Shadow Warrior (Shadow Riders 4)

Vittorio kissed her inner thighs and rubbed his face down each one, leaving behind the burn from the shadow on his jaw. He stood slowly, his gaze fixed on her face as he loosened the drawstring of his lounge pants and let them drop. One hand circled the girth of his cock, just as her lashes lifted. Her eyes widened, and she let out her breath in a little rush.

“Are you on birth control, Grace?” He hated even asking her. He didn’t give a damn if she got pregnant, but they hadn’t discussed it yet. He hadn’t told her he would want a child sooner rather than later. He didn’t want her to feel as if he was marrying her just because she could give him the rider the rest of his world demanded.

“Yes.”

“I don’t want to use a condom. I’ve never had unprotected sex with anyone. I go in regularly anyway, just to make certain I’m clean. I got a clean bill of health right after I met you.” It sucked having to bring up the fact that he’d been with other women. “Tell me if you’re uncomfortable with me going without a glove.”

“I’m not.”

He could barely breathe. He hadn’t expected to feel so differently. Everything was different with Grace. Her absolute trust and faith in him. The feel of her skin. The scent of her. The sound of her cries. He found his need of her had grown beyond anything he’d ever experienced. Her body was hot, and the moment he pressed the head of his cock into her, he was surrounded by hot, liquid flames, squeezing down on him, drawing him deeper into that fiery paradise while at the same time, fighting to keep him out.

“Gattina, relax for me.”

She was so tight, he doubted if he could move through that constricting channel. He could feel her heartbeat right through his cock. Or maybe it was his, pulsing and throbbing. The sensation of being inside her was both heaven and hell. Looking down at her face, that exquisite, beautiful face, for the first time in his life, he felt overwhelming love. It was all-encompassing and heightened the sensations pouring over him as he relentlessly pushed deeper, feeling her channel gripping and milking his cock. Silken heat wrapped him tight, strangling him. A million hot tongues rasped over him.

Vittorio threw back his head, but not so far that he couldn’t keep eye contact with her. His hands settled on her hips, as her body opened slowly, reluctantly for him. She squirmed just a little and he caught the faint sheen of tears.

“Relax for me, gattina. Talk. I need to know what you’re feeling.”

“It burns. Stretches.” She gasped the explanation.

He had been pressing steadily, but gently forward. He stopped immediately to give her body time to adjust to his size. “That will subside. This is going to be a little uncomfortable at first, but that will ease once you’re used to me.”

It was difficult to wait. The feeling was so perfect. Scorching hot. Tight. That pounding pulse, sending a million flames flickering like licks of lightning through his body. He breathed away the need to slam deep, but his fingers tightened on her hips, holding her there when she kept moving. Squirming. Adding to the building need in him.

“I’m good.”

He’d never wanted to hear two words more. Still, he studied her face, waiting for the tension to recede. “That’s my girl.”

She’d never looked more beautiful, with her skin flushed a soft rose. Her breasts heaved, every movement sending a jolt through them, so they swayed invitingly, drawing his attention. He could see her stomach muscles rippling and her thighs tightening with every forward press.

He wasn’t going to prolong his entry. He waited until she was exhaling, and he buried himself deep, moving right through the thin barrier and claiming her body for his own.

Grace cried out, pain flashing through her. Instinctively, she tried to crawl away, even though she’d been expecting it.

“Grace.”

That voice. Intense. Compelling. Impossible to ignore. She opened her eyes and stared up at his face. He looked like carnal sin. The devil himself tempting her. There was a dark lust in his eyes, etched into the lines of his face, but there was also something else, another emotion that made her body relax for him. The more she relaxed, the more the pain subsided.

“Just stay still and breathe with me.”

“It’s gone. It’s okay.” Already her body was going back to responding to his. It was impossible not to feel the heat. The heartbeat they shared. She wanted him to move. She needed him to move. The hunger in her was building all over again, the pressure winding and coiling tighter and tighter, just from looking at his face.

“Lift your legs. Wrap them around my hips.”

She liked hearing him tell her what to do. It was so much easier than trying to figure it out. She wanted to feel the sensations he was offering, and she wanted to give him something equally as pleasurable or even more back. She needed him to give her instructions when she really didn’t have a clue. He slid his hand from her hip, down her thigh to the back of her left knee and urged her leg up. He helped her wrap it around him. She followed suit with the other leg and hooked her ankles, so she was wrapped completely around him.