He rocks me slowly as I turn and bury my face in his chest, breathing deep the salty smell of his warm skin. It’s slightly gritty from the lake water that’s dried there because he let me hog the shower and must not have left me while I slept.
Gradually, my heart rate starts to calm, my breathing easing, and I turn my head to orient myself. “It’s dark out,” I observe. “How long did I sleep?”
“Maybe five hours?” he suggests softly, his strong hand stroking my hair comfortingly. “We’re back at port. Everyone else left, but I didn’t want to wake you.”
Touched by his concern, I lift my head to meet his eyes. “You’ve just been waiting for me?”
A soft smile curves his gorgeous lips, and though he doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t have to for me to understand. My heart melts, and tears sting the backs of my eyes. Maybe Leo won’t ever admit it, but he cares about me. He cares about me enough to throw himself in after me when I go overboard. He took care of me when I needed him most, but more than that, he protected me, prioritized me—even when I wasn’t awake to see it.
I’ve never felt so loved.
Leaning in slowly, I press my lips to his, savoring the way they mold to mine. His hand gently cups my cheek, his strong fingers spreading to curve around the back of my head, and as I lean against his chest, he pulls me closer.
My heart flutters at the sensual nature of the kiss. It’s soft and cautious, tender even, but that fire he lights inside me quickly starts to build, and despite the wringer I’ve been through, I want more. Stroking out with my tongue, I trace the seam of his lips, and Leo releases a low groan.
Then he’s rolling, shifting me back onto the bed so he’s the one braced on an arm as he leans over me. I’m grateful, because I still feel physically drained, but that doesn’t stop the quiver of excitement deep in my belly, and my core tightens as I feel his cock, hard and urgent against my hip.
“I want you,” I breathe against his lips, running my fingers down the hard ridges of his abdomen and curling them around the towel he still has wrapped around his waist.
Another deep groan vibrates from his chest, awakening my body and sending goosebumps across the back of my neck.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he rasps, though his hips rock forward as if his body is ready to rebel.
“Please, Leo,” I whisper, looking up into his molten chocolate eyes.
“Cazzo, è impossibile resisterti,” he growls, the sensual sound of his Italian making me shiver.
He rolls on top of me, his lips claiming mine with verve, and my pulse flutters as I kiss him back with desperation.
28
LEO
The need to hold Sora, to feel her, to claim her, to know that she is safe and alive and entirely mine, consumes me as I kiss her. Since the moment I saw her vanish underwater, my protective instincts have been in overdrive, my need to ensure she’s okay overriding all my other basic instincts.
But when she says she wants me, nothing on God’s green Earth could stop me from obeying her.
Still, I’m terrified I’ll break her.
I’ve never worried about how fragile a life could be until today. It took almost losing Sora to realize how completely it would wreck me. Seeing her lying lifeless on that deck, hearing the empty sound of her still heart—it nearly broke me.
I never knew someone could hold such power over me.
But now, with Sora trapped beneath me, her hot breaths rushing across my bare skin, her warmth seeping into my chest, I know I’ll never be the same again.
Despite my father’s warnings to not get close to Sora, his insistence that she’s merely a tool to keep the Tanakas under our control, I have fallen in love with her completely. I tried to keep my distance because I knew my attraction to her could get me into trouble.
I convinced myself I could keep it physical, that I could treat her like any of the other women I’ve used for pleasure, but somewhere along the line, I fell for her, and the fear that gripped me when I saw her thrashing in the water today confirmed it.
This woman—this captivating, infuriating, willful woman—is my reason for existence.
I would sooner cut my own heart out than watch her die.
And now that I’m sure she’s alright, now that she’s pleading for the connection I crave desperately, I can’t wait to bury myself inside her. Her fingers tug at the towel wrapped around my waist, pulling it free so she can toss it aside, and as she finds the strings to my swim trunks, I press hot kisses down the curve of her neck.
I open her robe, exposing the revealing black one-piece that was driving me wild all morning, and I strip it slowly down her body, exposing her inch by inch. Sora’s nipples pucker, hardening to soft points as I free them from the still-damp swimsuit. Taking a moment to worship them, I capture one between my lips, cupping her other breast in my palm and kneading the soft flesh.
Sora moans, her back arching into me, and my cock throbs with anticipation. It takes all my strength to release her perfect breasts so I can finish removing her suit. I rock back to admire her perfect, lithe body for a moment before I shove my swim trunks down over my hips.
