Violent Delights (White Monarch 1)

“I think you might be ready for me, Tali.”

“I’m ready,” I said, nearly panting. A flush had worked its way up my chest; I was burning up for him.

I threaded my fingers through his hair, focusing on the way he dragged the tip of his tongue up my breastbone to the base of my neck. His fingers trailed down my side and over the curve of my hip. Just his presence made my head swim and my toes curl—what could lay ahead except more bliss as we fed a hunger we’d been forced to conceal for so long?

I lowered my hand between us, cupping my palm over his hardness. With just that simple touch, he was already pleading me with his eyes. “Don’t stop there,” he whispered. “Give me more.”

He pushed his underwear down and kicked it off the bed. Finally, I held him, skin on skin, the full remarkable length of him in my hand. He was bigger than I’d imagined—not that I’d known what to expect or had anything to compare it with.

He would be my one and only. My forever.

The perfect first time with my perfect man.

Diego smiled down at me as if we shared the thought. “You’re glowing.”

His hair fell in a dark curtain around his face. I pushed some strands of it behind his ear. “I’m happy. I’m ready.”

He nudged my legs apart. “You’ll tell me if it’s too much?” he asked.

I nodded and glanced between us, taking him in for the first time. Pink, long, hard—and all mine. Perfect. And naked. There would be nothing between us, and as much as I wanted to feel every inch of him, seeing him prepare to enter me also forced me from my fantasy into reality.

“Wait,” I said.

He lifted up on one arm. “What is it?”

“We should get a condom,” I said.

He took himself in his hand, sliding the head over me in a way that made me bite my lip. “You have no idea how fucking good it feels without one.”

I moved onto my elbows. “I’m not ready for . . . you know. I’m not taking that chance that I could—get pregnant . . .”

“I want our first time to be pure.” He grazed his fingertips over my cheek and lowered his mouth to my ear. “Let me empty myself in you, just this time. Mark you as mine, first and always.”

A primal desire for the same rose inside me. I wanted that too, but with such uncertain days ahead of us, we couldn’t take the risk. “Then we’ll have to wait,” I said, and started to close my legs. “Once our future is more—”

“Wait.” He grabbed one of my thighs, staying it.

Was he forceful with you?

I hated that Cristiano’s unfounded accusation popped into my head. Maybe violence ran in their bloodline, but Diego wasn’t his brother or his father. He’d never pressure me as Cristiano had implied.

“I’m sorry,” he said after a second, releasing my leg to get up from the bed. “You’re right.”

Though he tried to hide it, I sensed his frustration. I was disappointed as well. I drew a throw from the end of my bed over myself as he picked up his pants from the floor. “You’re leaving?”

“Leaving?” He gaped at me. “Not unless you toss me over the balcony, and even then, I can’t promise I won’t climb back in.” He took something from his pocket, made claws, and crawled with exaggerated movements over the bed to me. “I won’t be deterred,” he said, snatching the blanket and tossing it away. He tickled my sides until I squirmed. “I’ll keep coming back for more.”

I laughed, relived that he wasn’t angry. “I’m sorry, Diego,” I said. “I don’t want to stop, but—”

“Stop? Are you mad?” He flicked up two fingers. Between them, he held a foil packet. “Nothing will ruin our first time.”

I flopped back onto my pillow as my anticipation returned. “Thank God.”

“Thank me for being prepared. El Señor has nada to do with it.” With a sexy grin, he used his teeth to tear open the packaging. “Still ready for me?”

I sighed happily up at the ceiling. “I’ve been ready.”

“Get under the covers,” he said, drawing back the comforter.

I slipped between the sheets. He rolled on the condom and climbed in after me. “Kiss me,” he said from above.

I lifted my head to meet his lips. We each took a breath, and then he opened my mouth with his, running his tongue over mine, nipping my bottom lip. He grasped the side of my neck, his thumb caressing my throat as he deepened the kiss.

“Are you still wet?” he murmured, lowering a hand to touch me. I spread my legs for him, and he found his answer there. “Good, my love. Very good. I love you, Natalia.”

I nodded, struggling to speak as I prepared my mind and body for what was to come. “I love you too.”