My Saving Grace

Chapter 32

The rays of morning sunlight snuck between the blinds, giving our bedroom a faint yellow glow. Slowly, my eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the light as I lay cocooned in Antonio's body. I could feel his solid chest rising and falling gently against my cheek as he slept. After his long flight and last night's activities, which had left me deliciously sore, it was no surprise he'd wiped out.

For a half hour or so, I simply basked in the feeling of lying in his arms while relaying the events of this past week in my mind. I had yet to tell Antonio about how Chase was back in my life again. I'd meant to tell him ages ago, but something had been holding me back all this time. It took a while for me to figure out what it was, but last night when driving home, I'd finally arrived at a conclusion.

Chase Lincoln was a precious memory of mine that I simply didn't want to share with anyone. End of story.

Even after all these years, my best friend, Alexa, was the only person who knew about him.

I wasn't trying to hide Chase from Antonio out of guilt or anything like that. After all, we were just friends. But I wasn't ready to integrate him into this new chapter of my life. I wanted us to just be the Chase and Sophia from my freshman year of college who could tell each other anything.

Back when I had him all to myself.

God, now I was confusing the hell out of myself.

I felt Antonio stirring next to me, and my thoughts dissipated as I reached a hand up to trace the faint lines on his forehead. His job was no easy feat, and some nights, he didn't come home from campus til past nine. He and one of his colleagues were currently working on a manuscript for their upcoming textbook on top of lecturing and helping his top PhD students get publications.

A low groan reverberated in his chest, and my finger stilled as his eyes slowly blinked open before descending on mine.

"Hi," I said gently, drowning in the intensity of his gaze.

"Just "hi?" Someone's shy this morning." He smiled fondly, giving my hip a squeeze.

"Very funny." I gave his cheek a playful pinch in return.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Decent. I miss having the bed to myself."

In a flash, Antonio was on top of me, pinning my arms above my head. His eyes were hooded with desire, and I felt him harden against my stomach.

"You're a fucking awful liar," he breathed into my ear.

"Who said anything about lying?"

He smirked, planting a kiss on the tip of my nose.

"I love you, mia bella."

"Oh, yeah? How much?"

"This much," he grunted before entering me with one hard thrust.

We didn't get out of bed until nearly eleven, and after our nice, long shower, Antonio offered to make breakfast, so I opted to do some cleaning. I stripped our bedsheets from the mattress then tossed them into a hamper, heading downstairs to the laundry room.