Page 200 of My Italian Love Affair

"I know," I growl, my hips snapping harder, faster. "Let go,bella. I've got you."

She shatters beneath me, her body locking, her nails digging into my back as she falls over the edge.

I barely hold on for another second before I follow, my release slamming into me with so much force that my whole body trembles.

I groan against her neck, pressing as deep as I can, letting her takeallof me as I empty myself inside her.

I don’t think I’ve ever cum so hard in my life.

My arms tremble as I collapse onto her, both of us gasping for breath, our bodies still tangled, our hearts still racing in sync.

I don’t move right away.

Neither does she.

We justbreathe, wrapped up in the aftershocks of what we’ve just shared. Skin damp, limbs heavy -

And the air between us thick with something neither of us dares to name yet.

Eventually, I shift, easing onto my side and pulling her with me. I don’t let her go - not even for a second. I tuck her against my chest, wrapping the blanket around us both, cocooning her in warmth, inme.

I don’t say anything for a long time. I just hold her.

I let my fingers trace slow, absentminded patterns along the bare skin of her back; memorising the feel of her, the way she fits perfectly against me.

She exhales softly, nestling closer, her breath warm against my collarbone, and Ifeelit then.

That shift.

That quiet, unspoken understanding settling deep in my chest.

This isn’t just sex. This isn’t just some fleeting thing.

It never was.

I press a lingering kiss to the top of her head, my lips against her soft hair.

"You're mine now, Daphne," I murmur, my voice quiet but steady. Unshakable. "And nobody is going to hurt you again."

She doesn’t argue. She doesn’t tease.

Instead, she smiles as she presses herself deeper into me, letting me hold her like she belongs here.

And I know - Iknow- she’s mine.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Daphne

The morning sunlight filters through the gaps in my curtains, casting soft stripes across the crumpled sheets.

The warmth of Matteo’s body is still wrapped around mine, his arm draped heavily across my waist, his breath steady against the back of my neck.

For a moment, I let myself stay here. I savour the quiet and the comforting weight of him beside me along with the new, unfamiliar feeling of safety that lingers from the night before.

But then the memories of everything else come creeping back in.

Mark.

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