Anthony couldn’t stay back any longer, and he pulled her stiff form to him. “You don’t need to tell me.”
“The blood. It was everywhere. They killed him.”
Despite his hold, she remained stiff, no tears, no softening. He wanted to protect her from her memories, but he couldn’t. It was frustrating. He could only protect her now.
She finally looked up at him. “He’d gone to buy me a new dress, but they killed him for the money. All that time I watched for him. But he was already dead from a dagger wound to his heart.”
His own heart rolled over as emotion swept through him. She’d gone through so much, more than even he had known, and still remained strong, defiant, and so courageous. He didn’t want her to ever have to be strong again. What he wanted was to be strong for her, protect her from any future threats or heartaches. Even as he cupped her head in his hands, he understood the feeling inside his chest. It was love, pure and simple. “Lissa.”
Lowering his lips to hers, he kissed her tenderly, unable to say the words he felt, knowing she wouldn’t understand, but willing to show her.
At first, she remained unmoving, but as if his touch were a flame to candle wax, her body melted, softening against his own, her lips moving beneath his. When she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, he dropped his hands to hold her and nudged her mouth open to enjoy her taste.
She deepened the kiss, tangling her tongue with his and pressing her soft curves to his hardness.
He couldn’t deny the need in his heart nor the desire coursing through him. Unable to resist, he lifted her up and took two strides to gently deposit her on the bed.
At the break in their kiss, she frowned. “Come back.”
He lay down next to her and leaned over her to cup her head with his hand. “I want you, Lissa.”
She smiled slyly and lifted her arms above her head, revealing the bare skin between her breasts. “Finally.”
He chuckled. He couldn’t help it. The happiness inside him was fairly bursting. As she bent her knee to touch his hardening erection through the towel, his focus changed. Lowering his head, he took her mouth with his once again. He wanted to know every inch of her, love every hill and valley. Even as his tongue touched hers, he moved his hand between them to untie the belt at her waist. As it loosened, he pulled back and spread the dressing gown to reveal her pert breasts, taut nipples, and slender waist.
To have her bare before him with no danger of interruption caused his excitement to grow. Lowering his head, he took one hard peak into his mouth and savored.
Her hand at the back of his head held him to her, not simply giving him permission, but demanding his attention. He sucked lightly before gently rolling her nipple between his teeth.
Her back arched and her hand left his neck and ran over his back, while the other grasped his arse. Sensation shot through his balls and made him harder. He didn’t want to love herquickly. He wished to enjoy every moment, so he moved lower, beyond her grasp, and paid heavy attention to her other breast.
Her soft moans encouraged him as he tasted his fill, nipping and sucking to his heart’s content, and hers. Yet he wanted even more. Much more. He shifted his weight to the leg between hers and moved his other there as well. As he lifted, she grabbed at the towel, pulling it from beneath him and leaving him to feel her soft skin touch his.
“Je te veux.”
He looked up to see her watching him. “And you shall have me. I promise.”
Seeming to accept that, she closed her eyes and smiled. “Oui. Abonpromise.”
He lowered his head to kiss the ribs beneath her breasts. Slowly, he made his way down her stomach to the dark curls at the juncture of her thighs, dropping kisses as he breathed in her apple scent and the muskiness of her readiness. The combination reflected who she was, complicated yet simple, beautiful yet strong.
He wanted to see her in ecstasy before making her his. He wanted to bring such a remarkable woman to the apex of life. Softly, he ran two fingers through her curls, barely touching what lay hidden beneath.
She moaned, bending her knees and raising her pelvis. “S’il vous plait.”
There was no possibility of his resisting such a plea, nor did he want to. He laid one hand on her thigh and lowered his head to grant her wish. He found her hard nub and licked upward then sideways and around it, listening to her loud breaths with each pass. He repeated the movements again and again, then pressed closer to suck on the tiny pinnacle, wanting to give her this ultimate experience.
She grabbed his shoulders as her hips rose, her pants harsh now as she reached for her release.
He stroked upward on her thigh before sliding his fingers along her moist folds to her entrance. Slowly, he pushed one inside her even as he released her nub and licked it. She was warm and tight and so close to her fulfillment.
Lissa squeezed his shoulders harder, soft cries coming from deep in her throat.
Those soft, yearning sounds urged him on to give his woman more pleasure.
His woman.Even as the words settled into his soul, he understood he could never let her go.
Tamping down his own need to make her his, he withdrew his finger before pushing two slowly inside her.
