Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
"Depends. How do you feel about stars? As in looking at them in the night sky?"
The way her whole face lit up knocked the breath right out of me. No calculated seduction, no practiced pose—just pure, unguarded joy. Something in my chest cracked open at the sight.
"You mean..." She caught herself, trying to look composed. "We can go outside?"
"We've got the beach for two hours," I said, grinning as I watched her practically bounce with excitement, my chest tight with something I didn't want to name. "Better grab something warm."
She launched herself at me in a spontaneous hug that caught us both off guard. The scent of her hair, the warmth of her body pressed against mine—fuck, this was dangerous territory. Because suddenly, I didn't want just her body. I wanted her joy, her trust, her real smiles that made my heart stop. Wanted things I had no business wanting.
"Thank you," she whispered against my chest before stepping back, cheeks flushed.
"Don't thank me yet, princess." My voice came out a little harder than I'd meant it to be. Perhaps I was just trying to cover up my unexpected feelings. "Give me fifteen to set things up, then I'll come get you."
I spent those fifteen minutes mapping the safest route and running security checks that would keep Giuliano from murdering me. Hard to focus on protocols when all I could think about was how she'd felt pressed against me, or how her eyes had lit up at just the mention of stars.
When I got back to her room, she was waiting in an oversized sweater and what looked like borrowed sweatpants, but somehow she still managed to look like something out of a dream. The way she moved through the dark halls beside me, trying to contain her excitement but practically vibrating with it—Christ, it was doing things to my head I couldn't afford.
Every few steps she'd glance over at me like she was making sure this was real, and each time it hit me harder than the last. By the time we reached the beach entrance, my heart was doing shit it hadn't done in years, just from watching her try to act calm while her whole body thrummed with anticipation.
The moment that first breeze touched her face, the way her eyes went wide at the sound of waves…fuck, I wanted to bottle that look, keep it somewhere safe where Vittorio and his world couldn't touch it. Where I couldn't ruin it.
She kicked off her shoes the second we hit the sand, laughing as she curled her toes into it. I found myself watching her instead of scanning the perimeter like I should've been, caught up in how she tilted her head back to take in the night sky.
"It's not much," I said, settling down on the sand and patting the spot next to me. "City lights wash most of it out, but it's better than security floods."
She sank down beside me, close enough that I could feel her warmth. "Are you kidding? This is..." she trailed off, eyes fixed upward, and the pure wonder in her voice made my chest ache. "God, I forgot what real air felt like."
The waves crashed steady and dark ahead of us, but I couldn't take my eyes off her profile, the way starlight caught in her hair. She hugged her knees to her chest, looking smaller somehow, more real than she ever had on the security feeds.
And that's when I knew I was truly fucked. Because this wasn't just about wanting her anymore. This was something much more dangerous.
18
PEARL
The moment my feet touched the sand, years of penthouse perfection shattered.
I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up; I probably sounded half-crazy, but I didn't care.
The beach stretched endless and dark ahead of me, nothing like the sterile universe of my glass prison where I'd forgotten what real air felt like.
"You good there, princess?" Enzo's voice carried amusement but something softer too.
"I just..." I closed my eyes, drinking in the moment. "God, this is real. This is actually real."
I thought of all the small kindnesses since I'd arrived—how Vincenzo would find me reading late at night and quietly leave tea, or how Rocco somehow always showed up with a new book when I was feeling restless. Even Angelo, for all his intensity in training, had this way of knowing exactly when I needed a moment to just breathe. And now here was Enzo, sharing this piece of freedom with me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I kicked off my shoes, letting my feet sink deeper into the sand. Every sensation felt amplified: the wind catching my hair, the distant crash of waves, the vastness of sky above me that made me slightly dizzy. A seagull called somewhere in the darkness, and I nearly jumped; when was the last time I'd heard a real bird instead of recordings?