Page 175 of Be With Me
“I’ve gotten used to waking up with you beside me. I can’t go back to not.” My hand slipped under the skirt of her dress, fingertips tracing along her inner thigh.
A smile tugged on her pretty little mouth. “So needy.”
“Is that a yes?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Berry,” I groaned, lifting her from my lap and settling her on the edge of the desk. I anchored my palms on either side of her hips and hovered close. “Don’t torture me. What do you want? You want me begging on my knees?”
She bit on her lip, eyes dancing, and shrugged. “Maybe.”
I sighed. “Fine. For you, I’ll get on my knees and beg.”
And then I sank to the floor, slid off her panties, and devoured her. Her moans filled the room. I could live a thousand lives and never get enough of this.
Afterward, her fingers tangled in my hair as she caught her breath. I rested my head against her bare thigh, enjoying her warmth, her scent.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Warmth spread through my chest. Every time she said those words, it made me want to howl.
I stood, kissed her deeply, and murmured against her mouth, “So... is that a yes?”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and smiled up at me. “It’s a hell yes.”
God, I fucking loved this woman.
Mia was my peace in the chaos. My compass. My fucking redemption.
And every single part of me belonged to her.
EPILOGUE
MIA
The wedding venue was a gorgeous farm in upstate New York. The Ferraros and the Messeros had descended onto its snowy grounds in the first week of December, arriving in a motorcade of bulletproof black SUVs, lush burgundy rose wreaths pinned to the trunks.
Those same roses filled every corner of the reception hall, the farmhouse bridal suite, and lined the aisle of the chapel where the ceremony would take place. They were beautiful—burgundy was Fabi’s favorite color.
But in a certain light, that color reminded me of blood.
I snipped through the thread I was using to hem Elena’s dress and let the fabric fall to the floor. “How’s that?”
Fabi’s sister slid her heels back on and walked up to the mirror. “Perfect now. Thanks, Mia.”
Elena had returned to New York two nights ago and was planning to leave tomorrow evening. It seemed to me that every time she looked at Fabi, she couldn’t help but wonder how long she had left before she was also ordered to return. Elena didn’t want to leave Switzerland, and something told me she wouldn’t be nearly as amenable as Fabi when the time came.
“Anyone else?” I asked, glancing around at the bridesmaids. Fabi had asked me to style the girls after I’d been officially invited to the wedding, and I jumped on it despite only having a few weeks to find the dresses. It meant a lot to be a part of her big day.
“Stop fussing over us,” Zo said. “Sit down and have a drink.”
Everyone had a glass of champagne in hand, each of them trying a little too hard to keep the mood light. The air was tinged with tension, and it was starting to show.
It hurt, watching Fabi power through it. She deserved joy. Pure, unfiltered joy. Not this tightly wound version of a celebration.
She drifted toward the window, her wedding gown shimmering in the afternoon light. She looked like a princess in that dress, and I didn’t know how Cosimo could look at her and not feelsomething.
“It’s snowing,” she said quietly.
