Page 18 of Claimed By the Don

I'm still shuddering through the aftershocks when he surges back to his feet, dragging me into another ravenous kiss. I can taste myself on his lips, tangy and forbidden. It only makes me hotter, needier.

"I love you," he rasps against my mouth, the words raw and honest. Stripped of all pretense. "Ti amo, Ginetta. So fucking much."

My heart seizes in my chest, tears stinging my eyes. Even after everything, the fights and the separation and the harsh words, hearing him say those three precious syllables still rocks me to my core. Because I know now, with a bone-deep certainty, that he means them. That I'm branded on his heart, his soul, as indelibly as he's stamped on mine.

"I love you, too," I whisper back fiercely, framing his stark features in my palms. Memorizing every line, every plane. "Forever, Dante. You're my forever."

He makes a wounded noise, almost a sob, and then he's kissing me again. Gentler this time, reverently. Like I'm something unspeakably precious. His hands tremble as they skim over my still-quaking body, learning me anew.

When he finally pulls back, his expression is solemn. Intent. "I want to do this right, Ginetta," he says roughly. "No more secrets, no more holding back. You deserve all of me...even the ugly parts."

I nod, my throat too tight for words. Because I know what it costs him to be this vulnerable, this raw. A man like Dante, he's had to be hard to survive. Ruthless. Letting me see behind the mask, trusting me with his true self...it's a gift I won't ever take for granted.

So I show him with my hands, my mouth. My body. I worship every inch of scar-mapped skin and corded muscle as I strip him bare, kissing and licking and stroking until he's shaking with need. By the time I take him into my mouth, the thick heat and weight of him heavy on my tongue, he's panting my name like a benediction. Like a plea.

I work him ruthlessly, hollowing my cheeks and taking him deep. Dante's hand fists in my hair, guiding my movements as he fights for control. But when I cup his heavy sack, rolling his balls in my palm, he snarls and drags me off him.

"Gonna come in your sweet little pussy, not your mouth," he grits out, walking us towards the bed on unsteady legs. "Need to be inside you when I lose it, amore."

The words send a fresh flood of arousal gushing between my thighs. I'm more than ready for him, aching and empty. Craving the delicious stretch and burn of his possession.

He lays me out on the mattress like an offering, crawling over me to settle between my splayed thighs. The broad head of his cock nudges insistently at my entrance, a blunt promise. My sex clenches hungrily, begging for his invasion.

But Dante holds himself in check, his expression almost pained as he drinks me in. His big palms skim up my ribs to cup my breasts, thumbs brushing my nipples in maddening circles. I mewl and arch into the caress, my hands clutching at his firm ass.

"Please," I whimper when the sweet torture becomes too much, my body drawn wire-taut with need. "Please, Dante. I need you inside me. Need to feel you..."

"I've got you, tesoro," he rasps, his voice like gravel over silk. "Gonna take such good care of you, fill this hungry little pussy up so deep..."

And then he's pushing forward, splitting me open on one long, slick glide. I cry out at the sheer blissful relief of it, my sex clutching greedily at his invading length. He's so big, stretching me almost to the point of pain. But it's a sweet ache, a perfect hurt. One I'll never tire of.

Dante groans gutturally as he sheathes himself to the hilt, his head falling forward to rest against mine. For a long moment we just breathe each other in, savoring the incomparable sensation of being joined so completely.

And then he starts to move, slow dragging thrusts that stoke the embers in my core to a roaring blaze. His hands find mine on the pillow, our fingers lacing as he takes me with deep, rolling strokes. Like ocean waves lapping at the shore, inevitable and relentless.

"Never letting you go," he grits out, his cheek pressed to my temple as he drives into me again and again. Hitting that secret spot inside me that rips broken cries from my lips. "This is forever, Ginetta. You and me. Sei la mia anima...my soul."

"Yes," I gasp, hooking my ankles around his pumping hips to take him impossibly deeper. The exquisite friction has me seeing stars, my body bowing taut as a bowstring. "Forever, Dante. I'm yours, only yours..."

His rhythm turns merciless, those powerful hips snapping into me, filling me over and over. I'm lost to it, my world narrowed to the slick slide of his body in mine. The heat and hardness of him, surrounding me, consuming me.

When his fingers find my clit, circling roughly, I shatter. My orgasm detonates through me like a bomb blast, whiting out my vision and stealing my breath. I'm vaguely aware of Dante following me over the edge with a hoarse shout, heat flooding my core as he empties himself inside me. Marking me, deep.

We collapse together in a sweaty tangle of limbs, hearts thundering against each other. I've never felt so utterly wrecked, so completely possessed. Like he's imprinted himself on me.

And I know, with a bone-deep certainty, that this is just the beginning for us. That nothing, not Gallo's schemes or the darkness of Dante's world, can ever tear us apart again. We've been through the fire and come out the other side, stronger. Unbreakable.

As Dante gathers me close, murmuring sweet nothings into my hair, I let the warmth of his presence soothe my aching heart. There's still so much to discuss, so many hurts to forgive. But for now, I'm content just to bask in the glow of our reunion. The sheer miracle of having this extraordinary man in my arms again.

"Sleep, amore," Dante rumbles, his big hand stroking up and down my spine. "I'll keep the demons at bay tonight."

I burrow deeper into his chest, letting his steady heartbeat lull me under. And for the first time in what feels like forever...I'm not afraid of what tomorrow will bring.

Because I know that whatever the future holds, we'll face it side by side. Always.

Chapter EIGHT

Dante

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