Page 17 of Savage Claim

I pushed at his chest, and Lorenzo backed off immediately. “Dolcezza, is something wrong?”

Instead of answering, I sat up and reached behind me, unzipping the back of my dress enough that I could push it down my arms. It puddled at my waist, leaving my chest bare to his gaze. I looked at him, expectant, but Lorenzo didn’t move to touch me or push me back on the bed. Nothing. It was off-putting. Not because Lorenzo was predictable, by any means, but because I knew that he wanted me.

So, why was he suddenly holding back when he never did before?

“Are you just going to sit there?” I finally asked, wrapping my arms around myself.

For all of his nonchalance, Lorenzo did seem to have a hard time looking away from my breasts, which shouldn’t be flattering, butI found myself arching my back just a little to watch him sweat. “You haven’t told me what you want,” he said.

Asking for things was athingfor Lorenzo, and I knew that, but this seemed different. He wasn’t behaving like he normally would, and it was throwing me off. “Getting half naked wasn’t enough of a hint for you?”

“Tellme what you want, Isabella,” he commanded, and this time, he sounded like himself.

“I want your hands on me.”

Lorenzo slid his hand up my calf, gentle and infuriating. “Like this?”

I was going to hurt him. “You’re the one who brought me in here. It’s not nice to tease,” I said.

But he only smiled. “I’m just trying to get my love to tell meexactlywhat she wants.” His fingers massaged into my calf and slid higher to the back of my knee. It tickled, and I jerked in his grip with a whine. “You don’t want my ring, so you have to tell me what youdowant.”

“Lorenzo.”

“Just say what you want,dolcezza,” he said. His tone was mocking now, and I should be getting angry. Iwasgetting angry, but it was the kind of frustration that made things in my lower belly clench with want. “You know I’ll give it to you.”

My hands bunched in the fabric in my lap. It shouldn’t be hard for me to tell him what I wanted, but somehow, being forced to say it out loud was humiliating…but, admittedly, having Lorenzo sit there and stare down at me was worse.

I shifted so that I could wrap my arms around his neck and pressed my body against him. “Make love to me,” I murmured. “Please.”

“Goddamn it,” he swore, shuddering in my arms. Suddenly, I was on my back again, blinking up at him. Without a word, he pulled my dress the rest of the way off and took my panties with it. His expression was torn between incredibly fond and impossibly pissed off. “Ruining all my plans tonight,dolcezza.”

“Lorenzo?”

He hushed me, and all I could do was watch, frozen in place, as he shucked off his own clothes. When all I could see was miles of bare skin, Lorenzo leaned down and caged me in against the mattress. “I should be punishing you right now,” he muttered. He kissed me, long and deep, and I wrapped my arms and legs around him, needing to holding him close. “I should be furious with you.”

“You can be,” I promised. He could be mad all he liked, so long as he kept touching me. Our hands roamed over each other’s skin as if we had been apart for years.

By the time Lorenzo adjusted himself so that he was pressed against my pussy, I was shaking for him. I barely breathed when he tucked himself inside of me; I panted against his neck and dug my fingers into his broad shoulders.

Lorenzo gave me a moment to feel how he filled me before he began to move. Each thrust sent pleasure skittering through me, and I squeezed him with my legs, unwilling to let him even entertain the idea of slipping away from me.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured against my throat.

Our hands clutched as we moved against each other, chasing pleasure but unwilling to let each other go so that we could quicken our pace. I didn’t need or want for him to be rough tonight. I wanted to stay in his arms for as long as I could. I wanted that assurance that he really wasn’t going to push me away. I knew that it was cruel of me to turn him down and then expect him to stay, but I was coming to accept that loving Lorenzo would mean being confused and conflicted a lot of the time. So maybe it was fair that I caused a little chaos for him as well.

Intense pleasure racked my body, and I clung to him, whimpering into his mouth, as my orgasm enveloped me. Lorenzo’s hips kicked harder into mine, and he groaned as he found his own end. “I love you,” he murmured hoarsely over and over.

I carded my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. “I love you too,” I said.

“Then, marry me,” he said.

I tightened my fingers in his hair, just until he made a sound of protest. “No,” I repeated. “For so many reasons, I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Lorenzo was quiet for a long while. We lay there, holding each other, letting our heartbeats slow again. “I’m not giving up,” he said finally.

“Huh?”

“I’ll keep asking,” he clarified. “Until you’re ready to say yes.”

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