The Temporary Wife (The Windsors, #2)

by Catharina Maura

She’s a vicious fucking beast wrapped in the sexiest body I’ve ever laid eyes on. I lean back in my seat as I enjoy the show. I might despise Valentina, but she’s my right hand for a reason.

“Valentina, if I ever were to play with you, you’d never look at another again. I’d have you so hooked, you’d want no one’s hands on your body but mine.”

He makes me feel protected, irritated, and flustered all at once.

“Don’t take your eyes off me, Valentina. You’re mine, baby. Your moans, your pleasure, your body. It’s all mine. Only mine.”

I once heard you say that we should normalize walking away from toxic situations, isn’t that right? So let me walk away, Luca. Let me go. I’m begging you. Can’t you see that you’re hurting me?”

everything to me. She raised me, and I’d do anything for her. I’ll beg if you want me to, Luca. There’s nothing I won’t do.”

It wasn’t until the words left my mouth that I realized this is what I want above all else: I want Valentina as my wife.

“I don’t want to get married at all, but if I must, I want to marry the one woman that’s been by my side for years.

“Didn’t I tell you not to follow me?” I ask him, my voice weak. He smiles at me and gently brushes my hair out of my face. “I thought I told you I’d never let you go?” he replies. “How could I walk away when you need me the most?”

“From this day onward, you’re mine, Valentina. Your body, your thoughts, your dreams. For three full years, I want all of you. Think about this carefully because there’s no going back. I don’t do things halfheartedly.”

“I will never cheat on you, Valentina. For as long as you’re my wife, there will only be you. You’re the only one I’ll touch, the only one I’ll desire. Not even my thoughts will stray. I can say that with full confidence because you’ve dominated my fantasies for far longer than I care to admit. It’s unlikely to change anytime soon, if ever.”

I don’t hate you. I hate how much I fucking want you. I hate how beautiful you are, and I hate how much you mess with my mind. Above all, I always hated that you weren’t mine.”

It terrifies me because this version of Luca? This is a man I could lose my heart to.

“Hate me as much as you want, baby. Resent me. Despise me for shackling you to me when I should’ve offered you unconditional help. Torment me, Valentina, but don’t you fucking leave me.”

the more she runs, the more I want to chase her.

She drives me fucking mental. Never before has anyone been able to make me lose control the way she does.

Luca Windsor…there’s something about him that’s becoming harder and harder to resist. When I married him, I was certain my heart would be safe from him, but I’m starting to realize that I miscalculated the risk in this arrangement.

Anything is better than hurting the one woman who believed in me when no one else did.

“I fell in love, and it only seemed right to follow my heart. I was scared that I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I let Valentina walk away when it was clear that there’s no one else I could imagine myself growing old with.”

“I don’t know what’s going through your mind, Valentina, but I can tell you this much: I will never ever cheat on you. I will never mistreat you or wrong you, you hear me? I know I fucked up in the past. I treated you harshly, and I went way too fucking far when you quit your job. I know, baby. But all of that? It was only because I didn’t want to lose you. I will never do anything that will make you want to walk away from me.”

“Valentina, you make me wish it were possible to pluck a star from the sky, just so I could make you smile. You make me do things I’ve never done before. Surely you know that. Maybe you truly have driven me insane at last. You must have, because how else would you explain the fact that I’d start a war for you?”

“I love being the person that knows you best, baby. I love figuring out what every single one of your expressions means.”

“I fucking love you, and I’m tired of pretending I don’t.”

fear immobilizing me. For the first time in years, I fear losing someone more than I fear getting hurt.

“Then let’s stop pretending,” I whisper. “Let’s both stop pretending, Luca, because I think…I think

“I love you, Luca. I know I shouldn’t, and I know it isn’t part of our deal, but I do.” “Fuck our deal,” I tell her. “The only reason it exists is because there was no other way I could make you mine.”

Promise me that you’ll remember that you’re the only one I love, the only one I’ll ever want.”

“I love you, Luca. I’m not any less scared, but you’re worth the risk. If you end up breaking what’s left of my heart, I still won’t regret it.” “I won’t ever hurt you,” I promise her. After everything we’ve been through, there’s no way I’ll let anything come between us ever again—not even her insecurities. For the rest of our lives, I’ll prove to her that her faith in me isn’t misplaced.

“Luca, if this is hell, I’m willing to burn for all of eternity.”

for as long as I live, I will love you.”

“Then promise me that you’ll never leave me, Luca. Promise me that you’ll fight for us, even when I inevitably push you away because fear got the best of me. Promise me that you won’t give up on us, even when it looks like there’s no hope left.” I smile at her and lift her hand to my lips. “I promise that the only thing I won’t ever do for you is let you go. No matter what.”

She’s giving us a chance, and I’ll make sure she never regrets it.

“I will never want anyone but you. For as long as I live, the only woman I’ll sleep with is you. Only you. No one else. I love you, Valentina.”

fear claws at me, but I’m going to hang on to the hope I see in his eyes. From now on, I’ll choose Luca. Over fear, insecurity, doubt—against all the odds.

You are the love of my life, and I will never stop fighting for you, for us. I know that I’m not worthy of you, Valentina, but you truly are the light in my life. You brighten up my darkest days, and you give me purpose when everything feels hopeless. At the core of all that I am, there is you. Until I breathe my last breath, that will be true.”

“I will always choose you, Luca. Over and over again, no matter the trials or tribulations we face. You are, and always will be, the one for me. I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

I don’t mind rebuilding brick by brick, so long as I’ve got you. I’d do it a thousand times over if it means I get to be with you. Nothing matters more than you do, Luca. Not my career. Not money. Certainly not prestige. I just need you. Only you.”