Page 26 of Heir of Darkness

Luna lifted her arms, wrapping them around his neck to pull him closer to her. She had no idea what she was doing, but she had read enough books and seen enough movies to attempt it. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then pressed her lips against his.

The minute she did it, she regretted it.

His lips were softer than she’d expected, similar to how they felt in her dream. Only this time, she was tasting him for real, and he was intoxicating. She pulled back, shocked.

She opened her eyes to find Valerio looking back at her with just as much shock and puzzlement. This time he was the one forcing their lips together.

He led the way, allowing her to follow along and lose herself in the process. For just a second, she would indulge only enough to realize it wasn’t good. All she needed was just a second. One uninterrupted second where she shut her mind up and let the moment happen.

So she did.

Valerio’s lips moved with ferocity, all of his frustration towards her slipping into their kiss. Luna accepted it, pulling him impossibly close. She tangled her hands in his hair, tasting the blood that escaped from the cut on his lip. If it hurt him, he didn’t give any indication. Instead, one hand found its way into her hair, pulling her head back so he could get more access to her. She pulled on his hair back, his groan against her lips enticing her even more.

Luna hadn’t even noticed his other hand was sitting on her ass until he squeezed and forced a gasp from her. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue in, allowing her to finally taste him.

She was dizzy and out of breath by the time he finally pulled away. His eyes were wild. He felt it all too, just like she did.

The door to the locker room opened. Luna looked behind Valerio’s shoulder to see who it was, while he refused to acknowledge anything besides her.

“Fight Night’s over,” Allister said, looking at the wall instead of the couple pressed against the lockers in a compromising position.

“I don’t give a shit,” Valerio said.

“Your friends are waiting for you,” he said, this time to Luna.

She pushed Valerio away but he was like a magnet trying to grab onto her again. “I have to go,” she said in a rush, wiping her lips and trying to fix her hair.

Valerio watched her go, not saying a single word, which she was thankful for. She skirted past Allister, attempting to regulate her heartbeat. She must have looked wild with her messy hair, bruised lips, and wide eyes.

Luna walked out of the room, meeting up with the girls who looked at her suspiciously. “Not a single word,” she muttered to them, walking ahead.

She wasn’t sure who won the fight or how long they had been in the locker room for. Most of the arena had already been cleared out at that point.

But she was sure about one thing that she would never admit to a single soul—one taste wasn’t enough. She needed more.

ELEVEN

VALERIO

Valerio had never felt soalive in his life. Maybe that was why despite the fight he had just been in, he still made his way into the gym to burn off the adrenaline that lingered. His knuckles were raw, his body covered in cuts and bruises, including the small one on the outside of his lip, but he didn’t care.

Only one thought kept floating through his head and it had to do with the woman who was going to drive him into the grave. He was positive of it.

One fucking kiss. That was all it took. One kiss to completely destroy him, to bend him to her will. She had initiated it too. The thought shouldn’t have made him as excited as it did, but he couldn’t help himself.

His mind replayed the kiss, every moan and gasp, the taste of her. He groaned, landing another punch against the punching bag. It flew back and forth, on the border of completely falling apart from his abuse.

Valerio caught it, leaning his head against it.

Someone had finally done it. They had finally broken Valerio Vitali. And it was his fiancée of all people. Her first kiss had been him, and his had been her. It was a beautiful sentiment if no onelooked too closely into their relationship. All he knew was that he had been deprived for far too long and now his body yearned to make up for past time.

God, he needed a cold shower.

Valerio rolled his shoulders, deciding it was enough for the night. He still wouldn’t be able to sleep no matter how hard he tried, but his body deserved a break before the events tomorrow. He had the house to himself. Allister and Dante were out at some party and Gianna was over at the girls’ apartment. The security cameras at Luna’s apartment building showed she had made it home safely. Despite how much he wished he could see what she was doing, there weren’t cameras in her actual apartment and it was a good thing anyway.

As long as she was safe at home, Valerio didn’t need to worry about shooting some asshole in the legs again. He still couldn’t believe she had exposed herself just to distract him. It worked. Of fucking course it did, but her body wasn’t for anyone else’s eyes. The anger that had rattled him when she lifted her shirt and he realized everyone else could see it too was instantaneous. What the hell was she thinking?

She was perfect, every inch of her. He had always known she was. For years he had dreamed of how her body looked and it was better than he expected. Then the moment was soiled because he was in the middle of beating the shit out of her brother.

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