Stealing Beauty (Stolen 1)

“But what if I want to leave?” I asked on a pained whisper, my heart twisting in my chest. “What if I don’t want to be with you?”

He scowled down at me, his long fingers biting into my flesh. “You belong with me. We belong together. I need you,” he admitted with ragged desperation. “I can’t let you go. I can’t.”

He pressed his forehead to mine, his breath coming fast and hot against my lips. “Forgive me,” he begged, his voice cracking. “I didn’t know. If I’d known… I’m so fucking sorry. That’s not enough. Nothing I can say will ever be enough. But I can’t let you go. I can’t live without you. I tried. I fucking tried. But now that you’re here with me…” He pulled me impossibly closer. “I need you, Valentina. Even if you hate me, I need you.”

“I don’t hate you,” I said, the words hitching softly. “I can’t hate you. I should, but I can’t.” All the years of bitterness and resentment left my body in a rush, robbing me of breath. The ugly emotions were torn from me, like a tree being ripped out by the roots under the brutal force of a hurricane. I should have been left feeling empty, but the broken, gouged-out parts of my soul filled up with something hot and bright. Something that seared through my veins, scorching away the darkness that had blackened my heart for a decade.

I tipped my head back, pressing my mouth to his. He responded with a hungry growl, his teeth biting at my lips hard enough to draw a gasp from my chest. He took advantage of my open mouth, his tongue surging inside to tangle with mine.

I didn’t soften and submit. I returned his aggression, my fingernails sinking into his nape as I pulled him closer, demanding more savage passion.

I didn’t hate Adrián. I couldn’t hate him.

Because the feelings I’d harbored for him when I was young still burned in my soul. They’d been twisted into bitterness and resentment, but they’d never faded.

“I love you,” I panted when he pulled back just enough to allow me to draw breath. “I love you, Adrián.” Tears spilled down my cheeks, releasing the last of my anguish. He kissed them away, and I tasted the salt on his lips when he claimed my mouth once again.

He kissed me like he’d been starving for me for years, just as I’d hungered for him. His hands curved into my hips, forcing me against his erection. I moaned into his mouth as lust washed through me. I’d always wanted him, always craved him in this dark, forbidden way. He’d shown me the secrets of my body, but we’d barely learned one another. He’d handled me harshly, but I’d never touched him. He hadn’t let me.

Now, his cock was hard, pressing into my belly. I rolled my hips in wanton abandon, stimulating him. Tempting him.

He tore his mouth from mine, and a curse dropped from his lips. “Wait.”

Boldly, I reached between us, tracing the line of his shaft where it jutted against his jeans. “Why?” I asked, my voice low and sultry.

“We can’t.” The refusal came out strangled and pained. “I can’t…” He smoothed his hand over my hair before fisting it at my nape. “Because you’re my sweet Valentina. And I can’t have you.” Something close to madness flickered in his eyes, a long-harbored, fervent belief.

I pressed my palm to his cheek. “I’m not sixteen anymore,” I said softly. “We can be together.”

“I can’t defile you,” he ground out. “I won’t.”

My fingers slid into his hair, gripping the glossy black strands to call his attention to the present. “I want you, Adrián. I want to be with you. Please. I love you.”

His fist tightened in my hair, tugging my head back with ruthless force. “I love you, Valentina. I’ve always loved you. I want to be with you, too. Are you…” He stumbled over his words, his eyes searching mine. “Are you sure? I won’t force you. You don’t have to—”

I pressed my fingers to his mouth, silencing him. “I want this,” I swore. I caressed his length of emphasis, and he jerked beneath my touch. “You won’t be defiling me.”

The fine lines on his face drew deeper with something like anguish. “But I want to,” he admitted on a rasp. “The things I want to do to you… I’ve always liked the fear in your eyes, the way you whimper when I hold you down.”

“I like it, too,” I whispered the deepest secret of my heart. “I want you, Adrián. All of you.” I loved him, even the darkest parts of his soul.

Holding my face in place with his grip on my hair, he crushed his lips to mine, claiming me in another savage kiss. For the first time in years, I touched him. He’d handled my body over the last several days, but I hadn’t learned the hard planes of his muscular frame. He’d always been strong, but he’d become harder over the last decade. Bigger. More enticing than ever.