Page 96 of Auctioned To Her Dad's Mafia Enemies

To us.

Forever.

BONUS EPILOGUE

THE HONEYMOON

Day 3

LUCA

The sun is a dying ember on the horizon,spilling streaks of molten pink, yellow, and orange like flames across the sky,turning the ocean into a shimmering field of gold. I lean against the woodenrailing of our overwater villa, a glass of whiskey forgotten in my hand, andwatch her.

My woman.

My obsession.

Our obsession.

Aemelia stands ankle-deep in the crystallinewater, the waves licking at her calves, the hem of her gauzy white cover-updamp and clinging to her thighs. The sea breeze plays with her hair, sendingwild strands whipping around her face, and she laughs softly at the sensation.That sound cuts through me like a blade made of light. I’ve spilled blood forher, but I’d spill oceans more to hear that laugh.

I set my glass down and stalk toward her. Shesenses me before I reach her—she always does—turning slightly, a sly smiletugging at her lips. I wrap my arms around her from behind, dragging her backagainst my chest, inhaling the scent of sun-warmed skin and saltwater. Shemelts into me without resistance.

“You’ve been staring at me for ten minutes,”she teases, her voice a sweet rasp. “I was starting to wonder if you’d gottenbored.”

I let out a low hum and brush my lips againstthe shell of her ear. “Bored?” My voice is rough, thick with disbelief. I turnher in my arms, cupping her jaw in my palm, my thumb tracing the curve of hercheek. “No, princess. Why would I be bored when I have the best view in theworld?”

Her gaze softens, but she doesn’t speak.Instead, she presses her forehead to mine and lets me breathe her in. For thefirst time in my life, there is no power play, no battle for dominance, justpeace.

I tilt her chin up and catch her mouth withmine. Soft at first. Reverent. Like a man who’s still afraid his dream mightslip through his fingers. But when she makes a needy little sound, I deepen thekiss, claiming her slowly and thoroughly, like I have all the time in theworld.

Because with her, I do.

I carry her into the calm ocean, relishing thegentle lap of the waves against my thighs as the water rises around us. The seais warm like liquid silk slipping over our skin, and she clings to me, her armstwined around my neck, her legs locked around my waist. She’s weightless in myarms, her soft, sun-kissed body pressed so perfectly against mine it feels likeshe was made for me.

The dying sunlight highlights the gracefulline of her bare shoulders, the delicate slope of her neck, and the curve ofher spine. I run my hand slowly down her back, and she shivers when my palmflattens over the curve of her ass, a soft gasp escaping her parted lips. Icapture the sound with my mouth, swallowing it down like a man starved.

“You feel that?” I murmur against her lips,voice rough, heavy with possession. “The ocean around us. The sky over us. Thesand below us. My money, my name, my power…” I cup the back of her neck,holding her so she can’t look away. “They could take all of it from me, and Iwouldn’t fucking care.” I press my forehead to hers, my voice nothing but sandand salt air. “As long as I have you.”

Her breath catches, and she fists her hands inmy hair, dragging me closer until her mouth crashes back into mine. The kiss isdesperate and consuming, raw with everything we’ve fought for. I can feel hertrembling slightly in my arms, but she doesn’t pull back. No. She only holdstighter, sinking her teeth into my bottom lip, demanding more.

I let out a low, gravelly groan and give herexactly what she wants, slanting my mouth over hers, drinking her in with deep,drugging kisses. She clings to me, her hands demanding against my skin, gaspingsoftly as the cool water ripples around us, brushing over us in lazy caresses.

“Luca…” she breathes, her voice barely louderthan the waves.

And the sound of my name on her lips, fragileand wanting, wrecks me.

I tighten my hold on her, anchoring her hipsflush against mine, letting her feel how much I want her. The smooth brush ofher thighs around me, her calves tightening with a slow, sensual squeeze,ignites the darkest, hungriest desires in me.

I tip my head back slightly, just enough tolook at her, and she stares down at me with wide, unguarded eyes, vulnerable ina way that makes my chest ache. She traces her thumb along my jaw, brushingover the stubble, and her gaze softens, so full of tenderness and trust itnearly brings me to my knees.

“I love you,” she whispers, the words so softthey almost vanish into the ocean air.

But I hear them. Fuck, do I hear them?

They stop my heart and freeze my body, drawingmy arms tighter around her, knuckles whitening with the need to hold hercloser. My throat works hard against the ache that rises there. She’s said itbefore, but now, with the stars in her eyes and the sea at our feet, it feelsholy.

I cup her face in my hands, my thumbstrembling slightly as they stroke over her cheeks. “Say it again.” My voice isbarely there, rough and broken, but she hears it.

---