Page 77 of The Empress

I move an arm down, wrapping it around her back, and lock her body to mine. Tilting my head, I enter her mouth, my tongue stroking hard against hers. Sweetness burst over my taste buds, making a satisfied groan rumble from my chest.

For a torturous second, I break the kiss, my voice hoarse as I say, “I knew you’d taste fucking perfect.” Our eyes lock, as I nip at her lips with mine, then I take her mouth with pure fucking desperation and devour her.

I feel a tremble move through Haven’s body while she makes a sound that drives me absolutely wild. It’s a cross between a moan and a whimper.

I’ll give everything I own to hear it again.

My teeth tug at her bottom lip, and my tongue takes hers in hard caresses.

Fucking hell.

My head swims, and my chest overflows with the powerful desire she makes me feel.

My hand coasts down from her cheek to her side, and I grip the silky fabric of her dress, ready to rip it from her body.

Unable to stop myself from touching more of her, my hand moves up again until I find the soft swell of her breast. The instant I feel her pebbled nipple, Haven breaks the kiss, turning her head away from mine while pushing my hand down.

“Wait.”

I step backward to give her space, and suck in deep breaths of air while it takes all my strength to regain control over my desire for her.

Once the overpowering need recedes, I close the distance between us, once more, and hug her to me. She realizes I’m just going to hold her and wrap her arms around my lower back.

I brush my hand over her soft hair and say, “Thank you.”

We stand in silence for a long while, then she presses closer to me, her voice sounding vulnerable as fuck as she whispers, “Promise you’ll never take my choices away from me again.”

I’m a control freak by nature, so it’s difficult for me to say, “I promise.” I pull back, and bringing a hand to her chin, I nudge her face up so she’ll look at me. “I’ll give you anything you want,Haven. Except for letting you go, you can have whatever your heart desires.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Okay.” She thinks for a moment. “I want…” Her teeth tug at her bottom lip, making me want to kiss her again. “Ten million dollars.”

“Done.”

I begin to lean down, but she pulls back while letting out a burst of laughter. “Okay, let’s be serious. Right now, I could really do with some hot chocolate because I’m freezing my butt off.”

I take hold of her hand, and linking our fingers, I lead her below deck to where there’s a state-of-the-art kitchen. When the staff sees me, they go into panic mode, darting in different directions to find something to do so they’ll look busy.

I start searching through the cupboards, and it has the server from earlier asking, “Is there something I can get for you, Mr. Toscano?”

“A mug and hot chocolate.”

“I’ll prepare the beverage and bring it to your table.”

I shake my head. “I want to make it.”

She pulls a mug from the cupboard before retrieving the hot chocolate from the pantry. I grab milk from the fridge and pour some into a pot. After putting it on the stove so it can warm up, I pour four teaspoons of the powder into the mug.

“Do you have tiny marshmallows?” Haven asks.

“Yes, Mrs. Toscano,” the server replies, rushing to the pantry to get them.

Mrs. Toscano.

I grin like an idiot while I stare at the milk, willing it to boil faster. When the milk is finally ready, I add it to the mug and stir until there are no lumps.

Haven drops three marshmallows on top of her beverage, but before she can pick up the mug, I do. I grab her hand and lead her out of the kitchen to a living room where we’ll have privacy.

She glances around at the cream leather couches and dark wood interior, and once she sits down, I hand her the hot chocolate.