Forever (Betrothed Book 7) Read online

  I bit my bottom lip and dragged my nails down his back as I felt the explosion begin at every extremity. The fire burned all the way down to the area between my legs, and when our paths met at the same time, I exploded so hard, I lost my sight for just a second. “God…yes.” I held him harder and buried my face in his neck so I could finish while hiding my tears. I wasn’t sure how long I moaned and cried for, but it seemed like a lifetime. I didn’t realize how good an orgasm could be until Damien increased the threshold.

  He pulled my face from his neck and forced my head back onto the pillow so he could look at me. “Do you still want that come?”

  “Please…” My nails dug deep to show my enthusiasm. My climax hadn’t quenched my thirst for this man.

  His eyes darkened again, and he gave his final thrusts before he shoved his massive length inside me, making me wince because he was buried so deep, and released with the sexiest moan I’d ever heard. He suddenly dropped his guard and enjoyed the high I’d just experienced. He was vulnerable. Masculine. Passionate. He moaned over and over again until every drop was between my legs.

  I cupped his face and felt my fingers wipe away the sweat that formed in his dark hair. I kissed him everywhere, the corners of his lips, his jawline, his neck. I cherished him everywhere, because I still wanted him even though he’d already given me everything.

  After the climax, he should be soft inside me, but he was still just as hard. “I’m far from done, Annabella.”

  Fifteen

  Damien

  My phone kept ringing on the nightstand. It was on vibrate, so I heard it tap against the wood with every single ring. It wasn’t loud enough to wake me up ordinarily, but since the noise refused to stop, it was incredibly distracting.

  I partially woke up and heard Annabella sigh beside me.

  My arm flung out to the nightstand, and I grabbed the device so I could shut up the person who wouldn’t leave me alone. Without checking to see who was calling me, I answered and put the phone to my ear. “What?” My tone was clipped and sleepy at the same time. My eyes were still closed because I refused to fully wake up.

  “Are you coming in today or not?” It was Hades, his tone bursting with annoyance. “We’re supposed to meet the Salvatore brothers today, and you’re thirty minutes late. And I shouldn’t have to be your fucking alarm clock.”

  Couldn’t care less about whoever the hell he was talking about. “Take care of it.”

  “Me?” he asked incredulously. “These are your clients, asshole.”

  I grew tired of the conversation, so I hung up. I put the phone back on the nightstand and went right back to sleep.

  But he called back anyway.

  The phone rang over and over, so I was forced to answer. I took the call and growled into the phone. “Yes?”

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “I’m taking the day off, alright? Vacation day…sick day. Whatever you call it.”

  “Pussies get sick days. Now get your ass in here.”

  “I know you can handle it. Don’t call again.” I dropped the phone on the nightstand and got comfortable once more.

  Now Annabella was awake, and she scooted closer to me on the bed. She wrapped her arm around my stomach and rested her head on my shoulder. “Morning…” She pressed a kiss to my warm skin, moving from my shoulder to my neck.

  “I’m sorry that asshole woke you up.”

  “Don’t be.” She moved farther on top of me, kissing me all over the place. Her hair dragged across my skin, and her smell was intoxicating in my nose. She kissed my abs and went farther south until she found my hard dick under the sheets. “I’m happy to be awake.” She started to kiss my shaft, dragging her tongue over the tip and down along the vein until she placed a few kisses on my balls.

  All I could do was enjoy it. Now I was happy that Hades had obnoxiously ruined my morning. I had the hottest pair of lips against my body that very moment because of it. My hand moved into her hair, and I relaxed as I watched her suck me off and appreciate my morning wood.

  After I moaned a few times, I felt my body grow excited and anxious to release, so she pulled her lips away and got on top of me. Naked from head to toe, she was sexy in her tanned skin. She had nice, small tits, a flat stomach with a cute belly button, and the sexiest thighs I’d ever seen. One hand moved into her hair, and she pulled the strands from her face in the most arousing way before she planted both hands on my chest and tilted her hips so she could slide herself onto my dick.

  Like a fucking pro.

  I’d already had her the night before, but this felt like the first time all over again. My dick wasn’t used to the softness of her wet flesh. I wasn’t used to feeling her so intimately, claiming her in a way I’d never claimed another woman. I had to close my eyes and take a deep breath to steady my excitement so I would last as long as she needed.

  I watched her move up and down, arching her back and playing with her tits. Her hand squeezed her breasts, and her fingers pinched the nipples to make herself moan. She kept going, kept rolling her hips, taking every inch of my dick like it didn’t sometimes hurt her.

  I couldn’t wait to do this for the rest of my life.

  Now I understood exactly what Hades was talking about. I understood the fiery obsession, the unstoppable lust, the enormous love that beat in the heart of a man. There was no one else, and I never wanted there to be anyone else.

