“Our families made this mess.” He tugged the tie out of my hair, biting his lower lip when my curls tumbled down over my shoulders. He rubbed a strand between his fingers. “They built a kingdom on betrayal and called it loyalty. They expected us to obey them without complaint.”
“They were so very wrong.” I leaned into him, drawing on his endless strength.
“Yes,” he agreed. He kissed the corner of my mouth, the curve of my cheek. “The people who molded us… they don’t define us, Ember. Not anymore.”
“No. They don’t. We’re going to be their reckoning,Dante,” I said, deciding I liked this new alliance of ours, this fake-marriage-with-real-intimacy arrangement. “We’re the ones they never saw coming, and we will make all of this right.”
He pulled back just enough to look at me. Pride and something softer burned in his eyes. Something that stilled my heart, froze my lungs, and made me hope for a future that was impossible.
“Yes,” he whispered against my lips. “But overthrowing the Dynasty will have to wait. I know how I want to spend the day. With you. In bed.”
Outside, while the city groaned and shifted on its ancient pilings, Dante and I stood pressed together, completely lost in each other, planning to burn down a Dynasty.
A reckoning. I liked the sound of that.
49
EMBERLINE
Icould not stop kissing my husband.
After pretending I was made of ice my entire life, feeling everything all at once wasglorious.Dante’s soft lips were experienced, cleverly pressing mine apart so he could slip his tongue deeper into my mouth, exploring and probing until I didn’t care if I ever breathed again.
There were no more secrets between us.
No more doubt. For the first time, I had a partner. Someone I trusted beside me, someone who treated me as an equal, not a liability, who recognized my strength and didn’t try to dim me down so I was tolerable.
And gods, this male could kiss.
One hand gripped a fistful of my hair, his other cupping my chin, holding me in place as he plundered my mouth until my lips were puffy. His rough, low groan raced through me like a shiver of adrenaline.
I wanted every one of his needy groans, all his heartbeats, every one of his wicked smiles.
I wanted his darkest thoughts, his most elusive dreams, and once I had those, I wanted everything else too. I’d never felt as greedy, desperate, and hopeless as I did around him, and I planned to hoard every bit of this happiness for the dark days ahead.
Because I was not going to face them without knowing what being loved felt like.
Being claimed.
Being touched in all the ways a male touched a female, so when those dark days did come, when I wanted to give up hope, I could remember this moment… and remember how sweet life had once tasted.
“I want you.” I framed his rugged face with my palms, searching his eyes, feeling like I was gazing out across the ocean all the way to the horizon. “I want to know what you feel like inside me, Dante.”
The smile slid off his face. “We should go slow, Emberline. There is no rush, none at all,” he said, a rough, pleading note in his voice. “I’m sure you’re sore from last night…”
“I’m not sore. I want to do everything all over again, but this time, I want your… cock.” Heat crept up my neck, but I kept going. “I might be a virgin, Dante, but it’s my decision who I share my first time with, and I choose you.”
His eyes slipped half-closed, a rumble vibrating in his chest.
“Let’s make this real between us,marito mio,”I urged softly. “I’m tired of play acting. I want to start living.”
I slid my thumb along the cut edge of his jaw and between his lips, watching, fascinated, as he sucked, his cheeks hollowing out, my entire world narrowing down to where his warm, wet tongue circled my finger.
Wetness gushed between my legs, remembering how his mouth felt on my clit.
“The stakes are too high for us to fail,tesoro,” he cautioned, pulling my finger from his mouth. “If we go any further… I’m not a refined male. Not anymore. I can’t…” he swallowed. “I fucked up at Rocco’s. I can’t fuck up with you again.”
“That’s a tomorrow problem, it seems like.” I took his bighands, resting on my shoulders, and placed them on my hips. “Today’s problem is how fast you can get me up to the bedroom and get these clothes off.”
