Page 18 of Cage the Storm
Luna doesn’t want easy. Good. I don’t do easy. Nothing I’ve ever done in my lifetime could be called painless or uncomplicated. She’s about to see the dark and twisted part of me that only a handful of women have seen. And there’s no doubt in my mind that Gio took more than he was capable of giving.
“You deserve more than this,” I say, my voice rough, like the words are being dragged out of me. “More than what I can give you.” But even as I say it, I know it’s a lie, because this isn’t one of her romance novels where we all live happily ever after. It’s the damn underworld where one of us could be dead within the hour.
“I don’t need a happily ever after, Nicolai. I need real. Whatever that looks like.” Because she knows that the world we live in isn’t built on fairy tales. But maybe we can carve out something that’s ours. No matter how twisted or fleeting it might be.
Unbuckling my belt, I yank it free in one fluid motion. My hands unbutton my trousers while she licks her bottom lip. Kicking off my shoes, I rip at the buttons of my shirt, and they scatter across the floor. Her eyes open wide as I toss that aside and then yank off my trousers and underwear in one swift jerk.
To quote her last words, I confess, “This is as real as it gets,moglie. I’m more than ready to fuck you like you asked.”
“Understatement of the year. I’ve been ready to have you inside me since the ceremony.” With that, she begins to slowly and seductively remove her heavy sweater. Inches at a time, and I refuse to wait another second. Knowing what her lithe body looks like since I was very intimate between her thighs not long ago.
“Enough talking.” I yank the sweater off and toss it aside. Her fingers dig into my shoulders as I hook my hands into her waistband and drag the leggings down. Her skin—fuck, her skin is like silk.
When she stands naked before me, I can’t help but trace her body. My hand glides over her hips, up the curve of her waist, and between her breasts. She whimpers softly, and the sound goes straight to my dick.
I wrap my lips around her hardened peak, sucking her nipple into my mouth. Her fingers tangle in my hair as she arches her back, offering herself to me.
I’d be a fool not to take advantage of her desire.
I suck harder, drawing another moan from her lips, while my hand slides lower, finding the slick folds between her thighs.
Inserting one finger inside her wet pussy, while the pressure of my thumb circles her clit, she cries, “Oh, Nico...” and that’s all it takes before I grab her by the waist and have her underneath me.
I hover over her, my cock throbbing against her entrance, her breath hot and ragged against my lips. “You want real?” I grindout, fingers digging into the flesh of her hips. “Then listen close,moglie. Your cunt is mine.”
I don’t ask. I take. My body cages hers against the bed, thighs spreading her wider, my cock dragging through her slick folds before slamming home. She gasps, and her nails carve a path into my shoulders. Good. Let her mark me. Let her bleed me dry if it means she feels every goddamn inch of who I am.
“Look at me,” I growl, thumb digging into her hipbone. Her eyes snap open, pupils blown black, defiance and hunger warring there. I relish both. I own both. “This is me ruining you.”
Her laugh is a breathless challenge. “Prove it.”
I do. My hips piston, deep and brutal, the slap of skin echoing like gunfire. She arches, heels digging into the small of my back, urging me deeper, harder. Her moans are filthy, unholy things, and I swallow everyone with my mouth on hers. She tastes like sin and rebellion, and I’m starving for it.
Control is my religion, but here, with her, I let it fracture. Let the beast beneath my skin roar. Her thighs tremble, her walls clenching around me, and I drag my hand from her hip to her throat. Squeezing, but not choking. A reminder of who dictates how this ends. Her pulse races under my palm, a frantic drumbeat. “Come for me,” I command. “Now.”
She shatters, a sob tearing loose as her body bows off the bed. I don’t relent. Can’t. My thrusts turn feral, chasing my release. When it hits, it’s not pleasure, it’s annihilation. I bury myself to the root, grinding hard, spilling into her with a snarl that’s more animal than man. Her name’s a damn curse on my lips. “Luna.”
Collapsing onto my elbows, I hover over her, our breaths tangled, sweat-slick skin fused. Her fingers trace the scar bisecting my ribs, a relic from a life she’s only begun to fathom. For a heartbeat, I let her see it. What I buried and what still festers.
Then I shut it down.
I drag her up, her back against my chest, my palm splayed over her stomach. Possessive. “Was that real enough for you?”
Her laugh is breathy and triumphant. “Just getting started, don’t you think?”
I bite her shoulder, hard enough to bruise. My control snaps back into place. But she’s turning surrender into seduction, and I’m the one falling.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
LUNA
The warmth of his body,pressed against mine, spreads through my chest. An alliance, forged not with words or promises, but with every unspoken understanding between us. Nico and I have never been the kind of people who trust easily, but somehow, in this moment, there’s a quiet agreement that we can’t deny.
We are two survivors navigating this world, bound not by love but by a shared determination to face whatever comes next. There’s a fragile balance between what we want and are willing to risk. He let me see more of his demons than he ever intended, and I’ve let him in further than I thought I ever could.
He’ll never be perfect, and neither will I. We won’t always agree, and we’ll carry the burden of everything this world demands, whether we want to or not. But now, I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
With him. For better, for worse, for everything in between.
