Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 39068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
My stomach insists I obey him, despite my emotional upheaval. I pick up my fork and dip it into a fluffy pile of mashed potatoes drizzled in a Cabernet reduction sauce. Antonio cuts into his steak and pops a piece into his mouth.
We eat silently for a few moments, and I don't think he's ever going to elaborate, but after he takes his next bite, he says, “My mother always wished for me to have a legitimate life.” He takes a sip of champagne.
I pick up mine and drink down half of it.
“I was born into the Beretta family. My father died for la Famiglia when I was four years old. My mother wanted something different for me.
“She fought the family to keep me away from it all. That's why I was working for a catering company the night of your coming-of-age party. I could have been making bank on the wrong side of the law with my cousins, but I refused it all. I chose a legitimate path. And then I kissed the wrong girl.”
My chest tightens. “I'm sorry.”
“You were too big a temptation for me, I guess.”
I’m annoyed by my reaction to his words–the flush of pleasure that spreads from my chest down to the junction between my two legs.
His gaze takes on a smolder. “And now you are mine. Was I the first to slip you the tongue, Dahlia?”
Now the heat spreads across my chest and up my neck. Damn this man for having such an effect on me!
“Hmm? Was I?”
“No. But–” I break off before I reveal too much. But it was the first time I liked it. It was the first time I wanted more.
“But what?”
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
He arches a brow and waits, but there’s no way I’m going to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much his kiss changed my life.
The confident way he took my jaw in one hand and plunged his tongue in my mouth. His other hand, squeezing and kneading my ass. My body pulled up tight against his muscled frame. If we hadn’t been caught, I just might have given him everything that night, if he’d asked for it.
I’d considered myself a smart girl, but Antonio had turned my brain to mush with just one kiss.
“Will I be the first to put my tongue between your legs, Dahlia?”
Chapter Four
Antonio
Dahlia slaps her legs together, her pupils flaring. “Don’t be crass.” She applies her focused intention to her steak, forcefully cutting it and stabbing it with her fork.
I can tell by her blush that I will claim that first from her as well.
Good. Despite four years at college–a women’s college, thank fuck–she is still the sweet virgin her family purported her to be.
I sit back, enjoying her reaction to my words.
Her nipples have beaded up, and there are two spots of high color on her cheeks. She wants my head between those creamy white thighs of hers.
And now that I’ve mentioned it, she probably won’t stop thinking about it.
“I’m not being crass, darling. I’m telling you how I will express my love in our marital bed.” I take a leisurely sip of my champagne.
Dahlia downs the rest of her glass and reaches for the bottle, which is standing in the ice bucket. She pours herself another generous glass and drinks down another four gulps.
“I can make you tremble and beg for it.”
She lets out a little puh of air.
“I can. All I have to do is push those knees wide and part your lips with my thumbs to expose that pretty pink center for my tongue.”
She blushes a deeper shade of pink, and her gaze flicks from her plate to mine three times.
“I'll swirl my tongue around your inner lips. Stroke your pleasure center. Maybe use my fingers a little. Massage your asshole as I do it.”
“Stop!” Her fingers shake as she puts the next bite in her mouth. I suspect no one has spoken to Dahlia of pleasure before. Maybe she thought sex was something to be taken by a man. Something she must give up, but not enjoy. Maybe she has no idea how wonderful I can–and will–make her feel.
“Now you’re just trying to get a rise out of me.”
“Not trying.” I smirk. “Succeeding. But it’s all true, amore. I know how to please a woman. How to use my tongue in ways that will make you scream for more.”
Her nostrils flare. “I don’t want to hear about your exploits with other women.”
There’s a note of jealousy to her tone that I find deeply satisfying.
I’m certainly a jealous man. Dahlia may not have given me her heart or her body yet, but she definitely belongs to me. The sense of possessiveness I feel goes to my very core.
“No? I thought perhaps you were encouraging me to seek my pleasure outside of the marital bed. Or will you receive the pleasure I can give you?”