Eat her alive.
So, I do.
FOR THE SECOND time in the short span we’ve been married, Elia knocks my freaking socks off with the sheer intensity of his kiss. Well, at least, that’d be the reaction if I was wearing socks.
One second, we’re standing there, wallowing in our unspoken sadness, and in the next, he’s fusing our mouths together until I can’t distinguish my breath or heart from his.
It’s like he’s trying to eat me for dinner, to consume me the way someone might their last supper.
My soul temporarily leaves my body as his lips continue their assault, hands tangling in my hair; it orbits around us as we maneuver through the living room, stopping only once we’ve hit resistance at the wall by the grandiose staircase. He pushes his hips into my stomach, and I can feel him grow hard in time with his ragged breathing.
Jesus.His erection is thick and long and scorches me through my dress; I raise one leg as he reaches and grips my thigh, hooking it around his waist. My dress bunches at my waist, the new angle granting him better access to my core. The friction of him against my clit causes stars to dance across my vision.
I gasp, my mouth opening at the sensations awakening in my belly, and he takes the opportunity to shove his tongue inside, swirling and tasting like I’m the most delicious delicacy he’s ever had.
Our tongues war for dominance, twisting and pushing, fighting like two serpents. His free hand cradles my jaw as he tilts my head, deepening the kiss.
From this position, it feels like I can swallow him whole.
And a strange part of me, one I’ve never tapped into before, kind of wants to.
Finally, he breaks the kiss. I’m not expecting it, though, and find myself jerking forward, trying to chase his mouth. He grins at me, using the tip of his thumb to swipe some saliva that’s collected at the corner of his lip. His chest heaves with each breath he takes, and his hand doesn’t move from my thigh—like he’s not quite finished.
My pussy tingles at the idea.
“I want you.” His eyes darken, thunderstorms trapped in his gaze, and my entire body temperature rises. Goosebumps prickle along my skin as his hand on my thigh travels higher, cupping just below my ass, and squeezes hard. “So goddamn bad.”
Sweeping my hands up his chest, I revel in the taut planes beneath his suit, gripping the edges of his lapels. I pull him close and lick the shell of his ear, whispering, “You shouldn’t.”
Close to the curve of my neck now, he eats up the distance, pressing his lips into my skin. A soft moan escapes my mouth even though I bite the inside of my cheek to keep it inside. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He sucks just below my ear as if he’s trying to rip the flesh from my body, making me shiver. “Just that you shouldn’t want people you don’t know everything about.” My response is shaky, delayed, as he continues his assault.
Releasing me with a succulent pop, he bites down on the raised spot, definitively marking me. God, when my father sees that, he’ll probably lose it—even if this man is my husband.
I’m not stupid enough to think my problems have ended.
If anything, I’ve just exacerbated them.
Elia’s head straightens, eyes boring into mine. He drops my thigh, my shoe smacking against the marble floor and making my body vibrate. “Is there something you’re trying to tell me,carina?”
“No.”
His lips purse, eyes roaming over my face as he searches for answers I’m not willing to give.
I drag in a stuttered breath, trying to calm my racing heart. How many times does it need to break before it learns its lesson and stops yearning for things that can’t be?
If I go into this and immediately forget why I’ve signed my freedom over under the guise of protection, it’s all for nothing. I can’t let this handsome face—no matter that he’s sex on legs—distract me.
Disentangling my limbs from his, I duck beneath his arms and cross the room, leaning against the kitchen counter. Space, that’s what we need right now. He gets in my personal bubble, and every bad thought I’ve ever had about his world and men dissipates into thin air.
He clears his throat, adjusting the collar of his shirt and unbuttoning his suit jacket. “Very well. I have a few things I need to attend to at work, so I regret that I’ll be unable to join you for the majority of our honeymoon.”
I shrug. “I knew what I was getting into.”
We stand there for a few beats, silent, staring at each other. There’s a fire dwindling in his gaze, asking me to rekindle it, but I refrain.Do not let him distract you.
“Caroline, I—”