That was how we both finally slept.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ROSALIA
I woke to the sudden memory of what he’d done to me. Heat traveled down my stomach and pooled between my thighs. I shifted and a little throb moved through my hips. My fingers traced between my legs and I winced at my touch. My God, he’d made me sore.
My gaze fell on my husband beside me. He was still mostly asleep, his dark lashes stark against his skin. The black sheets were gathered around his waist and his tattooed torso was exposed. Hesitantly, I reached out and ran my fingertips over his collarbones and he made a quiet noise in his throat. His lids fluttered and he fixed his eyes on me.
“What time is it?” he murmured.
I glanced over at his phone on the bedside table. “Seven.”
He sat up. “Shit, I have to get into the city before my lunch meeting.”
“If it’s a lunch meeting, you have time.”
He ran a hand over his face. “I need to get ready and do some work before I meet with these men.”
I nodded, rolling onto my back. He had seen me naked, he’d put his mouth on me, and his cock inside me, but for some reason I still clutched the sheets to my chest. Peregrine noticed and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“How does your pussy feel?” he asked.
I hesitated, suddenly shy. “It’s sore.”
His glittering, amber gaze fixed on mine with an intense stare beneath his lowered brows. I’d never noticed until now, but beneath the sun shining through the window, his eyes were a kaleidoscope of colors. Gold, brown, flecks of orange, and little speckles of fiery red. They all came together to create that beautiful, dark amber color, like a clear gemstone in the light. I exhaled and he bent, his lids closing and his mouth brushing mine.
My body lit up, my nipples tightening and the sore muscles between my thighs clenching. We kissed slowly, languidly, exploring the taste and feel of our mouths together. When he broke away, the amber in his gaze smoldered. Heat bubbled deep inside me and I realized with surprise that I was aroused. That I actually wanted sex with him again.
“I need to go,” he whispered.
I caught a flash of his big, muscular body as he rose and went to the bathroom. For a second, I felt something warm in my chest that startled me. Then I shook it away and got up to retrieve my slip from the floor. Peregrine was capable of being gentle, but it wasn’t natural to him and I needed to guard myself against that.
I needed to guard myself against feeling anything at all for my husband.
He was unpredictable.
Maybe a little monstrous.
And I wasn’t willing to let him hurt me. I was good at disconnecting, at floating through life completely unnoticed. That was how I was going to protect myself from him.
When Peregrine returned from the bathroom, he wore a fine, charcoal gray suit. His hair was freshly washed and the dark brown waves were slicked back. My stomach clenched, but this time it was nothing more than desire.
Desire was acceptable.
Sex was fine.
Anything else was dangerous.
He was all business as he finished fastening his tie. “I have a meeting this coming Saturday with an important client. Myself, Lucien, Cosimo, and their wives will meet here for dinner. I’d like you to play hostess at my side.”
“Is that what diplomat’s wives do?” I asked lightly, padding across the room to the bathroom.
“Yes, it is,” he said, turning to linger in the doorway. “The wardrobe I ordered for you is just through that door. You’ll find everything you need in there.”
“I would rather have picked out my own things.”
He shrugged. “A lot of my job rides on appearance and I need you to be well dressed. I trust Elliott & Lynn to pick out your wardrobe and they did a good job. As I knew they would.”