Page 36 of His UnBearable Touch

“Our connection would be deeper-”

“I don’t see the problem. Natale and Salvatore-”

“Their bond is different,” he growled at her, “their connection began when they met. I think ours… began before that.”

She opened her mouth to ask another question and felt his lips on hers, drawing her bottom lip between his teeth.

“I came to New York because I felt I had to. I did some checking. The day you moved to New York City was the day I started planning to move.”

She didn’t ask him how he knew. The Orsinos ran a security firm, background research must be child’s play.

“The day you were in the subway, I left my car behind at home and went to take the subway, even though I hate those little tubes. When you were afraid, I felt it. I felt you, Allegra.”

He shifted on the bed, moving so they were nearly nose to nose.

“There’s something connecting us already, I’m afraid what will happen when our connection gets deeper. What that might do to your music, your concentration, if I’m suddenly even more inside of your head. If my emotions affect yours as much as you affect mine.”

“Sure,” she swallowed, but the knot in her throat didn’t go away, “it could make things worse, but it could make things better.”

Her hand moved on his chest, pulling out from under his to travel over the hard wall of muscle and sparse covering of hair that peppered his chest. She traveled over his skin with her curious seeking hand and found the pebbled perfection of his nipple against the side of her fingertip.

“Tonight, when you saved me from the fall, you were unconscious, and I sat there waiting for you to come back to me.”

She felt him pull back, not just physically, but inside of him, and she reached out her hand and grabbed at his bicep to hold him still.

“And when I thought that bear was going to hurt you I nearly lost my mind. I mean, here I was thinking the bear would know who you were, what you were and leave you… us alone. But I guess he saw us for what we were, uninvited… we invaded their space.”

“I heard you.” The admission seems to hurt him physically. She could hear the edge in his tone. “You confronted a bear.” He shook his head slightly. “You were so brave.”

Her laughter felt nearly hysterical. “I was terrified! But I had to try something and went with my gut. The same gut he could have spilt all over the floor.”

“You were magnificent.” She felt his hand on her cheek, and then his fingers as they brushed her hair back from her temple. She was never grateful for unruly waves until that moment. “You claimed me, protected me like I would have done for you as my bear.”

She smiled, overly pleased with herself. “Good.”

“And,” he paused, drawing in a long breath that shifted his skin under her hand, “I felt you, calling to me. I heard your worry… your need.”

Her smile brightened as she grasped onto the lead he’d given her. “And if I had your mark?”

She felt her words hit him like a physical impact, stunning him.

“If I carried your mark. If it had deepened what we have between us,” she knew she was pushing him and didn’t stop, “maybe I could have brought you around sooner. I could have-”

His lips were on hers, his thigh draping over hers as his arms pulled her tight against his chest. She was trapped in his embrace and melted into his kiss.

When she felt his tongue against the seam of her lips she opened her mouth under his heated kiss and her tongue swept against his, drawing him in further.

She felt his hardened length against her thigh and she wiggled in his embrace trying to get in the right position to cradle him against her heat. She couldn’t hope that he’d give in to her. He was nothing if not dedicated to his promises, and still she wanted to feel his heat against hers.

She dragged her fingers down his side, ignoring the slight twinge in her wrist. She didn’t stop until she’d hooked her fingers in the waistband of his soft cotton pants and tugged it down a few inches and stopped when the waistband caught.

A hiss of sound reached her ears, but it wasn’t pain she felt radiating off of him, but hunger.

Hunger for her.

She could smell it on his skin.

She could feel it deep inside of her.

---