Page 69 of Thorns of Blood

“One more,” I heard him say through the haze of pleasure. “Give your husband one more. Yes?”

I thought I’d die if I came again, but I wanted to give him the same thing he gave me. So I surrendered, letting him take my body to where it had never been before.

“I need your words, Lia,” he grunted.

“Please,” I murmured. “Give me one more.”

I watched him in wonder as he moved inside me, pushing me into another orgasm.

He held me while I flew high, our arousal and emotions mixing together, only for him to catch me when I fell.

And only then did he find his own release, spilling deep inside me, his face buried in my neck, whispering sweet nothings I never knew existed.

TWENTY-SIX

LIANA

Ifelt a stirring beside me and my eyes snapped open to find myself wedged under Giovanni’s arm, my head in the crook of his neck.

I jolted up, hitting his jaw by accident.

“Ugh, fuck,” he grunted.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, rubbing the crown of my head, unsure of what to do. Usually when Amara got hurt, I’d rub the spot and then kiss it. Without thinking, I pushed his hand away, then did exactly that. When I pulled back, he was staring at me.

“Umm, it’s what I do when Amara gets hurt,” I explained.

“I liked it,” he said with a shrug and an irresistible smile on his face. “I think you should hurt me more often.”

I let out a chuckle. “Be careful what you ask for.”

I went to move, but his next words stopped me.

“I want a kiss here too.” He tapped his neck where I cut him before, then his arm where I shot him… correction, grazed him. Men were just babies. The bandages were long gone, but there was still a faint line there. “Just to make sure it gets better.”

Even as I shook my head in disbelief, I found myself leaning forward and pecking the area. Still grinning, I slid out of bed and padded to the bathroom.

After my morning routine and a shower, I returned to the bedroom to find Giovanni gone, a message left behind in his place.

*Come find me in the kitchen.*

When I stepped out onto the deck, trying to figure out which way the kitchen was, I ran into Romeo.

His hands came to my arms to steady me. I flinched, shoving him off, and he stumbled backward.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, woman?” he growled as he caught himself on the rail. “I was just trying to steady you.”

I brought a shaking hand to my mouth.Jesus, I almost pushed him into the sea.

The old me might have punched him, but this new me didn’t have it in me anymore.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “Reflexes.”

He ran his hand through his dark hair that reminded me of his brother’s.

“They’re lethal, that’s for sure,” he retorted dryly.

My gaze fell to his bandaged arm and while I wasn’t exactly sorry for what I’d done—after all, it was self-defense—I didn’t like to think we’d started things off on the wrong foot.