I forced the thoughts of wanting to touch her, share my bed with her, at the back of my mind. Such passionate encounter with her, it was merely a onetime thing and bound never to happen again.

Even if my heart ached at accepting such fact.

With a cotton ball in hand, I was about to apply alcohol on the wound when she caught my hand midway. Her grip was gentle, and she raised my hand to her lips, placing a soft kiss at the back of my palm.

The kiss was like a flame on my skin. Burning every fiber of my being, igniting the feelings I realized I have for her.

"Amore, I came here for treatment. But not on these beautiful pleasure wounds," she whispered, placing kisses on my hand.

Her soft voice and kisses brought shivers down my spine, causing my breath to hitch. I didn't speak; my eyes were locked on the hand she kissed and my ears were focused on her husky voice. I felt her cup my chin and tilted my head upward, making me stare at her soft gaze.

"Ti penso ogni giorno..." her voice was gentle and I could feel that her words were sincere.

With my limited knowledge with the language that is Italian, before I could ask what her words mean, I found myself wrapped around her arms and my lips against hers. Instead of protest, my mind and body defied any logical thinking I had and gave into the kiss.

The softness of her lips on mine.

Her hand caressing my back as the other held me firmly against her body.

Both my arms wrapped around her neck, pulling her closer as I savored our kiss.

It felt like forever in her arms. As if I would want nothing else just to be beside her.

Our passionate kiss ended and I leaned my forehead against hers, both of us trying to catch our breaths. Her arms were still around me, holding me close to her as if I would disappear if she let go. With a small smile on her face, she placed a swift kiss on my lips and whispered, "Voglio fare l'amore con te."

My body froze after hearing what she said. As if she literally took my breath away when she whispered those words to me.

I knew what she said; It was one of the few Italian phrases that I've learned during my travels.

'Voglio fare l'amore con te', or in English, 'I want to make love with you'.

And for me, it means something heavier than merely words. It carried emotions I've come to realize during the nights I've been spending with her. It became concrete when I woke up yesterday, feeling cold and empty, when I found myself alone inside my room.

But this time...

"Only if—" I took a deep breath, kissing her soft lips and lightly moaned at how it brought fluttering feelings within me. "Only if you'll be the first one I would see... that the moment I opened my eyes from my sleep, you would be the first one that would greet me in the morning." I exhaled softly and looked at her with a stern gaze. "Will you stay with me?"

It was a declaration I couldn't fathom I would even say. Something that brought my heart to erratically beat and my mind to imagine a life in this small quaint town.

She let go of my waist and took a few step backwards. My eyes were still on hers and I saw her lips twitched a bit before it curved up into a smile. A smile that I could only define in one word.

Happiness.

She then took my left hand, and kissed my ring finger and looked at me with an unexplainable gleam in her eyes. "Si, amore."

With just her words, she captured me once again.

Just her words, I found myself feeling every emotion she had for me; felt everything her heart wanted to tell me.

So, I let her.

I finally found myself an anchor that would stop me and my lust for journeying.