Page 27 of When She Falls (The Fallen)
I grab her jaw with my palm and tilt her face up. “Since you seem so fucking good at bending to your parents’ will, let’s see how well you bend to mine.”
She gasps, her pink mouth falling open.
I lean in and kiss her.
She’s always been so sharp around me, so for a moment, I’m taken aback by the softness of her lips. They mold perfectly to mine. I curl my other hand around her nape and pull her closer, holding her in place so that she won’t break the kiss until I get my fill.
My tongue lashes out, forcing past her lips and into the heat of her mouth. She makes a sound. A strangled moan. Perhaps, a muffled protest.
Fuck, I really shouldn’t be doing this. But after all the buildup, all the tension, this is a heady release. I lick inside her mouth, gorging on her taste. It’s laced with remnants of that sweet wine, but now the flavor is perfect. Exquisite.
We fit together. Her smaller body is snug against mine, her breasts pressing against my chest, their nipples hard enough to—
“Fuck!”
I stagger backwards, black spots bursting across my vision and pain shooting up my groin.
She kneed me in the balls.
I grin through the pain. Yeah, I fucking earned that.
“Have you lost your damn mind?”
Her question wipes the smile off my face.
Actually, it’s her tone.
Panicked. Afraid.
I glance up at her from my bent-over position. She’s all the way on the other side of the kitchen now.
Even in the dim light, I can see her eyes glistening, her chin trembling.
Cazzo.
Despite the pulsating pain, I force myself to straighten up. There’s an unpleasant falling sensation in my gut, a delayed realization that maybe I took it too far.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Gemma wipes her lips slowly, making a show of her disgust.
My stomach bottoms out. She’s upset.
Her nostrils flare. “Do you know what would happen to me if my father saw what you just did?” She gives her head an indignant shake. “I should have known. I should have left this kitchen as soon as you appeared.”
It’s a game between us, isn’t it? I kissed her. She kneed me. We’re even. Only she doesn’t seem to think so. “Gemm—”
She slams her fist against the counter, her eyes blazing with fury. “This is the hardest time of my life. I’m barely managing as is. And you’ve come along and decided to make me into your entertainment. Don’t you think I have enough problems to deal with as is? Or do you think this is fun for me? Hearing people talk about how crazy the family that I’m marrying into is? It’s a joke for them, but there’s nothing funny about it. It’s my fucking life. My life they’re laughing at. Me.”
I feel my blood seep out of my face.
Fuck. I hurt her.
Now I’m the one panicking. “No one is laughing at you.”
She snarls. “You are. You don’t even bother trying to disguise it. You’re either mocking me or you’re trying to dissect me like I’m some lab animal. Leave me alone. I’m not doing this for myself. I’m doing this for my family. Out of loyalty. Do you even know what loyalty means?”
“Of course I—”
“You’re loyal to Damiano. If he told you something was important, that it was critical for you to do it, would you?”
