Page 207 of Reign

His lips press against my forehead.

My heart drops just as quickly.

Why won’t he kiss me?

“You okay?” he asks.

“Just sore.”

His gaze lands on mine. “Bad?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Good.”

He continues washing me until the water begins to cool, then rests his forearms along the edge of the tub.

He stays.

Chapter 32

Luciano

The scene went beautifully.

Which makes the list in front of me even more irritating.

I’ve been thinking about her since dawn.

The sounds she made. The way she fought herself because she wanted to be good. The way her body answered me before her mouth could argue. The way she looked when she finally let go, shocked and humiliated and beautiful enough that I’ve considered waking her up twice just to see if I could make her do it again.

Perfect.

Unfortunately, perfect doesn’t solve the problem sitting on the table in front of me.

I’m not looking for a wife. Elena is looking for a husband eventually, whether her brothers choose him or she gets there first, and there is no casual version of whatever this is between us. Not with Angelo. Not with Adriana. Not with our families welded together the way they are.

Which is how I ended up doing something profoundly irritating before breakfast: making a list of men for Elena Amato.

The list has seven names now.

There are plenty of men I could add. Doms with reputations I trust. Men who understand structure, consent, limits, aftercare. Men who could take what Elena wants and give it to her safely.

Men who could eventually give her what she says she wants.

I resent every one of them already.

I added Sam Villanueva before sunrise. I want to cross him off because he has too much patience. Elena would test him, and he’d enjoy it and I hate the thought of him enjoying it.

Søren Cross was next. He likes clever women who make him work for surrender, which is irritatingly relevant. I consider crossing him off anyway.

I don’t.

If I eliminate every man for liking the exact things I like about Elena, this list is going to be very short.

Dominic James should go. There’s nothing wrong with Dominic. Respectable family, controlled temperament, good reputation, no public scandals worth caring about.

I can’t imagine seeing the smug bastard at Amato family events for the rest of my life.