“Who do you belong to, Rae?” The demand was a clap of thunder.
Throat dry, voice hoarse, the reply still managed to claw its way out of me in a way that should have brought down the ceiling. “Yours, Nico! I’m yours.”
The force of his thrusts made my fingers slip from the shelf. I scrambled to catch myself, but his hard, unforgiving touch steadied me. He wasn’t letting me fall. I squeezed the metal with all my might. Around us, books shook off the shelves, but it didn’t faze the monster. The rhythm of our hips meeting turned frantic.
My legs shook as the violent surge of my release built to an impossible height. His fingers on my clit sent the first sparks of the orgasm racing through me. His cock buried inside stoked the flames.
And then I exploded.
This wasn’t a blissful fall off the edge of pleasure. This was a raging inferno that consumed me, until there was nothing left but the climax. I couldn’t seeanything. My body was fire. So I sang. A loud, fevered song that echoed in screams of delirium.
Through the spiral of pleasure, there was a bellow responding to my cries.
Nico thrust impossibly deep and stilled as his cock twitched inside me, spilling his release and branding me on the inside.
Floating back to reality was almost painful. No…itwaspain. A delicious kind. One I wanted to feel again. My fingers were white and numb. My legs shook and wouldn’t hold me. I would have collapsed into the floor when Nico finally pulled away if he hadn’t caught me.
“That was the most beautiful fucking thing I’ve ever heard, cherry-bomb,” he rasped against my ear before placing a soft kiss on my cheek.
The next few minutes were a haze. Nico dressed me—and himself, but he kept a hold on me as I shivered and shook on the stupid, strappy heels. I hadn’t even remembered that I was wearing them, but when Nico brushed a finger around an ankle, letting out a soft growl of appreciation, I realized that was probably part of the reason I’d felt like falling.
When he rose, he pulled me into his arms in a way that my back leaned against his stomach. My eyes fluttered closed, and I drank in his warmth. His solid presence. The very essence of him.
I’m in love.
It was both a simple and a profound revelation. But the smile fell from my lips as he whispered in my ear.
“Good, because I’m in love with you too, Magnolia Rae.”
My eyes snapped open. Embarrassment burned my cheeks. I’d said that out loud! I wanted to bolt. It was too soon. And people shouldn’t go around saying things like that after having their souls fucked right out of their body.
“I think it’s time I gave you this,” Nico continued to whisper, not letting me squirm my way out of his hold. His arm was a bar around my chest. He pressed his cheek against mine, caging me close. Meanwhile, his other hand slipped into his pocket before grabbing the fingers of my left hand.
Something tight and cool pushed over my knuckle.
I turned into stone. “Nico.”
“I told you I’d leave my mark,” he chuckled darkly.
“Nico, I can’t wear this!”
His thumb stroked the skin right under the gold band. The solitaire twisted back and forth on my finger. “Too late, it’s done.”
A spluttering protest choked me. “You didn’t even ask! And I sure as hell didn’t say yes.”
“I did, and you agreed.” He nipped my earlobe, making me squeak. “I asked who you belong to—and you screamed my name.”
He cut off my stammer with a hard kiss. His tongue slipped in my mouth, thrusting in a way that made my swollen pussy clench in memory of his cock. I was too worked up to kiss him back right away, but when I finally melted, he turned me. I threw my arms around his neck and let him taste my surrender.
The conversation would have picked right back up—with me pointing out that even if I said yes on a technicality, I couldn’t possibly wear his ring—if an outraged shout didn’t break the spell.
“Dominico! Che cazzo fai!”
With a cold splash of fear, I wielded around, still in Nico’s arms, to face the puffing, red-faced mafia don.
Chapter 45 – Nico
“How dare you!” Nonno boomed in Italian.
