AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I have to talk to my brother. I’ll tell him I already found my mate, so he has to end his charade with finding a fiancée right after we find Raphael’s sister.
“Will you give me a chance?” I ask after a long pause. “Will you giveusa chance?”
“As if I have a choice." She shrugs, and I laugh.
"What does that even mean?" I ask, still smiling, and she smiles in response.
Finally, she stops being so tense, and her body relaxes again.
"I was asking myself how I could be this lucky," she says. "To meet my mate on the first event I came to; and look at you—so attractive, confident, wealthy—and I feel such a strong connection with you as if we've already met, you know?"
I nod. That's exactly how I feel.
"And, of course, you happen to be a womanizer with lots of drama." She ends her thought.
"I was a womanizer," I justify myself. "I couldn't be faithful to my mate because I didn't know you existed!"
"So you think we're soul mates?" Her eyes express hope mixed with anticipation.
"Of course, I am." I take her by the hand, and she doesn't pull away. "How else to explain all of this? I'm dying to claim you, to tell the whole world that you are mine. My body suffers from physical pain when I'm not touching you, kissing you, claiming you..."
And then she leans into me and places her lips on mine. I wasn't expecting this, but I’m not going to complain.
This kiss is gentle, slow, and seducingThis woman—she's everything I ever needed without even realizing it.
How lucky am I that she's a virgin? She has been waiting for me for centuries! She always believed in soul mates. How glad I am that she never decided to marry for convenience. What would've happened to me if I saw her here and she had been with her husband? I'd die from pain and sorrow.
I still would've fought for her, I tell myself because I know me: I always get what I want. Even if it's hard, even if my brother disapproves, I always take what I want. And right now, with this woman, I want her, and I also need her, more than anything. And I'll do anything to make her mine.
CHAPTER NINE
BEATRICE
Leonardo groans and pulls away, breathing heavily. His dark eyes are peering at me, fighting himself. He wants to continue kissing me, touching me, making love; I know he does. But I also understand that he's trying to do everything 'right.'
"We have to stop touching each other, or I won't be able to restrain myself," he says. His eyes move down to my lips, and I bite them involuntarily.
"I'm not asking you to stay away from me," I remind him. I've wanted to find him for so long that I can't wait any longer; I want him to take me right here, right now.
"We'll ask your parents to come for dinner after this whole circus with bachelorettes ends tomorrow," he says, looking away, leaning on his elbows and putting his head in his hands. He can't even look at me right now. "I'll ask their permission for the marriage."
"Don't you want to ask me first?" I scoff with irritation. He's just like my brother: demanding, adamant, old-fashioned.
"That's not how it works, and you know it." He looks at me sideways.
"It's not the eighteenth century anymore!" I resent it, reminding myself that I said the same thing to Raphael a couple of days ago, trying to convince him to let me come.
"I have to ask them first," he says, his voice even, as if it's non-negotiable. I chuckle, pouting my lips. "And then I'll ask you."
"Well, good luck. They died almost three hundred years ago," I retort and look away.
"I'm sorry," he says after a long pause. "I didn't know."
"Of course, you didn't. You know nothing about me."
"That's not true." He leans closer to me and tucks a curl fallen on my face behind my ear, "I know that you're my soul mate; you're the reason for my pain, and at the same time, you're my sweetest pleasure. And I also know that I want to spend the rest of my immortal life with you."
How can I stay mad at a man who talks like this? And the way he touches me is another level of satisfaction, one I didn't know existed before I met him.
