Chapter 34 #2
“You haven’t lost me,” I whisper. “I’m still here.”
“I let you down when you needed me.” He breathes. “I pushed you away. I hurt you. I’ve fucked up more times than I can count, but I need you to know, baby—I’m so fucking sorry.”
A fresh wave of tears assaults me, and I nod because I’m too choked up to speak. He gives me a minute to collect myself, then he tips my chin up to meet his gaze.
“I’m a one-mate animal, Gabriela,” he murmurs. “It’s primal for me. I have to have you.”
“Does that mean—”
“I’ve loved you in silence for years.” He teases the words against my lips. “Senza di te, la mia vita non ha senso.”
Without you, my life has no meaning.
I let out a broken sob, and he swallows it as he claims my mouth in a slow, drugging kiss. We linger in the moment, hearts beating in sync as everything else falls away. After a decade of storms, it feels like the sun is finally shining down on us.
That deep, consuming ache inside me comes roaring back, and I’m not the only one who feels it. A low, primal growl rumbles in Romeo’s chest, his hands growing rougher and more fervent. I want him, and I can’t wait any longer.
“Bedroom.” The word escapes me on an exhalation.
Romeo turns off the shower, and we both step out and dry ourselves.
I wrap the towel around me and tuck it in to keep it in place.
Once we’re in his room, I can tell by the look in his eyes he’s about to grab me, toss me on the bed, and fuck me—so I have to act fast.
“We have to change your bandage first.” I grab the gauze and tape and point at the club chair near the window. “How about right there?”
Surprisingly, he doesn’t argue. He strolls over and sits down, completely naked.
I join him and stand beside the chair, slowly peeling the bandage off his arm. As I’m doing that, he slides a warm palm up between my thighs and strokes me, groaning at the wetness there.
“You’re a very distracting patient.” I bite back a moan as he tugs off my towel.
“You’re a very distracting nurse.” He leans in and sucks my breast into his mouth, making my knees nearly buckle.
“You also make it hard to concentrate,” I add, fumbling with the gauze as I apply it.
He smiles against me, continuing his leisurely torture as he licks my nipple and slides two of his fingers inside me.
A shudder of pleasure ripples all the way down to my toes as I haphazardly apply the tape, hoping it will hold until morning.
Once I’m finished, he tugs me closer and holds me there, bringing me to the quickest orgasm of my life. It rolls through me in rhythmic contractions, melting the remaining tension from my body.
When I open my eyes, I’m met with Romeo’s dark, hungry gaze.
“Come here,” he says, his voice a rough caress.
I move to the front of the chair, but instead of climbing onto his lap, I sink to my knees. When he realizes what I’m doing, he draws in a slow, measured breath.
As he watches me, I finally understand the significance of this moment.
He didn’t want me to do this when he was in the mask, because he wanted me to see him when I did.
There’s an intimacy I didn’t expect as I kneel before him with our gazes locked. It’s a vulnerable position, but I’ve never felt safer, because he’s my person. My only person. And I’ve never had such an aching need to do something right.
I want to pleasure him until the end of time.
I reach up, feathering my fingers over the ridged landscape of his abs, watching the way they contract. The ends of my hair brush against his thighs, and an involuntary tremor moves through him.
I continue my exploration, kissing a path along the faint dusting of hair that leads to his cock.
When my fingers wrap around the rigid length of his erection, his eyes flash with heat.
For a moment, all I can do is marvel at the heavy weight of him in my palm. He looks like he should be carved from marble, but all I feel is soft velvet.
I’m convinced no other man on the planet could be this anatomically perfect, and I know now that I was right. Some morally gray god did, in fact, make him in his image. And here I am, bowing in worship.
My tongue darts out, and I lick him all the way from base to tip.
His hand tightens reflexively on the arm of the chair, knuckles whitening.
When I swirl my tongue around the head of his cock to taste the liquid that’s gathered there, he sucks in a sharp breath.
That seems to be an indication that I’m doing something right, so I keep going.
I open my jaw wide to pull him into my mouth, but he’s so big, I can only take a portion of him. He doesn’t seem to care, because his head falls back against the chair as a guttural sound bleeds up his throat.
“Fuck, Gabi.” The words hiss between his teeth.
I hollow out my cheeks, and he watches with heavy-lidded eyes as I find a rhythm, using my hand to stroke his base.
His fingers thread through my hair, massaging my scalp and sending goosebumps skittering over my body.
The throbbing pulse of his cock grows stronger, and his muscles go rigid as I edge him toward release. Before I can send him over completely, he tightens his grip on my hair to stop me.
I meet his gaze, and his cock jerks in my mouth, letting me know how much he likes my eyes on him. I file that information away for later.
He tips my head back, petting my face as he stares at me with open obsession.
“Come up here.”
The gravel-edged command sends a shiver down my spine, and I do as he bids, releasing him to climb onto his lap.
As I straddle him, his palms skate up the back of my thighs, squeezing two handfuls of my ass. He watches with a drunken gaze as I reach between us and guide him inside me, his expression tipping into bliss.
I take him in slowly, filling the ache that’s been neglected without him. His hands roam up my sides, ghosting over my ribcage to palm my breasts. I drag my fingers through his hair, arching into him as he touches me everywhere, mapping the contours of my body.
He kisses his way down my neck, humming with pleasure as I rock against him.
What starts as a slow-burning flame quickly spirals out of control as he grabs me by the hips and takes control.
Our mouths collide, and he picks up the pace, guiding me up and down as the pressure between us builds. It’s a culmination of everything that’s happened over the last two weeks—or maybe even the last nine years. It won’t just be a physical release.
His heart pounds, muscles drawing tight as he pushes me through another orgasm. My body clenches around him, a cascade of spasms shuddering through me as he comes with a groan.
I collapse against his chest, still trembling with aftershocks as he fills me with his warmth.
For a while, I lie there, completely boneless, as I catch my breath. Romeo’s palm sweeps over my back, massaging me until I nearly drift to sleep.
Exhaustion has taken a toll on both of us, and as comfortable as I am, he needs to sleep in an actual bed.
I pull back to look at him, my fingers tracing the line of his jaw. “We should get cleaned up.”
He nods, sliding his palms beneath my thighs, but I slip off him before he can pick me up.
“I’m supposed to be your nurse, remember? No pulling out stitches.”
“Maybe I should get shot more often if you’ll be my nurse.”
I glare at him, and he grabs me around the waist and drags me back for one last kiss.
We get cleaned up together, and by the time we collapse in bed, I can barely keep my eyes open. Romeo tucks me against his side, his hand resting on my hip as I settle my head against his chest.
His heartbeat lulls me to sleep, and before either of us can say anything else, we drift off together.