Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
He cupped my cheek with his rough palm, then lowered his head slowly. I tilted my head up to make it easier for him. I had yearned for this kiss for so long, but never like this.
His lips were almost shy as they sought mine, tender and probing, bare of the harder emotions his face displayed. I kissed him back with the same softness, hoping it would awaken something in him I feared was dead.
I had planned this wedding in the weeks, months, and years I’d almost despaired because Amelia was gone. The knowledge that I would find her one day had kept me going when revenge alone wasn’t enough to carry me through the darker days. Seeing her walk toward me in the dress I had sewn for her based on the memory of her dream wedding dress, I could barely breathe. She was magnificent, more beautiful than anything I had ever seen. She was worth every ounce of blood I’d shed to find her, and worth every person I’d tortured to get information. I’d kill a thousand for an hour with her, and give my life before I’d allow anyone to take her from me again.
When my ring gleamed on her slender finger, a rawness filled my chest I couldn’t place, a need I wanted to sate, but wasn’t sure could be sated by claiming her. What I wanted from Amelia was more than the mere claiming of her promise, of her firsts. I wanted something I couldn’t rip from her, no matter how powerful I became.
Tonight, I’d have to make do with what I could take. Amelia was mine. Eternally.
In my darkest moments after her escape, fueled by utter rage and a sense of betrayal more potent than after my father’s death, I had imagined how I’d make her pay, maybe even make her beg for mercy. Yet the moment I’d laid eyes on her again, the moment those blue eyes had looked at me, I knew I wanted more than her destruction.
My heartbeat tripled as I kissed her. She was soft, sweet. She filled me with a lightness I could hardly bear and craved nonetheless. Her lips molded to mine, the touch a caress that I could feel down to my toes.
I pulled away and forced my face into a hard mask. Amelia peered up at me with confusion and hope.
I turned toward the guests. “Enjoy the festivities. Food and drinks will be served in the gardens. We accept your congratulations and take our leave now.”
Amelia gave me a stunned look. I had no intention to celebrate with these people, not even with Niccolo. I wanted to be with Amelia. I had longed for this moment for years. False pleasantries with people I didn’t care about wouldn’t keep me from making Amelia mine. “There will be plenty of pit fights for your entertainment tonight.”
Tugging Amelia along, I stepped up toward the cage that held Lamorgese. He was pressed into a corner, staring down at his feet.
“Tonight, I’ll claim a Lamorgese. I’ll lick every crevice of her beautiful body until she worships my tongue like a deity, Achille.” Amelia stiffened by my side, but I kept my attention on her father. Revulsion filled his face, but he didn’t dare meet my gaze. He cowered at my feet like the dirty rat he was.
I turned my back on the cage and peered down at Amelia, who watched me with a horrified expression.
My fingers tightened around her smaller hand and tugged her down the rose pathway, past clapping guests. Amelia followed because I didn’t give her a choice, but I could feel the waves of confusion and trepidation rolling off her. We walked through the hallways of my home in silence. The only sound was the fast pounding of my pulse and the click-clack of Amelia’s heels on the marble flooring.
When we stepped into the bedroom of our primary suite, and I closed the door behind us, I found myself at a moment of uncertainty. Part of me craved to cause Amelia pain for what she’d put me through. The other part wanted to appreciate her in the way I’d envisioned before she’d run.
Amelia turned to me, her eyes full of fear. Fear of what I’d do to her.
It made me feel powerful even though I knew Amelia held far more control over me. I gripped her neck and tilted her head back so her mouth was in the perfect position for me to ravage. When my tongue plunged past her lips, tasting her sweetness, my body sprang to life. Amelia had always made me feel alive, but today, she also made me burn with a passion I had never encountered. I pressed into her as my fingers on her neck kept her in place, then deepened the kiss, wanting to consume her, to show her how much I craved her.