Page 80 of Savage Proposal

A visible shiver ran through him, and I watched, amazed, as Amalia led him away with a sway in her hips and a pretty smile curving her mouth. “I’ve watched that man eviscerate someone before.” I turned and saw Damian and Lorenzo coming through the kitchen door.

“But she makes him look like a puppy,” I said, and Damian nodded. “Are you okay?”

Damian did a turn, giving me a three-sixty view. “I’m going to ice my shoulder and head to bed,” he said. “I’ll call the PT in the morning for any soreness.”

I gave him a tight smile. “Thank you.” Then, the only thing I could do was look at Lorenzo. “Are you hurt?”

He shook his head. “I’m fine. Elio got the worst of it because he got over excited.”

Fine didn’t mean not injured at all. “Upstairs,” I said, repeating Amalia’s words. “Now.”

Lorenzo raised his eyebrow, a question and a challenge all at once. “You think you can order me around like Amalia does Elio,dolcezza? I’m not so easy to?—”

I stood and held out my hand. “Come with me,” I pleaded. “I just want to make sure that you’re okay.”

“I told you?—”

I cut him off. “Let me see for myself.” He followed me upstairs to his bedroom. Once the door shut behind us, I grabbed for the edge of his shirt and drew it up.

“Isabella, really, you don’t need to.”

I glared at him and continued to tug up his shirt until I pulled it over his head. There was a deep contusion that wrapped around his side that looked like he’d been hit with something blunt. I could feel my mouth twisting into a frown as I reached out to touch it.

Lorenzo caught my fingers, drawing my eyes to his. “I’m. Fine.”

“You could have broken ribs.”

“I don’t,” he said. “I know what broken ribs feel like; they’re bruised, at best.”

“Why did anyone get that close to you?” Lorenzo had taken guns with him. Why on earth would he ever let someone that close?

“I was tryingnotto kill him,” he said. “I needed someone to run a message for me.” It wasn’t a satisfying answer, and I huffed, annoyed more than I really should be for the situation. I wanted him to come home, and now that he was here, I was irritated looking at him. “Isabella?” His hands touched my face. “You’re trembling.”

I hadn’t realized that I was, but once he said something, I became aware that I was shaking. My breath came out in pants; I was on the verge of panicking, and I couldn’t exactly explain why, even to myself.

“Get on the bed,” I told him. “On your back.”

Lorenzo blinked, obviously surprised by my demand, but he did as I asked. Once he settled on the mattress, I climbed onto the bed after him. “Dolcezza.”

I slung my leg over his hips and straddled him. Staring down at him, I pulled my sweater off over my head and tossed it behind me. Lorenzo immediately reached out, but I pushed his hands back down onto the bed. “Leave them there,” I said. “You don’t get to touch me until I say so. Yes?”

We both knew that he could flip me over at any time, and I would let him because I loved being spread out on a mattress beneath him, but Lorenzo nodded. “I’m yours,dolcezza.”

Are you?I wanted to ask, but the answer would only ruin this moment. “Keep your eyes on me,” I said instead. I undid the front clasp of my bra and slid it down my arms. Lorenzo’s eyes went dark, and I arched my back, satisfied with the way he looked at me. It was always as if he had never seen me naked before.

I ran my hands up my torso and cupped my own breasts, taking the weight of them into my hands. My breath hitched at the feel of my nipple pebbling beneath my palm. After teasing myself for a moment, I slid a hand down, slipping it beneath the waistband of the yoga pants that I had put on that morning.

“Isabella.” His words were a warning that I was all too happy to ignore.

“You said you wouldn’t touch me,” I reminded him, sighing as I slipped my fingers into my panties. “I didn’t say thatIwouldn’t.” Lorenzo closed his eyes, and I froze. “Look at me, Lorenzo,” I said. “I want you to watch.”

His chest rose and fell as he sucked in a deep breath, and then his eyes opened again. As soon as he did, I grazed my finger over my clit. A shiver ran through me, and I bit down on my lip as I began to circle the sensitive nub. My movements were hampered by my clothes, but that somehow made everything even more exciting. It felt illicit, like I was doing something that I shouldn’t be.

“Let me touch you,” Lorenzo said. “You know I can do it so much better.”

I kept playing with my clit, wriggling against him until he groaned. “I think I’m doing just fine on my own.”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to beg for me, or snap and take me, but the dark, almost feral look on his face was giving me the biggest dopamine high. I needed more of it.This is beyond fucked, I thought, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted him.

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