Page 16 of Valentine's with the Cartel

With Rafael continuing to plunder my mouth and pump his hips against mine in a deliberate mimicry of sex, I realized with a sudden sense of wonder that maybe, just maybe, this could be real after all. That somehow during all the pain and heartache, I had found someone who wanted me for more than just my body—someone who saw me as an equal and a partner rather than just a plaything to be used.

It was a dizzying thought but one that filled me with a fragile sort of hope even as Rafael's fingers continued to drive me toward the edge of climax.

His hands moving in a blur, he divested us of our remaining clothes. In a matter of seconds, we were both fully naked.

A few seconds later, as Rafael's thick cock slid into me inch by torturous inch, I felt my body stretching around him like a vice, my walls clenching and fluttering as they tried to accommodate such an imposing presence. It really was almost too much.

The burning stretch was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, the fullness of it making my head spin even as my hips bucked up involuntarily to take him deeper.

I couldn't help but moan raggedly with each thrust, my voice raw and needy as it echoed off the bedroom walls. There was a dull ache deep in my abdomen, the painful pleasure of it only amplifying the electric heat that sparked through every nerve ending as Rafael filled me.

"Are you okay?" Rafael paused his movements for a moment, his eyes searching mine with a mixture of concern and barely restrained lust. I could see him trembling with the effort to hold back, to be gentle despite the instinct urging him on.

I managed to nod even as my fingers dug into the flesh of his shoulders, my nails biting into his skin like a brand as I clung to him for dear life. I felt stretched to my limit and then some, every nerve in my body alight with sensation as I struggledto adjust to his girth. But even through the pain, there was a deep welling pleasure, an exquisite fullness that made me feel complete in ways I didn't know were possible.

"I'm... I'm fine," I managed to rasp out, my voice thin and wavering. "Just… Don't stop." I punctuated the plea by rolling my hips against his, the movement sending sparks of pleasure racing up my spine.

Rafael's answering groan was low and guttural, making me shiver with desire even as it resonated deep inside me like a physical caress. He started to move again then, slow and deep thrusts that quickly gained in speed and intensity as he lost himself in the tight clutch of my body.

My world narrowed down to nothing but sensation—each drag of his cock along my inner walls, each slap of flesh on flesh as he drove into me over and over. The headboard slammed against the wall with every snap of Rafael's hips, the bed creaking beneath our combined weight. It might break, but I didn't care. I wasn't the one who bought it, after all.

Rafael's hand found my cock as he pistoned above me, his fingers wrapping around the hot flesh and stroking in time with his thrusts. I arched my back until it almost felt like it might snap, my head thrown back as I chased that elusive peak of ecstasy that hovered just out of reach.

"The moment has come. Cum for me," Rafael growled, his voice strained and rough with impending release. "I want to feel you spasm around my cock as I fill you with my seed." His words pushed me over the precipice and I was lost to the waves of pleasure crashing through me.

My vision whited out at the edges as my orgasm hit with the force of a runaway train, my back bowing off the mattress as I screamed Rafael's name to the heavens. Ribbons of blinding ecstasy pulsed from where we were joined, radiating out to setevery nerve ending ablaze. I felt myself tighten around Rafael's pistoning length like a vise as I convulsed helplessly in his hold.

Rafael continued his ruthless pounding even as my climax crested and ebbed, driving me through it with an intensity that left me gasping and shaking beneath him. With a final, brutal thrust he buried himself to the hilt inside me, his cock pulsing and twitching against my inner walls as his release surged forth in a scalding flood. And of course, there was his knot. I knew it was going to make its presence known.

We collapsed together a few seconds later, our bodies still intimately connected as we gasped for air and shuddered with aftershocks. Rafael's face was buried in the crook of my neck, his lips moving feverishly over the sensitive skin there even as soft grunts of satisfaction rumbled from deep in his chest.

I could feel the weight of him pressing me down into the mattress, his larger frame enveloping mine like a cage even as the softness of the sheets beneath us cushioned the impact of our lovemaking. It was almost overwhelming to be pinned under his solid bulk, but at the same time, there was something incredibly comforting about it—an assurance that I was safe and cherished in his arms no matter what might happen outside them.

"Mine," Rafael murmured against my skin, the word vibrating through me like a mantra as he licked and nuzzled into my sweat-slicked flesh. There was no denying the possessive note that rang out in his tone or the way his body seemed to instinctively tighten around mine at the very thought of anyone daring to try and take me away from him.

And I loved that about him, as much as I thought I would never admit it.

Chapter 10

Rafael

Still tangled together following the events of our sex, my seed still pulsing hotly into his clasping channel even as he slowly softened and slipped free, I gazed down at Anan with a softness I rarely let show on my face.

He was sprawled across my chest, his smaller body molding perfectly to my larger frame in a way that made me feel... content. More than content, really—complete in a way I hadn't even known I'd been missing until I had him lying there in my arms.

I stroked one hand down his spine, marveling at the silky slide of his sweat-slicked skin against my palm. "Tell me more about you," I murmured, surprising myself with how much I truly wanted to know every facet and nuance of this fascinating creature who had captured my heart so completely in such a short time.

It was time to get to know each other a bit better now.

Anan blinked up at me with drowsy eyes, a flush still high on his cheeks from the intensity of our mating. Even like this—limpand sated against me—there was an undercurrent of strength in him that I found incredibly alluring.

"There's not much to tell," he said softly after a moment, his fingers tracing idle patterns over my chest as if he couldn't quite believe I was real, either. "I'm just a boring omega who was sheltered by his aunt for too long. I know I should've done something about that before it was too late, but I couldn't, and I hate myself for that."

I snorted at that, amused by the way he downplayed his own importance and worth. Did he really think I saw him as some dull prize to be collected and set aside? Nothing could be further from the truth. Though, if I remembered correctly, I had kind of said that. Well, never mind. It wasn't important anymore.

"You're not boring," I corrected firmly even as I continued my movements along his back, reveling in the little shivers that followed in the wake of my touch. "And I will never believe that you were only sheltered by your aunt. There is so much more to you than that."

Anan ducked his head, a bashful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he buried his face against my neck. "Well... maybe I am not boring," he conceded reluctantly, nuzzling into the crook of my shoulder like he couldn't quite resist touching me any more than I could resist him. "But what am I supposed to say? That I have big dreams and aspirations that I'm afraid to admit even to myself some days?"

---