Page 68 of Burning Beauty

"I don't want to live that way!" she fired back. "I don't want to be your tawdry mistress. I don't want to be an ornamental possession. I am a woman, a whole person, and I deserve better than to be your toy."

He gripped her jaw so tightly that she couldn't speak anymore. "You will not speak of yourself this way. You are more than a toy and you know this. Have I not proved my allegiance to you over and over again? What more do you want, Maria?"

She jerked out of his grip on her jaw and looked up at him. Fury clashed with fury. She had finally pricked his Italian temper.

"I don't know what I want, but I know I don't want this!" she yelled at him, struggling in earnest to get out of his hold. "I want better than to be excited to go on a trip with you only to be told I'm being used to bait Franco. I want more from you!"

"I've given you everything!" he snarled.

Before she could respond, he slammed his lips over hers, swallowing her angry retort. She immediately sank her teeth into his bottom lip, uncaring of his temper. Hers was higher, hotter and more destructive. She wanted him to suffer, even as her libido caught fire. He didn't seem to care that she was biting him, he forced his way into her mouth and conquered the territory he had marked as his own. She tasted blood, his blood.

She beat at him, smashing her fists against his shoulders. She couldn't bring herself to hit him in the head though. She loved him too much to do any real damage, but he needed to know she was pissed off. Finally, he released her mouth and stared down at her, passion turning his eyes to sparkling amber.

"Fight me then, bella, if it makes you feel better," he growled, yanking off his tie and reaching for the buttons of his shirt. He pulled it, along with his jacket, over his broad shoulders and tossed them on the floor. He looked wild, brutal, barbaric, straddling her, half naked, his hair a mess. "Show me your anger. I will take it and hold it to my heart."

"You're insane," she whispered.

"Only for you, mi amor."

A tear leaked from her eye and she reached between them for the hem of her shirt, dragging it up her torso and over her head. If he wanted a fight, she'd give him one. She'd fight for the forgetfulness of the mind-blowing orgasm only he could give her.

She reached for him, grabbed fistfuls of his hair and dragged his face down to hers. Together they tore at her clothes until she was naked beneath him. His mouth touched her skin wherever he could reach, and they fought each other to control the embrace. She raked her nails over his skin causing him to arch back with a growl and then take her hands in a tight hold. He brought his face down to hers, looked her in the eyes, then sank his teeth into her lip. Her heart pounded and her pussy flooded as he bit down on her flesh. Not hard enough to draw blood, as she had done to him, but hard enough to send a confused shaft of pleasure and pain sizzling through her body.

While still holding her hands, he reached between them to take his cock from his pants. Leather hissed as he pulled his belt from the loops. He wrapped it around her wrists, tying them tightly together before she could stop him. She snarled and reared up, sinking her teeth into his pectoral muscle. He jerked and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her head down to the bed. She arched and struggled while he thrust his thigh between her legs spreading them wide.

She was turned on, she was pissed off, she was on fire and only he could put it out. She lifted her hips preparing for the invasion. When it came, it was swift and satisfyingly brutal. He slammed into her so hard her body moved up the mattress. He followed her, thrusting into her again and again, barely giving her time to meet his thrusts before the next one was shoving her back into the mattress. He framed her face with his big hands, his ring digging into the bone of her cheek as he fucked her. She screamed up at him and arched her head back. He held onto her, trailing kisses down her neck to her breasts and then biting her nipple hard enough to make it sting. The sudden sharp pain pushed her over the edge and with another full-throated scream she came.

She lay shuddering beneath him as he continued to fuck her, oblivious to the world around them. "Come again," he commanded.

She opened her mouth to tell him to fuck off, but then realized she was being dragged back into the spiralling vortex of another orgasm.

"Now, Maria," he snarled, his teeth lips pulled back in an angry grimace. "Don't you dare defy me."

"Asshole!" she growled at him.

He gripped her by the jaw and slammed his tongue into her mouth at the same time as his cock bottomed out within her. She screamed her orgasm into his mouth, then lay shuddering beneath him as he came inside her, pouring his seed against her cervix.

It took him a long time to roll off her, and she wasn't sure if it was because something inside him was pleased to have her helpless and at his mercy, or if he'd just expended so much energy he didn't have enough left over to heave his huge body to his own side of the bed. Maria was starting to get desperate for air when he finally did move.

They lay side by side, him facing her, watching her. She stared up at the ceiling, her body rapidly cooling from the intensity of their sexual fight. She felt raw, almost wounded, though physically he'd barely hurt her. She'd done more damage to him with her nails. No, it was her mind that was at risk. She felt like a cauldron of confused emotions. Again, she felt homesick, but this time she didn't want Mexico, she wanted their mansion. She needed Cassandra's brand of nuttiness to help set her straight.

Nic propped his head up on his hand and watched her intently. She rolled her head to the side to look back at him. He touched a finger to her cheek and gently moved her hair off her face. "I will spend the rest of my days making you happy."

She wanted that too, but, "I don't know if you can."

"I will," he insisted. "This is my vow. You may not be happy now, but you will be happy one day. And when that day comes, I will make sure to guard your happiness with my life."

Maria started crying and he held her close as she released the emotions that had been building for so long. She knew they hadn't really resolved anything. Nic was still a hardened criminal and she was still looking at a lifetime of house arrest. But if anyone could make sure their love conquered all, it was Nic and Maria.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

As they flew back to Miami, Nic explained to Maria that they would be back in a few weeks. They had received an invitation to the wedding of Tyson King and Claudia Cantore. Though Maria was excited about the prospect of dressing up and accompanying Nic on a real date, she still couldn't help letting a snarky comment slip.

"Oh good, another chance to memorize the inside of a hotel room."

Nic raised a brow. "With that mouth, you won't see more than the inside of our bedroom."

"But seriously, I'll need a dress for the wedding." She cocked her head to the side. "Do you think it'll be a very fancy event or more casual, like a beach wedding?"

---