Page 63 of Cardinal

How could three simple little words make me smile like a fool and cry like a happy idiot? They were just three silly words—words I have heard and seen countless times throughout my short life thus far. I didn't smile or internally coo when Jack dumped his heart out to Rose in 'Titanic,' nor did I feel a single heartstring pluck at Noah and Allie in 'The Notebook.'

Yet, hearing Luciano just now tore my heart open—in a good way!

The storm of emotions that ravaged and consumed me was indescribable. To say I felt pure bliss or mind-maddening euphoria would be so much of an understatement that it felt illegal. No words in this world would ever be enough to describe the way my body wanted to implode from hearing his rich voice say those three words to me with such passion in his eyes.

God, the way his amber pools opened his soul to me with those words. It felt like I could search in the endless desire, adoration, bliss, and lust mixing in his eyes until I became drunk on his emotions alone.

Then, the way his eyes opened to me, I could probably reach out and touch his soul with my bare hands because he exposed himself to me like this.

Although, through all the good, I could see a tinge of fear strip at his wonder as the two of us looked at each other longingly in silence. A silence that had been warm and comforting until now.

I hadn't realized how dry my mouth and lips had become until I tried to reciprocate his raw emotions with my own. Even after wetting my lips and salivating like a fool, my mouth felt like a damn sandbox.

So, to cover up my embarrassment, I grabbed his face with both my hands and smushed our lips together in a sloppy but hot kiss. Yeah, apparently, I couldn't even fucking kiss him right because of my nerves. To be fair, he always made me nervous, and every ounce of control and feeling in my body, along with any thoughts in my mind, disappeared at the slightest touch of his lips on my body.

Whenever I was with Luciano, I felt wild deep down. Anything and everything I did in return was based on pure instinct and need for him.

Which was why he terrified me.

To feel like I was losing control to my own desires felt so wrong, yet so right when it came to Luciano. I shouldn't be feeling so eager to spread my legs for him, to want him to claim me after everything. But the fact he made me feel so safe that I would blindly trust him with all of me scared me the most. I wasn't even going to think about the other need I wanted from him.

"Make love to me."

Okay, those were not the words I wanted to say in return to him after breaking our heavy kissing, but it was what I wanted badly.

Pulling back, Luciano shook his head at me as his eyes softened with control. "Juliet, don't let my confession pressure—"

Frustrated, I let out a low groan and pulled him into another kiss to shut him up. "I want you, Luciano. I need you. I have for so long." I spoke between my soft pants against his lips. "I want you to make love to me, please."

Giving us some breathing space, I held his face tenderly in my hands and let my sincere eyes lock with his. "I love you, Luciano, and I trust you. I really am ready to take it all the way with you." My cheeks ached from my delirious smile, but I didn't care—also because I couldn't fucking control it.

As I traced his lips with my thumb, I could feel my eyes grow heavy with desire. "I love you, and I need to feel you." Burning lust dripped like venom out of my mouth with my last words as I threw a leg around his waist to thrust my hips at his covered member, giggling softly when I felt his hardness rub against my covered sex. "And I think you need me just as badly," I whispered hotly against his lips before sealing our lips in a consuming kiss.

"Juliet…" He hesitated against my lips, a hand already resting on my hip to push me away.

Dropping a hand from his face, I slapped it over his to keep him from shoving me away. "If it gets too much at any point, I will stop you, promise. Just… please, let me have my man in me." I assured him with a sweet smile, slowly grinding myself against him to try and convince him some.

Gritting out a groan of defeat, he relented, "Safe-word and action?" He was close with how his eyes darkened with lust—lust for me.

A big grin of victory stretched at my lips as I kissed him and swept my tongue along his lips playfully when I pulled away. "Tap out, and tap you repeatedly," I replied to him with a grinning giggle.

Rolling over top of me completely, he admired me for a long moment before biting my bottom lip and engaging me in a bruising kiss. Not waiting for permission for entrance into my mouth, he forces his tongue through until I feel him fill and claim every inch of my mouth as our tongues tangle with each other.

Keeping our lips sealed, his hands gripped the top of my strapless dress and ripped it apart from the seams in one rough, smooth motion, making me gasp at the sudden chilly air hitting my bare body. "You're so lucky that wasn't a favorite dress of mine." I joked with a muffled chuckle; my words barely came out clearly because my lips remained pressed against his.

"I'd buy you a hundred new favorites so that I can keep tearing it away from your body." He growled softly against my lips before forcing his tongue into my mouth again, distracting me just enough to rip my lacy panties away the same manner he did my dress.

Playfully offended, I broke the kiss and turned my head to prevent him from stealing my breath away again. "Okay, those were my favorite, you jerk. And they were limited edition." But by God, was it fucking hot how he took it away from my body like a needy beast in heat.

"As if you don't have a dresser full of expensive underwear from your little shopping spree." He muttered with a roll of his eyes, making me snicker a little at the memory of my online shopping spree in retaliation.

A smartass quip hung in the air after I opened my mouth. His hand ending up around my throat and choking me softly made it hard to formulate my train of thought correctly.

Leaning close, his hot breath bathed my cheek as he licked a trail to my ear. "But not like you'll need any of those after tonight." A sharp zip of painful pleasure tightened my aroused body from him biting my ear. "Think I am going to make a new rule that you can't wear panties from here on out, just so I can have easy access to you whenever the fuck I want. Bend you over the counter, lift your dress up, and just slide right into you, and I will go right in because you're going to be constantly wet in anticipation of when I am going to fuck and fill your needy cunt up next."

I shuddered at the dirty scenes racing through my mind like a speeding train. "Holy fuck." Why did I want that so badly? Even if it was a little humiliating to be used as a fuck doll for his whims. Seriously, why did the thought of it push me closer to the edge of an orgasm?! He hasn't even touched me yet I was so depraved to the point where I might come from a mere thought of being used by him.

"Like that, amorina? Do you want to be used by me like that? To be my good girl and give me access whenever I damn well please?" He whispered hotly with a soul-shaking chuckle.

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