Natale had felt his bite before, but not like this. Pain seared through her shoulder and she felt the rush of her blood into his mouth. Instinct should have told her to pull away, to free herself from his demanding need, but she only leaned into it and let the pulse of her own heart tremble through her body.
Salvatore moved ever so slightly and she didn’t tense at the feeling. She knew he wouldn’t drop her, wouldn’t let her loose from his embrace. She heard his voice, heard his growl soft and rumbling in her ear. “Mine.”
“Yes,” she told him, her hand stroking his back in a comforting gesture, “I’m yours.”
He carried her to bed, his body still within hers, still hard and pulsing through both of them. “How long?”
She heard the question and blinked back at him. “How long until-” Her mind caught up with him and she blushed. “I don’t have anywhere to be today,” she laid her forehead against his as he sank onto the bed, draping her over his body, “so I’m yours.”
He smoothed her hair back from her face, looking into her eyes with longing. “When we first met,” he reminded her before he placed a kiss on her nose, “you couldn’t stand me being anywhere around you.”
She trailed her fingertips over his chest, brushing her knuckles over his pec. “Oh, I could stand you around me, I just couldn’t handle the distraction. One look at you,” she replaced her fingers with her lips, her tongue made him groan, “and I wanted you.”
Salvatore leaned closer, laving his tongue over his mark, soothing the healing skin. “One look at you and I had to touch you, Natale. I couldn’t lose you, not when I’d just found you.” He held her face in his hands and pressed a kiss against her lips.
“I didn’t make it easy on you,” she sighed, and kissed him back, “I’m pretty sure you wanted to turn me over your knee.”
He shrugged and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. “I did turn you over my shoulder, but I knew I’d win you over one way or another. I was determined.”
“You were persistent,” she leaned into his touch and felt him harden inside of her body, “in so many ways. And now…”
“Now?”
She stretched and felt him sink deeper. “I can’t imagine what life would be like without you.” Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “So, I’m just going to hold on to you as long as I can. I’ll take the next fifty years or so, because I can’t bear to be without you.”
Salvatore pulled her closer until she could feel the pounding rhythm of his heart through the wall of his chest. “You never have to be.”
The End