Heat flames my cheeks, and I head into the kitchen to slip the rose into a glass of water. It won’t last long, but I’ve never been given a flower before, so I want to savor it a little longer.
He comes up behind me, cupping my hips back into him before I can turn around.
Sheer panic threads my pulse, shooting it in my face, my neck, my head. I splay my fingers on the cold granite countertop, trying to fight it back, but I still tremble from the onslaught.
“Shhhh,” he whispers, pulling me back into his chest but not caging me in, not trapping me. “I’m with you. You’re safe.”
Those words are enough to help me push the panic aside and return my breathing to normal. Dammit. When can that asshole stop fucking up my life already? I hate that every single day is laced with the memory of Sal, even if I don’t want them.
He sinks to his knees and opens the silk tie at my waist to spread the dress open. It drapes off my shoulders as he fingers the edge of my panties. “Let’s try something else, shall we?”
I’m nude from the waist down in seconds, my panties stripped away. He lifts me onto the countertop’s edge and throws my legs over his shoulders in one smooth move. “Lie back,” he orders with an edge to his deep voice.
I do as he requests and ignore the chill of the cold counter underneath me. It’s an interesting combination with the hot feel of him wedged between my thighs.
He nibbles from my knee to the sensitive skin at the top of my thighs. “Mmm…”
I reach out and trail my fingers through his hair. Not directing him, but simply wanting to touch him too.
When he licks me from core to clit, I arch off the counter, and he has to hold me down with one strong forearm. “Are you going to wiggle all over the place or let me work?” he says against my already wet flesh.
I swallow thickly and try to keep still. Which is impossible when his teeth graze my clit, and he finds a rhythm with his other. His fingers spear inside me, reminding me how new I am to all this, but his tongue and teeth do wicked things to my clit, rolling it and biting it. It’s the tiniest hint of pain that shoves me over the edge of my orgasm.
I can’t feel my fingers and toes as the sensations course through me. He stands, sliding my thighs down around his hips now. “Is my bride satisfied?”
Reaching for his lapels, I drag him on top of me for a kiss. He tastes like sex, my pussy, and something that is all him. When his fingers spear into my hair, fisting it at the nape, I’m already wet for him again.
“Fucking hell, what you do to me,” he whispers against my cheek. “I’m going to take you over and over. And if you can still walk when I’m done, then I’ll continue until you’re as bowlegged as a baby deer.”
I chuckle, unable to help it. “That doesn’t sound very romantic.”
It’s his turn to laugh. “Oh, it will be when I lick your clit, your cunt, your asshole, all of it. There’s not an inch of your body I won’t know the taste of, Rose. Can you handle that?”
I swallow hard and nod, unable to describe the war going on inside me at his words.
Fucking hell, I want all of it, but every time he looks at me, I fear he’s only here out of obligation, of duty, his promise to Adrian to keep me safe. If this is the only way, then of course, he’d do it. Even I know that much about his sense of honor.
I just really hate how much I wish this were real. I swipe at a stray tear and kiss him so he doesn’t see. Maybe for a little while, I can pretend.
27
KAI
The apartment is quiet today, or maybe that’s the usual noise inside my head staying calm. Being around her and seeing her smile does something to me. She gives me peace in a way that shouldn’t be possible after everything I’ve done.
I head into the kitchen naked and grab some eggs from the refrigerator. I’ve barely started the coffee when she marches out of the bedroom wrapped in the wrinkled bed sheet. Her hair is a mess, and I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman.
She grabs some of the cheese off the plate near the stove and nibbles on it, but I see something else I want to taste.
When I spin her to face the countertop, her belly pressed against the edge, she tenses. I don’t move, letting her get used to the feel of me behind her pressed against her backside.
I can’t pinpoint the moment, but she trusts me. It’s imperative that I don’t break it. Not just to her but also to me. “Hungry?” I ask against the slope of her neck.
“Mmm…yes, but not for eggs.”
She leans into me, and I skim my hand down her front, parting the sheet so I can touch bare skin. “How about some bacon then?”
I lick my lips as she curls her hand back behind my neck to pull me down. “No, it’s not the bacon I want either.”