For Angelo (Full-Length Standalone Italian Billionaire Romance) (31 page)

How to explain that she had a feeling Angelo wanted her at her lowest before he’d come out to rescue her?

“Just p-please take a step back.
Please
?”

“But signorina, it’s raining harder—”

She choked out, “Please.”

Her two guards reluctantly stepped away.
 

And she stayed on her knees.

“Signorina, we have to go.”

“No, I have to wait. I think he’s c-coming out any second—”

But this time, the guards wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I’m sorry, signorina, but we—”

She shook her head quickly at them. “Don’t say it.” Because if they did, then all hope would be lost.
 

Lane would just be like everyone else, waiting and hoping for the impossible.

And that was for Angelo Valencia to forget his first love.

A shiver threaded through her body, but she forced herself to ignore the cold.

He would come out anytime now.
 

Anytime.

And so she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

She would wait here forever until he came.

And he would, wouldn’t he?

Her eyes closed, and Lane’s teeth sank deep into her lower lip as she fought the urge to sob her heart out. Dimly, she heard heavy footsteps make splashing sounds against the wet ground and wondered numbly if Fico and Umberto had also left—

“Tesoro.”

The rain stopped just as fear trapped the air inside her lungs.

“Open your eyes,
tesoro
.”

Ah.

She whispered, “I want to. But I’m s-scared. That if I o-open my eyes, I’d r-realize I’m just dreami—”

A kiss cut the flow of her words.

Lips that felt as cold as hers.

Lips that were so achingly familiar—

She knew these lips.

It was him.

She pulled away and opened her eyes.

It was him.

Angelo, down on one knee, holding an umbrella over the both of them with one hand, and in his other hand he held a crumpled bouquet of flowers.

He said hoarsely, “I was waiting for you at home, my Lane. I had this whole plan of teasing you then groveling at your feet—” A crooked smile formed on his lips. “I never thought you’d insist on waiting for me here…”
 

His eyes were pained as he gazed at Lane.

“I came as soon as I got Fico’s call. I just wish…” Angelo’s tone became unnaturally even. “I just wish I had come sooner—”

He stopped speaking.

Lane had started to cry again.

Dropping the umbrella and the flowers with a groan, he crushed her to him, and she curled against her chest, sobbing, “I thought you would never come.”

Ah.

No recriminations, no questions about the past, just Lane being true to herself the way he never had the courage to.

Just Lane, saying words that he could easily twist and throw at her face if he wanted to.

She truly was his perfect match.

He pressed trembling lips on her forehead, his chest tightening at the thought of how last night could have so easily made her leave him.

But she hadn’t.

She was still here, and now he could no longer hold the words back.

“I love you, Lane.” He felt her shudder in his arms, and Angelo tightened his hold on her. “I never thought a girl…like you could exist.”

Someone who would crave the kind of pain he desired to inflict—

Someone who could play this game that had made all other women leave him and hate him—

Someone who embraced this side of his that he hadn’t been able to risk revealing even…
to the other girl—

And from here on, Angelo realized it would be like that.

Jaike was the other girl now.

Jaike was the one that no longer mattered while Lane…

Lane was
the girl.
 

For him.

The only girl who had wanted to be his from the very start.

He cupped her face with shaking hands. He wanted to tell her all of this, wanted her to know that he was hers.

Irrevocably, he was hers.

Even in the times that she might not want him, he would still be hers.

But as soon as her eyes met his, Angelo was unable to speak.
 

His throat clogged. “
Lane
.” He could only choke out her name.
 

He watched her lips move but no words came out, and he realized it was the same for both of them.
 

The way they felt—

It was too much and there were no words to encompass them.

He slowly drew her close.
 

Their lips met, and the kiss said everything.

Lane started crying again.

Her tears mingled with their kiss, and unspoken words turned into eternal promises.

She cried and cried, and the fall of her tears were a sound that his heart could not escape from.

Despite the strong rain, the thundering skies—

He heard her tears.

And just like it was supposed to be for them, her pain fed his heart, and what once was dead started beating again.

Chapter Twenty

In an ideal world, when a man loved a woman, and she loved him back, all would be well. Or at least it should be if the man wasn’t a sadist and the woman wasn’t a masochist.

It was another early morning on a weekday, but unlike in the past, it was Lane who had trouble getting up and Angelo looking relaxed and disgustingly fit to conquer the world.

