37. Valerie

Chapter thirty-seven

Valerie

H is lips continue their sweet assault, the sensitivity around my scar only heightening the tingles rushing through my body. Lowering himself on top of me he brings his lips to mine. "So fucking perfect," he whispers against my lips.

Ambrose leans back to look at me. He's completely dishevelled, a devilish smirk graces his lips as he takes in the sight of me sprawled across his bed.

He slowly spreads my legs apart, my dress rising higher up on my thighs as he moves in between them, before bending down to face me again. His lips leave a trail of desperate wet kisses along my neck, after a moan escapes my throat he begins focusing on the same area that triggered the lewd noise. My fingers trail desperately into his hair as I try to do anything in my power to bring him closer. To have as much of him as I possibly can. Tugging on the strands of his hair a groan leaves his throat, good to know he's just as affected by me as I am by him.

"Fuck," I whisper out and his hips buck into mine, bringing his bulge into direct contact with my clit and the whisper quickly turns into a broken cry. Clearly amazing at taking a hint, he repeats his actions grinding into me repeatedly.

The kisses his lips leave behind begin trailing further and further down my chest until they ghost past my nipples. They perk up at the attention and he places gentle kisses on both of them. They're not what he's after as he continues further down my body, eliciting moans from deep within me until he moves completely out of my grasp.

He smiles up at me lazily as his green eyes bore into mine. The darkness that overtakes them, making them appear forest green, is no match for the pure excitement and lust that sparkles within them. His fingertips move underneath the hem of my dress slowly pushing it further up. The feeling of his cool rings grazing along my thighs sends a shiver running through me. A cool breeze hits my core as he reveals my pink lace panties and I can tell how wet they are.

"You look like a vision straight out of my wet dreams," he mumbles more to himself than me.

"Aww, you have wet dreams about me?" I can't help the grin that lifts the one corner of my lips

"More than you fucking know," his deep green eyes stare back at me through thick lashes as he crouches down at the edge of the bed. His hands grip into my hips and in one swift, rough, motion he pulls me until my pussy is directly in front of his face.

"Lay down and relax, sweetheart." He smirks and starts to place soft pecks all along my thigh.

With each centimetre, he gets closer to my core, the more I can feel my juices slowly drip out of me. As he finally reaches exactly where I need him, he stops to stare at me. Thoughts race through my head as I wonder what could possibly be wrong to have him stop and stare at me like this.

Every insecurity is wiped from my mind as he places a soft peck on top of my clit, repeatedly, until I nearly lose my fucking mind. "Ambrose," I cry out. I'm begging but I don't even know what I'm begging for.

"Is something wrong, sweetheart?" He pulls back and I want to scream out in objection .

I rapidly shake my head and he returns his head to its previous position and continues his torturous movements, "Ambrose, we don't have much ti-"

He shuts me up by firmly placing his thumb on my clit, and I forget why even started speaking.

"I know how much time we have, sweetheart."

The next thing I know my panty is laying next to my head and Ambrose's warm breath is grazing over my pussy. His breath along with the cool winter breeze hits me all at once and I can't tell which one feels better.

"Such a pretty pussy." He trails his finger along my folds gently, simply admiring what's in front of him as if it were a perfect art piece, and then, like a mad man starved for years he feasts.

His hot tongue presses flat onto my clit and I see stars. A broken moan leaves my lips as he begins sucking on the sensitive bundle of nerves.

"Oh fuck," I moan, my fingers finding their way to his hair again in an attempt to hold him in place. I can feel his smirk against me before he slips a finger inside me,

"You taste so fucking sweet sweetheart."

The name seems very fitting now.

His other hand reaches up and cups my breast, toying with the previously neglected nipple, giving it the attention it so desperately craves. Every sense in my body is alight, I can feel him everywhere, smell the scent of my arousal mixed with his aftershave and I'd give anything to return the favour and taste him right now as well.

I scrunch my eyes closed and I can feel the tightening in my core as he adds a second finger and my thighs clamp around Ambrose's head. Not that he seems to care, if anything it seems to encourage him and he speeds up his actions.

"Fuck I'm going to come. "

"Look at me," he moans in response, and the vibrations are all I need. My eyes fly open and meet his as I fall off the cliff straight into a pool of warm orgasmic pleasure where I'm completely surrounded by Ambrose.

He slows his movements down slightly, still moaning into my pussy as he licks up the last of my juices. When I eventually gain enough semblance to focus my eyes again and look at him properly, I find his eyes already locked on me.

It's a hungry stare and I'm sure if we had more time, he'd have an all-you-can-eat buffet. I sit up and he sits back on his heels, face glistening with my juices and I close my legs in embarrassment.

He chuckles. "No need to be shy after a show like that, the picture is ingrained in my mind forever sweetheart."

I clear my throat and he looks at me, a brow raised. "Can I… you know. Return the favour?"

For the first time, I watch a red tint take over Ambrose's face. His hand reaches up to scratch the back of his neck. "I, ummm… I came in my pants."

