Alessio wrapped his arm around my body, loosely at first, but then tighter as I let out a small sigh. Bracing myself, I placed one hand on his chest.
Soon my fingers became restless, curious. Until that day I had not been allowed to touch a man, to discover his body. I lazily traced the smattering of hair on his pecs, realizing that I liked the feeling.
In the media I had only seen boys with smooth chests, and I was trying to imagine how they would feel. Alessio was all man, strong and with body hair. Not that he was excessively hairy…. He wasn’t. My…
Alessio squeezed my hand.
“Gianna.” It was low, dark, and almost painful. He pulled back, lowered his head at the same time I raised mine. He scrutinized my face. What had I done wrong? Did he not like being touched like that? I heard the moan more than I heard him.
He was on the verge of heartbreaking laughter. I blinked, trying to understand my husband. He lifted my hand and pressed it firmly, palm flat, against his sternum.
“Stay there.” He lowered his head to the pillow, then turned off the lights.
“I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.” Alessio grunted, almost a giggle.
“I don’t feel uncomfortable, and I know you don’t mean to make me feel the way I feel. That’s the problem. Now go to sleep.”
The last was an order. I stopped trying to understand the meaning of his words. I was not even a mind reader. Yawning, I settled more firmly against him and closed my eyes. Silence descended upon us and my breathing eventually slowed as exhaustion overcame me. Alessio stiffened. “Are you going to fall asleep like that?”
“You wanted me to sleep.”
“Yes. On your side, not in my arm.”
My stomach dropped. This should not have hurt as much as it did.
Alessio was my husband, but only in name. I had no strong feelings for him, and I did not know him at all. Without saying anything for fear of revealing more than I wanted to, I moved as far away from him as I could.
My side of the bed was cold, not as warm as Alessio’s. I swallowed my pain and my desire, trying to breathe evenly. Still, tears flowed from my eyes.
I could make out the outline of Alessio’s head and knew he was watching me. Knowing that the darkness was hiding my expression from him gave me little comfort, because I had a feeling he knew I was crying from the way my breathing sounded.
“I can’t sleep with someone next to me. Anyone,” he murmured. I nodded, for the words were out of the question.
Alessio
“I guess it’s only fair that my second wedding night should end the same way my first one did, with my wife crying in bed next to me.”
I was not a fan of physical contact at night, and often I had not even shared a bed with my late wife. Not that she would ever dream of wanting to have me near her at night.
She never bothered to hide her reluctance to have me near her, less so when we slept together, unless there was something she wanted from me.
Gianna had asked for my closeness and I had denied her. The early morning light illuminated her swollen face. Her eyelashes clung to her skin with dry tears.
She was close, had come close in her sleep until she almost touched us. I felt the unreasonable desire to touch her, and not in a sexual way. Leaning on my elbow, I watched her sleep peacefully.
Like many nights before, Gaia’s blood-covered body had haunted my dreams. I hardly ever dreamed of the people I had killed, yet my dead wife still filled my nights.
Gianna moved, her lips parted in a soft sigh. I stood up and lifted my legs off the bed, turning my back to her.
The bed shifted. I cast a glance over my shoulder at Gianna who was sitting up, rubbing her face framed by her messy hair. Noticing my attention, her eyes met mine. She smiled hesitantly. The early morning light was not kind to me because Gianna looked absolutely lovely in a very adolescent way. Damn it all. I stood up. “We have to get ready.
The women will soon retrieve the sheets.” Gianna took my watch from the nightstand.
“It’s only eight. Do you really think they will disturb us so soon after our wedding night?”
They probably wouldn’t, but I had no intention of wasting time in bed.
I had scheduled several meetings throughout the day, the most important one with Luca over lunch.
I needed to seize the opportunity to have him in town. I took the phone from the bedside table and sent Mia a message telling her they could pick up the sheets in thirty minutes. Her nosy reply was not long in coming.
Won’t you even sleep late after your wedding night?
Stay out of my business was all I replied. I put the phone back down, ignoring Gianna’s assessment.
I had caught her looking at me last night and now this morning. Her reaction surprised me. Of course, it was a pleasant surprise that she seemed attracted to my body and not horrified like Gaia.
“Mia and the others will be here in thirty minutes. Do you want to shower first? In the meantime I can shave.”
Gianna bit her lip, looking away before nodding.
“Okay.” She removed the covers and stood up. My eyes caught her, and for a moment I thought about telling Mia that they could wait after all. Gianna was unbelievably beautiful, and the idea of burying myself once more in her tight pussy was too tempting, but the blood stain on the sheets reminded me why it wasn’t going to happen. Fifteen minutes later Gianna showered and dressed, and I headed for the shower.
She had chosen one of the dresses I had sent to her parents, an elegant red knee-length sleeved piece that hugged Gianna’s slender body. It still didn’t make her look close to my age, but at least not quite the teenager she was.