Page 35 of Lord of Punishment

“My sweet nectar of the gods,” he mused, laughing darkly as he pushed the tip further inside. “Just breathe for me and I’ll make you feel like you’ve never felt before.”

Another oddity. I knew he wasn’t lying even as the discomfort drifted into a wash of pain. I bit back another cry, doing everything I could to try to relax, shocked that the slight agony quickly faded, leaving an entirely different kind of ache.

Still, I couldn’t stop shaking.

When he was fully seated inside, he wrapped his arms and his entire body around me, pressing the full weight of his chest against my back. It was one of the most comforting feelings I’d had in as long as I could remember. I felt safe and protected, a luxury that hadn’t been in my grasp for so very long.

Neither one of us said anything, but the feel of his throbbing cock created an entirely different wave of dancing vibrations. I never wanted the moment to end, even if a slight moment of rationality had already begun to settle in.

This wasn’t romance nor was it anything normal. And having him here definitely wasn’t something I needed, no matter how amazing he made me feel. I wiggled under him, questioning my sanity all over again. The deep sigh I let out seemed to awaken the sleeping beast. He nipped my earlobe, darting the tip of his tongue into the shell of my ear before pulling almost all the way out, instantly driving his cock inside all over again.

He repeated his brutal actions several times, each hard thrust pushing air from my lungs and a growl from the depths of his being. This had to be what they called primal mating. The thought almost made me smile since I’d recently used the term in one of my books.

But that’s all this was, a beautiful fantasy that would fade away as it should.

He drove into me again, picking up speed until his plunges became relentless, the force almost driving me into the bed. Several moans escaped my lips, the tingling sensations only continuing to build.

And in the next several seconds, he suddenly stiffened, biting down on my shoulder. As he released, I closed my eyes, basking in the warmth and trying to find the courage to shut him down. His entire body spasmed and I licked my lips, fighting a new wave of nerves. He licked where he’d bitten and I was thrown into another feeling of bliss, never wanting the sweet moment to end.

“Perfect,” he whispered.

He held me fast, both of us trying to control our breathing. As he laid me down, wrapping one leg over both of mine, I took comfort in the closeness.

For at least five minutes, neither one of us said anything. The way he was brushing his fingers aimlessly up and down my arm was almost as powerful as an intense round of passion. However, I sensed the man was drifting into something else, every muscle tense and his skin hotter than it had been before.

“Who are you, Sabatino? Who are you really?”

He kissed the top of my head, continuing to caress me. “What if I was a bad man, the kind of monster nightmares are made of?”

I wanted to tell him he couldn’t be any worse than what I’d experienced before, but I could tell the thought bothered him tremendously.

“Are you?” I rolled over onto my stomach, peering into his eyes. “Is that why you’re in Smith Mountain, to do something horrible?”

“I don’t know for certain.”

“But you’re starting to remember who you are.”

“Fleeting images. Faces. Things I’ve done. Or at least I think I’ve done. Even voices but nothing is concrete.” He rolled over on his back, sliding his arms behind his head. “The truth is I’m not certain I want to discover the person hiding behind the faded group of memories.”

“Remembering can be tricky.”

“Said by a woman who’s been hiding for years. Yes?”

“Don’t do that, Sabatino. Don’t ruin this. I’m no fool. This isn’t meant to last, merely a blip in time, a fairytale written in one of my books. That’s all it is.”

“What if it’s the beginning of a nightmare?”

I lifted my head, trying not to become emotional as I peered into his eyes. “It already is.”

CHAPTER 13

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It is the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”—Lois Lowry

Georgia

“There’s a carnival on Saturday at the local fairground. I thought maybe you wanted to go with me and Dillon. It could be fun.”

I had no idea why I’d asked him. Even if we could be seen together in public, which was ridiculous, I doubted a powerful man like Sabatino would dare stand for something so frivolous.

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