Chapter-33 Trip

Gianna

“Where are we going?” I asked, finally deciding to break the silence.

Nico was driving, and we had been on the road for more than an hour now. He just asked me to get ready, and that we were going out. No other info whatsoever. As always, there was silence looming between us, but now it was starting to get unbearable.

“I told you…We ought to celebrate your big win,” he said, eyes glued to the road.

“Which you’re not happy about?” I raised a brow. Nico gave me a side eye in response.

“I am very happy about your collaboration, Gianna. Yes, I am not fond of Maximus Vanucci, but there’s nothing that can be done here so” he rumbled. I rolled my eyes in response.

What was his problem with Maximus?

“So you got Caelian to arrange for another dinner for us?” I asked. “Don’t you think we have come a bit too far?”

“Why do you have so many questions?” Nico grimaced, shaking his head. “And no…Caelian didn’t arrange for anything. I am taking you to my vineyard at the outskirts of the city.” I blinked at him. His vineyard?

“Your vineyard? Why?” I frowned.

“For heaven’s sake, Gianna…please stop asking questions,” he rolled his eyes. “Listen to music if you’re that bored.”

“Fine,” I scowled at him. “But I do have one question.”

“I’m not answering any more questions about where we are going.”

“It’s not that. It’s about…Caelian. Has he been out of town lately?” Nico’s brows furrowed in response to that question, and he finally glanced at me, throwing me a suspicious look.

“No. Why?”

“He promised to call Tess and didn’t. That was mean.”

“Why would he call her?” he made a dirty face, emphasising on her.

“You don’t like her, do you?” I asked, watching him closely. “Teresa?”

“No.” His voice was smooth, unbothered. “Too arrogant for my taste.”

Figures. Arrogance only looked good when it was dripping off him.

“So what is your taste then?” I asked sarcastically.

“Mm,” he murmured, his hand loose on the steering wheel. “Submissive—with just enough bite to make her dangerous. I don’t want a doll. I want a woman who obeys…until she doesn’t. Then I remind her.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

He glanced at me, his eyes dark and slow. “I like to dominate, Gianna. Fully. When I give, I want her to take all of it. No hesitation. No limits. And when I want...” His voice dipped, dragging like velvet over my skin, “...I expect her to hand over every part of herself. Every breath. Every sound. Every secret. Only to me.”

I clenched my thighs, heat pulsing low in my belly.

“I like knowing that no one else gets what I get. That when she’s dripping and trembling and breathless—it’s for me. Only me.”

My mouth went dry. I couldn’t even blink.

“And when I’m inside her,” he added, calm as ever, like we weren’t driving down a goddamn highway, “I want to hear her whisper that she belongs to me. That she knows she won’t ever want another man again…because I’ve ruined her for everyone else.”

I let out a shaky breath, turning my face to the window to cool down the fire raging across my skin. I couldn’t even respond. Not when every word he said made me imagine the exact way he’d make me fall apart beneath him.

“Too much?” he asked casually, like he hadn’t just shattered every functioning brain cell in my body.

I shook my head slowly, my voice barely a whisper. “No. Not too much.”

But God help me…I wanted too much of him.

“Will you be driving back again?” I asked, anything to dismiss the previous conversation. And I wished I hadn’t opened my mouth as my voice came out all hoarse and breathless.

“No. There is a cottage on the premises. We can spend the night there. The sunrise from those hills… It’s beautiful. You’ll love it.”

“Oh…” I hesitated. “But I didn’t pack any clothes for an overnight stay. If you had told me before—”

“You won’t be needing any,” he interrupted, voice laced with a dark promise that made something deep inside me flutter.

Did he mean…?

“Of course,” he added softly, “Only if you want to. It’s your call.”

“I… I like the idea,” I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper.

Nico’s hand flexed on the wheel. “Good,” he said, glancing at me. “So do I. More than I’d care to admit.”

I bit my lip, trying not to squirm in my seat. As we left the city behind, my mind slipped into the possibilities. Endless, wicked possibilities.

I wanted him. All of him. Maybe not the way I had dreamed, but this? This was still something. Something raw. Something real. And right now, I don’t want to think about what tomorrow might look like.

