Page 74 of My Solemn Vow (The Mafia Arrangement #1)
ANTONELLA
THE PROMISE
Valor led me by the hand while walking backward up the stairs out of the basement, then up to our bedroom, keeping his eyes on me like if he lets me leave his sight, I’ll disappear.
And maybe I would.
We won’t leave him. My wolf, the voice inside my head, argues. But it’s not like she needs to convince me because her ‘argument’ only affirms what feels right in my gut.
I won’t leave Valor, not because I can’t, but because I want to stay. Despite his flaws, nothing about Valor is wicked or evil. For me to heal and trust him, I need to be here and present the opportunity.
No annulment, no divorce, no murdering him in his sleep.
Him picking me over Neil helped.
He closes the bedroom door, then leads me into the bathroom and closes that door behind us too. “Declan and Jack don’t need to hear how much I missed you.”
Valor’s words send a shiver down my spine, and I don’t bother trying to suppress it.
With my hand still in his, Valor spins me, facing me toward the mirror, our arms wrapped around my waist like the first day we met.
Except instead of staking a claim, he’s holding on to me for dear life, worried about where I’ll go and what I’ll do if he releases his hold on me.
But this image is a far cry from our wedding day, and I don’t miss the opportunity to admire us together like this. My brown hair, braided over my shoulder, barely avoiding the blood splatter on Valor’s T-shirt that I borrowed. The red tinge to our skin from that same blood of my first kill.
The look of adoration is in the softness of Valor’s eyes and the small smile pulling at his lips. Warmth blooms in my chest. Despite the havoc that’s upturned my life on the surface level, nothing has changed.
That is, until our eyes do.
Valor’s first, going from the green-brown to the bright, vibrant golden-yellow of his wolf. Then, as heat rises in my body, mine do the same. Maybe more orange than yellow, but unnervingly animalistic.
So pretty. My wolf decides, pulling my focus to the picture of the whole. He looks fit to be our mate.
“Let me take care of you.” Valor leans down, not taking his eyes off me in the mirror as he kisses my neck.
My stomach flips, and my pussy throbs at the idea. The memories of how good Valor has made me feel flood forward, dissipating my resistance.
“Hands on the mirror, darling.” Valor’s voice is gravelly, a growl, the noise I can now make.
I lean forward over the vanity, resting my forearms on the mirror rather than my hands. It shuffles my ass backward, pressing against his crotch. Which must have been Valor’s plan.
Valor slides my pants down my legs. And when they’re on the floor, he gingerly lifts each foot, placing a small kiss on the back of my ankle before setting it back down.
He runs his hands up the outside of my legs, fingertip-light touches, teasing me along the way .
The sharp flick of a knife blade opening cuts through the otherwise silence. A sound I’ve heard before.
“Valor,” I say in warning, but I’m not sure against what.
I try to look in the reflection to see what he’s doing, but the vanity blocks my view. Pulling one hand off the mirror, I try to twist, only to freeze as Valor slides his fingers into my panties.
Unexpectedly, my anxiety of the unknown rises.
“Valor,” I snarl.
It comes out just as sharp and angry as I intended. Maybe a wolf has its bonuses.
As if commanded, Valor stops. He withdraws his fingers and steps back. Knife pinched between his thumb and palm, he keeps his hands open, showing me in the mirror that he’s no longer touching me.
So much for trusting him. I spin around to face him. No. I’m going to trust him again. I’m going to give him the opportunity to give me reasons to trust him.
Valor slowly lowers his hand and offers the knife out to me.
I don’t take it, but I nod, and Valor understands. He starts at the collar of the blood-splattered shirt. The fabric is more drenched than I thought because blood squelches out as the knife cuts a path through the material, and cool liquid runs down my torso and to my thighs.
After slicing through the bottom seam of the shirt, Valor sets the knife on the vanity next to me and brings his hands to my waist. He runs them up under my breasts, reaching behind me and unhooking my bra.
With the closeness, I lean forward and kiss him. He’s soft and pliable, letting me set the pace. All the while, he keeps undressing me tenderly, pressing the T-shirt sleeves and straps of my bra down my arms before tossing them away.
Valor hooks his fingers into the waistband of my panties.
I place my hands over his and scold him through uneven breaths. “Where’s the fun in that? ”
His mouth falls open, and after a beat, he picks up his knife.
