“Is it really you?” I ask, scarcely able to breathe. I take a step forward, my thoughts spinning out in every direction. “This is impossible.”

Bruno smiles. “It’s me. I swear, I’m real.”

“No. I have got to be dreaming or something. I mean, how…? I don’t understand. You—you were in prison. You are in prison. I-I watched them take you away. Bruno, I sent you so many letters. Every single day I sent you one and I never got one back,” I ramble, shaking my head in confusion.

A flicker of pain crosses his handsome face. I can see the exhaustion, the hidden agony tucked away somewhere behind his smile. I can see how hard he’s had to work all this time to stay strong, to hold it together. He seems so real, so lifelike, but changed. There’s no way it can really be him, though. There’s no way. This is some kind of elaborate trick. But who would do that?

“The prison security must have intercepted most of your letters. And I figured they’d never let me send one out of those fucking walls. Serena, you have to understand... these people were doing everything they could to isolate me from everything. Especially you,” he says grimly.

I run my fingers back through my hair, closing my eyes for a second as I try to put words to my confusion. I don’t understand how this is happening. How it could be true that Bruno is right here in front of me. Yesterday I was alone in the world, running in circles trying to stay busy to keep my mind from wandering back to him, to keep my heart from breaking. And now he’s here.

But how in the world did he get out? And why was I brought here in such a harsh manner?

“You don’t have to think so hard about it,” Bruno says gently. “I can see the cogs turning in your head right now, Serena. Trying to make sense of this. How it could be possible. Don’t question it. Not now. There will be plenty of time to explain later.”

“Later…?” I ask, my voice trailing off. “You mean, you’re not going back? You’re going to stay with me?”

Bruno takes a few broad steps toward me, opening his arms wide. “Serena, I’m never going to leave you again, if I can help it.”

Tears burn in my eyes and I can barely breathe as my feet carry me, almost floating, across the room to all but collapse in Bruno’s arms. I press my face into his chest, inhaling that familiar, woodsy scent I would recognize anywhere. This is him. He is real and he’s right here. With me.

“I can’t believe this,” I murmur, just letting the tears stream down my face.

“Believe it,” Bruno says, kissing the top of my head and embracing me tightly.

“But Bruno, I don’t get it. Why all the secrecy? Why did those guys have to kidnap me and drag me across the water in a rickety little boat if you’re free? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for a romantic reunion, too, but couldn’t you have just showed up at my house? Why all this drama?” I question, laughing a little. Bruno holds me back to look into my face, those green eyes pulsing over me, reading into my heart the way he’s always been able to do.

“It’s more complicated than that, dolcezza,” he answers gravely. “But for now, I just want to be with you. God, I’ve missed you more than words can even explain. I thought about you every single waking moment, and every time I managed to fall asleep in that fucking cell, I dreamed of you.”

“I never stopped thinking about you. I never stopped loving you, just waiting for when we could be together again. Sometimes it was really hard to imagine a world where we would be in the same room again, Bruno. I thought I would never get to touch you again. Kiss you,” I explain, choking back a sob.

“You don’t have to just imagine it anymore,” Bruno says, holding my face gently in his huge hands. He pulls me close and presses his lips against mine, his arms folding around me as I melt into his touch. There’s the click of a door shutting somewhere behind me, and I realize that the men who brought me here have climbed back out of the basement, leaving me alone with Bruno to give us privacy.

And thank god that they did, because I can’t wait another fucking second.

Bruno kisses me hard, his fingers tangling in my hair as he pulls me in close. I sigh into the kiss, feeling my body loosen up, probably for the first time in two years. My shoulders relax, the tension in my jaw slackens, and a smile tugs at my lips even as we kiss. This, all of this right here, is my happy place. My safe place. I’ve spent these two years rigidly going through the motions of a regular life, moving robotically from one place to the next. I’ve been all knotted up inside, waiting fearfully for the next shoe to drop. But now I can breathe again. Bruno has brought back the light, the oxygen, the hope that once glimmered overhead.

