"A few hours." I wanted to laugh. Wanted to cry. Settled for pulling him toward the bed. "That's not nearly enough time."
"It's what we have. So I'm going to make every second count."
Kai didn’t even let me take a full breath before his hands were on me. One second, I was standing there, my fingers still trembling from the adrenaline of sneaking past his father’s guards, and the next, his arms were around me, lifting me like I weighed nothing. The strength in him was terrifying—controlled, effortless, as if I were made of glass and steel at the same time. His chest rose and fell against mine, his heartbeat a wild drum beneath my palm, and when he laid me down on the bed, it wasn’t with the brutality I expected. It was careful. Reverent. Like I was something precious he’d been denied for too long.
"God, I’ve missed you." His voice was a growl, rough and raw, his thumbs brushing over my cheekbones like he was memorizing the shape of me. "Five days and I was losing my fucking mind."
I should’ve been scared. I should’ve been thinking about the consequences, about the fact that his father’s men wereprobably still searching for me, about the blood on both our hands. But all I could focus on was the heat of his body over mine, the way his dark eyes burned into me, possessive and hungry. My fingers curled into the sheets, my pulse hammering between my thighs.
"I have missed you too," I whispered, my voice steadier than I felt. The words tasted like sin on my tongue, but I meant them. I needed him to erase everything, the fear, the doubt, the ghost of Salvatore’s hands on me. "Make me forget where I am. Make me forget everything except this. Except us."
A low, feral sound tore from his throat. His hands moved faster then, yanking at the zipper of my dress with a violence that made my breath catch. The fabric tore, the sound sharp in the quiet room, and suddenly I was exposed—cool air hitting my bare skin, my nipples tightening under his gaze. I didn’t have time to be self-conscious. Not when he was staring at me like he wanted to devour me whole.
I reached for him just as desperately, my fingers clawing at his shirt. Buttons popped, scattering across the floor like tiny gunshots, and then his chest was bare beneath my palms, hard muscle and ridged scars, a landscape of battles I’d never seen but could feel in the way he moved, in the way he fought for every inch of me. I pressed myself against him, my small hands roaming over the dips and planes of his torso, my lips seeking his before he could even lean down.
The kiss was wrong. Not sweet. Not tender. It was teeth and tongue and need, a collision of everything we’d been holding back. His mouth crashed into mine, his tongue forcing its way past my lips, tangling with mine in a way that made my toes curl. I could taste the whiskey he’d drunk earlier, the faint metallic tang of blood from where he’d split his lip in a fight—I didn’t know when, didn’t care. All that mattered was the way his hands slid up my thighs, his fingers digging into my hips, pulling me closer until I could feel the thick, insistent ridge of his cock pressing against my stomach.
I moaned into his mouth, my back arching, my body already wet and aching for him. He groaned in response, the sound vibrating against my lips, and then his hands were in my hair, fisting the dark waves, tilting my head just so he could deepen the kiss. His teethgrazed my lower lip, biting down just enough to sting, and I gasped, my nails raking down his back.
"Fuck, Aria," he snarled, his voice rough with desire. "You drive me out of my goddamn mind."
I didn’t get to answer. His mouth left mine, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down my throat, his teeth scraping over my pulse point. I whimpered, my fingers tangling in his hair, holding him to me as he sucked at the sensitive skin of my neck. He was marking me. Claiming me. And I didn’t stop him. I wanted it. Wanted everyone to see, to know, that I belonged to him.
His hands slid up my body, cupping my breasts, his thumbs rolling over my nipples until they were hard little peaks. I gasped, my back arching into his touch, and he growled, his mouth closing over one tight bud. The wet heat of his tongue, the sharp graze of his teeth—it was too much. My hips jerked, my thighs squeezing together, but there was no relief, not like this.
"Kai—" His name was a plea, a prayer, a demand.
He didn’t let me finish. His hands left my breasts, gripping my wrists instead, pinning them above my head in one fluid motion. The position stretched me out beneath him, my body on display, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. His dark eyes locked onto mine, black with lust, with ownership, his free hand slid between my thighs, his fingers finding me soaked, swollen, ready. He growled, his fingers teasing my entrance before plunging two inside me without warning.
"Fuck!" The word tore from my throat, my back bowing off the bed as he curled his fingers, hitting that spot inside me that made my vision blur. His thumb pressed against my clit, rubbing in tight, relentless circles, and I was already close, my body coiling tight, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
I sobbed, my walls clenching around his fingers, my orgasm crashing over me before I could even prepare for it. My pussy pulsed, my juices spilling over his hand, soaking the sheets beneath me. I was still trembling, still riding the waves of pleasure, when he pulled his fingers free, bringing them to his mouth. His tongue flicked out, tasting me, his eyes neverleaving mine.
"So fucking sweet," he murmured, his voice a dark promise. "I’m going to ruin you."
I didn’t have time to respond. He released my wrists, his hands gripping my hips, flipping me onto my stomach before I could even catch my breath. The cool air hit my ass, my skin prickling with anticipation, and then he was behind me, his body covering mine, his cock pressing against my entrance.
"You’re mine," he growled, his teeth sinking into the curve of my shoulder. The pain was sharp, bright, but it only made me wetter, my body already begging for more. "Mine to fuck. Mine to ruin. Mine to keep."
"Yes," I hissed, pushing back against him, my nails digging into the sheets. "Yours. Now fuck me."
He didn’t need to be told twice.
In one brutal thrust, he was inside me, stretching me, filling me so completely I saw stars. My cry was swallowed by the pillow as he gripped my hips, his fingers bruising, and slammed into me. The bed creaked beneath us, the sound of flesh meeting flesh obscene in the quiet room. He set a punishing pace, his cock pistoning in and out of me, his balls slapping against my clit with every thrust.
"Harder," I begged, my voice muffled against the sheets. "Please, Kai—fuck—"
He growled, his hands sliding up my back, fisting in my hair, yanking my head back so my spine arched, my ass lifting, giving him deeper access. "You want it harder, bambina?" His voice was a dark chuckle, his breath hot against my ear. "You can take it."
And then he gave it to me.
His hips snapped forward, his cock driving into me with a force that stole my breath. I screamed, my body trembling, my pussy clenching around him, already on the edge again. His teeth sank into the side of my neck, marking me, owning me, and I came with a sob, my walls milking his cock, my juices dripping down my thighs.
"That’s it," he groaned, his voice rough with effort. "Take my cock like a good girl. Let me feel that tight little legs squeezing me."
I was still coming when he pulled out, his cock glistening with myarousal. Before I could protest, he flipped me onto my back, his hands gripping my knees, spreading me wide. His eyes burned as he looked down at me, at the way my pussy was swollen and red, my juices coating my thighs.
"Aria," he rasped, his thumb brushing over my clit, making me jerk. "You are everything to me."
