Gael''s whole body ached, and he felt like his face was all swollen, but when he saw himself in the mirror in the bathroom of his private ne, he felt worse than he looked. He cleaned himself as much as he could while still a little drunk. Rick offered to help, but he waved him off.


    It wasn''t such a good idea to get himself in this state before going to see Ang. However, he could admit that the fight back in the club sort of relieved some frustration that had been bubbling inside him for the past week.


    He wasn''t even supposed to fly out tonight. If Morgan had signed the papers, they would have proceeded with the n which was to take the seat in thepany. With the n not going as they expected—as was how several things had been happening recently—he had some downtime, and the first thing he wanted to do was go to Ang.


    Gael wanted to go to her the moment the council revoked the order. But his family needed him. However, after his venture became unsessful this time, he was desperate to have something good happen to him..


    It was already nearly one in the morning when Gaelnded on the Tarmac of Mayne City International Airport. The moment he stepped on the ground, nostalgia rushed into him, and he could already smell home.


    He knew where she was, so he didn''t waste any more time and drove to Nina''s apartment. It would have probably been a good idea to go in the morning, but he couldn''t wait any longer. The security wouldn''t have let him pass through the entrance—especially while looking like he''d been in a brawl—but he''d called Nina on the way, and she''d advised the front desk to let him in.


    Nina let him in the apartment, shaking her head when she saw the cut and bruises on his face. "Tsk. If I didn''t know she had been missing you, I wouldn''t let you in. How could you show up here looking like that?" She sighed as she led him to Ang''s bedroom. "She''s in there. I''ll…go back to sleep and put my headphones on."


    Gael couldn''t help but smile—tried to anyway—because his lip was throbbing. "Thank you." He handed her a bottle of wine that he got from his stash on the ne. She epted it, chuckling as she left for her bedroom.


    He took a deep breath and made a cursory effort to smooth down his hair before pushing the door open. And there she was—his Angel. She was sleeping sideways with her back facing him. The sight of her made him swallow.


    His heart thundered in his chest as he closed the door behind him. Even from a distance, he could smell the scent of her shampoo and body wash, mixed with her own natural scent.


    Gael sat on the bed next to her hips, and she stirred in her sleep,zily turning around and fluttering her eyes open. The room was dark, save for the moonlighting through the slits of the curtains, but it was enough to see each other''s figures. She gasped in surprise, flinching back as she saw him, her brows drawing together as though trying to see if he was an illusion or something.


    "Hey… Sorry, I woke you." He reached for her slightly cold hand, and he thought she''d recoil, but she let him touch her. And as if realizing he was real, a smile flitted across her face.


    "Gael," she whispered. Hearing her voice calling his name was like a dream. Her body tilted forward as if she wanted to jump in his arms, but then her smile fell, and she hesitated. Then he saw the look on her face. Ang missed him, but she didn''t want to get her hopes up, so she shut down quickly. "What are you doing here?"


    Right. He had to assure her first. Gael pulled out a folded paper from his coat and handed it to her. "Open it."


    "What''s this?" Ang paused, taking the paper from him but not unfolding it. The room was too dark to read it anyway.


    "The arrangement has been retracted. I''m officially single…unless you want to take me back and—"


    Ang flung herself into him, knocking the air out of his lungs. He groaned when she unknowingly pressed a bruise on his abdomen, but he didn''tin. How could he when she all but wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips? Gael scooped her up and ced her on hisp, where she automatically straddled him.


    Goddamn this woman. She had on a tight shirt and panties in bed. He slid his hands beneath the shirt, feeling the familiar smoothness of her skin and then cupping her ass as he pressed her hard against him. Her lips and tongue tasted cool and sweet. Heat rushed towards his head.


    She grabbed his face, pulling him to her as if she couldn''t get enough and wanted to deepen the kiss, but then he winced, causing her to pull back. That''s when she got a good look at his face. She gasped. "Oh my god… What happened to you?"


    Her fingers hovered over his bruise below the eye and worry shed on her face. Gael took her hands in his and kissed them. "It was stupid. Got into a fight with my brother. Technically, he punched me first and then Gio. We retaliated. It was childish."


    "Your brother?"


    He nodded. "Sebastian. He arrived tonight."


    "You don''t tell me about him."


    "We''re not really close. He doesn''t like that he''s not the eldest son. So he hates me."


    With her brows still knitted, Ang got off hisp and pulled him to his feet. "Let''s get you cleaned up."


    "I already did on the ne," he protested as she led him towards her bathroom.


    "Well, you did a terrible job doing it while you''re drunk. Not one of your boys helped you?" She made him sit on top of the closed-lid toilet and took out a first-aid kit from under the sink. Then she began working on him. "Tell me about your brother."


    Gael''s jaw tightened. He briefly closed his eyes and ced his hands on her thighs. Then he told her about his brother because he wanted to dy telling her about the bad news—about J and Gabby. He knew that was inevitable, so he nned to tell her as soon as he came. But seeing her excitement earlier, he wanted to be selfish and have her all to himself. Just tonight. He just got her back. He didn''t want to upset her. Not yet.


    But to do that, he had to give her something, so he talked about his brother. "When I first came to Italy, Seb was so mad at me. One time, he told me… He wished I never existed. And I thought…maybe if I didn''t, that might have been so much easier for everyone. When he got older, we''d get into fistfights. Thest straw was when grandfather died, and I was chosen to step up because I was my father''s eldest son—the heir to the throne." He scoffed.


    "Seb went away and stayed in Florida for a while. He got mixed up in a bad crowd, doing drugs and all that." Gael became tense. "He killed someone. It wasn''t his first, but the guy was his friend. He did it while saving himself, but it didn''t take away his guilt. I med myself for that. He wouldn''t have gone to Florida if he was chosen instead of me."


    Ang lowered her hand just as she finished putting ointment on him. She flinched when he mentioned the killing part. And then she felt bad that he med himself. "Is that why you said you would never deal with drugs? Also… What he did wasn''t your fault."


    He shrugged. "Partly, yeah. Our family had always been against it. Drugs make people desperate and unstable. Addicts would do anything for it; they''d give up their sources just so they could get another hit. It''s too risky. That''s how drug cartels meet their demise." Gael let out a sigh and got to his feet, towering over her. "Enough of that. I didn''te here just to talk about other people."


    Before Ang realized what was happening, Gael had lifted her onto the counter and settled between her legs. "I miss you, Angel…" He swept her hair back and pressed their foreheads together. "Will you take me back?"


    She nodded and hooked her arms around his neck. "There''s nothing I want more than to be with you."


    He imed her lips, and everything else seemed to fast forward.


    Gael unbuttoned his pants, pulled out his cock, slid her panties to the side, and then sank into her. She had been wet and he had been hard since she climbed on him earlier. Ang moaned into his mouth, the beautiful sound a mixture of sigh and gasp as he seated himself to the hilt. This. This right here was everything. He was everything to her. It was like finally finding the right key to a lock. They fit perfectly in each other.


    "It''s so good to be home to you, Love," he whispered against her lips as he thrust hard and deep.


    She smiled. "Wee home."