Page 57 of Fierce Vow

His hands tremble as they grip my thighs, but his movements remain unhurried. Licking everywhere except where I need him the most. Doesn’t he know how bad I need to come?

“Leo… my clit,” I gasp, grabbing a handful of his hair. “Suck on my clit.”

He looks up at me, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Oh, is this what you need?” He gives one hard suck of my clit, and then releases it from his mouth. “That’s all you get for now.”

“What! Why!?” I nearly spring up, but his hands keep me firmly rooted on the bed.

Why is he teasing me like this? Is this punishment for considering moving to Paris? I mean, punishment in the best possible way, but it definitely seems like something else is fueling his actions.

He begins flicking his stiffened tongue into my hole, drilling it inside of me as if it’s his cock. “Oh my god!” It feels amazing, even if I’m desperate for him to help me come.

“Look how needy you are.” He chuckles. “Should I let you come? Give you the relief you’re so desperate for?”

“Yes!” I raise my upper body so I can watch him. His fingers bite into my thighs, dragging my body even closer to his mouth, like he can’t get enough of me. Like he needs to drink me in, lick up every last drop.

With a throaty groan, he finally sucks my bundle of nerves into his mouth. Ecstasy courses through my body as a scream rips from my throat. My back bows upward, thighs clamping down around his ears as he licks me like a madman. I twist beneath his mouth as I fall over the edge, but he doesn’t let up until I’m a boneless, incoherent mess.

“Holy shit, you destroyed me.” I lie panting in a heap as Leo kisses a trail from my belly, between my breasts, and over my neck and jaw. Finally, he gathers me against him as I come down from the crazy high.

“Hey, what happened tonight at dinner?” I ask softly. “It seemed like something was bothering you.”

He runs his hand through his chin-length hair, like he’s wrestling with his thoughts. “I don’t like this. I don’t like any of it.”

“What?” I ask, more confused than ever. “What is it you don’t like?”

“The fact that we have an expiration date. That you’re going to move on, move far away from here, and my future is all laid out for me. Set in stone,” he says, with a bitter edge. “I don’t even get to question what I want or don’t want.”

I look up at him. “Who says you don’t? Your father?”

He gives a derisive snort. “The entire fucking world. The son of a mob boss doesn’t go straight simply because he decides to. I’m entrenched in this world, it’s all I know. What would I even list on a resume? Good with guns? Twenty kills by the time I was fifteen?”

My stomach twists into an uneasy knot. I never think of Leo like that—a killer, a bad man, a mobster. But there is another side of him I don’t get to see, his shadow side. Like my papa. Even though the man he presented to his family was sweet and gentle, his job required him to be a savage killer. I knew that, even if I never saw that part of him.

Still, people can change.

“Being born into a bratva family is not a life sentence,” I say, running a hand over the wide expanse of his chest. “You have choices, even if your father doesn’t like it. It’s your life, you don’t have to be sworn in at the end of the summer.”

His eyes flicker up to the ceiling and stay there. I don’t mean to be naive, but Leo is the third son. How can the expectation for him be the same as Andrei or Daniil?

“What would I do, anyhow?” he asks, with a deep sigh. “This is all I know.”

“You’ve said it yourself—you’re good at computers and all that techy shit. I’m sure you could do something with that, go to college for computer science or something.”

He chuckles lightly. “Quite the optimist, aren’t you? Little Miss Sunshine, always looking on the bright side of things.”

“Are you making fun of me?” I slap his bicep. “Seriously, at least talk to your father and tell him how you feel. That you’d like to choose another way.” I pause for effect. “I know it’s different because I’m a girl, and I’m not the pakhan’s child, but the bratva is the only life I’ve known, and even still, I’m walking away.”

I interlace our fingers, feeling oddly hopeful. I haven’t allowed myself to think much beyond the next stolen kiss or orgasm, but this makes me think maybe things could be different. Because my feelings for Leo run far deeper than a casual summer hookup. And judging by his frustration about our expiration date, maybe he feels the same way, too.

He takes my chin in his hand and kisses me. Really kisses me. I can still taste myself on his lips, and it’s so damn hot. With a groan, he holds my face and winds his tongue with mine. We get lost in each other, in a perfect kiss, but before long, he pulls away, his forehead touching mine.

“I don’t know what the right thing is anymore. But I know I can’t let you go.” His fingers press into my skin, holding me closer. “One summer, one year, one lifetime won’t be enough, butterfly.” My breath catches. Is he saying what I think he is? His words trigger a wave of emotion. “I’ve wanted you for so long, and now that I have you… shit. I can’t let you go.”

I prop myself up on his chest so I’m staring into his eyes. “I feel the same. You’ve become my everything.” We’re in uncharted territory here, but there is one thing that I need to say. A point I can’t be flexible on.“If you’re willing to walk away from the bratva, I’ll be here. We can do it together. Start fresh together.”

“I know,” he murmurs, his eyes dark and brooding. “I know.” A shadow crosses his features like a storm rolling in. As much as I want a future with Leo, it’s a big decision to turn your back on the family business. He has to make the decision for himself, not because I’m forcing his hand.

“Hey,” I say, angling his face towards mine. “We don’t have to figure it all out right now. You need time to think. I know this is a big choice.”

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