Free Keep: The Wedding: Romanian Mob Chronicles by Kaye Blue Page B

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    I lingered over Maria as she slept, watching her peaceful face. I loved her with all my heart.
    I also envied her. Her life was so free from all the ugliness. It hit me then that I had allowed myself to believe I could protect her, that together we could keep her safe, but today had proven how wrong I was.
    I lingered for a moment longer and then went to where he stood outside of the nursery. Without thought, I buried my face against his massive chest. His arms went around me, and I pulled him closer, leaned on him, hoping I could steal some of his strength, his courage.
    I could hear the questions he wanted to ask, was ready to answer them as best I was able, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he scooped me up and carried me the short distance down the hall, and he didn’t stop until he reached our bathroom. I closed my eyes and kept my face against his chest, listening to the strong thud of his heart, letting the sound ground me, remind me I was back with him, back where I was supposed to be.
    He held me as he moved, and I listened to the sound of rushing water as he turned on the faucet. When he set me on my feet, I opened my eyes and met his. The love, the anger, the relief I saw there matched what I felt, and I reached for him and held him again.
    After a moment, he broke away and peeled the clothes from my body and then did the same with his own. I wrapped my arms around him again, pressed my face against his chest and just breathed.
    He broke away and sat in the tub and then pulled me atop him. I gave myself over to the warmth of the water, gave myself to the feeling of his body under mine, his hands against me.
    Here, in this moment, nothing mattered but him, his lips against my neck, his hands against my arms, my breasts, my thighs.
    Vasile didn’t speak, but words weren’t necessary. He spoke with his touch, and with each caress, each stray kiss, I felt his love. He settled his hands around my waist and turned me, his movements strong, sure, his heavy hands against me a comfort. Each second that Vasile’s hands were on me, each second his body was under mine helped set the world to right, reminded me I was really here, that I was home with the man I loved.
    His hardness nudged against my opening insistently, and when I looked into his eyes, I saw his urgency, felt it in the slight tremble in his hands. I reached between our bodies and stroked his thick length, his skin hot against my hands even in the water. Vasile lifted me, and I arched my hips and lowered myself. Only the very tip of his cock breached me, but I cried out, my body and my mind both relieved and filled with passion from his touch.
    Lips, soft, gentle, brushed against my neck, but as Vasile kissed me softly, he tightened his hold on my hips and pushed me down until he was fully inside me. He continued to nibble against my flesh, tracing his lips against my collarbones softly. His hands, however, gripped me even tighter, and he lifted me up and then pushed me down, each thrust spreading the flesh that yielded to his, sending me higher and wiping away the last traces of the fear lingering inside me. Soon, they were gone, and all that remained was the pleasure that lit my body, the love that filled my heart. And those were what I held as Vasile drove me to climax.
    He stilled, his breath warm against my ear as he emptied himself inside me, his warmth filling me, the strongest, most undeniable proof I was safe, that I was home.
    We stayed in the bath long after the water had cooled and my heart slowed. Eventually, though, he stood and then lifted me, dried me, and carried me to our bed. He laid me down gently and then reached for my hand, held one of mine with both of his.
    I looked down at our joined hands, felt the roughness of his fingers against mine, saw the dark ink that marked his skin. I let my thumb trace the letters that I couldn’t read but that I understood so well.
    “Tell me what happened,” he said when I finally lifted