"You won't," I promised, trusting him completely. It hit me then. I trusted Dario with my life. Trusting him with my heart was becoming harder and harder to resist. I wanted this fairy tale he dangled in front of me. Not because of his money. Dario had proven to be a very interesting person, one who knew how to keep me dangling on the edge waiting for the next crumb ofhimself he gave me. I lapped up everything hungrily. It helped me to see he felt the same way I did.
Dario entered me in one smooth thrust, filling me so perfectly that tears sprang to my eyes, mingling with the shower spray on my cheeks. I dug my nails into his shoulders as I clung to him, needing the anchor of his solid frame. He moved with careful restraint at first, mindful of my bruised body, but I wanted none of his caution. I tightened my legs around him, moving on him and urging him deeper, faster.
"Please," I gasped, the word lost in the steam that fogged the glass around us, creating a world where only we existed. "I won't break. I need you to make me feel alive, Dario!"
Something wild flashed in his eyes then, a glimpse of the predator beneath the civilized exterior. His fingers dug into my hips as he gripped me tighter, his movements growing more forceful as water cascaded over us both. One of his hands slid between our bodies, finding the center of my pleasure with unerring accuracy. His thumb circled in perfect counterpoint to his thrusts, building a tension within me that threatened to shatter me completely.
"That's it," he encouraged, watching my face with fierce concentration as I approached the edge. "Come for me, Belle. Let me feel you squeezing my cock."
My orgasm hit with unexpected force, tearing a cry from my throat as my body contracted around him. My nails dug deeper into his shoulders, leaving crescent marks that would match the ones he'd left on my hips. He followed me moments later, his rhythm faltering as he buried his face against my neck, a guttural sound rumbling through his chest.
For long moments afterward, we stayed locked together, the shower continuing to rain down warm water that cascaded over us in a gentle caress. My legs trembled as he lowered me carefully to my feet, his hands steady on my waist to keep meupright. Without speaking, he reached for the shampoo, working it through my tangled hair with gentle fingers that massaged my scalp. The mundane act felt impossibly intimate after what we'd just shared.
As the water rinsed away the last of the soap and shampoo, Dario traced the angles of my face with his fingertips, his expression unreadable. "You're mine," he said simply, the words a statement of fact rather than a question. "Whatever comes next, remember that."
I nodded, understanding that what had happened between us was about more than physical release. It was a claiming, a promise, a defiance against those who had tried to use me to hurt him. In his arms, with water washing away the last traces of fear and pain, I felt not just clean but renewed.
Dario shut off the water, the sudden quiet broken only by our ragged breaths, and reached for a thick towel from the rack. He dried me with the same care he'd shown earlier, patting away droplets that clung to my skin and wrapping my hair in a fresh towel before quickly tending to himself. The steam still hung heavy in the air, fogging the mirrors, but he didn't linger. Instead, he scooped me up in his arms as if I weighed nothing, carrying me from the bathroom into the adjoining bedroom.
The space was vast, dominated by a massive bed with charcoal sheets reminding me of storm clouds. He laid me down gently, the fabric cool against my heated skin, a stark contrast to my pale limbs still flushed from the shower. I watched him through half-lidded eyes as he moved around the room, switching on a couple of accent lamps and turning off any main lighting, leaving a soft glow around us like firelight. His body was a marvel of strength and purpose, each movement precise despite the lingering battle tension I could see in the set of his shoulders.
When he turned back to me, the expression in his eyes had changed again. Gone was the gentle caretaker from the shower,replaced by something darker, hungrier. He approached the bed with the fluid grace of a predator, his gaze never leaving mine. The mattress dipped under his weight, looming over me with an intensity that should have frightened me after everything that had happened tonight. Instead, I felt an answering hunger rise within me, a need to feel his strength, to match it with my own.
"Tell me now if you want me to stop," he said, voice rough with restraint. "Because I won't be gentle this time."
