Page 40 of Thorns of Desire

“The Triads.”

A tremor rolled through me. It had taken eleven years to convince myself what had happened was a one-off. It took all of thirty minutes for that bubble to burst.

“Areyouokay?” I croaked, my eyes roaming over him.

“Yes,” he gritted out. “But never—” He cupped my cheeks firmly, his eyes boring into mine. “Fucking never put yourself in harm’s way for me.”

It was my turn to study him, even as fatigue threatened to claim me.

“I didn’t,” I told him calmly as I lifted my arm. “See? Just a graze. Yours would have been a bullet in the heart.”

He snarled. “Don’t placate me. If something like this ever happens again, you hide immediately and let me handle the fuckers.”

I clutched his arm, trying not to think about how good it felt to touch him, his warmth surrounding me after weeks of trying to hold on to the memory of him.

“Okay,” I snapped, finding my own courage. “Thenyoucannot put yourself in harm’s way for me.”

“No,” he replied hoarsely. “It’s for me to protect you, not the other way around.” I glared at him and the corner of his mouth hitched as if he was entertained. “You can’t stay here,amorina.”

My lips twisted.

“I’m not leaving,” I said stubbornly, although deep down I knew it was reckless. “And you can’t stay here because in another few hours the girls will wake up and I don’t want to explain”—I moved my hand from him to me and back to him—“this.”

His lips twisted. “I don’t give a shit what your girlfriends think. You’ll be staying with me from now on.”

The absolute nerve.

“No.”

“Yes. I’m not leaving you vulnerable and alone.”

I looked up to the ceiling and prayed for patience.God, save me from stubborn, hot Italian men. I needed him to be gone like yesterday. I worried I’d cave. Being close to him, smelling him… It was a recipe for disaster.

“I swear to God, Manuel, you better go or I’ll… I’ll…” I must have been more tired than I thought because my mind refused to conjure a threat.

He smiled and tucked me inside the blankets and arranged my pillows. Then he kicked off his expensive Italian shoes and discarded his suit jacket before finally lying down on top of the blanket, his hands folded behind his head.

“You can do whatever you want to me. Tomorrow. Now go to sleep.”

“Amorina.”

I tossed and turned on my bed, my head feeling heavy. I gasped, grinding against something, and a moan vibratedthrough the air. My eyes snapped open and I found myself on my back, slightly disoriented. I blinked several times, finally understanding that Manuel’s head was buried between my thighs.

“What—” My hoarse voice had him lifting his head, grinning as his face glistened. A shiver rolled down my spine as air clashed against my bare pussy. My T-shirt was still on but my panties were gone.

“Buon giorno,” he murmured, and lowered his head between my thighs again, his eyes locked on me. Goose bumps scattered over my skin at the look in his gaze, hungry and feral. “I found my favorite way to wake you up.”

His Italian accent was so thick it took several moments for the words to register. I was filled with a strange energy that traced its fingers along my nerve endings, waking my body in a way only he had ever done.

His fingers traced a path to my clit, the sensitive bundle of nerves swollen with need, then he licked me all the way to my forbidden hole. “Oh… Oh… God.”

He took me by the hips in a ruthless grip and lifted my ass as he plunged his tongue inside my pussy. My lips opened, but before a hoarse scream could pierce the silence, his hand covered my mouth and muffled my cries of pleasure.

I threaded my hands through his hair, arching my back, and he groaned against my core.

“Unless you’re willing to sign their death warrant, another human is not allowed to hear your screams of pleasure,” Manuel said, and I shuddered at my recklessness.

My heart thundered as his large hand spread my thighs wider. My breaths spilled from my lips in frantic bursts as he ate me like he was starving, his tongue spearing into my opening and wringing a gasp from me.