“I’m not done with you yet.” His hands settle on my hips, squeezing the soft skin there. “Ride me. Take what you need.”
I’m already sensitive, already overwhelmed. But I want more. I rise onto my knees and sink down onto him.
“God… ohGod…”
The angle is different, deeper. We both gasp at the new feeling of pleasure. I lean forward, resting my hands on both sides of his head, my breasts hanging in his face. He leans up just a bit, taking one of my nipples into his mouth. I moan at the sensation of his tongue on me in that way.
I start to move slowly at first, finding my rhythm. His hands guide me, but he lets me control it. And there’s something perfect and powerful in that, something that makes me feel less like his possession and more like his equal.
I pick up speed and lean back, chasing the building heat. His eyes search all over my body, as if he doesn’t know where to give his attention. There’s something likeawe in his eyes, something that lets me know he means every goddamn word he’s said about my body.
“Bellissima,” he breathes. “Perfetta. God, just look at you.”
The third orgasm hits slower, deeper, coursing through me. I collapse onto his chest, trembling, my hips still grinding. His hands land on my ass and he pushes on it, hard, groaning as he thrusts up once, twice, then stills. He drains his seed into me, filling me with that perfect, thick warmth.
I close my eyes and focus on the orgasm, the sensation of him draining inside, the hardness of his body underneath me.
It’s all so perfect.
He wraps his arms around me, and for a long time, we just lie there, our heartbeats slowing, our breathing evening out. Then he shifts me to my side, holding me, stroking my hair.
“Stay,” he says. “Don’t go back to your room. Stay here. With me.”
I nod against his chest.
“Always,” I whisper. And I mean it—even though I’m still angry, still confused, still unsure if I can trust him.
I mean it.
Somewhere between the auction and tonight, between the lies and the truth and the terrifying vulnerability of it all, I began to fall in love with him.
The realization hits me like a damn train.
It’s the most terrifying feeling I’ve ever experienced. Love means vulnerability. Love means giving him the power to destroy me in ways Kolya never could. It means trusting the man who’s been looming over my life since I was a little girl.
And it means forgiving him for everything he’s done.
I don’t know if I can do that. Not yet. But lying there in his arms, his heartbeat steady under my ear and his hand gentle in my hair, part of me wants to try.
“Gabriel?” His name comes out in a whisper.
“Si?”
“I’m still angry with you.”
“I know.”
“And I don’t know if I can forgive you. Not completely. Not yet.”
“I know that, too.”
“But I…” The words catch in my throat. They’re too big. Too scary. And I don’t want to say them unless I know I mean them without a shadow of a doubt. So I choose others instead. “I’m glad I’m here. With you. Tonight.”
His arms tighten around me.
“Me, too,bella. Me, too.”
He presses a kiss to the top of my head. I close my eyes.