Page 116 of Love Without Demands

“No,” I said, clinging to his arms and resting my nose against his chest. “I like how you smell after work. It’s sexy.”

“Baby, I sweat a lot in the body armor,” he warned, but I shook my head and lowered my hands to the hem of his shirt.

“You smell like a man,” I whispered, earning me a low growl from him as I inhaled the salty scent of him. Raising the shirt, I didn’t miss the wince when he lifted his arms above his head. As I revealed his skin, I saw why. “You’re hurt,” I cried, brushing my fingers oh so gently over the deep purple bruises dotting his torso.

“It’s okay, Tink. It’s from the impact of the…” He hesitated.

“The bullets?” I asked, horrified by what I was seeing. “You got shot because of me, and now look at you. You’re… oh my god!” I was nearing hysteria levels, and Cruz took my shoulders and squeezed, urging me to look up at him.

“Lehra, listen. It’s fine. The vest protected me. I don’t have a single gunshot wound, only a few bruises. It happens.”

“It happens? You look like you’ve been beaten with a baseball bat. You could have broken ribs or something.”

He sighed. “The paramedics think a couple are cracked. It’s definitely not the worst that could have happened.” The implication of that settled deep into my gut, and everything inside me twisted.

I leaned down and kissed each circular bruise. Slowly. Softly. “We don’t have to do anything tonight,” I whispered against his warm skin.

Cruz gently cupped my chin and lifted my face. “If you think for one minute that I’m not going to make love to you tonight, Lehra, you don’t know me very well.”

I was officially a puddle.

“If it hurts, promise me you’ll stop.”

His thumb dusted along my bottom lip before he kissed me firmly. “God you’re so fucking sweet.”

“Promise me,” I repeated, and he smiled.

“I promise, but if I’m inside you, the last thing I’ll be thinking about is a few little bruises.”

I didn’t argue thelittle bruisespart, though some of them were the size of my fist. I simply crawled onto the bed and beneath the crisp white sheets before he could try to lift me. Again.

Cruz shucked the rest of his clothes, and I gawked at him without an ounce of shame. Despite his injuries, he was still the most beautiful man in existence, all tanned skin, hard angles, and lean muscles. His cock was already fully erect, the tip glistening with his desire.

Slipping beneath the covers with me, he pulled me into his arms and lowered his mouth to mine. The kiss was laden with promises of forever, and I wound my arms around his neck, pressing my body to his.

The skin-to-skin contact was precisely what I needed, and I relaxed into his caresses as we made out until our lips were sore.

“Do you want me to be on top?” I asked, still concerned about his ribs.

“No,” he assured me, his voice gritty with need when he pushed me to my back and covered my body with his. “I need it like this tonight, mi amor.”

His erection was hot and hard, and he slid the length of himself between the lips of my sex. Back and forth, back and forth, until I was dripping with need for him.

“Please, Cruz,” I whimpered, desperate for him to be inside me.

The head of his dick found my entrance, and he paused there, looking down into my eyes. Time seemed to stand still around us like we were in our own little bubble.

“I love you,” I told him, holding his perfect face and rubbing my thumbs against the slight stubble on his jaw. “I’ve never loved anyone like this.”

Cruz’s eyes swam with emotion when he pushed in the first inch. “I love you too, Lehra. You’re my forever.” He slipped his arms beneath me, binding our bodies together as he entered me fully with aching slowness.

We moved together, our hips rocking in a sublime rhythm that had the bedsprings creaking like a love song beneath us. He covered my mouth with his own, and our tongues joined the band, circling and tasting as he moved between my thighs.

His large body pressed me into the mattress, and I rested my ankles against the backs of his thighs, urging him deeper.

“I can’t get enough of you,” I panted when he kissed across my cheek and to my ear.

“Mi alma ha estado buscando la tuya desde siempre,” he whispered against my damp flesh before translating. “My soul has been searching for yours forever.”

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