Her body coiled tighter and tighter around his cock, locking down, a tight friction that sent fiery streaks rocketing from his thighs straight to his balls and down his spine to lash at his cock. Molten lava churned, roiled, threatening to erupt.
“Catch up, baby. Fast,” he ordered.
“I can’t. Not again,” she whispered. Staring into his eyes. Loving him. Her breath ragged. Her legs around his waist. Tight. Wrapping him up. Fingers threaded through his.
“You can.”
Her orgasm rushed over her hard, taking her like a wild storm, a crowning fire, sweeping through both of them, robbing them of all air. Her silken sheath clamped down like a vise. A thousand flames surrounded his cock, burning over him, branding him. Milking him. Dragging every drop of his seed from him. Over and over, his cock jerked and pulsed, a mindless pleasure consuming him, sending him orbiting, burning like a fucking phoenix until he lay on her, a dead weight, nothing left but utter peace—the way she always gave it to him.
I’ve been doing quite a bit of research,” Emmanuelle told him, massaging his scalp, her voice a soft murmur, when they could talk again. When he had moved enough to lie on her belly, arms around her hips. “It’s tough going reading the books in the earlier languages. There isn’t much information to find on the Saldi creepy shadow creature, Val.”
He caught the little hint of worry in her voice. “I get the feeling as long as both parties cooperate, everyone is safe. It’s only when one decides to try to divorce or cheat that the vengeful shadow creature comes into play and straightens them out.”
“That’s a pretty big motivator to keep your marriage together,” he murmured.
“I have to meet with the members of the International Council of Shadow Riders tomorrow morning, Valentino. They’re trying to make it as informal as possible, but I know it isn’t. They’ll be at the hotel, and I have to explain to them how our union came about and what the Saldi shadow legend means to the Ferraros. I’ve really studied it and tried to make sense of it, but in such a short time, with most of it lost, I don’t feel prepared.”
“I’ll be with you.” He made it a statement.
She continued to massage his scalp in silence for a few minutes. He knew she was uncomfortable with him going. “Stefano will be there. You’re not a rider, and some of them may be resentful. I don’t want them to treat you with less than respect. I’m not saying that they would, but if they did, I’d be upset, and so would Stefano.”
“You’re not going to face them without me. We’re in this together. If they have questions, I may be able to answer them better than you. In any case, I think they’d have less respect for me if I left you to face them alone. We don’t have all the answers they want. I wish we did, but we don’t. They’ll just have to accept that. They aren’t going to tell us we can’t have children. They can’t dictate anything to us.”
“They can tell me I can’t be a shadow rider.”
He rubbed her bare thigh soothingly. “For your family, no, if they’re that vindictive. I don’t know how that would serve them, but they could do it. They can’t stop you from going into the shadows when you think it best for us or for our children. They no longer have any say over you unless you continue to be a rider for them, Emme.”
She sighed. “That’s true. I wish it didn’t matter so much to me. I don’t want to think my self-esteem is tied up in what I do.”
“Babe.” He turned his head, his chin on her belly, eyes on her face. “You trained from the time you were two years old. You were never supposed to be anything else. You are a shadow rider. You’ll always be a rider, whether you work for your family or you choose to work for us—and, baby, it will always be your choice. Always. That fucking creepy shadow can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, because I’ll never ask it of you.”
He watched her eyes. He knew how to read people. He was fucking brilliant at it, but especially at reading his wife. His declaration meant something to her. A whole hell of a lot, especially since she could tell he meant every word.
“I’m your partner, Val. Even when I know I have to pretend to stay a couple of steps behind you and look like the little wife in the background, I’ll be in the shadows listening to every word our potential enemies—or Dario’s—have to say.”
When a smile lit her eyes, he knew it was safe to put his head back on her belly. Naturally, she would include Dario. He was family. She would keep him just as safe as Dario intended to keep her.