“Tristan, baby, I love you.”
Her words slowly register, dissipating the dark fog gathered around my brain.
A smile blooms on her face, with no trace of dishonesty, disarming me. “And loving you will probably end up ruining me. But I don’t care. Don’t be jealous of him, of anyone. There’s no reason.”
My heart hammers. It might crack my chest open to roll itself at her feet. Her power over me is astounding, the murderous rage and furious jealousy dissolving.
But not even her confession is enough. I want everything—her complete loyalty, her absolute surrender, her entire heart.
I thread my hand in her hair, wrapping a fist around her silky strands, and tug her head back, staring deep into her eyes. “Whose are you?”
She licks her lips. “Yours.”
“You better remain mine because if not, baby, I will destroy anything and kill anyone to have you. To keep you. And I am not fucking bluffing. Let another man touch you, and he’s dead.”
Her eyes widen, apprehension clear in her green orbs. Yes, baby. I am a killer, and you’re starting to get it, but it’s too late. For both of us.
I rub my nose against her sensitive neck, breathing her in. She smells like a flower garden and pure sunshine. Like a fresh day after I’ve spent centuries at the cusp of dusk.
“Don’t say things like that,” she sighs, touching my chest.
My hand inches lower, resting at the base of her neck where the vein throbs under my touch. “It’s the truth, Viviana, and we promised to be truthful to each other.”
She nods as if coming to terms with something.
Curling my hand around her delicate neck, I slam my mouth on hers, kissing her hard to erase any trace of him, even the memory that he kissed her.
When I am done devouring her mouth, she stumbles back, but I grip her elbow, catching her.
She giggles into my chest. “Silly man. You literally kiss me dizzy, and you worry there could be someone else.”
Eyes locked, a grin stretches across my face, and I kiss her forehead. “I’m crazy about you, Viviana. And that’s not a good thing. At all.”
I pick up her bag, and outside, she glances around, watching for the guards. I have my own to protect her, who also serve as a distraction so I can take her away once more this weekend. Only once we climb into the car does she relax.
Just a little while longer, baby. In a few months, you’ll be my wife.
Pressing my finger to the start button, I drive away, one hand resting on her thigh, the contact soothing my turmoil. My patience is failing, considering my growing craving for her.
She looks out the window before she sweeps her gaze at me. “I’ll have to visit my family next weekend.”
That’s when I will visit the Syndicate. Doing something productive if I can’t be with her.
I wink at her. “I guess we should take full advantage of this weekend then.”
A blush colors her face.
By the time I am done with her, I will have fucked the innocence out of her. I tap my index finger on the wheel in the rhythm of impatience bouncing inside of me. I planned this weekend differently. Take it slow, savor every second, but with every mile, it becomes a losing battle.
The beach house appears in front of me, and I let go, embarking on the madness that has such a chokehold on me, it seizes my lungs. It’s like I am inhaling through a cloth, enough to sustain me, but far from satisfying me. Only feeling her from the inside out will feed me the much-coveted breath.
It’s a blur, getting out of the car and bringing the suitcase inside our bedroom. It drops on the floor just like my patience and any other plans other than ravishing her.
“I’m sorry, baby. I fucking need you too much.” My hand curls around the back of her neck, pulling her to my chest for a passionate kiss.
I am burning up as I kiss her, trying to satisfy a need that overpowers everything else. Nothing could bring me to fall but loving her might. Nothing more than a fallen king begging for her mercy.
In rapid moves, I undress her, the clothes flying around and scattering on the floor like my restraint.