My eyes widen, and I stare at him in disbelief.

"No one more surprised than I am, it hasn't happened since I was like fucking fourteen. You were just so fucking sexy…" He trails off, eyes darkening as he stares up at me adoringly. Him in this position, on his knees looking up at me seems almost submissive.

I have Ambrose Vitale on his knees for me .

"Next time I'll take care of you, if you don't blow in your pants like a teenager," I chuckle. "We should probably get going."

"Just let me change my pants," he says breathlessly and walks to the bathroom.

When I pick up my phone, I let out a scoff.

Nine minutes exactly.

I refuse to tell him it was less than ten out of fear of what that might do to his ego. It's already the size of the entire island, I don't think it needs to get any bigger .

"Okay, let's go." He comes out dressed far more casually in a tracksuit – a grey one to be exact. My eyes nearly bulge out of my head. God, this man is clearly gifted in more ways than one.

"As much as I love how you're staring at my dick right now, sweetheart, we have to go."

"I wasn't staring, I was …appreciating the good view."

"Uh-huh sure, it's even better without the pants, trust me," he winks at me and then heads for the door.

We get to the art store with literal minutes to spare and I swear I can feel the cashier's hatred for us as soon as we step in. Usually, I'm never a last-minute shopper but tonight I can excuse being late–just this once.

"Can you go find out if they can have a two-metre by two-metre canvas delivered to my house tomorrow?" I ask.

He nods and heads directly for the counter without even questioning why I could need such a large canvas. Walking around the store is almost like second nature for me, I remember where every single supply is like it's the back of my hand.

I head straight for the paint aisle with a shopping cart, I'm going to need paint and lots of it, in quite a few colours. I know I want the painting to convey a strong sense of passion and adoration especially since I'll be replicating Jackson Pollock. I want the admiration for his work to be clear.

Standing in the aisle I pull out my phone to Google colours and their association cursing myself for not doing it sooner. I immediately grab the most obvious contenders, red, pink and purple. I also throw in a can of white and some spray paint for highlights.

"I'd go with some gold as well, it seems fitting with your colour palette." A deep voice says from behind me and I nearly jump out of my skin because it's familiar... too familiar.

I spin around and there he is, slightly further down the aisle leaning against a shelf. His brown curls hang messily over his forehead, nearly blocking his view. He looks the same, same stature, the same build and the same arrogant aura .

"Mattheo," I say, barely a whisper as I feel a coldness surround me.

"I mean I figured you'd be surprised to see me, but imagine how surprised I was to see you hopping out of none other than Ambrose Vitale's Audi, looking hopelessly in love," he says eyes trailing the shelves as if he too were shopping for supplies. "Imagine how surprised I was to see you run back to Tevici, the dump I saved you from. The shock when I saw you rubbing shoulders with Italy's elite, did you think I wouldn't find you, Vee?"

"I-I…" No words come out.

"And you could imagine my surprise when I received those divorce papers, still haven't signed them, by the way," he smirks. "Although I see you're not wearing your ring anymore." He scolds. "I thought our love was more passionate than that."

Love? The last thing our relationship contained was love.

Still frozen, I swallow as he moves closer. "Are you busy with some new work? You always loved playing with paint. I hope this is a bit more abstract than what you usually do. Yours was always a bit…boring."

"Valerie," Ambrose calls out and my head flies in the other direction as he comes down the aisle. When I face the front, Mattheo is gone like the wind, as if he was never there and part of me even questions if he was, because how did he leave so quickly?

"Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," he asks, placing his hands on my shoulders and looking over my head.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm trying to figure out which colours to grab. What did they say about the canvas?"

"They'll drop it off around noon tomorrow. Grab more than you think you need, I'm sure it'll come in handy for future commissions as well." He looks at me suspiciously, clearly not believing me.

I love how much blind faith he has in my ability to secure future commissions. He's never seen it, but he believes in me regardless.

We throw a few more colours in the cart and I'm still shaking when we get back to his car. When we pulled up, the parking lot was practically a ghost town, with not a single car. My heart stills, if he could be watching me here where else has he been watching me?

Ambrose pulls up outside my house and I swallow. "Thank you for all the paint supplies, I wasn't sure when I was going to have the time or the cash to get them–"

He leans over the centre console connecting our lips, I'm not ignorant of the fact that he's doing it to shut me up but I appreciate the gesture nonetheless. He pulls back with a smile. "Always a pleasure, sweetheart, now let me help you carry these in."

I would've loved to decline his offer but with nearly five cans of paint, there was no way I was going to be able to carry all of them by myself. Ambrose doesn't even let me carry a single bag. "Surprised you're so willing to help, don't you usually have people to do this for you?" I say as I search through my purse for my keys.

When I turn the keys, they barely move. " Cazzo," I whisper and slowly open the door that was already unlocked, which can only mean my papá and Karyn are back from physical therapy early.

I look up at Ambrose and he's completely oblivious as to what's going on.