She didn’t understand it at all. Had she been making love to a robot the entire time? They had not left their bedroom yesterday at all, and she had paid the price for it this morning.
 

Every muscle in her body had protested when she trudged her way to the shower, and descending the stairs had been pure torture. Her legs shook so badly she found herself clutching the handrail while she took the steps one at a time.

Standing up the moment Lane entered the dining room, Angelo took one look at the way she was practically limping towards the table and laughed.
 

“It’s not funny,” she protested.

“It’s not,” he agreed solemnly as he strode towards her. Making her squeal in surprise as he suddenly scooped her up, he carried her the rest of the way, murmuring, “Actually, seeing you in pain and knowing it’s because I fucked you hard—”

Her face flamed. “Angelo!”

“It just makes me want you more.”

What?

No!

She had classes today!

She automatically tried to wriggle out of his hold, but he only laughed, his arms tightening around her. Taking his seat, he kept her on his lap, asking, “Will you be comfortable here?”

She shook her head vehemently.

He set her down on the chair in his right with evident reluctance.

A server came forward right away, serving her with a plate of freshly made waffles. She was about to take a bite when she saw Angelo staring at her.

“Umm…w-what is it?” Oh my gosh, those silvery eyes would kill her. The way he was looking at her now, and knowing that he loved her—

She resisted the urge to fan herself.

Angelo was still staring.

“Is s-something on my face?”

He nodded.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“My kiss.” And he promptly took her mouth with his, the kiss unashamedly deep and passionate.

Oh my gosh!

She tried pushing him away, conscious of the fact that they had staff with them, but this only made Angelo drive his tongue further inside her mouth.

Oh…gosh.

When Angelo finally lifted his head, she didn’t even remember why she had wanted to risk.

He smiled at her.

She smiled at him.

“Best dessert I’ve tasted in a long time, my Lane,” he whispered.

Oh!
She could only gulp, unable to think of anything coherent to say to him.

Still facing her, he leaned back against his seat and took a sip of his coffee, his eyes never leaving Lane.

She asked nervously, “A-are you done with breakfast?”

“Yes.”

He was still staring, and she protested, “I c-can’t eat if you’re going to be looking at me the whole time.”

“I’m sorry,” Angelo apologized readily. “Let me rectify that.”

Huh?”

“I’ll feed you,
tesoro.
”

What?

“Say ‘aah.’”

She automatically opened her mouth and said ‘ah,’ and in went a slice of waffle, coated with honey and with chunks of strawberry mixed in.

His smile widened. “Good girl.”

She smiled back weakly. Did she really think Angelo would change now that he loved her? He was still sadistic as ever, only this time he was bent on torturing her with an overload of sweetness.

While chewing on her waffle, Lane hesitantly asked him for an update about his case against Margarita.
 

His face became grim. “Not going as well as I hoped.”

Her brows furrowed. “Does she want more money?”
 

He said with visible reluctance, “No.”
 

Lane was surprised. “Then what?”

“She has a personal vendetta against me,
tesoro
,” he said finally. “Money no longer means anything to her.”

Oh.

“Then what does she want?”

He said dryly, “Your heart on a platter.”

She gasped.

“Barring that, my body in her—”

She said quickly, “My heart is hers.”

He smiled. “I thought you’d say that.” He kissed her hair, murmuring, “Which is why I’m paying my legal team thousands of dollars to keep her from troubling us.”

When it was time for her to leave for uni, she said shyly,
 
“Goodbye.” And this time, Lane knew better not to leave without kissing him. Getting to her feet, she bent towards to place a chaste kiss on his lips.

She half-expected him to protest and kiss her deeper—
 

If she was being her honest masochistic self, she was
hoping
he would do that.

But nothing happened.

She straightened slowly.

Angelo only smiled when their gazes met.

Okaaaaay.
She blurted out, “You’re not mad?”

“Why should I be?” He waved a languidly dismissive hand as he spoke, and the staff, understanding the silent command, turned away poker-faced. They started smirking the moment they stepped out of the dining room.

Poor naïve signorina.

“I see.” She bit her lip.

“You want to say something,
tesoro
?”

“Y-you’re not even going to punish me?”

He raised a brow. “I don’t see why I should.” He paused. “Unless you want me to?”