Page 456 of Reign

Then warmth streaks across my cheek.

Another lands across the bridge of my nose.

My chin.

My chest.

“Fuck, Elena.”

His voice comes out ragged.

My stomach tightens all over again.

His thumb wipes carefully beneath my eye.

“Open.”

I look up.

The expression on his face makes me go still.

Pride.

Hunger.

Possession.

And underneath all of it, something so unbearably tender that it almost feels obscene in a completely different way.

“You look perfect, pretty girl.”

A weak laugh escapes me.

“That’s one way to describe this.”

“You look like mine.”

My face heats.

“That was grossly romantic considering the circumstances.”

“I’m talented.”

“Debatable.”

Luciano bends and lifts me from the floor.

My bound arms settle automatically against his chest.

He carries me to the island and sits me on the edge before wetting a clean cloth at the sink.

Then he comes back between my knees.

He wipes carefully beneath my eyes first.

Then he stops.

His thumb collects a thick streak from my cheek.