Page 122 of Crown of Blood

"The captains have left?" she asks, moving to stand beside me.

"Hours ago, my love."

Her hand finds mine, small and warm against my skin. "And?"

"They understand the new order. What's expected."

She studies my profile, reading the tension I've tried to mask. With a glance, my girl must feel the conflict raging beneath my controlled exterior.

With gentle pressure, she tugs me away from the window, leading me toward our bed.

"Come, Luca," she says, voice soft and soothing, "Tonight… you need to let go."

I stiffen. "Bianca—"

"Shh." She places a finger against my lips. "How about… Just for tonight… I take control."

Her hands move to my tie, loosening the knot with deliberate slowness. Each button of my shirt surrenders to her fingers, exposing the inked skin beneath.

I watch her eyes darken as she reveals me inch by inch, her breath catching at the sight of my chest, my abdomen, the trail of dark hair disappearing beneath my waistband.

When I stand before her naked, my cock already hard and heavy between us, she drops her robe. The silk pools at her feet, leaving her gloriously bare in the silver moonlight that spills across our bed. She's all soft curves and shadows, nipples pebbled in the cool air, the slight swell of her belly where our child grows barely visible.

"Luca," she whispers, climbing onto the bed with feline grace.

She straddles me, thighs warm against my hips, the heat of her pussy hovering just above where I ache for her. Her hair falls around us like a dark curtain as she leans down to claim my mouth. The kiss is deep, hungry, her tongue seeking mine with an urgency that makes my cock twitch against her thigh.

My hands find her waist, but she captures them, pinning them gently beside my head.

"I told you, it's my turn tonight. You've carried so much," she murmurs against my throat, teeth grazing against my skin. "Let me carry you, just for tonight."

I surrender to the exquisite torture of her exploration. She moves slowly, her tongue tracing the lines of the thorned roses inked on my skin, her teeth nipping at the muscle of my shoulder, her hair trailing across my chest as she moves lower.

Her tongue swirls around the head of my cock, tasting the precum that beads at the tip before she slides her lips down my length.

"Fuck, Bianca," I growl, fingers tangling in her hair despite my promise to let her lead.

She releases me with a wicked smile, crawling back up my body. Without breaking eye contact, she positions her core above me, one hand reaching between us to guide my cock to her entrance.

"Look," she commands softly, and I obey, watching as she sinks down on my length.

The sight of my thick cock disappearing into her pink, slick cunt is almost too much to bear. Her pussy stretches around me, taking me inch by excruciating inch until she's seated fully, her body trembling with the effort of accommodating all of my size.

"Christ," I breathe, hands gripping her thighs as she begins to move.

She rides me with the grace of a queen, her body undulating above mine like a goddess claiming worship.

Her breasts sway with each roll of her hips, nipples darkened and swollen, begging for my touch. I reach up to cup them, thumbs circling the sensitive peaks, drawing a moan from her parted lips.

She throws her head back, throat exposed, my mark visible above her heart. Fire races through my veins as my cock throbs inside her, every nerve ending alive with the sensation of her tight walls gripping me, the wet heat of her arousal coating my shaft with each rise and fall.

"Look at me," she commands softly, echoing words I've spoken to her countless times before.

I open my eyes to find hers luminous in the darkness, glowing with an emotion too raw to name. Too powerful to deny.

"I love you," I say, the words torn from somewhere deep and unguarded. Somewhere that's never surfaced in the light of day. "Bianca, I love you."

Her eyes grow wide, her movements momentarily stalled.

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