Page 158 of Ruined Vows
She leans back just enough to look up at me, her eyes dark and shining.
“I’m still here,” she says. “Because of you.”
Something inside me cracks.
I cup her face, my thumbs brushing away the tears sherefuses to let fall. “I can’t lose you,” I say, the words ripped straight from my soul. “I won’t survive it,Sreco.I won’t even try.”
Her breath catches. She rises on her toes, her mouth brushing mine—not a kiss—just a trembling whisper of a touch.
“I’m yours, Vukan,” she says, voice trembling. “I don’t want to run anymore. I just want you.”
And her admission breaks me. I crush her mouth with mine, pouring every ounce of terror and fury and need into the kiss. She responds instantly, her hands clawing at my shirt, pulling me closer, closer, like she can’t get enough.
I lift her and carry her to the old leather couch against the far wall, never breaking the kiss.
I set her down gently, reverently, even though my body screams to take, to claim, to make her mine all over again.
But this isn’t just about need anymore. It’s abouther.Aboutus.
I pull back just enough to look at her, to see the tears glistening in her eyes and the fierce love burning there, too. Or am I assuming it’s love? For once, I’m at a loss.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper. “Always.”
She reaches for me, her voice shaking but sure.
“Then take me, Vukan. Show me I’m safe with you.”
And this time, I don’t hold back.
Bianca lies beneath me, her chest rising and falling fast, her lips swollen from my kisses.
Her hands grip my shirt, pulling me down, pulling me into her, like she’s afraid I’ll disappear if she lets go.
I’m not going anywhere. Not ever. I strip the shirt over my head and toss it aside, baring myself to her, letting her see every scar, every broken piece. She doesn’t flinch, nor does she look away.
She touches me like I’m something worth saving. I slide myhands under her shirt, pushing it up slowly, giving her every chance to stop me, to change her mind. She lifts her arms without hesitation, letting me pull it over her head and toss it away.
God. I stare at her, at the soft curves, the way she arches into me, offering herself up without fear.
“You’re perfect,” I breathe. “You’re fucking perfect.”
She shakes her head, a slight, broken sound slipping from her lips. “I’m not. I’m so?—”
I silence her with a kiss, devouring the words, tasting the pain she still carries.
“You’re mine,” I growl against her mouth. “That’s all that matters.”
She whimpers, a desperate, needy sound that goes straight to my gut. I kiss my way down her throat, her collarbone, the curve of her breast. I worship every inch of her with my mouth, hands, and body. I take my time. I learn her—every gasp, every tremble, every place that makes her shudder and cling to me.
I move lower, kissing the lines of her ribs, the soft skin of her stomach, down to the waistband of her shorts. She writhes under me, desperate and undone.
“Vukan,” she gasps, her hands threading into my hair, pulling. “Please.”
God, I could die right here with her begging for me and call it heaven. I unbutton my pants and strip before removing the rest of her clothing, baring her completely. I kiss the inside of her thighs, slow and reverent, feeling her tremble under my hands.
When I finally move over her again, lining my body with hers, I brace myself on my forearms, holding back, holdingeverythingback.
“Tell me to stop,” I rasp, my forehead resting against hers. “Tell me now.”