I don’t know what the future will hold, but I am so glad to be here with him.

Bruno’s other arm slides around me to hold me close, his fingertips pressing into the arch of my back. There’s a kind of desperation to the way he grabs onto me, like he’s afraid I could evaporate at any second. He’s holding me like I’m a life preserver floating out to him in the middle of the deep, dark sea as the sharks circle in on him. Like he never wants to let go. I hope he never does. I want to be that for him, the lifesaving breath of free air.

“I never want to lose you again,” Bruno says gruffly as we break apart for a moment. He rests his forehead against mine and cups my face, his thumbs tracing over my lips. He closes his eyes tightly as he touches my face, almost like he’s trying to commit my features to memory.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I murmur in response. “You said that to me once, years ago, when we met up and went for drinks at the Room With a View. Remember?”

Bruno sighs, his eyes opening up again as he smooths the hair back from my face. He looks at me intently, that glowing green gaze boring into my soul. “I remember everything. Every moment. Those memories have been my only allies these two years. On the outside, I made sure I looked hard. Intimidating. I kept a scowl on my face and wiped away any trace of joy or love so that nobody could find a weak spot in me. If anybody had known about you, how I feel about you, they would have used it against me. So I had to hide it away. But every single second I was in there, standing in line in the cafeteria, walking in the yard just daring anyone to even brush shoulders with me, sitting alone in solitary confinement… I was thinking of you. Reliving those little moments. Being on the inside fucks you up, Serena. You start second-guessing everything you thought you knew. Your life before prison seems like a dream or a TV show plot that happened to someone else. But it was different with you. I never second-guessed my feelings for you, the reality of what we have, even for a second. I didn’t let myself forget a single thing.”

I can feel the tears burning in my eyes again and I’m starting to wonder how much one person can cry before they physically run out of tears. I’ve got to be hovering somewhere around that limit by now. I reach up and gently take Bruno’s hands in mine, lowering them down away from my face and onto my hips, staring up at him wordlessly. He gazes back with equal seriousness, neither of us daring break eye contact. I can tell we’re both just as desperate as the other, each of us terrified that this reunion will suddenly shatter apart, that we’ll wake up from a shared dream in our respective solitary worlds. It’s so hard to believe that he’s here for real.

“Bruno, I love you,” I tell him emphatically. It’s the only thing I can think to say right now. Words are so useless in times like this. Our love is too big to fit in a sequence of letters and syllables. It’s more than that, and I’m going to show him the best way I know how.

I stand up on my tiptoes to kiss him, reaching up to pull him down to meet me. He leans into the kiss, his hands sliding down backward from my hips to grab my ass. He groans appreciatively when I press up against him, my breasts pushing into his chest while I can feel his cock stiffening against my hip. Just the sensation of that hardness pushing into me is enough to send a tingle down through my core, and I feel a warmth spreading between my thighs. It’s been so long. I’ve only touched myself a handful of times since they took Bruno away, and every time was painful, almost impossible. It felt like a trespass, a betrayal, and besides, nothing could ever, ever feel anywhere near as blissfully good as fucking Bruno anyway. Everything I did, all my alone time could never come close to comparing. It’s been a long time since I felt this good.

God knows I’ve had a long, long time to wait.

“Do you know how many times I’ve imagined you in my head? Fantasized about running my hands over your beautiful body?” Bruno growls, squeezing my ass with one hand while his other wraps around my hair. He gently pulls it back and to the side, tilting my head backward slightly to expose my neck. He leans in slowly, his hot breath tickling my skin and making goosebumps prickle up on my arms and legs.

“I’ve been dreaming of this moment for so long, Serena,” he continues. Every syllable is like a ticklish, delicious puff of warmth dancing down the slope of my neck. Then he bends to press a soft kiss into the skin there and I gasp involuntarily. I can feel him smiling against my skin. “Fuck, I never forgot how good it felt to make you gasp, make you sigh and scream. But my memories are never as good as the real thing, are they?”

