Page 85 of The Devil Can Be Kind

Sex outside of marriage, especially for women, was frowned upon in our society.

Ruled by the Catholic church, the age-old principles on purity, the body, and marriage were ingrained in the Cosa Nostra’s very core. For a woman to have had sex outside of marriage or without a contract drawn up by her father was not just scandalous—it marred the family name. Not that itdidn’thappen from time to time.

While it was no secret to Marco that I seemed…morepromiscuousthan most in my position. He didn’t know to what extent—if any. Telling him thatextent, however, had the potential to ruin me… which was exactly why he’d asked me that question. He knew that by giving him my answer, I had to trust him implicitly.

“T-t-two.” I stuttered out.

Surprisingly, he didn’t seem bothered by the information.

His lips continuing to press against me languidly, just below my jaw.

“Where are they now?”

“One is…at the bottom of Lake Mead.” I sighed, bringing a hand up to thread into his disheveled hair.

“The other?” His voice was scarcely audible despite the proximity.

“I don’t know.” I answered honestly.

Truth was, I didn’twantto know where he was.

Marco slowly moved back an inch to watch me with lidded eyes. My hand fell to his large chest as a sliver of air now separated us and I missed the hardness of his body instantly. My unease evaporated when his hand moved from my hair to my shoulder, gliding downwards to rest on my waist.

His head tilted to the side in a silent question, his eyes tender.

I didn’t answer but nodded my head, knowing exactly what he was asking.

His hands moved slowly to my chest, and he pulled the material knotted there loose, with a flick of his wrist. The towel fell with a soft thud to the floor, leaving me standing completely bare before him.

I had never been so acutely aware of my nakedness.

My pulsing anticipation only intensified as his face darkened with need, coiling between my legs and sending tingles dancing along my skin. I watched as his impenetrable gaze trailed over my body, eventually coming to rest on my lips.

With snake like speed, he reached out, pulling me flush to his chest. His lips crashed into mine with unwavering ferocity as restraint fractured within him.

I met his kiss feverishly, sucking on his lips and pushing mine wider, inviting him to taste my mouth. Instinctually, my hands wound around his broad shoulders. He groaned the moment his hands skimmed my waist and landed on my naked ass.

I sighed as he sucked and nipped a trail across the plains of my chest and captured a hardened nipple with his tongue. He played with it, biting down on my taught skin with surprising gentleness, licking the sting of pain away before moving to the other nipple. I hissed in ecstasy.

But the moment I felt him drop to his knee in front of me I froze.

Was I ready for this?

I didn’t know whatthiseven meant to Marco, but I had a pretty good idea.

He had told me he wanted me…but sex was sex to men like him. It was a commodity. A transaction. The moment I gave in to the irresistible attraction there was between us, there would be nothing left for me to give him.

Once he hadhadme, everything would change.

How could I possibly live in his home as he brought back countless other women? Watch him as he eventually married and settled down, while my feelings for him remained unchanged?

I didn’t fit into his future.

To me, whateverthiswas, it was more than just sex. It meant something not only because of my past…but because despiteeverything,I had caught feelings for the man now kneeling before me.

If I gave in to him now…I risked feeling the pain of it forever.

“Marco.”

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