Page 26 of His UnBearable Touch

The growl that passed his lips had her sucking in a breath.

“I like bears,” she sighed, “the bigger… the stronger… the better.” Her hands wouldn’t let go, she slid one around the back of his neck, the other through the short-cropped hair behind his ear.

His hands moved over her shoulders, danced over her back, sliding over the full curve of her backside, holding her closer. “Mine.”

She flicked her tongue over her bottom lip and then rubbed it over the back of her teeth, steadying herself. “As long as you’re mine too.” She tugged him closer and he went willingly, pausing when their lips were a hairsbreadth away from each other. “Yours.”

It was a battle of wills that was fought within him. His bear wanted her naked, writhing beneath them, wrapped around them, begging for more. Valerio wanted that too, but not right then.

So much had been forced on Allegra in her life that he wanted to make sure that when he made her their mate, it was because she wanted it. She was already his perfect match, his equal. But when he joined their bodies together for the rest of their lives, she would make the choice with a clear head.

And yet, he wouldn’t give up the opportunity to taste her, just a little.

He parted his lips and brushed a kiss against one corner of her mouth and then the other. He felt her press her lips against his, open and pliant.

The sigh that he swallowed was followed by her tongue. She teased and he chased, sweeping over her teeth to meet the heated stroke of her tongue again.

Allegra’s fingers bit into the back of his neck and he mourned her close-cut nails. He would have loved to feel her score his flesh, bite into his skin and scratch him raw.

Her teeth closed over his lower lip, nipping them together until he hissed out a groan.

She pulled back, a gasp bursting from her lips. “Did I hurt you?”

Valerio couldn’t stop the way his heart thundered in his chest, he couldn’t stop the need that flowed through his veins. Leaning closer, he rubbed his cheek against hers and felt her cling to his shoulders.

His teeth scraped the sensitive lobe of her ear, leaving him to soothe the scratch with his tongue. “Yes, Allegra, you hurt me.”

She tensed in his arms and he felt her shudder against him. “Do not apologize, Allegra. I like your fangs.”

“Do you now?” Allegra flushed and drew her tongue over the plump flesh of her bottom lip.

He tasted her lip, following her tantalizing show with a searching sweep of his own before he leaned back again to draw in a deep breath. Allegra was beautiful on her own, but scenting her arousal, the heat of her skin and deep within her body, he felt his body hovering on the change, his eyes bleeding black with his own barely restrained passion.

“Always, Allegra. If it’s your mouth on me, you can do what you will.”

“Be careful what you say, Valerio.” She trembled in his embrace, but it wasn’t fear he smelled, but anticipation. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

He gave her one last kiss before helping her up from the grassy expanse in the heart of their home. “Anything you want, Stellina, you shall have.”

Chapter Seven

While the ladies were tucked away in Natale’s workshop, the three brothers had a few moments to speak before Valerio took his mate to her dress rehearsal at the Zoo.

Valerio sat at the table, his gaze drifted time and time again toward the closed doorway, turning his coffee cup about when he turned back to the table.

He tried to ignore the looks Uberto was giving him from the kitchen Island.

When he reached the table, sitting down across from him, Valerio met the eyes of his younger brother. “You have something to say? Say it.”

Uberto shrugged and took a quick sip of his coffee. “I always have something to say. I don’t need your permission.”

Salvatore flared at him. “You might need my permission to say it,” his grin bared his teeth. “But this time,” he sat back in his chair and turned slightly to look directly at Valerio, “I agree.”

“No.” Valerio shook his head once. “We are not having this talk again.”

“We will have this talk until you see reason.”

Valerio leaned on the table, bracing his arm on the edge. “You are my brother and the leader of our family, Salvatore. But when it comes to my mate, I will do what’s best for her.”

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