His kisses become harder, less teasing as he nips and sucks at the soft flesh of my neck, and I shiver with the anticipation of seeing those blushing red marks on my skin, reminders of who I belong to and how good he makes me feel. That dull ache combined with the ticklishness is enough to make me wet. “Don’t stop,” I murmur.

“Don’t worry, I have so many plans for you,” Bruno whispers. He lets go of my hair and uses both arms to hoist me up, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as he holds me up effortlessly. I run my fingers down his upper arms, feeling the swell of muscles which have definitely gotten bigger in the two years since we were last together.

“You’ve beefed up a little since you went away,” I remark, biting my lip playfully.

Bruno grins. “Not much else to do in prison. Besides, the stronger I am, the easier I can move you around. Do whatever I want with you.”

He kisses me deeply, spinning around as he holds me easily in his arms. He carries me across the room to a vintage-looking, luxurious chaise lounge chair, sitting down with me still perched on his lap, straddling him. His hands rove up and down my back, sliding down to grab my ass, then back up to tangle in my hair. I can feel the hard heat of his cock beneath me, straining to burst free of his pants, and I can’t help but start to rock against it as we kiss. Bruno groans, his hands slipping around to grope my breasts through my shirt. I’ve only got a thin sports bra on underneath the shirt, and I can feel every pass of his fingers over my stiffening nipples. I let out a moan, my head tipping backward as my eyes roll shut. It’s been so long that every single miniscule touch feels like an electric jolt right down to my pussy.

“God, you feel even better than I remember,” Bruno says, his voice gravelly and rough with need. I know he’s been craving this just as much as I have, and I can’t wait for him to finally unleash the ravenous desire he’s holding back. I want him to let go completely, give in to the wave of irresistible heat growing between us. I want him to fuck me mercilessly, use my body the way he needs to, fill me up and make me his own. He squeezes my breasts gently, his thumbs slipping over my erect nipples, making me whimper.

He reaches down and grabs the hem of my shirt, yanking it upward. I lift my arms and let him tear the shirt up over my head, tossing it across the room. My chest is heaving, my breasts plump and restrained by the tight sports bra. “I missed these,” Bruno says, a hint of a smirk on his lips. He massages my breasts through the thin material, my nipples clearly visible as he pushes my tits together. I can’t stand it anymore, so I push his hands away just for a moment while I peel off the sports bra and throw it down to the floor, letting my breasts spill free.

Bruno lets out a sigh of approval, his hands immediately going back to my tits as he gropes me, pinching my bare nipples between his fingers.

“Yes,” I hiss, closing my eyes and giving in to the sensation. I nearly cry out loud when he tilts me backward, then pulls one of my nipples into his warm mouth. His tongue flicks over the stiffened peak while his lips gently suck and bite. Every movement sends a spiral of pleasure through my body. I can hardly stand it, my hips bucking involuntarily as I rock against his stiff cock beneath me. Bruno moves to suck at my other nipple, kissing and biting my breasts until I’m whimpering and slack in his arms.

Bruno stops for a moment to tear his own shirt off before cradling me onto my back on the chaise chair. He takes off his shoes and mine, then stands up and unzips his pants, letting them crumple in a pile on the floor before bending over me. He tugs at the waistband of my sporty leggings and I lift up my legs so he can pull them off. He lets out a guttural moan as he realizes I’m not wearing any panties— the leggings are so tight and form-fitting that it’s just more comfortable without them when I go for a walk or jog. I’m bare-naked in front of him, vulnerable and exposed.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs, shaking his head.

“You can look at me some more later. Get back down here,” I reply, smiling. It doesn’t take any more than that for him to comply. He bends down over me, kissing my lips as his hands explore my body. His fingers drag down from my breasts to my stomach and hips, then slide along my trembling thighs. He parts them with one swift movement, then begins kissing a slow path down my body. I watch him closely, holding my breath as his lips approach the warm, wet mound between my legs. He looks up at me hungrily before gently kissing my clit. I whine a little, feeling my whole body tense up in anticipation.

