My voice is too harsh as I growl, “Laurie.”
She worries her bottom lip between her teeth before muttering, “I just don’t get it, okay.”
“Get what?”
“How you’re already so…” She motions vaguely between us. “All in.”
There’s no attitude in her voice. No fishing for compliments. She sounds genuinely confused.
“You think there’s no reason for me to want you,” I say, making sure we’re on the same page.
Her shoulders lift in a small shrug. “People usually end up getting tired of me.”
The words hit hard enough to darken my mood instantly, and feeling goddamn murderous, I growl, “Who the fuck made you think that?”
Laurie’s worried eyes flit to my face. “It’s just how it’s always been.” She returns to staring up at the ceiling. “After my parents divorced, they invested all their time and love into their new families. They always had something more important going on than to bother with me. Honestly, I feel like they just wanted me gone because I was a reminder of a stupid mistake they madewhen they were young.” She takes a couple of breaths before adding, “And my ex lost interest in me before the first year was over.” Shaking her head, she mutters, “Jesus, I was so stupid. I should’ve left much sooner but kept hoping things would change.” Her tone turns forlorn as she whispers, “I’m not the kind of person that makes a lasting impression on people. I tend to annoy and bring out the worst in them.”
Something vicious moves through me.
Taking hold of her chin, I turn her head so she’ll look at me. “Listen very carefully, Laurie.” When I’m sure I have all her attention, I say, “I knew the second I saw you that you were going to consume my life. That’s never happened to me before, and as someone who gets annoyed pretty fucking fast, hear me when I say, there’s not a single annoying thing about you.”
She searches my face like she’s trying to figure out whether I mean it.
I brush my thumb over her jaw. “In all of my thirty-six years, I’ve never laid eyes on a woman as beautiful as you. Fuck, your eyes…” I stare deep into them. “It feels as if I’m getting a glimpse of heaven.”
Laurie’s eyebrows draw together, and the corner of her mouth tips slightly.
My voice turns gruff as I continue, “I will never get tired of looking at you. I will never stop loving how fucking amazing it feels when you touch me.” I lean a little closer. “Just listening to you breathe fills me with satisfaction.” I frame the sides of her head, my torso partially positioned over hers. “So no, Laurie, this isn’t me getting carried away after a couple of days. You are a fucking goddess, and I count myself fucking lucky that I found you before some asshole got it in his head to put a ring on your finger.”
Reaching for her left hand, I bring it to my mouth and press a kiss to the gold band that sealed her fate to mine.
The air leaves her lungs shakily, but I can still see the uncertainty lingering in her eyes, as if she’s waiting for me to wake up one morning and realize she’s nothing special.
“I don’t lose interest once I have something.” My voice turns deadly calm. “I become more fucking possessive of it.”
Her breath catches in her throat, drawing my attention to where her pulse is fluttering, and I duck my head to press a kiss to it. I trail my lips up to her earlobe and say, “The more time I spend with you, the more obsessed I’ll become.” My teeth tug at the fake diamond earring, which I intend to replace as soon as fucking possible. “You will only sink deeper under my skin. Become more addictive. More impossible to ignore.” Kissing my way to her mouth, I groan, “You’re not forgettable. You’re not boring. You’re not some temporary obsession I’ll eventually get over.”
I lightly brush my hand over her left breast and down to her hip, where I grip her tightly while locking eyes with her again.
Laurie looks completely entranced, and I know if I push right now, she won’t resist me fucking her.
The corner of my mouth lifts in a smirk because I’ve already won half the battle when it comes to owning my butterfly’s heart.
Testing her, I keep my mouth an inch from hers. I massage her hip and push my right leg between hers, hating all the fucking fabric between her pussy and my thigh.
She turns her body into mine, her calf hooking over the back of my leg. Breathless, her lashes lower slightly, desire bleeding over her features.
I allow the moment to build until she lifts her hand and wraps it around the back of my neck while pushing her breasts into my chest.
“That’s it,mia piccola farfalla.Feel the undeniable pull between us,” I whisper so I don’t draw her out of the lust-induced trance.
She lifts her head slightly, narrowing the space between our faces.
“I’m all yours for the taking,” I tell her while grabbing her ass and pulling her right against me, knowing she’ll feel how fucking hard I am.
Laurie's grip tightens at the back of my neck as she pulls herself closer, and when she finally kisses me, I worry I might actually come from this intense moment alone.
Chapter 15
