Page 106 of Lovely Venom

I’m not sure how it happens. One second we’re breathing the same air, and in the next my lips are crushed against his in a rough, all-consuming kiss.

I get caught up in a feverish haze, drinking him in with a sense of urgency I can’t rationalize. My hands have seemingly developed a mind of their own, roaming over him with abandon. He’s so solid and warm and…mine.

That thought sends everything screeching to a halt as I come to my senses and end the kiss with a breathless declaration.

“Stop kissing me.”

A laugh rumbles from his chest as he pulls back to meet my gaze. “You kissed me.”

“No, I didn’t.” My face flushes.

“You definitely did.” He grabs me and drags me closer. “Are you going to deny that you liked it?”

“It didn’t mean anything,” I counter. “That was only for last night.”

“If you say so.” His lips ghost over my throat, completely disorienting me.

Every last brain cell evaporates as I melt into him, and a desperate ache claws its way through me.

“Tell me you want me inside you.” He bites the words against my ear.

A strangled sound ejects from my mouth as I try to recall one of the thousand reasons we shouldn’t be doing this. I know they exist, but I’m drawing a blank, and in the moment, I don’t really care.

“I want you inside me,” I rasp.

Just one more time, to get it out of my system.

That’s what I tell myself as he lifts me into his arms and carries me down the hallway.

I can’t focus on anything else as I soak up the warmth of his bare chest, fingers threading through his hair as I kiss my way down his throat.

This kind of chemistry is insane. It’s definitely not normal. But the baser side of me doesn’t care to analyze that too deeply as I slip my free hand into his pants.

He bites out a curse as I wrap my palm around his cock and start stroking him. “We’re not going to make it to the bedroom if you keep doing that.”

“I don’t care,” I pant. “Fuck me right here.”

“No.” He smacks me on the ass.

“What the hell?” I glare up at him.

“Don’t start pretending you don’t like it now.”

I stroke him harder, taking satisfaction when a tortured sound gets caught in his throat. But when we reach his room, all bets are off.

He kicks the door shut behind us and deposits me on the bed, eyes darkening as they move over me.

His palm drifts up my calf, all the way to the thigh-high slit of my dress, pushing the fabric higher until most of my leg is bared.

“Look how fucking pretty you are.” He releases a rough breath, fingers roaming back down my leg. “Mia ladroncina.”

An uncomfortable feeling presses between my ribs as I watch the way he takes me in. That look on his face is something most women would kill for. But to be the sole focus of Cristian’s attention feels like staring into the sun.

“You don’t have to charm me.” I lift my heel to his chest, lightly grazing the ridges of his abs as I trace the path of hair leading to his pants. “We can go back to the part where we tear each other’s clothes off.”

He grabs my calf and raises my leg, lips ghosting over my ankle. It sends goosebumps racing down my spine, and it feels so good, I want him to do it again.

“You get nervous when we slow it down,” he murmurs, pressing another kiss just below the last one.