Using his finger as a barrier, he protects me as he slices down the center. I clench the muscles of my core, willing myself to stay as still as possible and staving off the violent shudders threatening to course through my body.
Arousal and fear, feeling so much the same yet so different, wreck my nerves. They heighten every piece of this experience.
The fabric of my panties sounds tortured as it’s cut away, and he drops to his knees before me, waiting.
Choosing to trust him after being on the receiving end of his rage is hard, but I do, with a small turn and a deep breath.
Facing the mirror again, I give Valor the opportunity to redeem himself.
The mirror is cool against my fingers, and I hesitate.
Trust our mate. My wolf encourages me.
When I’ve settled, Valor continues, his finger protecting me from the knife along my underside and up to my ass.
I can’t help the breath that leaves me in almost a moan as he drags his finger along the knife’s path between my legs.
“Much better.” Valor hums in approval once the waistband is cut again and the fabric naturally falls down my legs.
He makes a show of putting the knife away and setting it on the granite vanity far away from us. Then, through the mirror, I get to watch him strip.
I curl my fingers as my need only increases.
His shirt, less bloody than mine, mars his skin with a smattering of red, and I look down in the mirror to take in the sight of it on my abdomen. Blood acts as evidence in the war of taking myself back.
When I raise my eyes back to Valor, he’s waiting. He tucks his thumbs into his jeans, already unbuttoned and unzipped, and removes them with his boxers down his legs.
I’m only woman. No one can blame me for the lust at seeing Valor hard for me.
Because I know how good he makes me feel, my hesitation is forgotten in an instant. Especially when he drops behind me, down to his knees, and out of sight below the vanity. I lean more weight against my pelvis and raise up onto my toes, allowing him better access to me.
Valor slides his tongue along my slit, all the way up to my asshole, and I clench, shocked by the sensation.
He groans. “You taste amazing. I’ve wanted this for so long.”
“Well, we often want what we can’t have,” I grumble, trying to be playful, and it earns me a well-honed smack to my ass.
I practically lose myself in the bite of that sting. My body relaxes under the pain and what it does to me.
But Valor doesn’t strike again. He goes back to eating me out, sucking my clit, his nose teasing my entrance.
He murmurs against my pussy, “That’s it, princess. You’re so wet for me.”
I draw a slow breath, trying to enjoy the pleasure he’s offering. It’s not hard to do because Valor knows what he’s doing. He works my clit in a figure-eight movement with his tongue, the soft underside so tender, and my legs tremble. I let out a low moan, ready to come.
“Easy.” He shuffles from his knees to standing and comes into view in the mirror.
I glare at him for stopping me from coming. This is why he put the knife so far away from me.
“Do you have any idea how wet you are right now?”
His crooked smile is the only warning I get before he slides his fingers inside me, then runs them over my clit, my heat and slickness allowing him to glide with ease.
“I’ve a pretty good idea.” I grit my teeth.
Drawing ragged breaths, I focus on not letting a moan escape. He drives me closer to the edge of an orgasm one more time as his fingers find my G-spot and work me over.
Valor squeezes my clit once before stopping again. “Turn to face me. ”
The command sends a throb through my pussy, but I don’t turn around. Instead, I wiggle my ass at him. I just wanna come already.
“Trying to get me to punish you?” Valor raises an eyebrow. “I thought for sure you’d be more interested in punishing me after everything.”
“Shut up and fuck me before I change my mind.” I raise an eyebrow right back.
Pressing his chest against my back, his cock hard between us, he moves slowly and trails his hand up my stomach, through the mostly dry blood on his way up to my throat. Valor gently wraps his fingers around my neck with no pressure, testing me, himself, and the tension between us.
The tension between us holds as I lift my chin and ever so slightly push into his fingers. He tightens his grip. The heaviness of arousal and how simply right this feels, this is , makes my body respond.
I relax, and it’s met with Valor’s other hand smacking my ass. Hard.
I gasp, “Fuck. That hurts.”
Valor huffs and palms my ass, fingers digging into the stinging flesh, before slipping his cock between my legs. He rocks his hips, sliding through my core, coating himself in my arousal but not penetrating me.
“Are you here to play or here to fuck?” I antagonize him.
It feels so different from how we’d been before, but I crave what he’s holding back. It felt right when he spanked me, when he used my body, there was a balance, but we feel off kilter now.