He pauses for a long, painful moment, just letting his hands rub up and down my inner thighs while my pussy waits for his touch. I’m nearly aching by this point, desperate for him to touch me there. “Please,” I beg softly. “I need you so badly.”

With that, Bruno leans down and runs his tongue up and down the length of my slit, sending shockwaves of pleasure over me. I groan and instinctively reach down, my hands clasping around the back of his head, pushing his face into my cunt. He plunges his tongue inside my aching hole, then slips back up to softly toy with my clit, rubbing that tight little bud with his tongue. It feels so fucking good I can hardly bear it, but before I can catch my breath, Bruno closes his lips over my clit, sucking and flicking his tongue over the bundle of nerves.

“Oh, fuck,” I murmur, getting lost to the sensation. To my surprise, he then slips two fingers deep inside my dripping pussy, curling them ever so perfectly to stroke my g-spot deep inside while he sucks at my clit. The overwhelming combined sensations makes me scream out and roll my hips against him, grinding my pussy into his face. He doesn’t relent, even for a second, his fingers slamming into me fast and hard. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds of this for me to cry out as my first orgasm shatters over me, my honey gushing over his hand. Bruno withdraws his fingers and licks hungrily at my cunt, soaking up my juices as my toes curl and my body twitches.

“That’s my good girl,” he growls from between my thighs. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long, long time. But I’m not done with you yet. Nowhere near.”

He straightens back up and I scramble to sit up, getting to my knees in front of him even as I can feel my cunt still pulsing with the aftershocks of climax. Before he even gets a chance to, I grab the waistband of his boxers and pull it down, letting his cock spring free. He steps out of the boxers and I look up at him, licking lips. I’ve wanted this for so many months. I’ve dreamed of tasting his beautiful, massive cock again. I wrap my fingers around his thick shaft, feeling that warmth and hardness I’ve missed so much, and begin to slowly slide my hands up and down. His cock twitches and Bruno closes his eyes, his lips falling open. His fingers press faintly at the back of my head and I feel a thrill of pleasure at how badly he wants this. He needs me to suck his cock just as badly as I want to do it.

I lean forward and softly lick the head of his shaft while my hands continue to pump him, letting my hot breath wash over. “Si, bambina,” he groans, rocking forward just a bit so that the head of his cock bumps against my lips. I look up at him and he opens his eyes at just that moment to watch me pull his cock into my mouth, taking him in as deeply as I can manage in one smooth movement. He groans and clutches the hair at the back of my head, pressing my face down on his cock so that I’m almost gagging. I flick my tongue along the underside of his shaft while I pump him with both hands.

“Oh, that’s so good, Serena,” Bruno says roughly. I begin to suck him harder, sliding his shaft in and out of my mouth faster and faster. One of my hands slips down to caress his sac while I suck his cock and his entire body shudders. I bob up and down on his shaft, devouring him with abandon.

“Fuck, yes,” he groans through gritted teeth.

“Mmm,” I moan, sending vibrations through his body. I’m sucking him hard now, sliding my hands up and down his flesh. I can feel him tightening up, like he’s almost ready to explode. I’m so caught up in the moment, in the rush of making him feel good, that I don’t want to stop. But just before I can make him come, he gently nudges me back, his cock sliding out of my mouth with a wet pop.

“Not yet, mia passerotta,” he murmurs, grabbing me by the shoulders and spinning me around so that I’m on my hands and knees on the chaise lounge, my ass up in the air. “I need to feel that sweet cunt,” he says, and I shiver at the sensation of his engorged shaft tantalizing my slick hole from behind. He’s toying with me, rubbing the tip of his cock around my pussy. I’m aching with the need to be filled up, stuffed and fucked hard.

“Give it to me,” I whimper. “Please. Fuck me, Bruno.”

