I was beyond ecstatic about our little trip to Lake Como. I had dreamt of going there for a pretty long ti and it felt surreal that Jace was going through the trouble of taking there.
It had only been a few days but I knew this trip was expensive as hell.
"Ready?" He asked as I hopped like a bunny.
Jace smiled as I spun around, showing off the flay of my sundress.
"What do you think?"
"I think you look ravishing and you’re tempting to pin you down here."
I bit back a moan as his eyes darkened. I don’t know how we hadn’t had sex since we touched down. We had been too busy exploring the city to actually explore our bodies.
But this short trip promised a good ti and I was down for it.
The drive from Milan to Lake Como felt like sothing out of a dream. I felt like a child as I humd with anticipation and giddiness. Jace watched with a smile.
The farther we went, the city’s noise and sharp edges gave way to winding roads that curved around hillsides, every turn revealing glimpses of sapphire-blue water shimring under the afternoon sun. Villas clung to the mountainsides as if painted they were painted there. Their gardens were spilling with bougainvillea and olive trees. I pressed my forehead lightly to the glass, unable to look away.
"It’s beautiful," I whispered, more to myself than to Jace.
I had said these words so many tis since the trip began. I was sure he was tired. But my limited vocabulary could not find anything else to express what the sight in front of actually was.
"Wait until you see it up close." His voice was calm, low, but I caught the hint of satisfaction there as though bringing here was a victory of its own.
The car slowed when we reached the villa. Not just any villa, but a sprawling cream-colored mansion with green shutters, its balconies facing directly toward the lake. Cypress trees lined the path, their shadows long in the evening light. A housekeeper greeted us, but Jace barely acknowledged her; his focus was on , watching the way I tried to take everything in at once.
Inside, the place slled faintly of lemon and polished wood. A staircase swept upward in elegant curves, but Jace led straight out the back doors onto the terrace. The lake stretched before us like molten glass, rippling gently, mountains embracing it on all sides.
I stood there, breathless, until his hand slid around my waist.
"You like it?"
I turned my face to him, smiling despite the little flutter of nerves in my stomach. "Like it? Jace, it looks like a painting. Are we... actually staying here?"
He didn’t answer right away. His eyes were on , sharp and unreadable, before softening just enough to send a tremor through . "For as long as we want. I rented it out just for you."
For as long as we want. The words echoed, filling spaces inside I hadn’t realized were empty.
Like I said, this trip was expensive as hell. We literally just left one villa and he rented out another one?
I let him hear my thoughts and he shrugged like I was just talking about the weather.
"Nothing is too much for my wife." He pressed a kiss to my knuckles right where my wedding band was.
I saw a familiar glint in his eye as he stared at the diamond.
"Don’t even think about it," I warned him.
He laughed. "Mira, I didn’t even say anything."
I glared at him. "Don’t."
"Okay, okay," he raised his hands in surrender and I continued looking around.
Later, after we’d settled and had brunch, Jace suggested a boat ride. The wooden vessel waiting at the dock wasn’t ostentatious. It was not like his cars or his suits but sleek and quietly expensive. It was exquisite to say the least.
He helped aboard with a steady hand, his touch lingering just long enough to make my skin tingle.
The boat cut smoothly across the water, scattering silver trails behind it as we moved. I sat near the edge, my fingers skimming the surface, cool and clean. Jace watched more than the view, and though he said little, the weight of his attention was as tangible as the mountains rising around us.
"Do you ever relax?" I asked him finally, leaning back on the cushioned seat.
His mouth quirked, the shadow of a smirk while he gave a languid stare.
"I’m relaxed now."
I raised a brow. "This is you relaxed?"
"This is ," he said simply, as if that explained everything.
Maybe it did.
The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable. It was... new. Gentle. I wasn’t used to quiet monts with him that didn’t end in tension or fire. The breeze lifted strands of my hair, and before I could tuck them away, Jace leaned forward, brushing them back with deliberate care. His knuckles grazed my cheek, sending a shiver down my spine.
"Mira." He said my na like it belonged only to him.
I didn’t wait for him to kiss . I placed my lips on his, not minding if we had anyone else on the boat with us.
It took everything to break that kiss. But I had to focus on the ride. We couldn’t waste the money spent on this experience.
The views took my breath away but it was even better because I was wrapped in the arms of the man that I love.
That night, the villa was hushed. The staff had retreated, leaving us alone with the sound of crickets outside and the occasional lap of water against the shore. I found myself barefoot on the terrace, leaning against the railing, staring at the moon’s reflection on the lake.
I didn’t hear him approach, but I felt him. Always. His presence pressed against before his hands did, settling lightly at my waist. He had gone to take yet another work call. So much for a vacation...
"You keep staring at the water," he murmured against my hair, as he kissed my temple.
"It’s peaceful," I admitted. "Like... nothing bad can touch here."
His grip tightened almost imperceptibly. "Nothing will touch you anywhere. Not while I’m here."
I swallowed, closing my eyes. I wanted to believe him.
When I turned, he was so close the world behind him blurred. For once, there was no hardness in his gaze, no command ready on his tongue. Just Jace, stripped of the weight he always carried.
He kissed then. Slowly. Deliberately.
And for the first ti, I felt him give the reins.
We ended up in the bedroom, though I barely rembered how. The sheets slled of lavender, the windows thrown open to the night air. Jace’s hands were everywhere, but not rushed, not demanding. He touched as though morizing, tracing lines over my skin as though every detail mattered.
When he finally lowered onto the bed, I expected the urgency, the raw hunger that usually ca with him. Instead, he paused, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip.
"You don’t know what you do to ," he said, his voice hoarse.
"Then show ," I whispered.
What followed was unlike anything we’d shared before. It wasn’t about power or control or claiming. It was about connection. His mouth moved against mine with devastating gentleness, his body aligning with mine in a rhythm that felt almost reverent.
Every movent asked instead of demanded, and every answer I gave him was yes.
Yes, I wanted this. Yes, I wanted him. Yes, even if it terrified .
This was different, just like the first ti we had sex in the Maldives few years ago. Maybe him on vacation was just softer and more relaxed. No tension from work and life in the US.
The world narrowed to the warmth of his breath on my neck, the steady weight of him above , the quiet sound he made when I pulled him closer. When I ca, it wasn’t just pleasure it was sothing breaking open inside , sothing that left trembling in ways I couldn’t na.
Jace buried his face in my shoulder, his arms locked around like he never ant to let go. For a long ti, neither of us spoke. The lake swished outside the windows, and my heartbeat slowly steadied under the press of his chest.
When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were unreadable again, but softer. Softer in a way that left undone.
"Don’t look at like that," I murmured, brushing his cheek.
"Like what?" He chuckled.
"Like you’re not the man who terrifies half the world."
He gave a wry smile. "Maybe I’m not. Not with you."
And just like that my heart ward up even more.
The next morning, sunlight spilled through the open windows, golden and unrelenting. I woke to find him already awake beside , propped on one elbow, watching with the kind of intensity that made squirm.
"What?" I asked, my voice rough with sleep and my eyes half-closed.
"Nothing," he said. "Just making sure you’re real."
I laughed softly, burying my face in the pillow to hide how much those words shook . But deep down, I understood. Because I’d been wondering the sa thing.
This was real. This was us and maybe I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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