Page 101 of His to Destroy

"Or her," I tease.

He chuckles low in his throat, that sound sending shivers down my spine.

"Either way," he murmurs, "they’ll know what love looks like."

Gaspare shifts, tilting my chin up with two fingers.

His mouth brushes along the curve of my neck, slow and tender, his breath hot against my skin.

A shiver races down my spine, and I close my eyes, surrendering to the simple magic of his touch.

Each kiss he presses to my skin feels like a promise.

A vow stitched into every beat of his heart.

I tilt my head to give him better access, my body melting into his.

His arms cradle me like I'm made of spun glass, like I'm the most precious thing he's ever held.

"I could stay like this forever," he murmurs against my skin.

"So could I," I whisper back, my voice catching with emotion.

He pulls back just enough to look into my eyes.

The firelight casts him in gold and shadow, and I think I've never seen him look more beautiful than he does right now—with love softening every hard line, every scar, every piece of him forged by years of survival.

I brush my fingertips along his jaw.

"I was so scared," I admit quietly. "For so long. I didn’t think peace like this could ever belong to me."

His hand slides down to rest over mine, still pressed protectively over my belly.

"It does now," he says fiercely. "I swear it."

I nod, my throat too tight for words.

For a long moment, we just sit there, listening to the house breathe around us—the crackle of the fireplace, the faint creak of wood settling, the occasional muffled sound of the ocean beyond the windows.

Upstairs, Luca sleeps soundly in his bed, safe and warm.

Our son.

Our miracle.

Gaspare leans in again, pressing another kiss to the side of my neck, then resting his forehead against my shoulder.

I run my fingers through his hair, rocking him gently, soothing him like I would a man who had been fighting wars his whole life and had finally come home.

Because he has.

We both have.

After everything.

After all the storms and scars and battles we survived—we are here.

Together.

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