Page 90 of Victorious Vice

Her words are like a punch to the gut. A crushing wave of love and loss and longing hits me all at once.

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes but I blink them back. “You have my word,” I say quietly.

It’s a promise I intend to keep. Even if it shatters my soul into a million shards.

Silence settles in between us once again, one that is comfortable and full of understanding. She sighs softly, wrapping her arms tighter around me.

“I wish we had met under different circumstances,” she whispers after a while, her voice thick with unshed tears.

Her confession unravels something in me. A longing to step back in time and do things differently. To meet her when therewere no complications, no promises made to other people. But that isn’t the life I was born into.

“I wish for the same, Raven.” I kiss the top of her head.

We lie there, tangled up in each other under the covers. The world outside our cocoon doesn’t exist. The only thing that matters is the here and now. The rhythm of her heartbeat against my chest, the warmth coming from her body, the scent of her hair and skin.

“We can’t keep doing this,” I whisper, even though I know we both want nothing else.

“I know,” she says, barely audible. She tightens her hold on me.

“But we have tonight.” I bring my lips to hers.

“And tonight, I’m yours,” she whispers.

The taste of her is enough to drown in. Enough to forget time, place, circumstance. Her breath hitting my face is like a reminder of everything I’ve ever wanted and everything I must let go.

Yet beneath the desire, there is a melancholy shadowing every stolen kiss, every gentle caress. The realization that each interaction might be our last. It’s a sorrow that lingers heavily between us.

I slide my hand between her legs.

“Vinnie,” she gasps, her breath hitching at my touch. She melts against me. The delicate lace of her panties is damp.

She reaches down to grasp me. I groan, shuddering at her touch.

The longing within me peaks, the need to connect with her on a deeper level overwhelms every sense in me.

Gently, I slide her underwear aside and dip my fingers into her. Her breath catches as I brush my thumb over her clit.

Even though we were intimate just hours before, the electrifying charge between us now is overwhelming. As if our bodies are recognizing each other for the first time.

I remove her panties and slide into her.

The room is filled with our heavy breathing and soft sighs as we move in sync with one another. This is slow and gentle, so unlike us, but it’s what feels necessary in this moment.

She grips my shoulders as she arches her back. I feel the heat building within her, the clenching of her inner muscles compelling me to quicken my pace.

“Vinnie…” she sighs.

I bury my face in her neck, nibbling on the sensitive skin there as she trembles beneath me.

“I love you.” I whisper it into her ear as my own climax approaches. The words come out desperate, raw—more of a prayer than a declaration of feelings we both know already exist.

“I love you too,” she echoes.

And I thrust hard into her, releasing.

I grip her tighter, riding out the aftershocks of pleasure that ripple through me and into her.

Her body slackens beneath mine as she continues her own release. The rhythms of our breaths gradually slow to match each other’s until we’re left in silence once again.

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