Instead, I feel his fingers push inside of me while his cock rubs against my ass, teasing me, pushing me closer and closer to another breaking point. His fingers stroke at my g-spot again while he groans at the friction of his stiffness against my taut ass cheek. The sensation builds and builds until I’m bucking backwards against his hand, whimpering and clutching at the edge of the chair.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” I gasp, and just before I come again, Bruno pulls his fingers back out and slides his massive cock inside of my pussy, filling me up and stretching my wet hole until it almost hurts. “Yes! Yes!” I burst out, slamming my ass back against him, letting him fill me to the hilt as he grabs hold of my hips.

“You like that, dolcezza?” Bruno grunts. “You want me to fuck your tight little pussy harder? Tell me how it feels, baby.”

“It feels… so… fucking… good,” I choke out between thrusts, feeling my whole body tensing up as he fucks me harder and faster. He picks up the tempo, slamming into me again and again. He reaches around underneath me to stroke at my clit with his fingers while he fucks me and I cry out, my second orgasm exploding inside of me. “Bruno!” I scream.

He doesn’t stop, even for a second, fucking me hard even as my body shudders with waves of pleasure, totally overstimulated. “You’re gonna make me come again,” I mumble, clinging to the chaise for dear life.

But he grabs me and lifts me up, spinning me around and leaning back against the chair with his cock still inside of me so that I’m now straddling him again. His legs are hooked over each side of the chaise with me speared on his cock on top of him. He holds me up by the strength of his arms alone, holding me in air, in place, while he thrusts upward with his hips, his cock pounding into me harder and harder. It’s all I can do to even remember to breathe while he’s fucking me, his swollen head striking that deep, delicious spot inside of me again and again and again.

“I want you to come for me, Serena,” he growls imperatively. “I want that sweet little pussy to gush all over my cock. I want to hear you scream, mia bambina.”

He fucks me so fast and hard that my cunt aches, burns with the ferocity of it. That arching knot of pleasure tightens and tightens until I’m gasping, climaxing with a shriek. “Fuck! I’m coming!” I cry out, bouncing up and down on his cock.

“Good girl, good girl,” Bruno murmurs, but I can tell he’s starting to lose control, too. His thrusts are getting more erratic, more violent as he fucks me. He sits up straighter, pulling my legs around his waist so that we’re face to face while I bounce on his shaft. I’m so wet that we’re both slick, sliding against each other fast and hard. Bruno grabs my ass with one hand, and my left breast in the other, squeezing and pinching my nipple while his cock hits my g-spot. He moves faster and faster until I’m almost slack, my body exhausted and giving in to the overpowering sensations of pleasure.

“Fuck me,” I whisper, my eyes rolling back in my head. “Fill me up, Bruno. I want... I want to feel you come inside me. Please. Give it to me.”

“I’m gonna come for you, dolcezza. Gonna pump you full of my seed, baby. Gonna make you mine forever and ever,” he groans, leaning forward to kiss me hard, his tongue pushing into my mouth while I feel his cock tightening up inside of me.

Even though I’m barely able to think coherently, I use what little strength I have left to squeeze my pussy tight around Bruno’s shaft, kissing him back as he groans into my mouth. With a few rapid thrusts, he lets out a roar and shoots his sweet, thick seed deep inside of me, his hands groping me, clutching me close to his chest. He thrusts a few more times and I can feel his come starting to leak out of me as we sit there, entwined around each other and breathing raggedly. Bruno kisses my forehead and lifts me up, setting me down beside him. He stands up and starts to get dressed again, and I quickly follow suit, realizing that it’s actually rather cold in the basement and my naked skin is getting goosebumps.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I murmur, looking up at him as I tug my leggings back on. Bruno walks across the room to retrieve my shirt and bra, returning them to me. “I can’t believe you’re really here. After two years.”

“It’s been too long,” he replies. “I never want to be apart from you for so long again.”

