*Tallon*
I got out of the shower and found Natalia struggling to disentangle herself from her dress. The sight was enough to make want to get her right back into bed again, but I didn’t want us to miss the boat tour that I had planned for us, and the last thing I wanted her to think was that I had only brought her on this trip to have sex.
She grunted and turned around, trying to yank her dress down, when she finally noticed watching her. Her cheeks imdiately turned an adorable shade of pink and she turned back around.
“Let help you,” I said, walking up to her and wrapping my arms around her still-naked torso. Although I had vowed not to try to seduce her again, I couldn’t resist leaning down and placing a few light kisses on her neck.
“I feel terrible. I think I’ve ripped this dress.” She sounded genuinely sorrowful over it.
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll buy you a dozen dresses just like that one,” I reassured her.
“Yeah, but none of them will be this dress. It’s so beautiful.”
“If you want, I can send it to Dahlia and ask her to nd it,” I told her while pulling down the pesky zipper that had trapped her in the first place.
The skirt of the dress had sohow wrapped around the zipper so that every ti she tried to get it, she just created a bigger knot. Finally, she was able to step free of the whole thing. She turned around and I respectfully kept my eyes on her face, although her perfect body was ridiculously enticing, I could tell that she was feeling a bit shy to be totally naked in front of now that the haze of sleep had fully worn off.
“It is a beautiful dress,” I told her, “but only because you were wearing it.”
She rolled her eyes, but a smile played at her lips.
I reached out to grab her hand and brought it to my mouth for a chaste kiss. “Okay, gorgeous. Today’s activities include a boat tour, so I recomnd wearing sothing you wouldn’t mind getting a tad wet.”
“Okay, I’ll be ready in a few.”
She walked into the bathroom, gathering up a bundle of clothes before she went. I wondered when we would be comfortable enough to get ready together without needing to shut doors between us. It felt like we had already made great strides toward becoming closer just in the ti we had been on our trip. The fact that Natalia had let her guard down so much the night before gave hope.
She ca out of the bathroom dressed in a lovely sundress that brought out the blue in her eyes even more than usual.
“You’re beautiful, as always,” I told her honestly. I didn’t think I would ever be able to stop myself from complinting her.
“You’re sweet,” she said, her usual coy grin on her face.
Before long, we were settled into the comfortable seats of a small yacht, touring the Isle of Capri. I tried to pay attention to the stunning views of the massive cliffs and clear blue water all around us, but I kept stealing glances at Natalia instead.
The wind whipped her hair around her and brought so color to her face. She looked radiant, her joy clearly visible as she watched a flock of gulls twirl above us.
“Oh, Tallon, look!” she suddenly shouted out, pointing at three dolphins playing in the wake of our yacht.
We both stared in wonder at the energetic trio. I knew that I would never forget this mont in ti. Everything between us felt right, and it was as if the world itself agreed.
After another hour of riding, the yacht stopped and set anchor so that we could eat lunch. The crew had prepared an opulent spread of ats, cheeses, and vegetables and set it all out for us along with a chilled bottle of champagne.
I had grown up in luxury, but even still I could recognize that eating antipasto on a yacht in the middle of the Isle of Capri was especially indulgent. I took a sip of my champagne and Natalia did the sa. Although I didn’t want her to get quite as drunk as the night before, I wouldn’t have minded if the champagne helped to loosen her tongue just slightly. I could feel how much closer we had grown, but I wanted even more. I wanted to know everything about this woman who had sohow fallen into my lap.
“This is wonderful, Tallon,” she said after taking a bite of an olive. “I really can’t even believe I’m doing this right now.”
“I know, it’s a little over the top,” I admitted. I hoped she didn’t feel uncomfortable.
“It is ridiculously over the top! But I love it.” She leaned forward and kissed on the cheek, her lips just barely brushing against .
I wanted more, but I settled for just wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
“I never thought I would see things like this,” she sighed as she leaned into just a bit.
My ears perked up as I realized that she was about to open up.
“It was just my mom and growing up. I wasn’t living on the streets or anything, but money was definitely tight. Just being here in Italy at all feels like a dream... and now eting you... I just can’t believe it sotis.”
