Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
He turned quiet.
“We have to return the pieces.”
“And should I cut off my own head, or did you bring an axe?” he sneered.
“I won’t be handing over any heads. Gonna try something else first. But I need those pieces if I want to negotiate in good faith.”
His hands came together in his sleeves, and that stubborn gaze filled his eyes.
“It’s not worth your life, Father.”
He took a slow breath then stepped away.
“Perhaps once the relationship is mended, we can offer to purchase the items that you want.”
“The Pope will never agree.”
“Everything has a price.”
“Men of God have a different currency.”
“I will try my best to negotiate something for those pieces,” I said. “But right now, we’ve got to focus on you and the others behind this theft keeping their heads. We’ve got a deal?”
He looked away, staring at a statue in one corner of the elaborate room, the treasury of heirlooms, keepsakes of history all hoarded and hidden from the people of the Republic. “Yes…we have a deal.”
Every piece that was stolen was packed in the shipping truck, which then began its long drive to Rome. Without traffic, it was a fourteen-hour drive, so I would fly out tomorrow and meet Constantine before the exchange was made.
By the time I got home, it was almost dawn.
Aliénor was asleep in my bed, swallowed by the sheets, making herself right at home like sleeping without me was no problem.
I took a quick shower and got into bed beside her, moving slowly so I wouldn’t wake her up when my weight shifted the mattress. But it was enough to stir her, and she turned and opened her eyes to look at me.
“What time is it?” she mumbled.
“Dawn.”
“You were gone all night…” She cupped my neck as she moved in close to me, her leg hiking up over my hip. “I missed you.”
“You did?” I teased slightly. “Because you look like you made yourself right at home.”
She picked up on the playfulness and smiled. “The first time I felt safe was in this place. I guess I feel comfortable here. I feel protected by you whether you’re here or not.”
It was definitely an answer that inflated my ego. Not that it needed further inflation.
“Everything okay?” Her hand moved to my arm, and she felt the muscle there.
“Just work.” I wouldn’t bore her or burden her with it.
She didn’t ask for details. Her eyes remained fatigued, still half asleep.
“Go back to sleep.”
“Why would I want to go to sleep when I can have you instead?” She came in even closer and kissed me, digging her fingers into my hair as she breathed into me, passion igniting from nothing, like she’d dreamed of me the whole time I was away.
I rolled her onto her back and slipped between her slender thighs, the heat from our bodies coming together and creating a fireball of warmth. Without foreplay, I slipped inside her and felt the slickness that was already there, like it started the second I entered the room. My arms moved behind her knees and pinned her in place, and I entered her with her head resting on my pillow. I thrust inside her hard from the start, dead tired when I walked in the door but rock hard the second she said she wanted me.
Her hands gripped my arms, and her fingers dug into my muscles. “Luca Fournier…” She said my full name like I was some kind of celebrity, with adoration and obsession, worshipping my presence like I was a god she prayed to every night—on her hands and knees.
I’d felt wanted by all the women I’d been with, but it was different with her.
Very different.
When I woke up, I was alone.
I reached for my phone and checked the time. It was almost one in the afternoon. I turned to look into the living room and saw that the doors were closed, like Aliénor let herself into the other room so I could continue to sleep.
I got out of bed and stepped into the living room, seeing her on the couch reading a book, wearing one of my t-shirts like she lived there. She didn’t notice me right away, but she must have felt my presence before she actually saw me.
Her eyes dragged down my body because all I wore were my boxers. “Beautiful morning.”
Still tired behind the eyes, I didn’t smirk. “How long have you been awake?”
She shrugged and closed the book. “I’m a morning person now with my new job and all. But don’t worry about me. There’s no better way to spend my morning.” She left the couch and moved into me, rising on her tiptoes to embrace me with a hug and a kiss.
My hand automatically slid underneath her shirt to grab her ass. “I’ll order breakfast. Then I’ll have to head out.”