In answer, I reached for him, pulling him down to me. "I don't want gentle," I whispered against his lips. "I want you. Exactly the way you are."
Something broke in him then, a dam of control washing away. He captured my wrists in one large hand, pinning them above my head against the pillows. His other hand gripped my hip, fingers digging into soft flesh as he settled his weight between my thighs. There was no teasing, no slow buildup, just the urgent press of his body claiming mine, filling me completely in one powerful thrust.
I gasped at the delicious invasion, arching off the bed. He held me there, pinned beneath him like a butterfly to velvet, his gaze locked on mine as if drinking in every flicker of response on my face. When he began to move, it was with purpose and possession, each thrust punctuated by the harsh sound of our breathing.
"Mine," he growled, the word rumbling from deep in his chest. "Say it, Belle."
"Yours," I gasped, meeting his rhythm with equal fervor, my body rising to match each powerful drive of his hips. "I'm yours, Dario."
His grip on my wrists tightened, careful of my bruised and chafed wrists but firm enough to remind me of his control. His free hand slid beneath me to grip my bottom, changing the angle until I cried out, pleasure spiking through me with brutalintensity. I strained against his hold, not to escape but to get closer.
"Never again, Belle." His promise was rasped out in a voice thick with emotion as his lips brushed against my throat. He grazed the sensitive skin just beneath my ear with his teeth. "I will never let anyone take you from me."
The words sent a fresh surge of heat through me. I dug my heels into his ass, urging him deeper, silently demanding everything he could give me. He released my wrists to brace himself better, and I immediately took advantage, raking my nails down the muscled plane of his back hard enough to leave marks. His answering groan told me he approved. "Mine," I echoed his earlier claim, shocking myself with my boldness. "All mine."
His rhythm faltered for a moment as his eyes widened slightly, surprise flashing across his features before his mouth curved into a fierce smile. "Oh, yeah, baby," he agreed, voice barely recognizable with passion. "Fucking yours, Belle."
We moved together with increasing urgency, the room filled with the sounds of skin against skin, of gasped breaths and staccato cries as our bodies slammed against each other with increasing force. I felt the familiar tension building, coiling tight low in my belly. Dario must have sensed it as he slid his fingers between us, finding my clit with unerring accuracy. One touch was all it took to send me tumbling over the edge, my release tearing through me with such force that I screamed his name, convulsing beneath him as waves of pleasure pulsed through me.
He followed an instant later, his powerful frame shuddering above me as he buried his face against my neck, his own cry muffled against my skin. For long moments we lay tangled together, heart gradually slowing, sweat cooling on our skin.
When he finally moved, it was only to roll to his side, taking me with him so that we remained connected. My head foundits place on his chest like I belonged there, the steady thump of his heart beneath my ear more comforting than any words could have been. The sheets beneath us were damp with sweat, tangled around our legs, but neither of us made any move to straighten them.
The room fell into perfect quiet except for our slowing breaths. Outside the windows, the night had deepened to that hushed hour before dawn when the world seemed to hold its breath.
"I love you, Belle."
I sucked in a breath. The simple declaration froze me. Before I could gather my thoughts enough to respond, he continued, his voice taking on a raw quality that caught at my heart. "Youwillmarry me. I will have my claim on you legal, binding, and out there for everyone in the entire fucking world to know what they risk if they even think of harming you. I absolutely will not risk losing you again."
I lifted my head to look at him, shocked not just by the words but by the naked vulnerability in his expression. His fingers tightened slightly on my shoulder, the only outward sign of tension in his otherwise still body. His eyes searched mine, blue depths revealing a fear I never would have expected to see in Dario Luca.
The proposal hung in the air between us, changing everything in an instant. My mouth opened, but no words came out. How could I answer such a declaration from a man whose world I barely understood, yet who had risked everything to save me? A man who had just confessed to loving me when I hadn't dared to hope for anything beyond protection and passion?
