Page 36 of A Son Hidden from the Sicilian

She shuddered out her first release, clutching him. He wished he could see her. He wished he could take his time. He wished...

For all those dangerous things. What they’d had before. The sweetness of it. The joy of it. When every time they’d come together felt like coming home.

And you know where all that leads.

In this moment he didn’t care. He pulled down the strap of her dress until he freed her taut nipple. He bent his head and tasted. Licked, nipped. Until she was gasping, begging, writhing against him.

Wild. Wanton. His. His blood roared. His body throbbed for her and her alone. To the point of pain, and that pain was joy as long as he was inside of her. As long as her arms were around him and she panted his name.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

He wasn’t sure if those chanted words were thoughts or something he verbalized but he didn’t care because she could not be anyone else’s. Ever.

So he made her his. Over and over again. With his hands, his mouth, his body. Until she was sobbing out his name.Hisname and only his.

Until he lost himself. Over that edge and into nothing but pleasure and release. His breath was ragged, and he held her there against the wall for long, pulsing seconds as they both tried to recover.

He didn’t let his brain shift into gear. Then the thoughts would start. The recriminations. The reason. He couldn’t go down that road just yet. Not with his blood still roaring in his ears. Not with a warm and sated Brianna limp in his arms.

He stayed in this moment, in this warmth.In this love.

The word love was always the antidote, and he began to extricate himself. Therewasa world outside this room. He smoothed down her dress, still in the dark, doing everything by feel alone. He tucked himself away, but he did not let her go. Did not step away.

Once he did...reality would come crashing down and—

“Lorenzo,” she said in a pained whisper. She sounded on the verge of tears and nothing could have pierced him more. “I cannot keep doing this with you.”

It was strange. He’d meant to say those exact words once he had his faculties back. To gently put her in her place. To acceptsomeresponsibility, but certainly not all.

But her saying the exact words he’d been thinking, when she sounded so hurt, twisted something inside of him.

The words made him angry even though he agreed.

Sheshould want to keep doing it. They were amazing atit, and that was all she should be thinking about.

“I need to go home,” she continued, sounding no less devastated.

“I’ll have my driver take you back at once,” he said, angry at himself that his voice sounded so weak. That hefeltweak. That he wanted to offer her a million reassuring words and, worse, feelings.

Love is a lie. Love is destruction. Lorenzo, what have you done?

“No, Lorenzo. I need to gohome. Gio and I need to go back to New Jersey.”

The words simply did not compute. He tried to look at her, read her expression, but it was still nothing but darkness in the room.

“I’m not saying the two of you shouldn’t have a relationship,” she continued. “I don’t want to keep you from him. We’ll have to work out some kind of custody agreement. You’re a billionaire. You should be able to fly to the States as much as you want.”

No words could have shocked him more, and he was still struggling to get his mind to return to reality. “Brianna.” He was trying to sound stern. He had a bad feeling he was failing. When he never failed.

Couldn’t allow himself to fail ever again.

“I can’t do this. I can’t watch you marry another woman. I can’t keep...trying to resist you. Clearly, I can’t do it for long. I do not know how to fight how much I want you, and before you say that’s just fine, it isn’t. If you don’t want a relationship, it isn’tfinefor me. The only way I survive this is distance.”

Survive this.

The brokenness in her voice, or maybe the dark, or maybe the way his heart felt bruised at the idea of her leaving had him reliving old moments he’d like to forget.

I can’t survive this, Lorenzo. I can’t bear it.

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