Page 38 of Stefano
Two halves.One fire.
Forever.
Chapter Twenty
The Morning After
Stefano
The world outside is quiet.Too quiet.No gunfire, no shouting, no trucks roaring into the night.For the first time in what feels like years, there’s peace.But inside me, there’s only her.The woman lying tangled in my sheets, her hair a wild halo across my pillow, her breathing steady and soft.
Andrea.
She’s sprawled across my chest, one leg hooked over mine, her hand resting where my heart beats.She looks fragile in sleep, delicate.But she isn’t.Last night proved it again.She’s fire and steel, soft and brutal, light and shadow all at once.She took everything I gave her, my rage, my hunger, my fear, and gave it back to me in love.Fierce, unyielding love.
I tighten my arm around her, burying my face in her hair.“Mine,” I whisper, even though she can’t hear me.The word isn’t a claim anymore.It’s a prayer.
She stirs, mumbling against my chest.“You’re staring again.”
I chuckle, low and rough.“Always.”
Her head tilts back, her sleepy eyes blinking open.A slow smile curves her lips.“Good.Don’t stop.”
She shifts, stretching her body against mine, and my cock stirs instantly, hungry again despite the bruising intensity of last night.She feels it, of course.She always does.Her grin turns wicked as she slides her hand lower, wrapping her fingers around me with a squeeze.
“Insatiable,” she teases.
I groan, catching her wrist.“Careful.I’ll put you back where you were last night, begging me to ruin you again.”
Her eyes darken, her tongue darting over her lips.“Maybe I want that.Maybe I always will.”
The temptation is brutal.My body aches for it.But instead of flipping her beneath me, I force myself to still.Not because I don’t want her.But because there’s something more important than taking her apart again.
I grab her chin, tilting her face up so she can’t look anywhere but me.“Listen to me, Andrea.You are everything.You’re not a weakness.You’re not a risk I regret.You’re my strength.My reason.Without you, I’m nothing but violence and rage.With you, I’m ...whole.”
Her lips part, her breath catching.“Stefano...”
