Her eyes widened. “Are you saying what I think?”
“Yes. My father will learn to live with my decision. After Luca marries Alex, I’ll be free to do as I wish.”
She lifted a sleeping Achilles from between her legs and set him on the floor beside her so she could scoot closer to me. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because I couldn’t go through with it. My life will never be simple. We will always have a target on our backs. I can offer you protection and love, but I can’t offer you safety. That’s one thing none of us have.”
“I don’t care.” She flung herself into my arms. “I want to be with you, Marcello. It doesn’t matter if we have to spend the rest of our lives on the run as long as we’re together.”
“Are you sure this is what you want? I could give you money, send you halfway around the world where you could live a normal life.”
She shook her head. “Don’t you dare. I’m supposed to be here.” Rhi climbed onto my lap, hooking her arms around my neck as she rocked her hips into my painfully hard cock. Her lips brushed mine. “Love is a powerful magic that ignites the soul. It makes you feel invisible when you’re in the arms of that person. I meant it when I said I love you, Marcello. Fate has brought us together.”
“Then who am I to deny fate,” I joked, right before I kissed her pouty pink lips, slipping my fingers through her long hair.
I moved my hand between us, shoving her shorts and panties to the side. Rhi licked her lips as I plunged two fingers inside her, already wet for me.
“You going to come for me, baby?”
She tilted her head back and moaned in response.
I drew back my hand, torturing her with my fingers, rubbing between her slick folds. Her body convulsed, her brewing orgasm shaking through me. After she came on my fingers, I stripped off her shorts and panties. Desperate to get rid of her clothes, she threw her shirt and bra across the room.
“Make love to me, Marcello.”
We’d never done that before, but I could be gentle with her. She was used to the rough aggressor who withheld her orgasms and made her beg to come.
I quickly undressed and gripped her hips, slowly sliding her onto my cock. Her hands cupped my shoulders, her fingers pressing into my skin. As if under her spell, I took my time, our bodies working in unison. Heat slid down my arms, coursing through my veins as I thrust into her. Soft and slow, I felt like a different man with Rhi. I might have been losing my mind, drunk on love, but I wanted to believe we could make this work.
Rhi moaned in my mouth as our tongues tangled. Instead of the usual rushed, hungry kisses, I made love to her mouth. I made sure every part of her felt loved and cherished. Almost losing her to Sean Donnelly had put things into perspective for me. I hated she had to live in hiding. But it wouldn’t be long before I would talk to my father and move her into my house.
We would have another war on our hands if I moved forward with this plan. Her father and fiancé would want her back. They would start a war with the Knights, but I didn’t care. She was worth the risk.
As our lips parted, she held my gaze, a lusty smile lighting up her beautiful face. I rolled my thumb across her bottom lip, then bent forward to kiss her neck. With each carefully placed kiss I planted on her sensitive skin, she bucked her hips, burying me inside her. I sucked on her neck, biting and nibbling as she dug her long nails into my arms.
Right before she came, she brushed her lips against mine, my name a whisper, as she kissed me again. I reached between us and massaged her clit, moving my thumb in a circular motion as her orgasm spilled out of her. After she came for me, I chased my release. I didn’t even think to wear a condom, a rule I’d only broken with her once.
She was mine.
I was hers.
We no longer had barriers between us.
I rested my sweaty forehead against hers, still trying to catch my breath. She molded her breasts to my chest, her arms around me like a koala. I wished we could stay this way forever. But, unfortunately, we still had a long road ahead of us, one paved with blood and bones.
“How long until I see you again?” Rhi asked.
“I don’t know.”
It was the truth. That was all I could offer her until after Luca’s wedding.
“I’m not on the pill,” she whispered.
“I know.” I pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m done letting my father dictate who I love.”