Page 77 of The Cursed and the Broken
If we survived what was to come, could we be more than lovers? Would we grow together, embrace a future not just as man and wife, but partners in every endeavour? Perhaps I was a fool for denying it, but a part of me felt we were walking towards that destination already.
And for the first time, I wasn’t afraid. The thought of opening myself to him, to bearing every part of my soul wasn’t frightening anymore. Dante made me feel alive. Strong, powerful, worthy. The last thought nearly broke me. In his eyes, I was worthy. Of not only him, but his people—the world.
“Did you find what you were searching for in the library?” he asked, grazing my cheek with his lips.
My eyes stung, and I sank into his embrace. “Yes,” I breathed, almost choking on the word. “Yes.”
Turning, I reached up on my tiptoes and kissed him gently. Searching. His answering kiss was tender as he opened to me, exploring my mouth with his tongue, pressing his full lips to my own.
I lost myself to that kiss, my hope and joy surging through every twist of our tongues. When at last we pulled away, breathless and hot, he smiled at me. A true smile—one unmasked and innocent in its entirety. His eyes were soft, gentle, and my heart might have hitched at the sight of them.
“What was that for?” he asked softly.
Squaring my shoulders, I lifted my chin. “I was so angry when I learned of this marriage. The thought of being worn as an accessory on the arm of a noble’s son, to be trapped in a cage, however gilded that may be. I wanted to run. Far, far away.”
“But you stayed for your family.”
I nodded slowly. “They are everything to me. I would bottle the sun to give them warmth, steal the stars to fulfil their dreams. Knowing they would be cared for and kept safe was the only reason I stayed the course, especially after learning of the cultists. Of Sylvie.”
The light in his eyes banked at my words. Was that disappointment etched into the lines of his face? Taking his chin in my own, I forced him to look at me. “That was before I met you, Dante. You reminded me of my worth, bolstered my strength and gave me armour. I … I want to see what this is between us. I wantyou.”
“I don’t deserve you, Kitarni.” His voice was so quiet I barely heard it over the wind. “I’m not a good person. I’ve made terrible choices, done horrible things.”
The sorrow in his voice quavered, but I refused to let him sink. “You’re an insufferable, stubborn asshat with a penchant for scandals and unruly women. And I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
A ghost of a grin lit his mouth at that. “A devilishly handsome, insufferable, stubborn asshat,” he corrected. Laughing, I rolled my eyes, but my mirth sputtered out as he brushed his knuckles across my cheek, his eyes glinting with something I couldn’t quite place. “You could conquer kings, you know that.”
Splaying my hand across his chest, I pushed him inside the chamber until the backs of his knees met the bedframe. His eyes widened in surprise as he tumbled back on the bed and I unbuckled his pants. “I’ll settle for a lord-in-wait.”
Slowly, I bent down, clasping the folds of my gown and peeling them up over my head. His eyes roamed my bare skin, turning hungry when seeing the chemise underneath. It was a silky black slip of a thing, hugging my curves like a second skin and cutting dangerously low at the front, leaving little to the imagination.
“Oh, I like that one,” he whispered. “I’d like it better if it were on the floor.”
“Patience,” I crooned, toying with the spaghetti straps at my shoulders. “What else would you like?”
A low hum rumbled through him as I lifted the chemise over my head, exposing my breasts. He pounced, dragging me onto his lap and seizing one nipple in his mouth, flicking a tongue over it before moving to the next one.
I curved my back, leaning into his touch. His palms were warm as they slid over my skin, curling around my waist and rubbing over my breasts. “I want to see you touch yourself,” he whispered in between kisses. “Show me what those clever fingers can do.”
Need flared hot and heavy in my core as I shoved him further back, trying not to tremble at the hunger in his eyes. I was already wet for him, the heat surging through my stomach, pulsing in my core. He shuffled back, leaning against the pillows like a king lounging on his throne.
Those brown eyes flashed with gold, following my movements as I faced him, reclining on the edge of the bed. I trailed my fingers down my stomach, down my centre, circling two fingers over the bundle of nerves idly.
His cock bulged against his pants and he edged closer, but I pressed one foot against his chest, shaking my head slowly, a smile carving my lips. “You can watch, but you can’t touch. Not me, not yourself.”
He sucked in a ragged breath as I kept circling, kept teasing, speeding up my momentum until, ever so slowly, I slipped those fingers inside me. I moaned, tilting my head up.
At my pleasure, he shivered, a pained noise escaping his lips, his hand creeping towards his pants. I smiled, rocking my hips seductively. “I’ve thought about what it would feel like to have you inside me,” I whispered. “What we could do together.”
“Tell me,” he said breathlessly. “What did you imagine?”
I pulled my fingers out before sliding them slowly downwards again. “You’d put your fingers inside, taste me, and then you’d take me over and over again. I want to feel you inside me, hard and fast and holding nothing back.”
“Fuck, Kitarni. I will do anything for you.”
I smiled, easing myself fully back onto the bed, opening my legs. “Then do it, Dante. I want it all.”
He drank me in greedily, appreciatively and then his fingers were upon me, splayed in circling, teasing motions. I gasped as he knelt between my legs and tasted me, his tongue flicking until I was writhing, moaning.
