Page 65 of Warlord’s Empire

“All for you,” he replied, his breath hitching as she explored his jaw with her lips. “Everything for you.”

How was she to resist this man? He welcomed his mortal enemies into his home, into his barracks, because she asked. The danger to himself meant little in the goal of making her happy.

“Why are you so good to me?” she asked.

His arms slid beneath her, forcing her body closer to his, the heat of him washing over her. “You are the only good in my world,” he answered without hesitation. “I will protect you with everything I have.”

Lowering his head slowly, he gave her time to escape him, but she eagerly lifted her lips to his, opening to him like a lily in the morning sun. She met him kiss for kiss as he grew more passionate, more insistent, his hands exploring her body, their tongues tangling together.

She fingered his coat, then slid her hands beneath it, trying to shove it from his shoulders. She cried out against his mouth as something pricked her.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“Something poked my finger,” she pulled her hand from his jacket, showing him the spot on her middle finger where a small amount of blood welled.

He sucked it into his mouth, scrambling her brains with his heat. Everything tingled and her breath came out in small, excited gasps. She’d never understood the ‘sexy vampire’ craze until this very moment. Perhaps there was something to drinking the blood of a lover.

“What is this?” she asked, touching the pin on his jacket where she’d pricked herself. She pushed at his chest, moving to her elbows so she could get a better look.

It was a flag, but not one she recognized and over the flag was a tiny metal green hat, a beret, and a bird. Beneath the pin was a black ribbon.

He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke, his tone was serious. “The flag is a mashup of the regions I have dominated. The beret is a nod to the militias I have joined with my men, and the Egyptian eagle signifies my rank as General. The black ribbon is for my fallen comrades.” He gripped her hand, moving it away from the pin. “Anyone inhabiting my world will immediately understand who they are talking to.”

“Oh,” she said, processing this new information. She’d known he was an important man in his region of the world, but having come from a mafia family, she hadn’t put much more thought into his position other than acknowledging he was a boss of some sort. “Would my cousin recognize the meaning?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

They were silent for a moment, and he said, “Does this change anything between us?”

She opened her mouth to say, no of course not, but the words stuck in her throat. Why? She’d known who he was, spent time with him and his people in his compound. But somehow, she’d managed to weave a fantasy around them and what they were doing in Marifiya. A fairytale where they were the prince and princess and they ruled the land as benevolent leaders.

When his pin stuck her finger, it had also burst the bubble she built in her mind.

“I think it does,” she admitted, feeling guilty. She didn’t want to punish him for who he was, especially when he was so bent on being sweet to her, but her feelings toward the mafia, toward mayhem and murder, were murky at best.

Sitting up, he shoved his jacket off his shoulders and tossed it carelessly to the floor. He took her hand and pressed it over his heart. “Now it’s just me. No General, no past. Can you live with that? Even for a few minutes.” His gaze was intent, the rays of the sun spilling across the room, heating the bed and their bodies. “Can we forget the world and just be together, my angel?”

His angel.

His love for her was so palpable, so raw, she couldn’t resist. She went up onto her knees and yanked her nightshirt over her head, baring herself to him. “I want to forget everything but us.”

He gathered her against him, fitting her to his body like she’d been born for it, his lips crushing hers, his body pressing hers to the mattress.

His tongue touched the seam of her lips, coaxing, then delving into the dark velvety recesses beyond. The kiss grew in intensity as he dominated her lips and mouth. His tongue and teeth clashed with hers as he proved just how easily he could conquer her. Then his kiss gentled, his lips softening until the sweetness of his touches was nearly overwhelming, until she thought she would burst.

She was panting with excitement, her hands gripping his shirt.

Without breaking the kiss, he tore his tore it off, baring his chest. She giggled against his mouth as he pressed her hands to his hot bare skin.

While she caressed him, he swept his hand down her body, sending showers of sparks through her. She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, could barely breathe. All she could do was let out moans of need and thrust her hips against his, wordlessly begging for more.

Finally… finally… he lifted his hips and touched her, sliding his fingers through the hair at the apex of her thighs and into the wetness that awaited him. He pressed his forehead to hers and groaned, “I need you, my angel.”

“I’m all yours,” she whispered, her voice shaking with desire. “Always yours.”

“Promise me.” His voice was guttural as he kissed her neck before dropping further.