Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I want to claim her as mine, in every sense of the word.
“Look at me,” I command, my voice hoarse with anticipation.
Raven does as she is told, her eyes meeting mine, the lust in them mirroring my own.
My heart pounds as I push her back onto the floor and thrust inside her.
21
RAVEN
He’s inside me.
I’m so full, so complete.
Still so sensitive from my climax.
“You like that?” he says, his teeth clenched. “You like how I feel inside you, baby?”
“Please,” I whimper. “Don’t stop.”
His response is a guttural growl, his body moving in rhythm with mine. His muscles are taut, powerful, and each movement sends a pulsing wave of pleasure through me. He’s relentless, his desire matching mine. He pushes deeper. I gasp, clutching onto him as I take in the overwhelming sensation.
“Take it, Raven,” he grits out. “Take me. Take all of me.”
I’m only too happy to take all of him.
I wish he’d never stop.
I wish I could capture this moment in time. This moment where there’s only Vinnie.
Only me.
Only us.
“I need you,” I whisper into his ear, my voice shaking.
“And I you,” he growls back.
He quickens his pace and there’s no more room for words, our gasps and moans the only language we share.
Each thrust pushes me closer and closer to the edge, a crescendo of pleasure building up within me. It’s intoxicating, overpowering. It’s almost too much to bear.
Above me, Vinnie is a vision of raw masculinity. His chest rises and falls with each labored breath. His face is a mask of concentration, of pure, unadulterated lust.
“Don’t stop….” I beg again.
Then lightning.
Thunder.
The all-consuming wave hits me out of nowhere and surges through my body like an electric current, stealing my breath away.
Vinnie throws his head back and roars.
I feel every pulse of his release. Every. Single. One.
We lie there, bodies intertwined, our breath mingling in the quiet space between our parted lips. The pulsing rhythm of our hearts begins to slow, returning to a calm beat that echoes through the silence.
“Raven,” he murmurs, his voice husky. “You’re incredible.”
I look into his eyes and see a universe of emotions swirling within them—desire, satisfaction, gratitude.
Love.
And…regret.
“I feel the same about you,” I whisper, snuggling closer to him.
“Fuck.” He pulls out of me and shoves his cock back into his pants. “How the fuck am I supposed to live without you?”
“You chose to leave me,” I say.
He doesn’t respond.
He knows the truth as well as I do.
Finally, “You know I had to do that.”
I sigh. “I know you said you had to do it.”
“Do you think I would have you in danger?” He shakes his head. “You’re in danger right now. More than you know.”
“You and I are the only two people in here.” I raise an eyebrow. “Unless you’re a danger to me?”
“I am.” He pounds a fist against his chest. “Because of the name I carry. The genes I carry. The business I—”
I rub my forehead “For the love of God, Vinnie, shut up. This isn’t anything I haven’t heard a million times before. You can’t be with me. I’m in danger when I’m with you. Let me tell you something. I faced death. I faced my own mortality. And I’ve decided that I would rather live one second of wonderful than a lifetime without the man I love.”
Even in the dim light, I see the hard lines of his face soften.
“Do you find that surprising?” I ask.
“To the contrary,” he says. “I understand more than you know. But let me tell you something, Raven. I don’t want to live in a world without you in it. I would rather you be alive and safe and healthy, even if it means not being with me.”
I scoff. “Well, despite what just happened between us, it appears you got over me pretty quickly.”
He furrows his brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I look down. “You came here tonight with a woman on your arm, Vinnie. A very beautiful woman. A very young woman. Seems I was pretty easily replaced after all.” I sigh. “I used to have hair like that, you know. Hair like my sister. Like my brothers.”
He moves my dress back around my waist and over my legs. Then he reaches out to my hair, touches the short locks that don’t yet cover my ears. “Your hair is beautiful, Raven. Even without hair, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Words he’s said before. Words that made me tremble all over the first time he said them.
But now? Even though they still make me shiver? I hear them for what they truly are.
Simply words.
I cross my arms. “So you’re not going to explain to me why you’re here with that woman?”
“Do you truly want to know, Raven?”
“Yes. I do.”
“Then understand this. What I’m about to tell you is going to sound shocking, but I need you to promise me that you’ll allow me to explain. I have a reason for everything I’ve done.”