Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
I swallow hard, willing him to speak, to give me a reason to stay. “Antonio—”
He pushes off the wall and crosses the room in three slow, deliberate steps. When he reaches me, he cups my face, his hands warm, strong, steady. His touch sends a shiver down my spine, a whisper of comfort amidst the chaos. “If you want to go with your family, we won’t stop you,” he murmurs, his voice low, intimate. “But we want you to stay with us. We want you to…” He pauses like he’s thinking through a new idea that hasn’t had time to fully take root. “We want to make you a Venturi.”
A tremor runs through me, stealing the air from my lungs.
He’s claiming me.
Not as a captive. Not as leverage. As theirs.
“Is this a proposal?” I whisper, my lips parting as his breath mingles with mine.
His grip tightens just a fraction. Possessive. “I’m not your savior, Aemelia. I’m your sinner. Your monster. And I swear on every grave I’ve ever filled, I’ll love you better than any saint ever could. Your family will be our family, dolcezza. They’ll be protected, always. No more struggling. No more running. They’ll have everything they need. And you, Aemelia—”
He dips his head closer, his breath warm against my lips. “We want you to be ours. You were never meant to belong to one man. You were meant to belong to three. Our hands. Our mouths. Our bodies are yours. We’ll love you until our last breaths.”
Tears burn behind my eyes, and I exhale shakily. I was raised to believe love came with conditions, that loyalty was only as strong as the weight it carried. But this? This is different. They’re offering me a choice. They’re offering to take on my burdens… the burden of my family.
My mother shifts, her fingers gripping the edge of the table. “Aemelia…”
I turn to her, my decision clear in the depths of my soul. “I can’t go back with you, Mama. My place is here.”
Her face crumples, but she doesn’t argue. She knows me well enough to recognize that I’ve made up my mind. Maybe she remembers what it was like to love her own Venturi all those years ago.
My aunt sighs, a resigned smile tugging at her lips. “I knew it. Just like your mother. You can’t resist the dark and dangerous ones.”
My brother shakes his head, his eyes glinting. “You’re really staying with them?”
I nod. “I am.”
“But who—”
Antonio cuts him off by standing abruptly.
“No one is paying for you to sit on your ass anymore, Carlo. It’s time to step into your shoes and be a man. Rehab is non-negotiable. Any support we offer will only continue if you dedicate yourself to getting clean.”
I reach for Antonio’s hand, so relieved to have someone on my side that tears spill silently down my cheeks.
His fingers tighten around mine, his grip reassuring. “You’re not alone anymore, mia bella.”
Luca and Alexis enter then, their presence commanding as they take in the scene before them. Luca’s sharp gaze flicks between me and my mother before settling on Antonio. “Everything settled?”
Antonio nods once. “She’s staying.”
Luca’s expression softens just a fraction. “She said yes?”
I smile, touching my fingers to my lips, unprepared to find out they’d already discussed what they wanted from me. “I said yes.”
“Like it was ever an option for you to leave,” Luca says with a rare smile. “I already made up my mind that you’re not going anywhere, kitten. Not now. Not ever.”
I flush hot at his possessiveness, at the fire in his eyes.
Alexis, ever the charmer, flashes me a wicked grin. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist us.”
“Your mama won’t like this,” my mother aims at Luca, shaking her head. “She never liked me. Never thought I was good enough for your brother.”
“Aemelia isn’t you, Signora Lambretti,” Luca says firmly. “And our mother will accept our choice.”
Antonio pulls me closer, tilting my chin up before pressing his lips to mine in a kiss that feels like a vow. Luca moves in next, his kiss softer, lingering, full of unspoken promises. Alexis is last, his lips teasing mine in a way that makes my head spin.
My family inhales sharply, shocked at the display. But I don’t care what they think.
These men are going to make me a part of their family.
I don’t have to choose between them or find a way to live without them.
Alexis, Antonio, and Luca Venturi are my knights in shining armor, after all.
***
I lay on the bed drenched in their warmth, my skin still buzzing with the aftermath of their touch. My body feels boneless, weightless, wrecked, and adored all at once. The silk sheets stick faintly to my skin, damp with sweat and remnants of their devotion, but I don’t want to move.
Because I’m surrounded by them.