Page 11 of Blood and Redemption

The way her moans hitch, trapped in her throat before escaping in broken gasps. The way her brows knit together, that delicate crease forming between them as pleasure winds her tighter, tighter… Then the tremors start. The flutter of her thighs. The desperate arch of her back.

I don’t let up. Not when she’s this close. I push harder, deeper, until her restraint shatters and her cry tears through the room, raw and unfiltered.

She’s beautiful. Unreal. As undeserving as I am, I can’t help but keep taking.

Pulling my hand from her shorts, I trail my wet fingers up her stomach. “Part your lips for me, angel.”

In a daze, she does. Through the slow flutter of her lashes, she reveals the pinkest of tongues.

My fingers graze her lips, her release coating them like a gloss. Like sheknowswhat to do, her tongue flicks out to taste herself.

“I’m starting to believe you’re not as innocent as you led on to be.” Muttering the words, my cock aches as I watch her suck on my fingers.

Groaning out a low string of curses, I don’t have the strength to keep holding back.

I drag my hand back—fingers still slick with her—and cup her jaw, tilting her face to mine. No hesitation. No mercy. My mouth crashes down, claiming her in a searing kiss.

My tongue invades,dominates, swallowing every whimper, every shuddering breath. She tastes like surrender. Like mine.

Her lips are already swollen, already marked, and when I finally pull back, it’s only far enough to watch her fall apart.

Eyes glazed. Chest heaving. That pretty mouth parted, all for me.

I drag my thumb across her bottom lip, considering making it swell from another nip of my teeth.

“Breathe,” I command.

She does—just barely.

Just like that, due to my greed, I’ve tainted her more than I ever should have.

Instead of feeling shame for it, all I want to do is claim her completely.

6

Aurora

The morning is hot today. Unlike the usual chilly dawns, the air feels sticky. Humid.

Yesterday felt like a dream, unreal. It’s left my body on high alert, making sleeping in an impossible task.

Pulling my eyes from the ceiling, I look next to me at the empty spot on my bed. A part of me thought Rocco would sneak into my room in the middle of the night and claim the spot.

My heart flutters at first before feeling heavy.

My expectations are built on what I’ve watched in the past. Not just the adult films that make me aroused, but romantic films that end with happily ever afters.

I don’t even know if a man like Rocco can experience a happy ending. Outside of that heated moment, every time I’ve looked his way, he’s had this look in his eye.

A look of pain. One of hatred, for no one but himself.

My brother has the very same, but at least he tries to hide it from me.

A sigh slips from my lips as I push upright, the sheets pooling around my waist. Outside, dawn lingers in that fragile, half-born state—just a sliver of gold bleeding through the trees, too pale yet to burn away the remnants of night. Too early. Far too early.

I drag myself from bed, my bare feet hitting cool hardwood. The air nips at my sleep-warmed skin as I pad out of my room, desperate for something—anything—to douse this lingering heat. A glass of ice water. A cold shower.

As long as I avoid the place I know where Rocco is sleeping, I should succeed.

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