Then she kissed me.
My lips were paralyzed by her touch because it felt like I was launched back in time. It felt the way it used to, like there was no one else except the two of us. Her soft lips moved with mine, taking control like she wasn’t the least bit afraid. She breathed into my mouth before she gently sucked my bottom lip. Her fingers tightened on my shirt, tugging a little harder. Her small tongue moved into my mouth next, and she kissed me a little harder, a little deeper.
Overwhelmed by the electricity in my veins, I was frozen by her deep affection. It took me a few seconds to truly accept what was happening. My hands slid into her hair, and I pulled her closer to me, kissing her with deep, passionate embraces. I got lost in her right away, feeling reunited with the woman I loved.
My hand moved to the back of her neck, where the top of her dress was tied. My fingers gently tugged on the bow until it came loose. Once the knot was free, the dress slid down her body and fell to the floor at her feet. She stood in nothing other than a simple black thong, but that little piece of underwear was sexier than any piece of lingerie.
Her fingers unbuttoned my shirt as she kept kissing me, as our lips moved faster to enjoy each other. Our breaths deepened and grew louder as we quickened the pace. When my shirt was free, she pushed it over my shoulders so it could fall to the floor along with everything else.
With my hand still in her hair, I backed her up to the bed. I’d never wanted her more than I did now. It seemed like the last few years didn’t even matter. Our lives together really started when she told me those three words. It was a new beginning, and this felt like our first time together. I could love her openly and deeply and knew it wouldn’t drive her away. I could tell her how I really felt without intimidation. I could love her with my whole heart and knew she would feel the same way.
She yanked on my belt and got it loose before she dropped my zipper and got my slacks over my hips. She pushed on my boxers next, her lips still making love to mine. When my pants and my shoes were gone, I was naked and ready to take her. I’d never been so hard in my life, never wanted a woman more.
My hands pushed her panties over her hips and ass, and when they got to her thighs, they fell to her ankles on their own. I guided her onto the bed where her head could rest on a pillow. Our bodies were on top of the sheets, and she looked up at me with nothing but arousal in her eyes.
I held myself on top of her, positioning myself between her thighs. One of my large hands slid into her hair, and I looked into her gaze like I never wanted to stop. There was nowhere else I would rather be. Even if we were both broken, together, we were fixed. Just when I was about to ask her if she had any second thoughts, she spoke.
Her hands moved over my chest until her fingers slipped into my hair. She pulled me closer to her and locked her ankles around my waist. “Husband, make love to me.”
22
Sofia
I woke up next to Hades.
He was flat on his back with his hand resting on his tight stomach. His face was slightly tilted toward me, and he looked so peaceful when he was asleep. He wasn’t the hard and dangerous man who hunted the streets of Florence. He was soft…kind.
A shadow of hair was sprinkled across his jaw, and his powerful chest rose and fell gently as he rested in his deep sleep. He looked like a new man to me—not just my husband, but the love of my life. He was everything to me, and I couldn’t picture my life with anyone else.
I had no idea how I got here. I didn’t want to marry this man until I was forced. Our marriage was poison in my veins, and I refused to let him under my skin. But one day, everything changed. My affectionate feelings somehow amplified and became powerful. My heart grew three times in size just so I could have the ability to love him. When Maddox took me away, Hades did whatever he could to get me back…even sacrificed himself. It broke my heart to watch him take my place, but I also admired his unflinching loyalty to me. Not all men would do that.
Not all men would die for their wives.