“Fucking mine,” I say. “Every fucking inch of you…Tell me who you belong to.”
“You,” she gasps, “Damiano...”
“Say it again.”
“I’m yours,” she cries, her voice drowning under the spray of the water.
But I’m not finished.I spin her around and hoist her legs up. She locks them around my waist, her ankles bolting behind my back as I push her back against the wall. The steam swirls around us as I drive into her again. The position lets me go deeper, more intimate, and I watch every flicker of emotion on her face.
“Look at me,” I rasp, my right hand wrapping around her throat until she has no choice. Her eyes find mine, glassy and overwhelmed, and something in my chest cracks open.
“I tried,” I say, my voice barely above a breath. “I fucking tried so hard not to want you like this.”
I move again, slower this time, watching her mouth fall open.
“Didn't work,” I add.
“Good,” she breathes, her fingers clawing into my wet hair. “Don't let it.”
I lose the last shred of my control, my rhythm turning frantic. I fuck her hard and fast like I want to merge our souls.
“You’re going to come for me,” I growl against her lips. “I want to feel you come.”
And she does. Like a fucking good girl, she does.
Her walls start to pulse, clamping down on me in a rhythmic clenching. She lets out a high-pitched cry, her back arching offthe wall as she shudders through a release so violent her legs shake around me. I follow her over the edge seconds later.
My world narrows to the pouring water around us and the silk of her skin. The release hits me with a force that leaves me hollowed out, my forehead dropping to her shoulder as I struggle to fill my lungs. I keep her pinned there, my weight holding her against the wall while her heart thunders like a trapped bird against my ribs.
In this moment, I’m certain she is the only thing keeping me alive.
The water begins to cool, turning into a silver mist around us. I lower her slowly, my hands lingering on her hips until her feet find the floor. She leans her forehead against my chest, her breath coming in ragged hitches.
The silence is heavy & intimate. Her hand rises, her fingers trembling as they trace the white line of the scar on my left shoulder—the mark from the day my world once ended.
I envelop her with my arms, pulling her into my body.
“How did you get this?” she asks softly, pressing a kiss to my chest, her voice barely audible over the hum of the pipes.
I close my eyes, the cooling water helping me find my words.
“My mother,” I say, the bitter memory settling in my chest. “It happened the day she was killed.
“We were walking to the car when the ambush happened. It was broad daylight. The hit was for both of us. To scare my father out of his power. But she was the only casualty that day.”
She stills against my hold, her palm flat against my heart.
“That's why I left,” I continue, my voice a hollow rasp. “I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t look at my father without blaming him. He was too deep in this life to protect her. He refused to punish the people who, I’m certain, did it because of the brotherhood. So I left, hoping that if I put some distance between me and this place, I could forget. I wanted to leave everything behind.”
I’ve never been this raw. I’m terrified of the way she’s looking at me now, not with the fear she had in the garden, but with a softness that tells me how much she loves me.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, the water dripping from her dark lashes. “Why are you doing all this? Why are you risking your life for me? You got out, and I dragged you back into this life.”
I look at her.Reallylook at her.
“Because I’ve never felt like this,” I say, my hands framing her face, those honey-gold eyes looking up at me, my thumbs wiping away the moisture on her cheeks. “It didn’t even matter. I just want to keep you safe.”
I lean my forehead against hers, the steam finally dissipating.
