Page 89 of In My Heart
“I failed you tonight,” he eventually rasped, so quietly I only just heard it.
“How? You killed the man who killed my sister and ordered men to attack me. You killed one of my monsters.”
“It wasn’t vengeance, Cara. Things got out of control and Arran had to end the fucker to save my life. Kozlov died so fucking easily. He deserved pain and he didn’t get more than a few seconds of it.”
“You think I care about vengeance?” I asked, shocked. “He deserved death for what he did, and he got it. That was whatmattered. You coming home to me in one piece was what mattered. I don’t care how that sonofabitch was erased from the world. I’m just relieved he’s gone, and that you and Arran are here, safe.”
“Rafe…”
“Will be relieved there is one less psycho for this family to deal with,” I cut in. “Kozlov is gone. We should be basking in that right now.”
“Basking?” Finally he lifted his head up and met my eyes.
“Yes. Basking. It can take many forms, but I think tonight it should start with you wrapping your arms around me and kissing me. I’ve barely seen you all week.”
“It’s killed me,” he told me. “I’ve been in desperate need of some basking.”
He smiled devilishly as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer, then kissed me hard and fast.
Kisses with Dio were so different than with Cal, and even Arran. There was no doubt when Dio put his hands on me, that he was in control. It was the way he needed it to be, and I wasn’t complaining. I just held on and went with everything he gave me.
I moaned as his hands ran over my back, his touch intense through the thin cotton nightshirt I was wearing. When one of his hands found the hem and slipped under, trailing up the bare skin at my hip, I started to work the buttons of his shirt, wanting to feel more of him.
It seemed to take an age to get all of the buttons, especially since the hold he maintained on me with one hand, and the way he kept our kiss intense and non-stop, limited the movement I had,but finally I got it open enough to push it off of his shoulders, and it was so worth it as my hands ran over his tightly packed muscles. He wasn’t stocky or built like Arran, but every inch of him was tight with muscle, and his biceps bulged under my touch. His shoulders were wide and I could feel the tendons in his neck.
I was working on touch alone, since he would not relent on driving me wild with his frenzied kiss, but I loved running my hand over the hard plains of his chest and the rippling abs.
It was me who ripped away from the kiss first. I was desperate to see him, to see his tattoos that covered his arms and chest. I wanted to take in every inch of him, but just as I started to get my fill, his other hand slid under my night shirt and I became distracted.
“Tell me to stop, baby,” he rasped between kisses all over my neck and shoulders.
“Not a chance,” I returned breathily. I caught his shoulders and pulled him to me, crashing my lips over his this time, turning the tables as I kissed him with everything I had.
I reached down for the hem of my nightshirt and pulled it up over my head, breaking the kiss to get it off completely, then I tossed it aside, sitting there in his lap in nothing but my boy shorts underwear.
“Cara…” he hesitated.
“Don’t do that. Don’t doubt me,” I told him straight. “I’m ready for this with you, Dio. I know my own mind.”
“I know you do.” He smiled softly as he leaned in to cup my face between his hands. He kissed me just once, then pulled backenough to meet my eyes. “But you deserve more than this. You deserve special. The cold tile floor in the hallway is not special.”
“I don’t give a crap about special. I want you and I don’t care where that happens. It’s not about where, when, or any other bullshit. It’s about us, right here, right now.”
Things were frantic after that. Dario ripped the last buttons from his shirt to pull it off completely, all while I fumbled with the belt on his trousers. We were kissing throughout, so consumed by each other, he was all I could see, feel, and hear.
Our teeth crashed together in our fervour, the kiss a mash of tongues and lips, as Dio pushed my hands from his belt and made short work of shucking his last items of clothing. I rose up on my knees to pull down my underwear, then Dio lifted me enough for me to kick them aside.
“Tell me you have a condom,” I gasped as I settled back down over his lap, feeling the hardness of him below me.
“Shit. Yeah, but it’s in my trousers. Arran gave it to me earlier. I was confused at the time, but now I’m just fucking grateful,” he laughed.
“He said you guys would be prepared,” I explained as I reached to the side for his trousers and searched the pockets.
“You and he…?”
“Yes, is that okay?” I asked as I froze and looked to him with trepidation.
“Of course it is, baby. We’re all in this relationship. I knew it would happen,” he assured me, reaching up to tenderly tuck wild strands of my hair behind my ears.
