Her eyes are glazed with pure desire as she obeys my command. She doesn’t tease or put on a show. My girl doesn’t hesitate to drop down to seat herself on me fully. Her head falls forward so that her bright hair brushes my chest. Every one of my senses seems magnified as she begins to ride me. Christ. She has absolutely no idea how magnificent she is. It should be a crime to look that good.
I barely have time to appreciate the bounce of her gorgeous tits before her lips take mine with unbound passion. She makes the most delicious sounds. I drink them down as I thrust upward. I register the hitch in her breath when I hit a certain spot, so I grab her hips to help me get the leverage to do it again. And again.
Taryn pulls away from my mouth with a lustful groan. “Baby, I need to come.” Her voice is a breathy prayer.
I growl and thicken inside her. Being calledbabyby those beautiful lips has me turning into a possessive monster. All of her fucking orgasms will be mine from now on.
Her head tips back as she rocks on top of me. Her pretty breasts bounce as she finds her pleasure and owns mine. I can feel the tingling beginning in my spine but I refuse to come until she shatters for me. I want to crack her open so I can find a way inside her soul.
I’m not going to last. She feels too good. Too mine. “Mmmfuck.” I reach between us to circle the button of nerves that I know will unravel her.
“Oh god. Oh god.” It becomes Taryn’s chant as her face alights in ecstasy.That’s right, beauty.Ifeellike a fucking god, controlling her, intoxicating her.
My dick is in silky heaven, and she squeezes around me, a silent scream on her lips. “That’s my girl,” I praise as I lose control of my hips, my needy cock seeking its own release. Taryn’s nails bite into my chest as she rides out her release. The sudden sting of pain, knowing I’ll wear her marks, pushes me over the edge. I release a loud grunt and pump her full of my cum. I continue to thrust, giving her every drop, every piece of me.
There’s no doubt. I’m totally fucked over this girl.
I clean her up, despite her protests. Did the jackasses in her past never take care of her before? I shake off the thought as I toss her one of my Cubs sweatshirts and a clean pair of boxers I fish out of a messy drawer. I refuse to think about her with other guys. That will never be happening again.
I pull on my joggers as she sits cross-legged on my bed. “I, um, still don’t want to be forced into marriage,” she says, and my heart sinks a little as she continues. “But, I also know that I haven’t been fair to you. You’ve been nothing but honest with me, and I owe you the same courtesy.”
Hold on. This is acourtesy? She fucked me to be polite? That doesn’t make sense.
“Continue.” I motion to her.
“I feel terrible about how our night ended after Titus. I didn’t mean to be so—” She stops for a minute, searching for the word. I have several I could lend to her, but I wait. Patiently. A minute ticks by. “I’m confused, and it’s been driving me crazy. I—I was having a good time with you, Liam. I, uh, well, Ilikeyou, and it’s hard to make sense of that when I’m still pissed off that all my choices have been taken away.”
Wow. That’s a lot to unpack, but I think we may finally be getting somewhere. “We are going to come back to the fact that you like me,” I tell her with a smirk. She rolls her pretty eyes. “But, for now, let’s focus on all your choices being taken away. I hate that you feel that way. I understand that you aren’t ready to walk down the aisle, but surely you don’t thinkallyour decisions will be made by someone else?”
She begins to answer, but I interrupt. “Is this about law school? Were you that set on Stanford?” I’m still confused by the crazy text she sent me earlier about being a lawyer.
“Not especially,” she breathes. “I just wanted to get far away.”
“From what exactly? It’s obvious you love your family.” I know I’m pushing her. Her cheeks are tinged a lovely pink, as though she’s embarrassed to have this conversation. Too bad because it’s necessary, and there’s so much more to talk about.
“I want to be able to make my own choices. And that includes my career,” she explains. “And I didn’t think that would happen in New York. I assumed I’d be forced to marry a husband who wouldn’t let me work. My Da wouldnevertolerate it if my mother had a job. I knew if I stayed here, I’d have to be some docile, never-seen spouse who raises a bunch of kids, hosts clan dinners, and patches up her husband occasionally. I didn’t want a husband who tries to control me that way.”
I nod at this. It’s becoming so obvious that my fiancée craves independence. Hell, one of the things that attracted me to her is that badass nature of hers. It occurs to me that maybe I should tell her exactly that.
“Taryn, I never want you to feel like your opinions or dreams are being pushed to the side. I love that you’ve got a mind of your own, and I’m thrilled that you want to use it to have a career you love.” I can tell I’ve shocked her. She may not be aware of it, but she’s leaning toward me. “I just want us to compromise. I get that you don’t want to marry me. But, I think we can be happy together if we talk things out and come to solutions together.”
“You think we can be happy?” Her soft voice breaks a little.
I nod, and I hope she can see how sincere I am when I tell her, “Believe it or not, I don’t find joy in your misery. I want you to have a good life. I won’t give up until you aregladyou married me. Until we both find what we are looking for.”
She swallows and her eyes get glassy. Shit. I didn’t mean to make her cry. Jesus. I’m shit at this whole serious relationship thing.
“Thank you, Liam.” She clears her throat. “I think—” She stops and shakes her head.
“What, beauty? What do you think?”
“I think I’ve been afraid to be happy.” Her voice is hoarse. “I’m so scared that if I like you too much, it means that I’m agreeing with them.”
“With who?” My whole body has leaned into this conversation. I am hanging on her every word.
She exhales. “With my family. And yours. And all the families of St. A’s. I never wanted this life and if I give you a chance—giveusa chance—I will prove them all right. That I was meant to be nothing more than a mob wife. And what if I’mhappybeing a mob wife? What would that say about me?” She chokes out a humorless chuckle and raises her eyes from her lap to look me directly in the eye. “That terrifies me.”
I can’t help it. I’m across the bed in a heartbeat and pulling her into my lap. My arms are around her before she can protest. “You will never be that one-dimensional.Never.Youalreadybelong to a clan, Tare. But you are also so much more than that. You’re the 4.0 student who loves to argue. You’re the woman who is going to get an advanced degree so she can have an amazing career as a fierce attorney. You’re the beauty who is so sexy that I find it hard to function whenever you’re around.” I kiss the top of her head, which is now leaning on my shoulder. “It’s true that you’ll also belong to a clan when we’re married. But, you’ll be so many other things too. I can’t lie; I’m glad that being my wife will be one of them. Nobody is going to define what that looks like but us.”
