Page 142 of The Art of Ruin

I drag my mouth along her jaw roughly enough to pull another shaky breath from her, my hand tightening instinctively at her waist when she arches against me again like she’s still chasing the feeling.

“Adriano,” she whispers, sounding wrecked enough to strip whatever control I had left clean out of me.

I lift my head just enough to look at her properly.

Big mistake.

Her hair is a mess from my hands and her mouth is swollen from kissing, eyes still heavy and dazed as she looks up at me like she hasn’t decided whether she wants to kiss me again or climb inside my skin.

I’m finished.

Completely.

“Upstairs,” I say roughly.

She lets out the faintest breath of a laugh. “That sounded very mob boss of you.”

“I’m trying very hard not to throw you over my shoulder right now.”

“Trying?”

The challenge in her voice seals her fate instantly.

Before she can say another word, I slide one arm beneath her legs and lift her clean off the floor, bridal style.

She gasps softly, hands flying to my shoulders as I start toward the staircase.

“Oh, my God.”

“You should stop sounding surprised,” I mutter against her mouth, kissing her again halfway up the stairs because apparently, I’ve lost all remaining self-control tonight.

Her laugh breaks softly against my lips before turning into another breathless sound entirely when my hand slides higher against her thigh beneath the silk.

Fuck.

I need her in my bed.

Naked.

Now.

I kick my bedroom door open and stride to the bed, dropping her down on the dark blue comforter. She bounces slightly, the laughter leaving her mouth, making me want to own every gorgeous sound out of her mouth from here to eternity. The thought should terrify me, but it doesn’t.

I step between her thighs as my hand closes gently around the front of her throat, and I run my palm down her neck, over her chest and down her belly, my hand resting against the slight curve.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” The thought of causing her pain is abhorrent to me. I need to know that whatever I do tonight won’t hurt her in any way.

Her gaze softens as her hand covers mine. “You won’t.”

Part of me wants to interrogate her to make sure, but I know I have to trust that she knows her body better than I do. She knows her limits.

“If I hurt you, it will kill me.”

Her pupils dilate instantly. “Adriano—”

The way she says my name almost destroys me. “Promise me you’ll tell me if I’m too much,” I say quietly.

I know I can be a lot. I can be dominating, demanding, controlling, but I never want to hurt or frighten her.