Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty Four
Caterina
His lips are on mine, and my traitorous body responds instantly. The last of my resistance crumbles into dust.
He needs to rest. He is injured. And I am a terrible, selfish person.
But I also know that this connection, this thing that's happening between us, is as vital to my survival as the air I breathe. It's not just about the pleasure. It's about feeling alive. Feeling safe. Feeling... seen.
And I think, maybe, he feels it too.
His kiss is different this time. It's not about control or possession. It's about a shared need, a silent communication of all the things we can't say out loud.
My body melts against his, and I lose myself in the kiss, in the taste of him, in the feel of him.
My hands roam over his chest, my fingers tracing the lines of his muscles, the hard planes of his body.
His hands are on my back, stroking my skin, holding me close.
I can feel him, hard and ready against my thigh.
My own need rises to meet his, a hot, insistent ache between my legs.
I want him.
I want to feel him inside me, filling me, completing me.
I break the kiss, my breathing ragged.
"Adrian," I whisper. "I need you."
His eyes are dark with desire, but there's something else there, too. Something that looks a lot like relief.
"I need you too, Caterina," he says, his voice low and rough. "More than I've ever needed anyone."
He rolls us, careful of his side, until he is hovering over me, his arms braced on either side of my head.
I spread my legs, inviting him in.
He looks down at me, his gaze hot and possessive.
"You are so beautiful," he says, and I believe him.
He lowers himself, not enough to put pressure on his wound, but enough for me to feel the heat of his body, the weight of him on me.
He reaches between us, his fingers finding my clit.
I gasp, my hips lifting off the bed.
"There you are," he murmurs, and I can hear the smile in his voice. He circles my clit with sure strokes, and I'm squirming, my breath hitching. "You feel so fucking good."
His fingers slide lower, dipping into me.
"Adrian," I gasp, my hands fisting in the sheets. "Now."
I spread my legs wider and press my hips up toward him.
"Shhh, not yet," he murmurs, teasing me with light, fleeting touches. "I don't think you're quite ready yet."
He must be fucking crazy. I'm soaked. More ready than I've ever been in my life. If he doesn't get inside me in the next ten seconds, I'm going to lose my mind.
"Don't you dare tease me, Adrian," I warn him, my breathless body trembling.
His lips brush my ear. "Or what, Caterina?" he teases, sliding two fingers deep inside me without warning.
My hips arch off the bed, and my toes curl. I am so close, my body humming with need.
"Or I'll have to take matters into my own hands," I manage, my voice strained.
He pulls back, a slow, wicked grin spreading across his face. "I'd like to see that," he says, and then he's kissing me again, his tongue sweeping into my mouth as his fingers continue to work their magic.
He's not just touching me anymore. He's playing me like an instrument, and he knows exactly how to make me sing.
He also seems to take great pleasure in my impatience.
"Adrian," I whine against his lips.
"Oh, so you can dish it but not take it?" he says with a low chuckle. I feel the vibration all the way down to my toes.
I open my mouth to argue, but he chooses that moment to crook his fingers inside me, and a moan comes out instead. A moan that's too loud in the quiet room.
"Shhh," he says, his thumb finding my clit. "Quiet, Caterina. You have to be quiet."
I bite my lip, but it's no use. The pleasure is too intense.
"Adrian," I gasp, my body arching as he brushes over a spot that makes everything inside me light up. "Oh, God."
"That's it," he murmurs. "Let me feel it. Let go."
His words are my undoing.
My body shatters, a wave of pleasure so intense it's almost painful. I bury my face in the pillow to muffle my cries as my body trembles and shudders around his fingers.
He doesn't stop.
He keeps stroking, keeps thrusting, drawing out my orgasm until I'm a wrung-out, trembling mess.
When I finally float back down, I'm breathless and boneless.
He pulls his fingers out, and I feel a pang of loss.
I watch, dazed, as he brings them to his lips and sucks my arousal from them.
My pussy clenches in response.
He looks down at me, his eyes dark with hunger. "You taste like heaven," he says huskily. "I was planning on fucking you next, but I really think I'm missing out here."
Before I can process that, he's moving down my body, kissing a path down my stomach.
"Adrian," I protest weakly.
"I need a real taste, sweetheart. Can't help it," he says, still moving down my body.
"Your wound," I say, still weak. "You're going to hurt yourself again."
"Worth it," he says.
"Adrian, no," I say, stronger now. "I won't be responsible for that."
I move to sit up before he can get any farther, but he stops me. I'm faster. And I'm not injured. I'm not taking any more risks.
I get out of bed and walk a few steps away. Out of reach. "Lie back," I command.
"Caterina," he warns.
"Adrian," I say, in the same tone. "Lie back. Or I'm getting out of this bed, and I'm putting my clothes on, and you can suffer. Alone."
He glares at me, but I can see he knows I'm not bluffing. He's also in a lot of pain. I can see it in the tension around his eyes.
He lets out a frustrated sigh and carefully shifts back against the pillows. "You are a pain in my ass."
"Right back at you," I say. I make my way back to him—slowly, drawing his eyes to me. His eyes move up and down my body, and his jaw tightens.
"You need to think with your big head, not your little one."
He grunts, which I'm choosing to interpret as agreement.
I kneel on the bed and crawl over to him from the end, my movements slow and sensual, a predator stalking her prey. I crawl over his legs and up to his hips.
His eyes follow my every move, hot and intense.
But I don't stop there. Mindful of his injury, I keep going.
Aware now of what I'm doing, Adrian's hands go to my waist and guide me until I'm right where he wants me.
I swing my leg over and straddle him, but not his cock. I settle my knees on either side of his head, my pussy hovering just above him.
His breathing hitches.
His eyes fix on the very center of me.
I reach down and spread myself open for him, a blatant, shameless offering.
"You wanted a taste." My voice is a soft purr. "Here's your taste, soldier."