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Instead, I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his.

He froze for a heartbeat, as if he couldn’t believe I was still here. And kissing him, that too. Then slowly, I felt the tension leave his body all at once, and his lips parted for more. For me.

Chapter 23 - Federico

She kissed me.

She kissed me.

Autumn. The woman I thought I’d lost. The mother of my unborn child.

Her mouth was warm and wild against mine, her body pressed so close I could feel every tremble, every sharp inhale like she was coming apart just from being near me again.

And Christ, I needed to feel her. Just kissing her transported me back in time to a wild, primal truth: that this woman was my boon and bane. For her, I’d fucking destroy and create.

She felt like my everything.

And I needed her to feel what I felt. I kissed harder, fiercer. Slid a hand around the base of her neck, threaded fingers through her hair, and scratched against her scalp.

She moaned and shifted closer, until her breasts were pushed up against my chest, until the air I breathed was what she released. I slid my tongue inside her mouth, warred with hers. Slanted it up, felt the ridges of her palate.

I slid one hand around her waist and drew her closer.

I wasn’t soft. I wasn’t careful.

I was fucking desperate.

Furious for the weeks I lost with her. All because of my foolishness.

God, I needed to taste her. To own her.

“Federico,” she breathed against my mouth.

I growled in response, teeth grazing her bottom lip. “I missed youso fucking much.”

Her hands were on me now, tugging at my shirt, clutching at my collar like she wanted to rip it off. I growled and dragged my hand down her spine, then cupped her ass, yanking her flush against the growing strain in my jeans. She whimpered, and that sound made me snap.

I twisted her hair just enough to tilt her head back. Her eyes locked with mine—dark, needy, a bit wild.

Then she was unbuckling my belt with shaking fingers while I pushed her jeans down over her hips, groaning at the sight of the lace beneath. My mouth found hers again, then her jaw, then lower, sucking a line down her throat.

“I missed you,” I muttered against her skin. “Felt like a fucking ghost without you.”

Her hands were working on my trousers now. The button. The zipper. Pants off. Her touch brushed against my hardness, and I hissed through my teeth.

“I need you,” I murmured, pulling back just enough to see her face. “All of you.”

Her eyes were dark with desire, cheeks flushed. She nodded once. She gasped as I bit gently at her shoulder, and in the same breath, I tore open the buttons of her blouse, exposing the swell of her breasts in a lacy bra that had no business staying on.

I got it off within seconds and watched her perfect breasts heaving with each ragged breath. My mouth watered at the sight.

“Beautiful,” I whispered, leaning down to kiss the hollow of her throat. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Autumn, that sometimes I wonder if you’re real.”

I palmed her breasts, thumbing over her nipples until she arched into me, moaning like she was already halfway gone. I pushed her back onto the couch, breathing heavy as I knelt between her legs and dragged her jeans and panties down together.

Her thighs parted for me instinctively—just like they always did.

And there she was.