Releasing all the fear I had clutched to my heart, I saw the truth—but more importantly, felt it. A rush of immense relief started from the top of my head and made it down to my toes.
The glass walls that surrounded us reflected our bodies, light and dark; our differences made us stand out—reminded me of how beautiful we were together. In that moment, he felt the release too, and some of the tension eased in him. That didn’t mean all, though, and he reacted.
He took my wrists and brought them up, pinning each one against the softness of the pillows, though his touch was the opposite. His heart beat against mine, hard and fast. “Tell me if a chest would miss its heart.”
I wiggled to get out of his hold, needing to touch him.
“Answer me,” he said. Hovering over me as he was, he looked truly wild, a great big beast with the face of an avenging Italian angel.
A surge of pride ran through me.
This creature wasmine.
“Let me go first,” I breathed, and I stopped wiggling.
Our stares held—a long-held breath.
“I rule this,” he said, easing up so I could further open to him.
He knew I would, the smug ass.
My legs came open without him even prompting, and he settled in, coming so close…teasing me. The anticipation close to torture. The ache to feel him inside of me made me burn, and my breath came in shallow pants.
“You do,” I said, surprised that the words came out clear and not stuttered. “But what do you rule without me, man?” I lifted a brow.
He grinned, his teeth gleaming white against the darkness of his complexion. “Not a damn thing, woman. It’s no secret who really runs the kingdom, ah?”
“More like it takes two to tango.” I returned the grin.
He dipped low, sucking at my neck. “Still no answer. I won’t ask again. I’ll take what’s mine.”
“What were we…?Ah,” I sighed long and soft, as he sucked on my earlobe. “Youstillhaven’t let me go.”
He released his hold on my wrists at the same time he slid inside of me.
My hands came down on his broad shoulders, my nails grazing his flesh, as a cry erupted from my mouth. He stretched me almost beyond means—in all ways.
He moaned out something incomprehensible.
“Yes,” I said, finally able to answer him. “A chestwouldmiss its heart.” Moving my mouth lower, I set my mouth on his skin, kissing over his throat, as low as our position allowed.
“Tell me,” he said, a droplet of sweat running from his throat, falling to the hollow of mine. “Tell me you feel how much.”
“I do,” I said, closing my eyes. “Oh God I do.”
“Open your eyes,” he said, slowly moving out, before he came back hard enough to force a strangled noise from my throat. “Look at me, Scarlett.”
It took me a moment, but I did. His eyes were hooded, glazed over with concentrated desire. If I hadn’t known better, I would have accused him of being drunk or loaded on some potent drug.
“Look at me,” he said, going even deeper, all the way to the hilt. He bit his bottom lip, having a hard time keeping his own eyes open. Surprising me, he turned my face toward the glass windows, our reflections shimmering as though we were making love in the water. Our pace mimicking the motion of the ocean—the slower he moved, the faster my heart raced. “Look what you do to me.Seewhat you do.You set me on fucking fire. You’d have to be dead not to feel it. Even then…”
His words trailed off as his pace increased, became stronger, even more intense, and the both of us gave over to the moment completely, shattering it for our own selfish needs; the words of this reality nonsensical and useless in the world we shared as lovers, our language spoken and only understood by the two of us.
* * *
Brando restedbehind me but kept me wrapped in his arms, his leg over mine, feet entwined. We faced the glass panes, staring out at the outline of the water.
The sun would rise soon, giving us a glimpse of a world right beyond our reach.
