By the time I start to rinse his hair, his arms have found their way around my waist. His heart’s strong, steady beat reverberates in my chest while I run my hands over his head, rinsing off every last trace of shampoo. “Thank you,” he whispers, gazing down
at me.
“Thank you,” I whisper back before reaching up to touch my lips this. It’s gratitude in that kiss, it’s relief that he’s safe and back with me, it’s wonder at the lengths he’s willing to go to if it means protecting what’s his.
And instantly, the fire ignites. He takes the back of my head in his hand and holds it still, his tongue forcing its way into my mouth. I part my lips eagerly, my skin warming not because of the water but because of the fire he ignites deep in my core. I’m helpless against it. I want him to take me away, to wrap me up in his love.
I offer no resistance when he pushes me against the wall, pinning the with his body against the cold tile. His rough kisses bruise my lips, but a part of me welcomes that. I want my lips bruised. I want the evidence of him all over me.
He’s the one who backs off with a grunt. “I don’t want to hurt you, he growls, trembling. “The last thing I want is to hurt you. But oh, little bird…” His hand travels down the length of my side, to my hip, where his fingers press in hard enough to make me wince. “I need to take you. I need to be inside you and take you. I don’t want you to think I don’t… that it doesn’t matter…” He bares his teeth, breathing hard, while his erection presses against my stomach. I move slightly and slide my skin against it, making him release a shuddering groan.
All I do is part my legs, hooking one over his hip, silently welcoming him. He needs this, too, just as much as I do. The connection. A return to what’s real and true.
It’s obvious how he’s straining to control himself when he enters me in a single sharp thrust, making me hiss through my clenched teeth. He makes a sound—regret? Concern? I don’t know I only shake my head so he knows I’m all right, that he
didn’t hurt me.
He lifts me off the floor so I can wrap both legs around his waist and hold him close, right where I need him to be. Where the fire has turned into an inferno that will burn us both to ash even with steaming water spraying over our bodies. I’ve never needed him more than I do now, when something dark and dangerous swirls behind his blue eyes. Something I should shrink away from but instead melt into.
“Caterina…” He drives himself into me, and I close my eyes to focus on the sensation. “Caterina… little bird…” His fingers weave through my hair, and he wraps the locks around his fist before pulling my head to the side, burying his face in the crook of my neck, breathing me in. My hero. The man who killed for me and our child.
“That’s right,” I whisper in his ear, pulling him deeper with my legs. “Give it to me. Give it all to me, Gianni. All of you. Everything. I want to feel whatever it is you’re feeling. Let it out.”
“I love you…” His tender words are almost lost under my ecstatic cries as he pushes me higher with every stroke. “My love. My
all…”
“My hero.”
Our gazes collide, and he’s still moving inside me, our mouths almost touching. “No matter what… you have all of me.” His eyes flutter closed when my nails rake across his back.
“Gianni…oh God…” I’m so close, but I don’t want this to end. I want to stay here, suspended in time. He drives his hips upward, and the tip of his cock touches something deep inside me.
“And if anyone tries to hurt you.” His eyes snap open, and I shudder at the way they gleam. “I’ll end them. I would burn down the world if it meant keeping you safe for a single day. To see you sile, to hear you laugh, to touch your body and make you moan my name”
“Gianni…” I moan.
“Because you’re mine.” Our foreheads touch, both of us gasping to air as we come close to the end. “You are mine always. Forever. I will never let you go, and I would give my life if it means protecting yours.”
1/2
150.1
+15 BONUS
I want to tell him I’m his. I want to tell him I’ll never go away agai, that my place is at his side. I hope we have a boy he can raise to be as strong and protective and loving as he is. I want to say all it and so much more, but I can’t when I’m this close to
detonating.
“Oh God, Gianni!! I’m going to come,” I whine, clutching him, almost afraid of the intensity of what’s building in me.
“Come for me, come now.” I can’t cry out that it’s already happening before he covers my mouth with his, almost devouring me, plunging his tongue inside and claiming it along with the rest of me. I’m his, completely.
Sheer bliss explodes in my core and pulls me under, where everything is dark and sweet, and nothing but pleasure radiates through my body and my soul. By the time he breaks our kiss and leans against me, my head spins, and I’m limp… but satisfied.
Triumphant, even. We won.
And here is my prize, cradling me tenderly, kissing my neck and shoulder and face. “My love,” he murmurs. “My queen. My everything.” There’s no one else I would rather be than his, forever.
Once we’re dried off, he climbs into bed. “I’m only going to take a map,” he promises as he lowers his head to the pillows. “It’s been a long few days, and I haven’t slept for shit.”
The fact that he’s asleep before I’ve finished getting dressed tells me this might be more than a nap, but then rest is exactly what he needs. I stroke my hand over his damp hair and smile down at him, my heart swelling. With Jack finally dead, we’re one step closer to our happily ever after.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
