Page 34 of Anastasia

Then, he did an absolutely unexpected thing by removing the towel, leaving me to quickly cover my eyes with my hand.

“What do you want?” he asked.

I moved my fingers apart on my face to catch a glance of him, still very naked.

“I wanted to apologize,” I muttered, my cheeks coated a bright pink when he turned around and caught me staring. He walked over to me, leaving my heartbeat to increase. I tried to look at anything other than his huge dick, but I failed.

“You keep staring. You want to go for a ride?” he asked. I let out a loud sigh, standing up as I did. “No, stay. I know how badly you want to.”

“I don’t understand where your huge ego came from, but no, I don’t want you,” I seethed, not knowing if I was lying or telling the truth.

“You say you don’t want me, Bambolina. How many times are you going to tell yourself that until you actually start to believe it? If you didn’t want me, you wouldn’t be right here. You wouldn’t be…” His hand entered my shorts, where he made it to my dripping lips. “…wet.”

My finger crept up his abs and to his chest, where I caressed his skin. A smirk made its way onto my face at the realization that I had a plan to turn the whole conversation back on him. “Let’s not forget that you want me. How long have I had this dramatic effect on you? You can try to hide it all you want, but I know you do have feelings.”

He grabbed me by my neck and kissed me harshly. His hands went down to my shorts. He pushed away the fabric until it was on the floor. I tried to respond to his kissing, but he was attempting to get his message across, the kiss was too dominant to be returned.

He grabbed my thighs as he lifted me up so I was straddling his waist. His hand moved over to the back of my neck, pulling my head away from his.

“Do I want to fuck you? Yes. That’s all,” he growled, inches away from my swollen lips. I got down and picked up my shorts before rolling my eyes.

“Keep telling yourself that,” I told him before walking over to his door and leaving without another word.

Anastasia

“Hey, Mom,” I said.

She walked up to me and embraced me in a hug. I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her in return.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you,” she said as she began to pull away.

Her therapist cleared her for a walk with me around the garden at the rehabilitation facility, it felt good to finally be able to visit her. A sense of pride ran through my body as I looked at her. She was healthier, with weight filling out her body. I couldn’t be prouder.

“Yeah, I decided to drop by and do a surprise visit before work.” I smiled.

It wasn’t exactly a lie. The truth was I needed some motherly advice on how to go about the whole Valentino situation. After last night, everything I felt for him intensified. It had gotten to the point where I couldn’t even sleep properly.Was he right about me having feelings for him?

“Something is bothering you. What’s wrong?” she asked.

I grabbed her hand and sat her down on a bench that overlooked all of the beautiful flowers. It smelled like my favorite scent in the entire world—a mix of nature and warmth.

“It’s about a guy,” I began. Her eyebrows rose, and I watched as she prepared herself to open her mouth. “No, it’s not Jacob. It’s another guy, his name is Valentino.”

“What happened to Jacob? I thought you guys were hitting it off,” she said. I gave her a pointed look before turning to face the garden, letting out an exhale.

“No, Mom, Jacob and I are just friends,” I explained.

She let out a chuckle before nodding her head. My hand reached out for her delicate one, and I smiled as I caressed her skin.

“Valentino, on the other hand, is a bit more complex. We’ve done things that are too weird to talk to you about, but that’s all it ever is, you know? It’s hard to explain, but I’m so tired of acting like I don’t want to be with him in a way that is more than lust when it’s beginning to be all I think about,” I explained, sounding as complicated as I felt. “He’s so infuriating. I know he feels the same way, yet he hasn’t made a single move. He’s cocky and condescending, and everything I hate in a guy, but I don’t understand why I can’t stop thinking about him.”

When I gazed into the eyes of my mother, I saw the understanding hidden in them. She was wearing a smile on her face before her hand clasped mine. “Do you love him, Nana?”

“What? No!” I quickly exclaimed. She gave me a pointed look before deciding to just shrug it off. Of course, I didn’tlovehim, I absolutely hated him sometimes. I hated the way he made me feel emotionally and the way he knew just what to say in order to keep me on my toes. I hated how good he made my body feel. I hated how much I knew deep down that I didn’t really hate him at all.

Her hand never let go of mine and a feeling surged through me at the realization that I never wanted her to.

I rested my head on her shoulder and wished everything could pause for a moment. The breeze that floated through my hair, and the rich smell of peace calmed me. Even my heart seemed to beat in a harmonious way. I hadn’t felt this amount of freedom and relaxation in months.

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