“Yes,” I whispered. “I want it. I want you, Joseph.”
He growled his savage approval, and the sound vibrated against my neck, making my sensitive skin spark and dance with awareness. I shivered and tilted my head to the side, exposing my throat to him.
I sucked in a sharp gasp when his palm settled over the front of my neck, his big hand nearly encircling it. He didn’t apply any pressure, and to my surprise, fear didn’t spike through me. Instead, lust flooded my system as I became fully aware of how small I was in his grip, the power he held over me. The domineering yet gentle way he handled me made my clit pulse, and wetness coated my thighs.
His thumb stroked the line of my vulnerable artery, and I shuddered. A husky groan left my chest, and I barely recognized that I’d made the sensual sound. I felt oddly light, disconnected from my normal self. With Joseph, I was freed from my anxiety and overactive brain. All I could focus on was him: his powerful body; his unique, masculine scent; the low, rumbling words of praise he uttered. He told me I was beautiful and perfect. His angel.
I became drunk on his attention, on the way he worshipped my body even as he took full command of my entire being.
He stroked his fingers over my skin, as though he wanted to memorize my every curve. He kissed my breasts, pulling my nipples into his mouth and nipping at the sensitive buds. I began to writhe beneath him. I wanted to touch him, too, but I kept my arms securely over my head, obedient to his will.
“Please, please, please,” I murmured over and over again in a desperate mantra. I needed him inside me. My pussy ached for him, and I was no longer afraid of his size. I craved to connect with him.
Finally, he brushed a kiss across my lips. “I’ll be right back, angel.”
He started to push off me, but I didn’t want him to put even an inch of space between us. I was too enraptured by the feel of his weight pinning me down.
“No!” I protested, a little wildly.
“I need to get a condom,” he explained, but his face was tight with his own need. He didn’t want to leave me, either. Not even for a minute.
I forced myself to nod my agreement. A condom was smart, responsible.
I ignored the animal part of my brain that wanted his hot cum to brand me deep inside.
His heat left me for mere seconds when he went to retrieve what we needed from his jeans pocket. He quickly sheathed himself and settled his weight over me once again.
“I need you inside me,” I panted, arching my back and rubbing my peaked nipples against his hard chest. “Please, Joseph. I need you.”
He bit out a curse, and I felt his hard cock line up with my slick entrance. He pushed in slowly, showing the same care for my wellbeing he’d demonstrated so many times already. He was just as big as I’d imagined, and although he took his time with me, a slight burn accompanied his penetration.
My breath came in short, shallow gasps as I struggled to accommodate him. The way he stretched my body to its limit made me feel almost unbearably full, but I was already addicted to the feel of being completely overwhelmed by him. I welcomed the burn, the edge of discomfort that came along with pleasure.
“Hold on to me,” he urged. “I’ve got you.”
Finally, I moved my arms from where they’d been stretched above my head. My fingers curved into his shoulders, clinging to him as he entered me to the hilt. He groaned at the effort of holding himself back, but he remained still inside me for several long seconds. My inner walls contracted around him, struggling to adjust to his size.
He captured my lips in a tender kiss, coaxing my mouth open so his tongue could slide against mine. I sighed and relaxed beneath him, my inner muscles finally easing enough to allow him to move within me. He pulled almost all the way out, his cockhead dragging across my g-spot. Stars burst across my vision as pleasure sizzled through me. When he began to enter me again, I rocked my hips up to meet him, craving more of the blissful stimulation.
He took up a slow, steady pace, stroking into me with care. But I could feel the tension in his lips where they caressed mine, and I knew it was almost painfully difficult for him to restrain himself.
I didn’t want him to show any restraint.
I boldly wrapped my legs around him and sank my teeth into his lower lip.
His control snapped. He snarled into my mouth and slammed into me, driving deep and hard. He began to take me without finesse, and I met each of his wild, harsh thrusts. He hit the sensitive spot inside me over and over again, sending me flying impossibly higher.
I cried out, and my core contracted around him as my orgasm rushed through me with blinding force. He kissed me harder, his tongue claiming my mouth in the same way his cock claimed my pussy.
My orgasm triggered his, and he snarled his pleasure as his cock jerked inside me. He’d taken me, marked me as his. The knowledge kept me floating in ecstasy, even as I came down from my high. Little aftershocks of pleasure crackled through my system, and he remained firmly seated inside me, as though he couldn’t bear to be parted from me, either.
He grasped my hips and rolled, positioning my body so I was draped over him. I rested my cheek on his sculpted chest, breathing him in as I lingered in bliss. He resumed praising me, murmuring about how beautiful and perfect I was. The residual physical pleasure and the joy elicited by his reverent words cocooned me in a warm glow. I relaxed into him, and his sweet endearments lulled me to sleep.
Chapter Seven
Joseph
I should’ve left half an hour ago, but I lingered in Ashlyn’s bedroom while she took a shower. When she’d woken up in my arms this morning, she’d told me I was welcome to stay—her wide eyes had practically begged me to stay—and my half-hearted insistence that I should get going had died on my tongue.
I’d slept at her place again after our explosive sex last night. Part of my mind knew that my long-denied hunger for her had deepened into obsession. I shouldn’t be so attached to her this quickly.
And on some level, I knew it wasn’t right that I was allowing myself to surrender to her allure. Ashlyn was every bit as sweet and innocent as I’d imagined. Her infatuation with me was obvious—if she weren’t infatuated, she would’ve run scared from my shockingly intense behavior. She was either too young or too inexperienced to understand that chemistry like ours could be dangerous. All-consuming. Reckless.
I didn’t have the excuse of youth or inexperience. I’d never felt a connection this strong with any woman, but I should’ve recognized that things were happening far too fast. I couldn’t think through my decisions rationally when I was drunk on her touch and affection. I’d always thrived on control, but with Ashlyn, I had none.
Last night, she’d given me just a taste of what it would be like to have her submit to my darkest desires, and it’d been the hottest experience of my life. She’d surrendered to me, but somehow, I’d lost all control even as I mastered her body. I’d lost myself in her, forgetting all the reasons I should proceed with caution.
I’d forgotten about my fucked-up past, my violent family, and my brutal enemies. And in the morning light, it was far too easy to shrug off any thoughts about the darkness I was running from.
Worrying about the mafia was all but impossible while tucked beneath the warmth of Ashlyn’s plush, pale pink duvet. Her ivory bedroom walls were sprinkled with small silver stars, and pastel-hued décor enhanced the soft, dreamlike quality of my surroundings.