“Griffin—”
“I haven’t said one yet.” He circled my clit hard, his fingers getting wet from my opening. His lips were nearly on mine, but he didn’t kiss me. He looked into my eyes, watching me come apart just the way he orchestrated.
My nails cut into him deeper because I could feel the explosion knocking on the gates. I hadn’t felt this full in months, hadn’t had his enormous cock inside me like this in a lifetime. It was the womanliest sensation I’d ever felt—to have this man buried within me. He loved me, loved me with just his look. He didn’t say it often because he didn’t need to. He showed me every day just the way he was showing me now. He didn’t care about Antonio or any other man I spent time with. They were nothing compared to him—and he knew it. “One…”
“No.” I stopped rocking, so he guided me up and down while his fingers rubbed me harder. “I control the clock, not you.”
“Griffin…” My plea died in my mouth, the rest escaping as a whisper.
He kissed me again, this time giving me his tongue. His mouth took over mine, conquering it like a king seizing a new country. He had all of me, and he knew it. I was the puppet, and he was the master. His tongue pulled away, and he breathed into me, his kiss turning idle.
I knew his permission was coming…it was almost there.
“One.”
“Thank god.” Obediently, my cunt clenched around him as the inferno began. I was burned by his fire and turned into hot ash. The sensation heightened my release, made me feel instead of think. Screams, moans, and incoherent words flew out of my mouth. It was the most euphoric high he’d ever given me. It was spiritual, carnal. “You’re one hell of a man…” I pressed my forehead against his with my eyes closed, sweat dripping down my back and in between my cheeks. It was so good, and as it passed, the memory of the sensation was still profoundly vivid.
When I opened my eyes again, I found him staring at me.
Staring at me with a whole new expression. It was different from any I’d ever seen, more aggressive than all the others combined. “I’m your man.”
I lay in bed, lost in a dream with Bones beside me. It was sometime in the middle of the night, when the city was asleep under the stars. The summer heat couldn’t penetrate these walls because Bones liked it cold as ice in the apartment.
I dreamed that nothing had changed, that I was alone in my new apartment in Florence. I slept in my bed alone, the sheets frozen without Bones beside me. All the anguish from his disappearance acted as an anchor on my chest, weighing me down to the bottom of the ocean. It felt so real, like I’d lost him again. Hot tears burned up my throat, and my eyes smoldered with emotion.
My hand reached out across the bed, searching for the man of steel beside me. My hand hit the rock-hard block that I recognized as his chest. My eyes opened, and I saw him beside me, exactly where I left him.
Panic still burned through my veins, as if seeing him and touching him weren’t enough. The memory of my lonely night was still vivid. Touching him, feeling him, making love to him wasn’t enough to wipe my memories away.
I gulped in a huge breath of air and finally fed my lungs oxygen.
Bones stirred at my touch then propped himself up on his elbow, his silhouette outlined like hard stone. He looked down at me, his expression visible in the darkness. Despite his sleepiness, he didn’t appear frustrated by the disturbance. “Baby, I’m here.” He moved my hand over his heart, allowing me to feel that profound thump deep inside his chest, the cadence of his life.
I felt the heartbeat against my palm, felt the strength circulate through his body. “How did you…?”
“Because I have the same nightmare every night.” He brought my palm to his lips and kissed the center, where my web of lines started. “That’s when I pull you closer, so I know this is real.”
I moved closer to him and hooked my leg over his waist, feeling his hot skin against my thigh. My arm circled his muscular torso, and instead of hugging a teddy bear, it seemed like I was hugging a large piece of rock. My face rested against his sternum, where I could still feel his heartbeat.
He got comfortable beside me and ran his fingers through my hair. For a monster, he could touch me so delicately. He knew how to restrain his strength so he could caress me instead of injure me. He had the softest touch I’d ever known—and the softest kiss.