Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Geno read gathering desire. More. It was the more that mattered. The beginnings of love. Real love. His heart clenched hard in his chest. Not just beginning. She might not even know how much she had already invested in him, but Amaranthe was a woman who felt things deeply. She was loyal. She would be faithful. And she had already given herself to him. He read that in her dark eyes before she managed to veil them as her lashes came down.
He framed her cheek with one hand. Just the feel of her soft skin in his palm astounded him. Anticipation of her unique taste filled him. He suddenly craved her kisses. His heart pounded even harder than it had been—wild now for her. He maintained control. He was feeling his way with her, but he needed the feel of his mouth on hers. Needed that more than he needed his next breath.
He brushed her lips as gently as he possibly could. Deep inside, he felt like a feral predator, hungry beyond all reason. Lust rose sharply but was tempered by the overwhelming love he felt for her. His emotion allowed tenderness to coax her lips apart for him rather than just take. He wanted her to feel the way he would always cherish her. Would always protect her. Mostly, he wanted her to feel loved.
Her lips parted, his tongue swept inside and he was drowning. He hadn’t known one could taste love, but it was there. He was lost in everything Amaranthe. The delicate nuances of her. The subtleties of her. He had never experienced euphoria kissing a woman, but Amaranthe managed to take him there.
“Too many clothes on, Danzatrice Ombra. I need to feel every inch of you.” He murmured the half command, half entreaty against her lips and then bit down on the bottom curve, nipping lightly and tugging.
Once again, she put her palm on his chest as if to stop him. He lifted his head, his gaze drifting over her face to read her expression. “What are you afraid of, baby?”
“Letting you down.” She whispered it like a confession.
He rubbed his lips over hers to erase her frown. “How could you possibly let me down?”
“You do realize I have zero experience, Geno.”
She sounded so anxious he found himself more protective of her than ever. He caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb.
“Zero experience?” he echoed. She kissed like a fucking dream. He’d known she wasn’t experienced in the kissing department. That hadn’t mattered in the least. She could melt his heart. Melt his brain. Send flames rushing through his veins. Put absolute steel in his cock. She didn’t need experience.
“I’m not going to measure up. You’ve had a lot of women. I’ve seen all the magazines.” The admission came in a soft whisper. Her eyes avoided his.
Geno couldn’t deny the hundreds of photographs deliberately published on social media. Seeking out the paparazzi was a good part of the cover for the shadow riders. Everywhere they went they were photographed, usually with a famous model, a movie star or a woman from their same social circle, so the speculation whether they were serious and would soon be taken from the market hit every tabloid and was widely circulated. They were adept at creating headlines and staying in the spotlight. That was what gave them airtight alibis when bodies dropped. They were rarely serious suspects, not even in the death on Miranda’s back porch.
He brushed kisses over her eyes and then along her high cheekbones. “The pressure isn’t on you, Amara. It’s all on me. I need to make it good for you. Believe me, baby, it’s going to be good for me. I have to make certain your body is ready for mine—go slow enough to prepare you. The first time isn’t always wonderful for the woman, at least that’s what I’m told. I wouldn’t actually know. I’ve never been with an inexperienced woman. So if things don’t work out perfectly for you, that’s on me, not you.”
Her long lashes lifted, and he found himself falling into those beautiful dark pools. “Geno, you can’t believe that.”
“I know that, but it’s all right. We’re going to have lots of time to get it right. Right now, I think the clothes need to go. Are you comfortable with that?”
He brushed his lips back and forth gently over hers. Coaxing her. Shamelessly tempting her. All the while the pads of his fingers caressed the bare skin of her stomach. Blatantly seducing her. If anything, touching Amaranthe so intimately was only increasing his hunger for her. Her skin was exquisite. He could feel muscles running like steel beneath the satin.
Outside the wind picked up speed pushing the clouds across the sky a little faster, an ominous warning of the predicted storm. Geno liked storms. He especially liked to watch them from the glass wall as they came in over the river. Dark threads formed clouds spinning and rolling, blocking the silvery sliver of a moon. Occasionally, in the distance, he could hear the rumble of thunder. The sound matched the pounding of blood in his ears.