Page 43 of Desire and Revenge

“I want to show you something,” I finally say, turning toward the row of flowers behind me. It’s a part of the greenhouse that’s mostly left in darkness except at specific times.

“What?” Her heels click as she follows me, stepping closer into the shadowy nook. “Nero?”

I pull the light switch, and the fluorescents overhead flicker to life. Then I drag the tarpaulin off one of the beds.

She gasps. “They’re blue!”

I nod. “Blue roses.”

“Can I touch them?”

That innocent question hits me like a sledgehammer. I swear I feel it all the way down to my balls, and I reply through gritted teeth. “Yes.”

She leans forward to brush her fingers over the petals of the blue rose and then her eyes fly to mine. She’s close enough for her smell to fill my nose, and choke the reality in my head that she’s not mine to a painful death.

“They’re beautiful,” she whispers, her voice a tender caress.

“Yes, they are.” Neither of us have taken our eyes off each other. Then I open my mouth and cast myself to hell. “Has he touched you?”Has his touch replaced mine on your skin?

Her breath shudders out of her. “I told him I wasn’t feeling too well, and he asked me if I was on my period.”

“And are you?”

Silence falls between us, charged and heavy. There’s no spoken dialogue, but an unspoken one between our bodies. We both feel it. The way she’s looking at me now tells me it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable happens. I need to be sure she’s completely on board, so I ask again.

“I asked you a question, Sofia.” My voice is barely a whisper.

Her breath shudders out of her, and she closes her eyes before opening them and giving me the answer that burns down my whole fucking world. “To him, yes. To you, no.”

I lower my head to hers, handing the devil gasoline and a matchbox.

It was only a matter of time anyway.

CHAPTER 14

Nero

Akiss has always felt like a prelude to me. It’s always just been something of an opening act, meant to lead to something bigger, better—the main event. It’s different with Sofia.

Kissing her is an experience unto itself, and I could lose myself in it for hours. The low, desperate sounds she makes inside her throat, the gasp of surprise when our mouths connect, the way she melts into me, fingers clutching at me.

I pull her deeper into the shadowed nook of the greenhouse, one hand gripping her jaw and the other cupping her ass.

The mewl of protest she lets out when I break the kiss goes straight to my balls and a moan leaves my mouth. I swipe my arms over the wooden table, all the flowerpots and seedlings in plastic bags, flying off it and crashing to the floor.

She sucks in a breath when I pick her up and drop her on the table, my mouth crashing down on hers again. She spreads her legs for me instinctively, and I settle in between them, pressed into her, unable to be even an inch away from her.

There’s a fire burning violently inside of me, and it’s demanding that I take her. I want to mark her and make her so fully mine that Sebastian’s name will be erased from her mind. I know my thoughts are pure madness and this might be a big mistake. One of massive proportions, but damn it, I can’t stop.

Even if I tried, I know I wouldn’t be able to. So, to hell with it.

I pride myself on being a disciplined man, a man who doesn’t give in to his basic urges. I’m a man who plays the long game, patience and planning have been my bread and butter for years, and yet, when it comes to this woman, there is no plan, nothing else in my head except the beastly urge to possess her.

My tongue pushes into her mouth, and the hand I have on her jaw tightens. I’m treating her like an animal, but if her muffled moans are any indication, she likes it.

I reach behind her for the zipper of her dress and yank it down hurriedly. Sofia suddenly pulls away from the kiss and in that split second where I think she’s about to change her mind, I realize I’m a bad man because I know I won’t let her walk away.

A gentleman will respect her decision, but I’m no such thing. I’ll kiss her till she’s too blinded with lust to think straight.

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