throat. I crane my neck and lick it from bottom to top.
I feel him swallow.
And, damn. It almost sets me off.
The chaos he’s created in the pit of my tummy fuses together and I lift my hips, ignoring the burn of my muscles in my legs. Our noses graze. Our breaths crash together.
“Marry me today,” he groans, flicking his tongue out to lick my bottom lip. “Right now. Marry me now.”
“No one is here to verify it,” I point out, sliding my hands up his chest and over his shoulders. Even I know a marriage must be approved by the head of a family. “It won’t count.”
“Fuck it.” He pulls the soft fabric of his shirt over the curve of my ass, bunching it at my hips. “Say I do and John can verify it later. Be my wife.” He kisses me deeply, taking me by surprise. “Do you want to?”
I stop moving and look at him. Really look at him. His eyes are wide and sincere and he purses his lips in uneasy anticipation. There’s an impatient kink in his eyebrow, but he allows me a few seconds to gather my thoughts. This is something he really wants. Do I want to be his wife? To be linked to him for the rest of my life? Is that even a question? He’s the only one who has been there for me. The only who defended me when no one else would. Of course I want to be his wife. Who knows how long we have left. I don’t want to waste a second. “I do.”
His lips part as a sigh of relief rushes out. It blows along my skin, inciting goosebumps across the surface.
“I want to be yours. Not your wife, obviously.” He chuckles. “But your husband. I want to be your husband.”
I crush my mouth against his, threading my fingers through his hair. I never want this to end. I want to stay here in my room with him and never leave. Out there, reality is cold and unforgiving, but in here we can be whoever we want to be without judgement.
Lovers.
Soul mates.
Husband and wife.
I move my hips against him, drawing him deeper into my body. The tempo of our session has changed yet again to something more. He wraps an arm around my waist and around the back of my neck, pushing his fingers into my hair. I want this to last forever. I want us to remain infused like this because there’s no telling what’s going to happen to either of us when we’re apart.
It doesn’t take long for Kaden to melt and break apart underneath me and I absorb every groan, every shudder, committing it to memory. I kiss him softly and appreciate each supple lip.
“I love you,” he says, his lips moving against mine.
Our gazes lock. There’s no doubt about us now. We’re a force to be reckoned with.
A true team.
“I love you too.”
Chapter Sixteen
Nine
When I wake up, Kaden is gone. It’s dark out and the absence of delicious smells tells me it’s way past dinner. He must’ve left to run that errand he was talking about.
I squint across the room in an attempt to ease the ache creeping over the back of my head. No such luck. I suspect it’s a remnant of that nasty alcohol I was drinking hours ago. Ugh. I’m not even sure drinking alcohol is worth feeling like this afterwards.
I smooth my hand over my stomach, quelling the grumble of hunger that vibrates through it. Guess I can add hunger to my growing list of problems. I wonder if I go to the kitchen will there be anything left to eat?
BANG!
I jump and squeak, clasping my hand over my mouth as an aggressive fist slams into my door.
BANG! BANG!
I rush for the blankets that slid off the edge of the bed while I slept. In a frantic scramble, I just manage to pull them up to my chin as the door swings open and John Milano storms in, slamming the door behind him. His dark eyes glue to me, his bushy eyebrows pulling in to assist the rest of his face with its terrifying glare. John clenches his fists at his sides and leans forward on the slightest, most intimidating angle.
“How could you let this happen?” he demands in a harsh whisper, clenching his teeth.
He’s furious. What happened? What did I do?
“I…I…” I stammer as he snaps and paces my room, raking his fingers through his fine hair. “I