“Bruno… all this time has been hard. Worse than I even predicted,” I begin, biting my lip. I don’t want to ruin the beauty of the moment, but I can’t pretend like nothing happened. I want to pick up right where we left off but I can’t deny that things have changed, at least a little.

“I know,” he says, pain etched across his face. “I wish I could have come back to you sooner. Every day on the inside was a fight for survival. For sanity. At first, when they threw me in solitary confinement, it was almost a welcome break from constantly defending myself and watching my back. But after a while, that emptiness, that silence, it all starts to close in on you and you start wishing you could be back out with the other inmates. As it turns out, the only thing worse than being surrounded by dangerous men is being alone with your thoughts.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” I tell him, reaching up to touch his face. He leans into my palm, pressing his cheek into my hand before turning to kiss my fingers.

“All of that was bearable, though. The thing that nearly killed me was being away from the woman I love,” he adds, pulling me into an embrace. “Not knowing where you were or if you were okay. That’s the thing that kept me awake at night.”

I give him a weak smile. “I was okay. Well, at first I had some trouble. When they took you away, I kind of fell apart. It was so hard to convince myself life was still worth living. I would just lie in bed and think about how badly you were being treated in there, how unfair it all was. I didn’t want to get out of bed or do anything. Nothing felt right. Nothing seemed to matter. It was like, why should I try to go back to the life I had before you?”

“But you did. I can see it. I could tell as soon as you came down that ladder, you’ve been surviving. You have that look about you. Like you’ve taken on the whole world and you’re winning,” Bruno comments, a hint of pride in his voice.

“I’m glad you see that in me,” I reply. “For a long time I didn’t see it myself. It was a struggle, picking myself back up and getting back into the grind. But I figured it out eventually: working hard kept my mind off of more terrible things. So I worked my ass off.”

“How is the shop doing?” he asks.

“Good. Great, actually,” I correct myself. “I’ve hired this girl to help out and sales are up.”

“I’m proud of you,” Bruno says, beaming at me. I can feel my face heating up. It’s crazy. I just had mind-blowing sex with the guy, he knows every inch of my body intimately, but he can still make me blush with just a few words of praise.

“Thank you,” I mumble, looking away. Changing the subject, I pipe up, “So, what is this place? I know the prison guards didn’t arrange this whole shebang just so we could have a conjugal visit. What’s going on?”

Bruno sighs. “This is an old bootleggers’ nest, a place where they used to hide out from the authorities, lay low in between big operations. Italian, of course.”

“That explains the classed-up decor,” I joke, raising an eyebrow. Bruno chuckles.

“Yeah, we can never resist beautiful things,” he answers, looking at me meaningfully.

“How did you find out about this place?”

“A friend of mine, a cellmate called Trueba, he told me about it. This place is a well-guarded secret, one the NYPD doesn’t know about even after all this time. I’m sure you noticed what a pain it is to get here. Not too hard to believe that those cops wouldn’t want to drag their asses all the way out here anyway,” he laughs.

“Trueba? So, this cellmate of yours... did he help you get here or something? How did you arrange it? Bruno, did you… did you break out of prison?” I ask, my throat going dry suddenly.

He takes both my hands in his. “Serena, I did exactly what I had to do to get out of there and come back to you.”

“So, what now?” I ask quietly. “I’m sure they’re looking for you.”

Bruno raises my hands to his lips, kissing them sweetly. “What happens now is we go back to where we were before all this happened. We go to dinner. We go to the park. We wake up in the morning together and we fall asleep at night side by side. We go back to being us again.”

I can feel that annoying, all-too-familiar prickle of tears in my eyes, but whether they’re happy or frightened tears I’m not sure.

“I want that more than anything in the whole world. But Bruno, how are we—”

There’s a resounding thump-thump-thump from behind us and we both turn around quickly to see one of the men who brought me here climbing down the ladder, looking sweaty and distressed. He looks at Bruno and says, “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve got trouble.”