His hands were on her in a blink, his claws shredding her top and slicing through the front of her bra to free her breasts. He sucked one of her dark nipples into his mouth, and she cried out, her hands burying in his hair and holding him to her.
"Ride me hard, prettystrega. Don't hold back after all that teasing," he said, teeth dragging over the soft skin of her throat. His mouth watered, wanting to sink his teeth in and pin her down.
His hands gripped her full ass, bringing her down on him harder. Marcella's head tipped back as she gave herself over to her own pleasure.
"That's it. Take what you need, love." Cosimo brushed his fingers over her mouth, groaning as she sucked on them. He moved them away and kissed her, needing to taste her and all the sexy sounds she was making. He put his wet fingers to her clit, and her hand flew to grip his. "Show me what you like, Marcella."
"I don't know how much more of this I can take," she gasped, her fingers guiding his in slow circles. Her pussy clenched around him, and she bit her lip.
"You were made to take me. Your body is sin, and so hot and tight, I can barely restrain myself," Cosimo said, looking down at where they were joined. Watching her using his fingers to heighten her pleasure and the way her eyes were clouding with lust, robbed him of his breath. She was so magnificent.
Marcella kissed him hard, her teeth catching on his lip before she started to come. Magic was shimmering around her like a heat wave, her skin starting to glow.
"Cosimo…" she whimpered as she began to fall backward. His hands moved to brace her as he lifted her off the chair and down onto the soft carpet.
"My turn," he said, dragging her leg over his shoulder. He licked the tattoo on her ankle, the last bit of tenderness he had in him. "Just remember to breathe, my treasure."
Marcella cried out with his first hard thrust, her nails dragging down his back as he pounded into her. He would never get enough of her, all softness and burning heat. His dragon wanted to claim her, bind her to him forever. It knew that they would never be able to let her go again now that they had found her.
Cosimo was lost in her, every one of her expressions and sounds burning into his memory. She matched his rhythm and only after she was screaming his name through another orgasm did Cosimo finally follow her, coming hard enough to see stars. The carpet was shredded on either side of her from his claws, and bits of fluff littered all around them.
Marcella looked up at him, her expression dreamy. Her hands glided up and down his sides as he struggled to catch his breath. He gently lifted her leg from his shoulder, and she wrapped both of them around his hips, holding him to her.
He kissed her, slow and sweet. His claws disappeared, and he gently stroked the damp hair from her flushed face.
"Why do I have a feeling that I'm never going to tire of you?" she said, a teasing light coming back into her eyes.
"Because,tesoro mio, I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that you don't," Cosimo replied, meaning every word. "And when all else fails, I still have an excellent library to bribe you with."
"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about the library," Marcella laughed and kissed him so sweetly that his heart turned over in his chest. He was so lost over her already that he was sure that he would give her whatever she asked for, do anything she wanted, just to keep her smiling at him.
30
They left Forli early the next morning, Marcella silently praying to her father to reassure him that she would be back for him. She wouldn't let Renata continue to abuse his spirit and the people in town. Enough was enough.
Cosimo's hand rested on her leg, in a casual, comforting touch like he wanted to remind her that he was there for her.
Marcella had tried to be a braver person since leaving Forli the first time, but she had never thought she would actually consider overthrowing Renata. She knew a lot of her newfound courage was coming from the knowledge that the Greatdrakes family had her back.
Cosimo had told her the whole family history in detail the previous night and acted like he half expected her to walk away from the relationship that was building between them. The man had no clue that any woman would want to be a part of such a loving unit, despite the enemies and challenges that arose.
Not only that, but they also weren't interested in pushing each other, or her, down in any way. They wanted her to dive deep into her magic, to learn about it, and not be afraid of that part of her.
She had thought for so long that it was a curse to have these gifts from the family gods. Now, she felt like a flower finally being free enough to unfurl all her petals to the sun. It was liberating. It was terrifying.
Marcella linked her fingers around Cosimo's and held on. She might be scared and nervous sometimes with how quickly they were moving, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying.
"We won't be gone long," Cosimo reassured her as they cleared the borders of the city, heading south.
"I know. I'm just trying to think what I can do to stop Renata for good. I have a good idea. I just need to think the magic through," Marcella replied.
Cosimo lifted their hands and kissed her knuckles. "We are all here to ask questions if you need it. Although you might get a more pragmatic answer of a knife between the ribs."
"I'll keep it as an option." Marcella laughed and, for once, didn't feel guilty about the vicious thoughts of getting revenge on Carlo and Renata. Cosimo and the others wouldn't think any less of her for them. She still didn't want to kill them, but she needed a way to make them stop for good. The answer was there. She just needed to take the time to think and find it.
The town of Santa Sofia was situated in the middle of the Casentinesi Forest National Park. It was a UNESCO World Heritage site, surrounded by ancient beech forests, mountains, rivers, and a lake, offering tourists and campers a range of natural attractions to enjoy.
"So no ancient Roman ruins have been found in the area," Bridget said from her seat behind them. "But we do know that the wider Emilia-Romagna region had a lot of Roman occupation. We also know that there were Etruscan settlements in this area that predate the Romans, around the Apennine foothills, where Santa Sofia is located. Auntie Maria was onto something without a doubt. If she is actually in the remainsof a temple, she might have also made a huge archaeological discovery."
