Page 51 of Little Deer
“And is that what you want with me?”
Is it?
“No,” I finally admit. I see the slight slump in her shoulders, barely perceptible, but her gaze never leaves mine. “What I want from you is much more, Lucy Taylor. I find myself needing to be close to you, thinking of you, and that’s only in the last twenty-four hours. It concerns me because if this is what it is like now, what will it be like in a week? A month? More? Will I be so utterly consumed by you that nothing else will matter?”
“Like your father was with your mother?” she asks quietly, eyes seeing far too much.
I frown slightly. Is that what I’m doing? Worried that I’m going to turn out to be like my father and hurt? I’ve never thought of such things before.
“You don’t strike me as the type to be like your mother, at least not with how you described her,” Lucy continues, hesitantly reaching out to take my hand in hers and squeezing it. “You’re your own man, Massimo. You don’t live to be compared to others. Even with your brothers earlier, you all stand out in your own way. You’re warm and kind, but I also know that under all of that, you are the kind of man to protect what you care about with everything you have. Your family, your friends, the empire that your father has built. Setting aside what you feel for me, you’re not going to be like her, Massimo. I don’t have to know you long to believe that. I’m as sure of that as I am that this bloody war that is going on, you will win. And you’ll protect me and Soren like you have been.”
Why do her words feel like a balm to my wounded soul? Wounds I thought long buried and hidden away. How can this woman see me so clearly so quickly? It makes me uneasy, but I also have the urge to find out what more she sees.
Instead of answering her, I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close. She lets out a small gasp, but she doesn’t fight me, her free hand splaying across the center of my chest. She feels so small, so delicate, and every protective instinct inside me rises. I let go of her hand and instead cup the side of her face. “You make me want to believe that,cerbiatta,” I murmur. “And you make me want to be so consumed by you that I won’t care about any of it.”
I lower my head, a silent question as my lips hover over hers. Her lashes flutter, her eyes searching, until I feel her fingers curl into my shirt and her head tilt a little more so that her lips brush against mine. Feather-light, but the jolt that sizzles through me is powerful.
Taking that as consent, I sink into her, unable to be without the taste of her for another second.
The kiss is slow, an exploration. Testing, light, neither of us ready to push it any further. Lucy slowly pulls away, looking up at me, a question in her eyes. I don’t answer, just watch her. How can one kiss turn me on so much? Fuck, I’ve never felt like this before. Not even when I was in high school and kissing girls for the first time. We were so eager, we forgot to savor. With Lucy, I want to brand this moment into my memory.
“Massimo,” she whispers, her hand sliding up to curve around my neck. I instinctively lift her, bringing her face up to my level, and she wraps both arms around my neck. There’s nerves there, but then being the brave woman she is, she rasps, “Kiss me again. Like you mean it. Like you want to.”
I let out a small groan. Who am I to argue?
This time, the kiss is deeper, and quickly sharpens with a dark need. She tastes so fucking perfect. Hot, sweet, perfection. I can feel the loose pieces inside my mind finally click into place. The only thing that matters right now is delving deeper; filling my mouth with the taste of her.
She gives a soft moan when her mouth opens enough for me to thrust my tongue inside. Her fingers slide into my hair, gripping tight like she’s afraid I’ll stop.
She has no fear of that.
Any doubt, it’s gone now. Now, there is nothing I won’t do to possess Lucy Taylor and make her mine.
26
LUCY
Holy shit can Massimo kiss.
I thought Joey was good at it, but if I’m comparing, he wasn’t even in the same league. Or maybe it’s just that I convinced myself Joey was good and Massimo is showing me what being kissed is actually supposed to be like. Either way, I don’t want him to stop.
There’s a dominance in the way he kisses me, taking charge, and I’m happy to let him. It’s not overbearing, like he has to prove something. It’s natural, a call for something that I’m willing to give. I nip at his lip, making him grunt and return the gesture in kind, soothing it with his tongue.
I could get used to this.
I need to get closer to him. I adjust myself to wrap my legs around his waist, and I feel one of his hands come down to cup my ass cheek, holding me in place. Like he wants to make sure that there is no chance I could fall. He doesn’t grope me,doesn’t press, just continues to kiss me and wreak havoc on my emotions. On what I thought I wanted.
A part of me is screaming at me.What are you doing? You don’t know this man. What the fuck kind of bullshit are doing?
I ignore it all. I just sink into him, the passion in the kiss increasing. Until I start feeling the stirrings of desire that I long thought dormant. My core starts to ache, and I hear him give a low groan in his throat. Yeah, he’s not unaffected either.
The power that fills me is heady. I crave more of it. I want him to be as crazed as I feel. Why should I suffer alone?
“Holy shit!”
We still, and I pull my mouth from Massimo’s, head turning to see Kida standing in the doorway, Zeno right behind her. Kida’s mouth is hanging open, while Zeno is trying to hide his grin.
Embarrassment fills me, and I look at Massimo in horror. Massimo’s eyes search mine, then he kisses me one more time. Hard. Like he wants them to know he’s not going to stop. I sink into him again, unable to help myself, before he pulls away and eases me back to my feet. “Looks like I have to go,cerbiatta,” he murmurs, not even glancing at Kida and Zeno again. I can feel Kida’s eyes drilling into the back of my head.
