Page 26 of Branded in Love
Marco chokes a laugh.“Bene, bene...”He grins in absolute mischief. “Va bene, cara.”His hand glides over my jawline. He pulls me to him and kisses my cheek.
18
GAVRIIL
Who is that guy, Marco? Why does he kiss her? He’s obviously not a threat to Luciana. Otherwise, my brothers would have stopped him. Still, I’m happy he’s leaving. She’s closing the door. What’s going to happen now? Has she changed her mind, maybe?
A soft gasp sails through my lips.
My sanity is pending from the frailest thread as I stand in the doorway. I don’t want to pressure her. Whatever she chooses is fine. Even though I’m already fired up, aching for her touch.
She slowly turns around. Luciana leaves the hall, tiptoeing through the cold marble checkerboard floors. My heart thumps hard against my chest. I have little to no control over my rapid breaths as I lay eyes on her, so sexy in her white t-shirt.
Luciana stops at the hallway. Our stares lock, and I swallow hard when suddenly she runs to me, mischief tugging at her lips. I can’t help but smile, elated, as she jumps to my arms, clasping her hands around my neck. I grab her hips and lift her off the ground, pleasantly surprised as her mouth seals mine in the deepest kiss.
“D’you want this?” I mumble against her lips, kissing her with a maddening, joyous frenzy.
Her fingers glide through my hair. She parts from me but an inch, gleaming hazel eyes full of blissful desire. “I wantyou,” she tells me, and she speaks each word with careful intent. “All of you. The man, the bear, the warlock.”
My heart is going to explode in my chest. Unable to stop from smiling, I carry her, weightless, in my arms, and take her to my bedroom.
19
GAVRIIL
Adelightful shiver of wanting runs through me as we strip each other’s clothes. My skin aches for her touch, aches for that contact, flesh on flesh. Still, my gaze roves over her, breathless as I contemplate the passionate beauty of her naked body. Luciana lies on the bed, hazel eyes glazed with desire, cheeks and lips flushed with excitement. The beast inside me claims for immediacy to satisfy its violent desires, but I tame it fast and silence its growls in an instant.
I want to take my time discovering her, learning her by heart, until I know what makes her thrill beneath my fingers. Every inch of me goes taut the moment I press her against my chest, smoothing a hand on her jawline, pulling her to me gently until our lips touch in one slow, sensuous kiss. “We’re gonna take this as far as you want,” I whisper against her mouth.
She nods. Driven by her own desire, her every curve molds to the firm planes of my body.
I ease her back on the bed and explore her, searing a trail of kisses down her neck to the delicate pit of her collarbone. Her heart throbs hard against my ear when I take my lips lower, to the marble hardness of her nipple. A low moan sails through her lips. She trembles with excitement. And as her passion rises, mine burns wilder.
My hand smooths down her silken belly, finding the way to the place of her pleasure. In an instant, her body arches at the lightness of my teasing touch. I take my kiss there and let it linger lazily. Her quiet moans and panting breaths become my guide, until her body convulses in a rush of ecstasy, followed by another, and another after that.
I scent the purest delight flowing through her. With panting breath, I find her mouth with an unhurried kiss that she returns with reckless abandon. “D’you want more?” I whisper. Between each word, I kiss her cheeks, her neck, her shoulder.
“Uh-huh,” she moans, seizing my jawline, taking me back to her mouth.
A flash of ecstasy, her tongue sliding between my lips. Waves of desire crash into my core, begging for release. “What do you want?” I purr, restraining the demands that burn inside me.
“I want you,” she says, twisting her expression as she stiffens, taken by merciless hunger.
“D’you want me inside of you?” I breathe while my hand sears a path from her abdomen to her silky thigh.
“God, yes…” she mumbles, biting her lower lip, and my heartbeat rides into a wild gallop.
Gently, I push a stray lock of hair away from her face and wait until her eyes open. And when they do, I take her quivering hand to me, her touch unleashing a thrill that electrifies my limbs. Led by Luciana, my body lowers over hers. I gasp in sweet agony as she welcomes me into her. My body blends against her, and in an instant, she becomes everything to me—the moon and stars, the air I breathe, the warm blood that pumps hard and fast inside my veins.
In a fit of passion, I grab her hips and pull her to me, roughly. Our bodies rock together in flawless harmony, soaring higher and higher until we almost reach the peak of delight. I smooth my hands up her waist, sweeping the curves of her breasts, until my palms set on the sides of her face. “Luciana,” I say in a ragged whisper. “Open your eyes.”
Drunken desire fills her hazel eyes when they lock on mine. “Come with me,” I tell her.
“Oh God… Gavriil!” she moans as waves of ecstasy ripple through her body, casting echoes in my own. I cry her name, longing for release. And together, we shatter into a million gleaming stars.
My bear reacts, taken by the tide of fathomless pleasure, and I feel my fangs drop, ready to cast a bite on Luciana’s bare shoulder. I draw my lips closer. One bite and she’ll be mine forever.
I want to claim her, to brand her as my own, and call herminefrom this night onward. “Yes,” I gasp, inching closer, when suddenly I growl and turn my face away fast. My breathing races even more. My body shudders as fright and ecstasy collide inside me.
