CHAPTER 17 #2
I click the radio off with a harsh finality.
Renato is right. Every second we stand here, we’re targets.
But I can't let her go. Not like this. Not while she’s looking up at me like I’m the oxygen she needs to survive.
Instead of stepping back to lead her out, I step even deeper into her space, crushing my chest flush against hers.
The adrenaline of the hunt demands a release that tactical strategy can't provide.
I reach up and slowly unfasten the top buckle of my own tactical vest. The heavy plastic snap sounds like a gunshot in the quiet woods.
"They’re close," I tell her, my voice dropping to a gravelly rasp. "But not close enough yet. You’re going to remember this next time you think about running."
I pin her harder against the rough bark.
The heavy friction of our tactical gear scrapes together with a loud, synthetic sound.
I use my height to completely overwhelm her, moving my hands from the tree to her waist, gripping her hips with a bruising, unapologetic intensity.
I nuzzle my face into the crook of her neck, inhaling the deep, intoxicating scent of rain, mud, and her warm skin.
My dark stubble grazes the sensitive flesh beneath her jaw, and she gasps.
"You thought you could leave me in the dark?" I whisper against her pulse point. "There’s nowhere you can go that I won't find you. Give me a reason to be merciful."
I don't wait for her to answer. I grab the thick lapels of her nylon jacket, bunching the fabric tightly in my fists. I lift her straight up against the tree until her boots are barely skimming the wet earth. I force her to look down at me.
"Everything has a price, Fiorella. This is what happens when you try to break a debt. You’re going to feel every bit of this." She tries to grab my wrists, but her strength is absolutely nothing compared to mine. I let out a short, dry laugh, feeling the massive power imbalance.
I crush my hips flush against hers. The heavy Cordura vest and the metal of my holstered sidearm press securely into her stomach, trapping her entirely.
I don't kiss her. I just watch the way her pupils bloom wide in the darkness, the fear turning into this dark, heavy arousal.
I grind my pelvis directly into hers, the sound of our gear rubbing together filling the small space between us.
"You feel that?" I ask, my voice barely a low vibration in my chest. "That’s the only reality you have now. Stop fighting me and listen."
My hands move with frantic, aggressive purpose.
I let go of her lapels and tear at the heavy Velcro straps and zippers of her tactical pants.
I don't care about the cold, the mud I’m smearing onto her skin, or the fact that we’re in an open forest with killers fifty yards away.
I am focused solely on exposing her heat.
I use my teeth to tug at the corner of her jacket collar, pulling it aside to bare her shoulder, tasting the cold rain on her skin.
"Bastardo... stop," she gasps out, her hands gripping my shoulders.
"You don't want me to stop, Fiorella," I tell her, shoving her pants and thermals down past her hips in one rough motion. "Shut up and let me."
The freezing air hits her bared thighs, and the shock of the cold makes her violently shiver.
Her breath hitches in a series of fractured, panicked gasps, and I capture them with my mouth, finally taking her lips in a hard, punishing kiss.
I hook my fingers into the waistband of her underwear and drag it down.
I grip her hips with unyielding force, my fingers sinking deep into the soft flesh of her waist, lifting her higher until her heavy boots are scraping uselessly against the gnarled tree roots.
"Look at you. Shivering for me," I growl against her mouth. "You’re going to be warm soon enough. Don't move a muscle. Wrap your legs around me. Hold on tight, Fiorella. You’re not going anywhere."
She hooks her legs tightly around my waist, her thighs locking around my hips. I free myself, shoving my zipper down, and in one sharp, brutal motion, I thrust up into her.
We both stop breathing. Fiorella’s eyes fly wide at the sudden, immense fullness, a strangled cry dying in the back of her throat as I claim her right against the fucking tree.
I hold myself perfectly still for a long, heavy second, letting her body stretch and adjust to the absolute invasion.
I rest my forehead against hers, my jaw clenched so tight my teeth ache.
"Cazzo..." I breathe out, the word tumbling out like a prayer. "Now you know who you belong to. Don't you dare close your eyes."
She gasps again, a loud, high sound, and I instantly clamp my mud-stained glove over her mouth.
I muffle her noise completely, leaning my weight into her to press her deeper into the bark.
My eyes scan the pitch-black canopy behind us out of pure tactical habit, even as my hips begin to snap forward.
I lick the side of her neck, my tongue a hot, wet contrast to the freezing mist swirling around us.