As she often did, she stopped speaking even though it seed like she had more to say. I didn’t press her. So far, Natalia had been revealing herself to bit by bit, and I had all the ti and patience in the world. Soday I would fully know her, and the wait would make it all the sweeter.
“Being here with you is a dream for as well,” I told her. “I never thought I would et a woman like you. I feel so incredibly lucky.” I pressed a kiss to her temple, hoping to convey how precious she was to .
“Thank you, Tallon, not just for bringing here but also for making feel like I’m worth bringing. You make feel cherished. I don’t think I’ve ever had that before.”
My chest felt like it was going to burst with pride. I wanted to spend the rest of my life making her feel cherished.
Before we knew it, the sun began to set and our captain steered the yacht back toward the coast. Natalia seed disappointed to see our excursion coming to an end, but I reassured her that there was still more to co. On the car ride back to our hotel, she asked what more I could possibly have planned.
“We have dinner reservations at de Paolino. It’s a really neat place filled with lemon trees,” I explained. I had been there before and couldn’t wait for her to experience the wafting scent of lemons that was present throughout the entire restaurant. I knew that she would love it.
“That sounds amazing,” she said, laying her head back and closing her eyes. “Wake up when we get to the hotel.”
I watched her as she napped. Our car ride only took a few more minutes, but I loved the opportunity to study her lovely face and to see the way she looked when she was totally relaxed. Soday I hoped that she would look like that all the ti. I was so desperate to free her from whatever stresses she had that made her look so nervous and upset from ti to ti.
When we made it to the hotel, I gently pulled her hand into my own and rubbed her palm to wake her. In spite of my gentleness, she startled awake, the tension that I was used to seeing returning to her face. But as soon as she looked at , she smiled. She felt safe with , and I intended to keep it that way.
Back in our room, I had changed into a tan linen suit. I smiled thinking of how Natalia and I had matched the evening before. It had been cheesy and probably too much considering the early stage of our relationship, but I couldn’t lie to myself, I had loved how obvious it was that we belonged together.
I waited to choose a pocket square until I saw what color Natalia was wearing. I had brought a few different color options. It wouldn’t match nearly as much as the night before, but it would be enough to make happy.
I had never been the possessive type before, always dating casually enough that there was no reason to get possessive, but I found that with Natalia I wanted people to know that she was with . It wasn’t because I wanted to claim ownership over her–I respected her far too much for sothing so barbaric–but because I was so proud that she had chosen .
She ca out of the bathroom and twirled, giving the opportunity to see her from every angle. She was wearing a light purple dress that looked gorgeous against her skin. It was looser in the skirt than she usually wore and tied in the back with a small cutout underneath the bow. I found that I was quite drawn to that little cutout; the idea of being able to discreetly touch the bare skin on the small of her back was quite enticing.
I fished out a purple pocket square from my suitcase. It was a deeper color than her dress, but it served its purpose well.
“Matching again?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“What can I say? I like for people to know we’re together.” I shrugged in feigned innocence. “You look stunning, by the way.”
“I wonder if I’ll ever get tired of that,” she sighed and smiled, reaching out so that I ca closer. She settled her head on my chest and I instinctively wrapped my arms around her, loving how perfectly she fit in my arms.
“Tired of what?” I asked.
“Of how you always make sure to make feel pretty.” She pulled back so that she could look in the eye, “You make so happy.”
I swallowed, taking a mont. If ever was the right ti to tell her I loved her, this was it. I gazed into her endless eyes. “Natalia, I–”
My phone rang out, cutting off. The mont was broken as she pulled away so that I could grab it from the nightstand. I sighed, vowing that I would tell her by the ti we finished dinner. I glanced at the screen and saw that it was Vinny calling . He knew how important this weekend was to , so I doubted he would call unless it was urgent.
“This better be important.” I answered the phone tersely, hoping to end the conversation quickly.
“Hey, Boss, I’m sorry to bother you, but it’s really bad.”
Fuck. This night wasn’t going to go to plan. I allowed myself one more long look at Natalia before turning around and focusing.
“Exactly how bad?”
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