I rip a handful of his hair, yanking his mouth back to mine, but he refuses. His eyes light up in a challenge and something else I can’t recognize. Something changed, but I have no idea what. His grip on my wrists is loose enough for me to tug them away, but I don’t. The pressure of his body against mine still leaves just enough room for me to turn away, but I stay.
His lips hover above mine, and when I try to kiss him, he pulls just out of reach. To tease me. To show me who’s in control. Need burns through me, and I moan in frustration, rocking against his leg just to feel something.
He’s holding back, I can tell. And that’s the last thing I want. I want the pain, the roughness, something to draw out the raw rage I’m still feeling inside. A spark to ignite the waiting fire. I need him to use me, to hurt me. But he’s holding me at arm’s length, tamping down the anger I know he’s feeling.
It takes me a while to recognize what lies beyond the heat in his eyes. Pity. Sympathy. And, somehow, that makes me even more furious.
I snag his lips, biting down. Hard.
Killian’s head rears back, one hand releasing my wrist to touch his lip. His finger pulls away with a spot of red, his lower lip swollen.
“Fuck,” he swears. “Are you trying to piss me off?”
An idea pops into my head. A very, very bad idea.
“What, you don’t think I’m a liar anymore?” I ask sweetly. “You’re not going to accuse me of knowing my father’s plans again?” He eyes me warily, fingers tightening against my wrist. I lean forward until we’re eye to eye. “What if I lied, Killian? What would you do?”
He freezes, deciding whether or not to believe me. “You’re upset,” he says slowly, letting me go. “That your father lied to you. That you were used.”
Embarrassment flares in my chest. “Or maybe I knew all along and just wanted to see you embarrass yourself.”
Killian snarls, his knee pressing harder between my legs. “Fine. You want to play? Let’s play.”
A thrill shoots down my spine at his words, eliciting goosebumps along my arms. He grips the back of my neck, slamming his lips against mine. Anger still brims inside me, and I push against his chest, but it’s like trying to shove a brick wall.
“You wanted to pick a fight,” he says roughly, “so don’t try to back out now,tesorina.”
My mouth opens with a sharp reply, but his tongue slides inside before I can say a word. I’m lost to the heat, the wetness, the feeling of his body flush against mine. An overwhelming fever writhes in my veins, leaving me panting. Fisting handfuls of his shirt, I yank him closer.
His groan vibrates against my mouth, his hand sliding down the length of my back to grip the back of my thighs. He lifts me easily, despite the quick-jerk reaction of my body fighting his once I realize his intention. My legs automatically wrap around his waist, revealing how well our bodies fit together. His fingers grip my thighs possessively, an angry sound scratching along his throat as if blaming me for his reaction.
He tugs off my shoes, and they drop to the floor. Rough palms slide beneath my legs, grabbing a handful of my ass before making their way up to the waistband of my leggings. Our mouths drift apart as he wrestles them around my thighs, tearing one side down past my ankles before the other. The sound of fabric hitting the floor only encourages him. My skin prickles with goosebumps as his palms slip against my bare skin.
Gripping the flare of my hips, one hand finds its way to my center. A soft sigh escapes me as he presses between my legs, his thumb finding my clit beneath my panties easily enough. I can feel the flame of the fight dying as his fingers circle the sensitive nub, sending my body arching against his.
I’d thought Killian would use my father’s betrayal as an excuse to end this marriage. To run far, far away from any sort of relationship. And, if this had happened earlier, before I knew him, I’d hoped he’d do it too. But now, I can see the truth in his eyes as he touches me, a dark spark of flame mirrored in those endless waves of gray.
Hewantsme.
It doesn’t matter if my father lied to the Italians. Killian knows I had nothing to do with it, that I was as much of a game piece as he has been. And somehow, that’s changed the way he sees me. Not as something to put up with for the sake of an alliance—but something he can make all his own.
Onlyhis.
I can feel the possessiveness reverberating between us. I can feel it in the way he holds me, the way his shoulders curl around me as if to shield me from everything else. In his mind, I went from being the enemy to something that needed to be protected—even from my own father.
Right now, I don’t care how he sees me. I just want him to take the pain away. If that’s what he needs to feel to give me that escape, then so be it. But I can’t deny that I want him too. That something between us has changed since we first met.
His hand pauses to lift my sweatshirt above my head, tossing it to the floor before plunging back between my thighs. I’m left with nothing but my black bralette and matching panties, the only things keeping me from him so entirely.
His eyes rake down my body, taking it all in, and I like how it makes me feel. “Mi farai morire….”
I have no idea what he’s said, but I don’t exactly have time to dwell on it before he unclips my bra and yanks it over my arms. I struggle to toss it to the floor with the rest of my clothes, our arms tangling. Cool air brushes against my breasts as they’re freed. There’s an almost reverent, hazy look in his eyes as his thumb runs across one nipple.
Leaning in, he sucks it into his mouth, making me groan. My head tips back against the wall, my fingers curling in his hair and fisting it. The wet heat of his mouth sends fire lancing down between my thighs as he moves to the other, flames licking back up my spine. His attention moves from one to the other, biting, licking, sucking, leaving me so flushed with waves of unstable, unbearable heat. The damp material between my thighs grows wetter with each passing second, and I need…
“More,” I whimper, pressing my hips against the hand still locked between my thighs.
He releases my nipple with a graze of teeth, dragging his lips along my shoulder. His thumb runs across my clit, adding more pressure with quick swirls. “Like this?”