CHAPTER 16

**AVA**
As the hours pass through the night, I find myself smiling next to Pietro, immersed in the intimacy of the shared moment. He prepared dinner, a gesture that surprised and charmed me. It’s amazing how he always manages to surprise me, always finding ways to captivate me even more. I take a sip of the wine, feeling the smooth liquid slide down my throat, while I’m wrapped in Pietro’s soft t-shirt. His presence beside me is comforting, and I feel grateful to have found someone like him.
I notice him looking at me intensely, and I can’t help but feel curious.
“What is it?”, I ask, seeking to understand what’s on his mind. He smiles, but there’s an underlying tension in his gaze.
“I’m holding myself back from fucking you again, Ava. But you look tired.”, I smile back at him, nodding in agreement. I am exhausted, both physically and emotionally. The idea of lying in bed and simply letting sleep take over is tempting.
I’m surprised when he pulls me into bed and turns off the lights. His arms wrap around my waist, and I rest my head on his chest, observing the various scars that adorn his skin.
“What happened?”, I ask, pointing to the marks. My curiosity was piqued. He hesitates for a moment before responding.
“Tough childhood.”, is all he says, and I can sense it’s not a subject he wishes to discuss.
I realize there’s a deep pain behind those blue eyes, a story he keeps locked within himself. I decided not to press him, respecting his space and privacy. I close my eyes, letting myself be enveloped by the comforting warmth of his arms around me. The feeling of security he provides is soothing, and in no time, sleep begins to take over.
However, it doesn’t take long before I’m torn from this peaceful state by a terrifying nightmare. I return to that fateful day, the day my family died. I am just a child, looking horrified at the bodies of my family scattered on the floor, blood staining everything around me. The sound of footsteps makes me turn, and I see a man in a suit leaving our house. He turns to me, and then I realize it’s Pietro, a cruel smile on his lips.
I wake up with a stifled scream, my heart beating wildly in my chest. Tears stream down my face, and for a moment, it takes me a while to realize that I’m still in Pietro’s apartment and that I’m safe.
“Ava!”, I still have my eyes wide open when I turn to see Pietro looking at me worriedly. I sigh, blinking my eyes and realizing it was just another nightmare like all the others.
“You’re trembling, Ava. Tell me what happened.”, Pietro says, sitting beside me, but when I open my mouth to respond, I feel the tears wetting my face.
I’ve never allowed myself to cry in front of someone, but I don’t care about that detail at this moment. My vision is completely blurred by the tears as I open my mouth to say something.
“I... I...”, but I can’t, and I hear my sobs as he continues to look at me.
I feel his hand touch my shoulder, and I close my eyes tightly, trying to erase those images from my mind, but I can’t do that at this moment.
“Breathe, Ava.”, I nod, doing as he asks before opening my eyes. Pietro turns on the bedside lamp, and I realize it’s still night, and I’m in his apartment with him. It was just a nightmare again; it wasn’t real.
I feel his hands touching mine, and I look down, seeing our hands together, and I lift my hand, looking at him.
“It was a horrible nightmare about something I want to forget...”, I whisper, and he nods before wiping the tears from my face.
“None of it was real. I understand that perfectly. I have many nightmares about my past, too. I’ve tried to escape them many times, but none of it has ever worked, Ava.”
“This has been happening to me for a long time, but I think everything is coming back again, getting more and more intense in my mind.”
“I don’t know what happened to you, but you’re safe now.”, I nod, knowing this, and I dry my eyes, unable to sleep anymore because I know it will happen again when I close my eyes.
The tears continue to stream down my face as I feel Pietro’s arms wrap around me. I allow him to hug me, and we lie back in bed. I rest my head on his shoulder before blinking my eyes.
“I have many ghosts in my life...”
“You’re not the only one, Ava...”, he says, and I lift my head, locking my eyes on his blue pupils. I know something happened to him, and I want to ask. I want to know what he went through to be wounded like I am, but I would be entering forbidden territory in his life.
I go back to touching the scars on his body and frown when I touch a large one under his arm, a long, straight scar that looks like it was made with some kind of knife.
“That was seven years ago.
The knife went through my body, and I spent a long time trying to recover. I almost died many times...”, he murmurs, and I stay silent, controlling my urge to ask who did that to him.
“Why did you choose to be a dominant?”, I ask, curious, and he doesn’t hesitate to answer my question.
“I wasn’t always like this. I started to enjoy this world when my life was turned upside down. I wasn’t always just dominant; I liked to feel the pain as if it were part of my life...”
“Were you ever a submissive?”, I ask, and he nods, completely surprising me.
“That was very heavy, and I would never do to you what they did to me, Ava. With you, I want to explore the limits of pleasure. I want you to submit to me by giving me your pleasure...”, he whispers, touching my hair.