  My hands went to her hips, and I guided her at a slower pace because I wouldn’t last if she continued to ride me like a damn cowgirl. My threshold for climaxes hadn’t been restored because I wasn’t getting laid on a regular basis. It would take time, especially when there was nothing separating us like this. She needed to be patient, need to give me time to become the man I used to be.

  And watching her bounce on my dick with that look in her eyes wasn’t helping.

  I guided her body to grind against mine, to drag her clit over my hard body so she could bring herself to climax sooner rather than later. I needed her to shoot her load before I shot mine, because that was what I was known for. I had far too much pride to finish before my woman did.

  “I want you to come…” With her palms flat against my chest, she leaned forward and let her hair hang over my face. “You can make me come before or after. Doesn’t make a difference when we have all the time in the world.”

  We spent the day in bed, making love in different positions, getting hot and sweaty against the sheets. There wasn’t much conversation because our bodies did all the talking. I felt like a married man on his honeymoon, spending all his time fucking his wife instead of going out to dinner, sight-seeing, and whatever else people did on their vacations.

  When we were both starving well past noon, we finally had Patricia send up a tray so we could eat lunch at the dining table. Sex was a powerful distraction to make us forget about food, but when our stomachs began to growl, we couldn’t keep going.

  We sat together at the dining table, eating the fresh salads and sandwiches Patricia had prepared. We shared a bottle of wine and enjoyed the freshly baked bread from a recipe that had been in Patricia’s family for generations. The sun came through the window and made the room hot, but I knew Annabella loved the sunshine so I didn’t close the curtains.

  Her hair was such a mess, it looked like it had gotten stuck in the spinning blades of a fan, and her baggy shirt had sweat stains because she was still warm from all the fucking we did. Her face was free of makeup, but she’d never looked more beautiful. She sipped her wine and smeared jam across her French bread before she took a loud bite, the crunch audible.

  A part of me felt guilty for ditching Hades, but when I explained later why I’d bailed, he would understand. I never took a vacation or sick day, but after Annabella wanted to be with me, I didn’t want to go back to the real world until I was fully satisfied. I wanted to be in bed with her all the time, to catch up on all the time we’d lost.

  I finished the last few bites of my fo
od and spent my time staring at her, the beautiful brunette who fell in love with me for reasons I’d never understand. The gypsy said only one woman would love me for me, my soul and not my money. There was no doubt in my mind Annabella was the woman in that prophecy. And I somehow got her…despite that foreboding warning the gypsy had given to me.

  I considered myself lucky to end up with her. I’d never imagined I’d fall in love at all, let alone with a woman who had already been married—twice. But it felt right. It felt true. And now all I had to do was be happy.

  Well, I had to take care of a few things before that could really happen. It was easy to forget sometimes.

  When I looked into her beautiful face, I forgot all about her ex-husband who wanted to kill me. I forgot Heath could be his ally. I forgot I had a target on my back and Liam would pull the trigger at the first opportunity.

  But I didn’t want to think about that right now. I just wanted to look at her instead.

  She smiled when she realized I was staring. She took another bite of her food, a subtle blush to her cheeks. “Yes?”

  I couldn’t hide my own smile. “What?”

  “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “I can’t stare at you?” I grabbed my glass and took a drink. It was early in the day for wine, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t like I was drinking scotch. “You’re my woman. I can stare at you whenever I want.”

  She finished her bite and couldn’t contain her playful smile. “That’s a two-way street.”

  “I doubt you would ever want to stare at me as much as I want to stare at you, but I hope so.” I was a handsome man, fit and strong, not to mention rich, but I was nowhere near her stratosphere. She was perfect. I was flawed.

  “So, you aren’t going to work today?”

  I shook my head.

  “What about tomorrow?”

  “Why? Trying to get rid of me?”

  “No.” She chuckled like my question was ridiculous. “I just want to know how long this is going to last.”

  Forever, I hoped. “I’ll be home a few days. I never take time off, so I thought now would be a good time.”

  Her plate was empty because she enjoyed Patricia’s cooking so much, and she continued to pour the wine like alcohol had no effect on her. She smiled between drinks, visibly pleased that I was there with her. “That makes me happy. I want to see you more…” She seemed to want to say more but kept it back. She was probably tired of being confined to the bedroom for weeks on end. She wanted to get out of the house, go out to dinner with me, travel with me. But she didn’t say that out loud because she didn’t want to ruin this moment. Like me, she wanted to continue to pretend that Liam wasn’t a problem, that we didn’t still need to find a solution so we could be together safely.

  I wasn’t ready to deal with it either, so I put it to the back of my mind and decided to enjoy her instead.

  I open a new bottle of scotch and poured myself a glass. My back was to the couches and the fire, while Annabella watched the movie on TV. We’d spent the whole day in bed, but now we both needed a rest. I capped the bottle then took a drink before I turned around.

  I came face-to-face with Annabella, who emerged behind me without making a sound. I was hypnotized by her beauty, so I stood there for second and stared down at her.

