Page 42 of Sicilian Savior

“Hot poker.”

I gasped as I shot up to look at him. “Are you serious?”

“Oh yeah. Gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, stab wound,” he said, pointing to each scar as he went along naming their origins. “This is from those fucking electric sponges they nailed me with.”

“Oh my God. Knox,” I breathed, trying to process what this man had been through.

I couldn’t imagine what he’d endured. I’d thought things had been rough for me having to suffer the beatings from Victor, but it seemed small now in comparison to what Knox had lived through.

Most of Victor’s assaults were just a slap to the face or a quick backhand across the cheek, but every now and again, he’d escalate to the point I’d be sobbing on the floor, begging him to stop. After discovering Victor’s black soul and losing the façade of the sweet husband I’d loved, I learned quickly that he didn’t like the word no, so I rarely uttered it to avoid his temper. No matter how much I didn’t want him inside my body, I’d just close my eyes and let him have his way with me, counting the seconds until he finished and remembering it was a lot more pleasant to tolerate his advances than the back of his hand.

Knox didn’t have a way to avoid his pain, though. Unlike me, he couldn’t go days, weeks, or even months without feeling the sting of a well-placed crack. For Knox, his torture had been constant. Day in and day out. Knowing how terrified I’d felt all the times I’d been on the receiving end of Victor’s wrath, I couldn’t imagine how Knox had managed to get out alive.

As I feathered a touch down his scarred torso, I shivered. “How did you survive?”

He shrugged. “Back then, I wasn’t sure, but now I know. It’s because I knew I had to live so I could find my way to you.”

I melted into a puddle of goo. “You shouldn’t have had to endure any of that.”

“I’d do it a thousand times over since it was part of the life that brought me to you. I’d do anything for you, Lucia. Anything.”

“And I’d do anything for you. Even going through what I went through, it all brought me right here. Into your arms.”

He closed his grip around me and kissed the top of my head. His fingers dragged along my side, and when he reached my hip, the heat started between my legs again. I’d never known pleasure like what he gave me was possible, but he’d shown me again and again last night that he could bring it to me with ease.

I shimmied up against him, letting my fingertips drift south toward the part of him I knew I’d never get enough of.

“Again?” he chuckled as I took him in my hand.

“Are you complaining?” I asked while I gripped his hard cock. “Because your dick doesn’t seem to be opposed.”

His eyes widened. “Nope. No complaints from me.”

Knox grabbed me and flipped me over. I squealed as I bounced on the bed. He pressed his huge frame against me, and his cock brushed between my legs. It ignited a wildfire of desire burning through me as I waited to feel him inside me again.

But just like every time we were together last night, he didn’t give me what I wanted right away. Instead, he gave me so much more.

I moaned when he slid his hand between my legs, and he took my nipple in his mouth. Pressing my eyes shut, I drifted away to that place of ecstasy. His touch was so gentle... so tender. Such a contrast to the powerful man hovering above me... the man who had killed countless people. He was dangerous to the rest of the world, but to me, he was my protector.

His kisses traveled south until he found his way between my legs, and I bit my lip when his tongue slid across my wet heat. His beard brushed against the inside of my thigh as he worked lazy circles around my pulsing core, and I dug my fingers into the sheets.

I felt so safe and comfortable with him that I was able to drop my guard again and open myself to the pleasures he brought me. No tension tightened my body, no fear, as he pushed my legs open wider and buried his fingers inside of me. Instead of enduring a man’s touch like I had the last years with Victor, I relished every second of Knox’s fingers moving inside of me while his tongue coaxed out every drop of pleasure from my body.

“Oh, God,” I breathed, rocking my hips while my body vibrated with anticipation. I let myself go again, shaking and shuddering while he took me over the edge. His movements slowed down as he held me in his mouth, waiting for me to finish. When I did, he kissed my inner thighs and moved back up my body.

I opened my eyes to see his gaze burning into mine. I swore his hazel eyes changed colors based on his mood, and right now, the green hue brightened as he stared down at me. He looked savage and primal as he slanted his chin and leaned down to claim me with his kiss.

Goosebumps scattered across my skin from the passion I felt crackling between us. I’d never thought I’d feel joy again before Knox walked into my life, and now I felt so much more. Emotions I still couldn’t comprehend crowded inside my chest, each vying to take the lead. Before Knox, at best, I’d thought that maybe I’d get Luca back, and we would spend a life together on the run, always looking over our shoulders, always terrified. But at least we’d be together, and that would be worth the tradeoff of living my life in fear. But now, I felt safety and security in Knox’s arms as well as hope that not only would I get my son back, but Knox would make sure we never had to worry about Victor again.

He’d make us safe.

But it was more than those feelings that had me sighing in his arms and dissolving into his kiss. What I felt for Knox went deeper than that. He made me laugh. He ignited a fire inside of me that I didn’t even know I had. I knew that I hadn’t known him long, but it was all I could do not to spit out the words burning a hole through my tongue.

I love you, Knox.

His kiss softened, and he took my lip gently between his teeth and nibbled it.

“You satisfied yet, or you want more?” he whispered against my lips.