"We're in the kitchen, Fiore Mio." My papá calls from the kitchen, he sounds tired and I frown and head straight there against my better judgement. I turn to face Ambrose and hold a hand up telling him to wait and not follow me.

"You guys are home early?" I smile nervously and head over to the table to greet them.

"Your papá was extra tired today so the physical therapist said maybe some rest can do him well," Karyn says.

"You're pushing yourself too hard again," I frown at him and he shrugs before smiling. He looks exhausted and slightly pale.

If there's anyone more excited than me for my papá to get back to his full mobility, it's him, he'll push himself to the ends of the earth if it means it'll happen faster.

Ambrose clears his throat behind me. Karyn and my father's head snap in the direction of the doorway behind me.

Please still be in the hall, please don't be in the doorway.

When I look up and find Karyn's wide eyes staring at me, I know that's complete wishful thinking.

"Good evening Mr. Farina," Ambrose greets as he walks closer. "Val asked me to wait in the hall but I thought it would be disrespectful to be dropping her off and walking around in your house without at least coming to see how you're doing."

They shake hands all while Karyn and I have a silent eye conversation.

What is he doing here?

I'll tell you later.

"Hey, Karyn." He smiles at her and I swear I can see her melt into a puddle on my kitchen floor.

"Appreciate it, Ambrose." My father smiles up at the man who's avoiding the daggers I'm shooting at him with my eyes. "I know Valerie has always been a bit shy about her boyfriends in the past-"

"Okay, thanks Papá, Ambrose has to help me carry some stuff upstairs and then head out," I say, grabbing Ambrose's forearm and dragging him out of the kitchen. My one hand looks tiny around his muscular forearm, barely being able to wrap completely around it.

"Good to see you both," Ambrose chuckles and follows me out.

My father isn't stupid to not know where I've been running off to, but I was counting on him not being home to prevent this interaction right here.

"Boyfriend, hey?" He smacks my ass lightly as I lead him up the stairs .

"Shut up Mr. Respectful." I wine mimicking his tone from earlier. If my father knew what Ambrose and I were doing a few hours ago he wouldn't think he was respectful at all.

"You can put those in here," I say, opening the door to my studio.

"Wow," is all he says as he scans the warm orange hues taking over the room as the sun has started to set. He places the cans down in the centre of the room and walks around it completely mesmerised. "The villa doesn't even have views this stunning."

I scoff. "I'm serious," he says looking away from the large windows that overlooks the neighbourhood around my house. He pulls me towards him and wraps his arms around my shoulders so we can both stand and take in the view.

I've looked out of these windows countless times. Seen this exact view at nearly every hour of the day, but something about right now. Looking at this with Ambrose I don't think it's ever looked this beautiful.

"Can I be your boyfriend?" he asks absentmindedly, clearly still dwelling on what my father said.

"My secret one," I joke and he pinches my arm.

"I'm being serious, your papá made me realise that I've been assuming we're together but I've never actually asked you to be exclusively mine."

"I've honestly been assuming as well, but I'd love for you to be my boyfriend." He turns me around, wraps his arms around my waist picking me up and spinning me around the room.

His smile is so broad on his face, it's odd. I haven't seen Ambrose smile like this since we were teens playing in their backyard. It's such an innocent happiness and it makes my heart melt because I can see how mutual the feeling is.

"I never said I was your girlfriend, though." He stops smiling almost instantly.

"Val, I nearly killed Horatio for touching you, I'm willing to lose my brother for you, you're my girlfriend." His tone is gravely serious. "One more thing, what really happened at the art store? You looked freaked out. "

I fiddle with my fingers not too sure of how to answer it without causing some form of worry. "It was Mattheo, he was there."

"At the art store?" He furrows his brows.

"Yes, there's more…" I trail off and head for the drawer where I kept all the weird notes. "I've gotten a few of these, I've been trying to ignore them but I think he showed up because I haven't reacted to them."

"What? How could you not tell me this?" He takes the letters from me and begins scanning through them.

I shush him and stare at him wide-eyed. "I didn't want you to worry, it's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Valerie, this is your ex-husband we're talking about, your crazy abusive ex-husband. Of course, I'm going to fucking worry." He starts pacing around the room before pulling out his phone. "What did he say? Did he threaten you?"

"N-no, he was just talking about how surprised he was to see us together and he kept asking about my commission. Then you called, and he disappeared. I'm sorry I don't even know where he came from."

Ambrose sighs and walks in my direction, pulling me into his chest and it's only then that I realise I'm crying. "You can't keep things like this from me. I'd go mad if something happened to you and there was something I could have done to prevent it."

"I'm sorry," I say again.

"Adriano is organising for some extra security to keep an eye on you and the house just in case he decides to make an appearance again."

"Ambrose, that's not necessary."

"Yes, it is Valerie, very necessary. This guy has threatened you on multiple occasions and has now decided to approach you in person. I can't just have you sitting around unprotected," he kisses the top of my head. "Promise me you won't keep something like this from me again."

"I promise."