Mafia's Final Play (Mafia's Obsession #3) - Summer Cooper Page 0,41

cold.

He pulled away from her before she became too enthralled with kissing him and took his own clothes off. With a moan of relief, he sank into the hot water, the instant reprieve for muscles he hadn’t realized ached was almost as good as her kisses. “Come on, hop in.”

She gave a rather impish little smile as she took his hand and stepped into the tub before she turned to sit in front of him. She slid between his legs and leaned back against his chest. The tub was big enough for them both and deep enough that his arms could rest easily on the sides. They both inhaled the scented steam from the bubble bath and relaxed. “This I like.”

He smiled at her words. “What, are you saying there’s something you don’t like here?”

The question was asked with his eyes closed, the outside world far away and unable to intrude on this moment with his wife. She felt good pressed into him like that, she was totally relaxed with him now, used to being naked with him. A grin spread over his face as he thought about that first time he’d undressed her, how she’d been so shy and timid. Now, “shy and timid” wasn’t the word he’d use for her at all.

Marie wouldn’t argue with him on most things but that was because she tended to agree with him. If she disagreed with him, she’d usually say it. She wasn’t afraid of him or his wealth, and that was a good thing. He’d wanted to dominate her, to make her his and only his, to the point where he wanted her every thought to only be of him, but he’d eased back on that when she’d started to have problems, and he saw that she did that anyway, even without his dominance.

Marie was the wife he’d always wanted, even if he hadn’t known he’d wanted one. She slid down his body and turned to look at him. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about how lucky I am.” Wet fingers left a trail down her face as he ran his fingertips down her cheek.

“Are you? You’re strapped with a basket-case for a wife, and now we’re hiding from people that want to kill me to get back at you, how is that lucky?” The dark-brown eyes that made his heart beat with unspoken emotions were filled with sadness, maybe even sorrow at what their lives had been like. “You had to marry me to save me from your aunt, as well.”

“Ah, but I’d marry you again, Marie. Even if it wasn’t to save you from Celeste. As for the hiding, I’d run across the globe if it meant you were safe.” He looked down at her face and felt that emotion grow as a warmth that spread through his chest. “I’d take the world down, burn it down and rebuild it, all for you, Marie.”

He smiled when her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open.

“Don’t be so shocked, you’ve given me something I’ve always wanted - a home. That home lives inside of you, it is you, and I won’t allow the world to take that away from me. Not again.”

“I’m glad, Matteo. I’m glad you feel like that.” She looked away, amazed at how he’d made her feel. “If I’m your home, it’s only because you’re mine.”

“Then we’ll burn the world down together if we have to.” He pulled her up, her hot, slick skin pressed to his, and he kissed her until all thought left his head. All thoughts except for her. She filled his thoughts, his desire for her drove everything else away. The night might have been ruined by the snow, but in a way, the snow gave them the chance to have something even more special - a moment that they would always remember.

13

“The water is getting cold,” Marie whispered to him as he rinsed her hair out.

They’d been in the tub for a while, long enough that both of them were now clean and more than a little ready to get between warm sheets. He ran his fingers over her head one last time to make sure all of the shampoo was gone before he let her up. “Okay, let’s get to bed then.”

They’d emptied the bottle of wine and both were just a little tipsy, but that was more being drunk on love than on the wine, she thought. He’d all but said he loved her, and she’d almost let