear turquoise waters and pristine white sand beaches. Our overwater bungalow is a secluded haven, perched above a lagoon and accessible only by a private walkway.

As Alessio carries me over the threshold, his strong arms cradling me close to his chest, I can’t help but giggle, giddy with happiness and anticipation. He grins down at me, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief and desire.

“Welcome to paradise, Mrs. DeLuca,” he murmurs, setting me gently on my feet.

I shiver at the sound of my new name on his lips, a thrill racing down my spine. “It’s even more beautiful than I imagined,” I breathe, taking in the luxurious interior, the floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a breathtaking view of the endless expanse of sea and sky.

But when I turn back to Alessio, I find him watching me with an intensity that steals the breath from my lungs. “The view in here is even better,” he says, his voice low and rough with want.

Heat blooms under my skin, my body responding instantly to the hunger in his gaze. Slowly, I reach up and slide the thin straps of my sundress off my shoulders, letting the fabric whisper down my body to pool at my feet.

Alessio’s eyes go molten, his lips parting on a sharp intake of breath as he takes in the sight of me in nothing but a few scraps of white lace. “Baby,” he growls, a dark caress on his tongue.

I sway towards him, drawn by the magnetic pull of his desire. “Fuck me, husband,” I whisper, my hands sliding over the hard planes of his tatted chest and broad shoulders.

With a low groan, he surges forward, capturing my mouth in a searing kiss that robs me of breath. His hands are everywhere, mapping the curves of my body with fevered urgency.

I moan into his mouth, arching into his touch as he palms my breasts, his thumbs circling and teasing my nipples into aching peaks. Liquid heat pools low in my belly, my pussy clenching with desperate need.

“Off,” I gasp, tugging impatiently at his shirt. “I need to feel you.”

He breaks the kiss just long enough to strip off his shirt, tossing it carelessly aside. Then his mouth is on me again, hot and demanding as he walks me backwards towards the bed.

The backs of my knees hit the mattress and I let myself fall, pulling him down with me. He comes willingly, settling his weight between my thighs as he trails scorching kisses along the column of my throat.

“Sei tutto per me,” he murmurs against my skin, his native Italian sending shivers cascading down my spine. “Mio cuore, mia anima, mio mondo.” My heart, my soul, my world.

Tears sting my eyes, my heart swelling with a love so fierce it borders on pain. “Yours,” I whisper, threading my fingers through his hair to pull him closer. “Always and forever, I’m yours.”

With a shuddering groan, he claims my mouth in a kiss that is pure possession, his tongue delving deep as his hands roam my curves. I arch into him, desperate for more, for everything.

He takes his time exploring me, mapping every inch of my flushed skin with lips and teeth and tongue. By the time he reaches the apex of my thighs, my body is wound tight as a bowstring, trembling on the knife’s edge of release.

He presses a gentle kiss to my aching center, a whimper escaping me at the fleeting contact. Then his mouth is on me in earnest, his tongue parting my slick folds to find the throbbing bundle of nerves at my core.

I cry out at the first lick, my hips bucking helplessly as he laves and suckles, stoking the fire within me to an inferno. One of his hands splays across my belly, pinning me in place as he drives me higher, his touch both torment and bliss.

“Alessio, please,” I gasp, my fingers fisting in his hair as I teeter on the brink of ecstasy. “I need… I need…”

He hums against me, the vibration nearly sending me flying apart. Then his fingers are sliding into me, curling and stroking that secret spot within me as his tongue paints merciless circles around my clit.

The world shatters, stars exploding behind my eyes as I shatter on a hoarse scream. He works me through it, his touch gentling as I come down from the high, my body going limp and pliant.

He presses a final, soft kiss to my slick folds before crawling back up my body, his eyes glittering with masculine satisfaction. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching you come apart for me,” he murmurs, nuzzling into my neck. “The way you say my name, like a prayer and a curse all at once…”

I capture his face in my hands, pulling him up to meet my gaze. “I love you,” I tell him, pouring every ounce of my heart into the words. “I love you so much, Alessio. More than I ever thought possible.”

Something fierce and beautiful blazes in his eyes, his expression one of raw, unguarded emotion. “Ti amo, Maty,” he rasps, his voice thick with feeling. “Sei il mio tutto.” You are my everything.

Then he is surging into me, filling me, completing me. I cry out at the exquisite stretch, my body welcoming him home. He sets a slow, deep rhythm, stoking the embers of my desire back to an inferno.

I lose myself in him, in the slick slide of our bodies, the perfect fit of him inside me. Each thrust winds me tighter, builds the pressure coiling at the base of my spine. His name falls from my lips in a litany, a chant, a prayer.

When the storm breaks it is transcendent, a tidal wave of sensation that sends me spiraling into the void. I hear Alessio’s shout of completion, feel his hips stutter and jerk as he finds his own release deep within me.

In the aftermath we cling to each other, sweat-slick and trembling as our racing hearts slow and synchronize. He rolls to his side, gathering me close, my head pillowed on his chest.

“My wife,” he murmurs wonderingly, his fingers tracing idle patterns on my cooling skin. “My love, my life…”

* * *

Maty

The days pass in a sun-drenched haze of love and laughter. We spend our time swimming in the crystal-clear waters, exploring hidden coves and making love on deserted stretches of sand. At night, we dine on fresh seafood and exotic fruits, feeding each other morsels between sips of chilled champagne.

And everywhere, always, is Alessio’s touch. The brush of his hand against the small of my back as we walk along the beach. The press of his lips to my sun-warmed skin as we float in the tranquil lagoon. The intimate glide of his fingers and tongue as he maps my body in the tangled sheets of our bed.

“I don’t ever want to go back,” I murmur one evening as we lay twined together, sated and drowsy in the aftermath of our lovemaking. “I wish we could stay here forever, just like this.”

Alessio chuckles, the sound rumbling through his chest beneath my cheek. “You’d get bored eventually, tesoro mio,” he teases, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “And then you’d be begging me to take you home, if only for a taste of DiMarco’s stromboli.”

I huff a laugh, swatting at his shoulder. “You underestimate the motivational power of your skills in the bedroom, husband mine,” I inform him archly. “I’m quite certain I could subsist on a diet of pure Alessio DeLuca for a good long while.”

His grin turns wicked, heat kindling in his gaze as he rolls me beneath him in one smooth motion. “Is that a challenge, Mrs. DeLuca?” he purrs, nipping at my earlobe. “Because I can assure you, I have quite the appetite. And not just for food.”

I shiver, heat unfurling through my veins at the dark promise in his voice. “Promises, promises,” I manage breathlessly, even as I arch into him. “Care to put your money where your mouth is?”

The slow curl of his smile is pure sin, his eyes glittering with banked hunger. “Darling,” he murmurs silkily, “it will be my absolute pleasure.”

And then his mouth is on me, and there are no more words. Only sensation, only bliss, only the perfect meeting of bodies and souls.

Only us, lost in our own private paradise. Reveling in our hard-fought happy ending.