CHAPTER 258: SWEET RUIN

CHAPTER 258: SWEET RUIN


Giovanni’s breath ran hot against her mouth as he cupped her face, his thumb softly tracing her lower lip.

When his hand moved down to the hem of her sweatshirt, Maria stiffened. A sudden, cold wave of self-consciousness washed over her. She caught his wrist, her dark eyes wide with hesitation in the dim light of the room.

"Giovanni, wait," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of the rain against the balcony glass.

Giovanni paused instantly. He didn't pull away or force the movement. He simply rested his forehead against hers, his breathing heavy and measured. "Tell me what's wrong, shorty."

"I..." Maria swallowed hard, her throat tight as her grip on his wrist tightened. "Can we... can we keep the lights off?"

Giovanni shifted his weight, his dark eyes searching her face in the shadows. He reached out, his long fingers gently hooking under the hem of her sweatshirt again. "I want to see you, Maria."

"No, you don't," she choked out, looking away toward the dark window. "I... I have marks. On my back, my stomach, my arm. They're ugly."

The memory of her father's dark temper and the brutal scars left across her skin flared in her mind, heavy and humiliating. She braced herself for the questions, for the awkward pity, or for him to pull back entirely.

Instead, Giovanni gently took her hands and guided them above her head, resting them on the soft rug. Slowly, reverently, he lifted the sweatshirt over her head and set it aside.

He didn't speak. He didn't ask a single question.

Instead, he leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss against the jagged line of scar tissue on her left shoulder.

Maria gasped, her body trembling at the cool touch of his lips against her old wounds. He moved lower, tracing every line on her upper back and side with gentle, deliberate kisses, worshiping the skin she had spent years trying to hide under oversized clothes.

"You have the most beautiful skin I have ever seen," Giovanni murmured against her collarbone, his voice low and raspy. "There is nothing ugly here. Not a single inch."

All the fear and shame that had built up inside Maria over the years dissolved into the warm, heavy air of the bedroom.

He didn't rush. Giovanni moved over her with a slow, tender patience that completely shattered every expectation she had held about the men in Citernera. He used his lips, his tongue, and his calloused hands to trace every curve of her body, taking his time until her breathing turned into soft, desperate gasps and her fingers dug into his broad shoulders.

When he guided her legs apart and slid his body over hers, he paused, feeling the sudden, intense tightness of her body against his chest.

Giovanni froze, his eyes locking onto hers in the darkness, his brow pulling low. "Maria... have you ever been with a man before?"

Maria flushed, her cheeks burning as she met his gaze. She had explored her own body, had used toys on herself in the privacy of her room, but no living person had ever touched her like this.

"I've... used things," she whispered, her voice trembling. "But... no. You're my first male."

Giovanni’s jaw set, his body growing rigid above her as he began to pull back. "Jesus, shorty... why didn't you tell me? We don't have to—"

"Don't you dare," Maria cut in fiercely, her dark eyes flashing in the gloom.

Before he could pull away, she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling his hips back flush against hers. She arched into him, her fingers tangling into his short hair, anchoring him in place.

"Don't stop," she whispered against his mouth, her voice thick with raw emotion. "Make me forget. Just make me forget everything, even if it's only for tonight."

Giovanni let out a low, guttural growl deep in his chest. He leaned down, capturing her lips in a deep, possessive kiss as he slowly sank into her.

Maria let out a strangled moan, her fingers digging into his back as he started thrusting into her slowly, giving her time to adjust to his length. 

Soon, the initial sharp sting vanished instantly beneath the overwhelming tide of warmth and pleasure. 

He moved within her with a steady, deliberate rhythm, holding her hands tightly against the mattress, his voice whispering soft words into her ear as the friction built between them.

Maria lost track of time. The room, the rain outside, the fear of Bella's pain, and the ghosts of her past all melted away into the intense, hypnotic rhythm of his body against hers.

When the intense wave finally crashed over her, Maria cried out into his neck, her entire body arching into his touch as the sweet, explosive release swept through her veins, dragging him right over the edge beside her.

Hours later, the rain had settled into a quiet, rhythmic pitter-patter against the glass.

Maria lay on her side in the center of his large bed, wrapped in a soft cotton sheet. She was completely exhausted, her body feeling lighter and more relaxed than it had in years.

Giovanni sat beside her on the edge of the mattress, holding a warm, damp towel. He gently wiped her skin clean, his touch impossibly tender as he dried her hips and pulled the dark duvet up to her shoulders.

He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her temple, before standing up to head toward the bathroom.

Maria closed her eyes, burying her face into the cool pillow, smelling his scent lingering on the fabric.

As sleep finally pulled her under, a single, terrifying thought drifted through her mind.

He was gentle. He was tender. He had held her as if she were made of glass, worshiping the very marks that had made her feel broken.

He ruined me, Maria thought softly as her eyelids grew heavy. He just ruined me for every other man in the world.