I wanted to surrender to the present.

The anticipation buzzed through my veins, sharp and intoxicating. I wanted to give in. To be taken. Owned. Ruined.

Rough or slow—I didn’t care. I wanted both. Again and again.

My thighs clenched at the thought.

I wanted to explore him. Taste him. I wanted to wrap my lips around that thick, hard length and hear the sounds he’d make as I worked him with my mouth. Would he curse? Would he groan? Would he tell me I was doing good? I didn’t know—but I wanted to find out.

I wanted to serve him… please him… in ways I never thought I was capable of. The thought should’ve unsettled me. Instead, it thrilled me.

There was a side of me awakening that I didn’t know existed—and he was the only one who could bring it to life. And I was eager to explore. Enough with the sweet, coy, shy Gianna.

It’s time to bring out the wild, demanding and sexy Gianna.

The car rolled to a slow stop at the edge of the vineyard, gravel crunching beneath the tires. The sun was just beginning to dip behind the hills, bleeding shades of orange, rose gold, and deep crimson across the sky. The entire place was bathed in a golden glow, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

It was beautiful. Silent. Endless rows of vines stretched across the valley like a dream, kissed by light, swaying softly in the wind. The air smelled of ripe fruit, pine, and something faintly earthy.

Nico stepped out first and came around to open the door for me. His hand extended toward mine. I took it without hesitation, letting his warm fingers curl around mine as he helped me out.

“Wow,” I breathed, taking it all in. “This is…something else.” He didn’t say anything. He just watched me, his eyes hooded and unreadable.

A man emerged from a small path near the barn. He was older, with silver-streaked hair and a kind smile and greeted Nico with a firm handshake, then turned to me with a respectful nod.

“You must be Signora” he said warmly. “Welcome.”

“Thank you,” I smiled politely.

After a few quick words in Italian, the man handed a key ring to Nico, nodded again, and walked away, disappearing down the same path he’d come from.

“We’re alone now,” Nico said, his tone quiet, deliberate.

I quirked a brow, glancing at the SUV parked just behind ours. “What about the guards?”

“You won’t even know they’re here,” Nico said, looking amused.

“Right,” I murmured, letting him lead me by the hand, “Sure I won’t.”

We walked down a cobblestone path framed by small lanterns that were just beginning to flicker on, and soon the cottage came into view. It was tucked between two sloping hills, surrounded by wild lavender and olive trees, made of warm stone and dark wood, with soft lights glowing from the windows and ivy crawling across the walls. A little terrace wrapped around the side, overlooking the vineyard.

It looked like something out of a fairytale. Quiet. Safe.

Nico unlocked the front door and stepped aside to let me in first. I couldn’t help but gape.

Inside, the cottage was as charming as the outside. Cozy and lived-in, with just one large open living area and a kitchen tucked to the side. A fireplace took center stage, and thick rugs softened the stone floors. A small spiral staircase led to a loft bedroom above.

“It’s…perfect,” I whispered, turning in a slow circle. “It’s so cute.”

Nico shut the door behind him. “I thought you’d like it.”

“I love it,” I corrected.

He walked over to the window, glancing out as the last of the sun melted into the hills. “My mother used to bring me and Amara here when my father was in one of his… moods.”

“That must’ve been so much fun,” I said, stepping toward him.

He shook his head faintly. “Neither of us really knew what fun meant. Amara barely spoke back then. She didn’t even acknowledge me properly until we started training together. It was… lame. But,” he added, glancing back at me, “I did enjoy the peace. And like I said, the sunrise through the hills is stunning.”

I smiled softly. “I look forward to seeing it.” Our eyes met. Something shifted.

Nico stepped closer. Close enough for me to feel his heat, the rise and fall of his chest. He reached up, brushing a strand of hair away from my cheek. His fingers lingered.

“Gianna…” he said my name like a warning. Like a line he was about to cross.

My breath caught in my throat.

His hand lifted slowly to my cheek, fingers brushing along my skin with a softness that didn’t match the tension in his jaw. His eyes—dark, unreadable—locked onto mine. There was something in them. Something fierce. Something buried.

I couldn’t look away. Nico didn’t say a word. Just leaned in.

And kissed me.