Page 20 of Legacy
My hands find her hips like they’ve belonged there all along, gripping tight as I lift her onto the counter with a roughness I don’t even try to temper. She gasps against my mouth, and my tongue finds hers—fuck, we’re even sharing the mint now. It’s ridiculous. Addictive. Intimate in a way I wasn’t ready for.
My lips move to her neck, hungry, tracing the delicate line of her throat. She moans; a soft, desperate sound that shatters the last of my restraint and I’m a lost cause. My hands roam over her body, tracing curves, memorizing the shape of her like I need it carved into my skin.
“Angelo,” she breathes, her fingers threading through my hair, nails dragging lightly across my scalp.
It makes me shiver.
Her scent wraps around me, sweeter than wine, more dangerous than any deal I’ve ever made. I look up, her eyes heavy-lidded with need, lips parted and already swollen from our kiss.
“I…” I try to speak, try to say something rational, but my brain is pure static.
She grips my face in her hand, pulls me close and kisses me again, deeper,hotterand for one blinding second, I let her erase every line I’ve drawn in the sand.
Then—
Reality.
My last name. Her age. Her softness. My truth.
I pull back, panting, my forehead pressed to hers. My entire body buzzes, screaming at me for being a fucking coward.
“We… we can’t do this,” I force out, the words cutting like glass on my tongue.
“Why?” she whispers, and it guts me; how confused she looks. How hopeful.
“Because I want you,” I admit, voice rough and raw.
She blinks, lips trembling.
“Then take me,” she whispers.
And God help me, I want to.
But instead—
“No.”
No?
What the fuck am I saying?
“Scarlet… get dressed. Please.”
Her expression shifts, disappointment twisting into something sharper. She slides off the counter, arms folding over her chest like armor, and I feel the cold hit instantly where her warmth used to be.
“But Angelo—”
I shake my head.
“Now isn’t the time, Tesoro,” I say, softer, still trying to catch my breath. “I won’t rush this. Whatever this is…”
She stares at me, silent. There’s something in her eyes I can’t name, but it latches onto something buried in my chest and squeezes.
She turns, walks down the hall without another word.
Doesn’t look back.
I stand there, heart pounding, body still on fire, the taste of her lingering like punishment.