  She took the glass from my hand. “No more of this.” After taking a sip, she stepped around me and poured the contents back into the bottle. Then she placed the booze and glass back into the liquor cabinet. “I’m fucking you now, so I get to nag.” She gave me a look of attitude before she walked back toward the couch.

  I watched her go, a bit turned on by her bossiness. “Hades has a medical issue. I might be as healthy as a horse.”

  She got to the couch and took a seat. “Until we know for sure, you’re cutting back.” She faced the TV and stared at the screen for a while before she noticed my silence. Then she turned her gaze back to me, unapologetic.

  I didn’t appreciate being told what to do, but damn, it was pretty hot when she did it. I sat down on the couch beside her. “Fine. I said you could nag at me when you’re fucking me. So, I guess that’s fair.”

  “Damn right, it’s fair. I want you to live a long time, Damien.”

  I’d never known how much I would enjoy being loved by one woman, but it was pretty sexy to see a babe care about me so much, that she would stand up to me to make sure I was healthy and safe.

  My arm moved over the back of the couch so my fingers could slide into her hair. “If we go to the doctor and everything is fine, am I off the hook?”

  “No. Even if you’re healthy now, you won’t be healthy soon if you continue to drink like that. So, no more.”

  “Ever?”

  “Yep.”

  “Baby, that seems a little harsh…”

  She must’ve known her demand was unrealistic because she softened right away. “All right…but you need to cut back significantly.”

  “You’ve got a deal.” I brought my face close to hers and rubbed my nose softly against her cheek. My other hand moved into her hair so I could grasp it, control her completely. I forced her lips my way and looked her in the eye before I kissed her. I’d had her all night and all afternoon, but as if those sessions had never happened, I wanted her more. My hand moved to her left hip, and I grabbed the strap of her thong so I could pull it down her long legs.

  She dropped her attitude instantly, becoming aroused like the fight was long over.

  I pinned her to the corner of the couch and pulled down my own sweats so I could fuck her while I pressed her into the cushions.

  With her top still on, she opened her legs and pulled me to her. She was tucked into the corner of the furniture so she could barely move. All she could do was take it, whatever I wanted to give her.

  I got between her legs and gave a hard thrust, pushing myself inside like I owned her, could do whatever the hell I wanted.

  Which was true. As far as I was concerned, I did own her.

  I started to fuck her hard against the couch. Lovemaking was over, and now I just wanted to have her. I wanted to take her good and hard because that was what a man was supposed to do with his woman. It wasn’t just slow and smooth strokes, quiet whispers filled with promises. It was aggressive and possessive, right to the point, and with just enough hardness to make her scream.

  But we didn’t get far because the main window shattered.

  The window that overlooked the balcony was enormous, a large arch fifteen feet in height. Made of solid glass that was bulletproof, it was indestructible. But it fractured into a million pieces, as if a bomb had just gone off and crushed it to dust. My home had been breached with weapons of warfare, the safety my castle once provided long gone. The sound of shards hitting the floor was so loud and distinct I would never forget it because it was such a cacophony, such a distinguished assault.

  I immediately went into fight mode. Danger was around us, and I needed to get my gun and get Annabella the hell out of there. I was off her in a nanosecond, my pants up as I dashed to the nightstand where I kept my pistol.

  “Move, and I’ll shoot you.” The sound of broken glass had disappeared, and now it was quiet. A man was behind me, and his voice was easy to recognize. I should’ve made my move sooner, and now I was out of time. A barrel was pointed right at my back, and with one squeeze of the trigger, I’d be dead on the floor. My nightstand was still seven feet away, and I wouldn’t be able to get to it without him piercing my skull and spraying my brains on the wall. “How did you break through the glass?”

  “That’s the least of your worries right now.” He moved his fingers and cocked the gun.

  Annabella was still in the living room, and when she realized what was happening, she gasped. “Liam, what the hell are you doing?”

  The terror in her voice made me turn around.

  Liam glanced at his former wife, then turned back to me, raising the gun a little higher. “I told you not to move, a
sshole.”

  I should shit my pants right now, but I wasn’t afraid. In the most dangerous situations, I was oddly calm. Whereas the same thing scared most people. “You’re going to shoot me anyway.” Shirtless and in just my sweatpants, I had nothing to protect me from the bullet that was about to puncture my heart. My mortality wasn’t important right now. The only thing I cared about was the frantic woman watching her greatest nightmare take place.

  “Good point,” he said. “Final words?”

  I should resent Annabella right now. I was about to die because she wouldn’t allow me to do what was necessary. But instead of feeling anger or pain, I felt something else entirely. “Yeah.” I turned my gaze to Annabella, who was already crying. “I love you.” I turned my gaze back to him. “Now, do it.”

  The gun started to shake in his grasp because of the rage heavy in his veins. Now, he wanted me dead more than before, and I only had a few seconds before I turned to worm food.

  “Liam.” Annabella slowly moved closer to him, standing in the area between us, being balanced and diplomatic. “Look at me.”

  His face was red with rage, and a bead of sweat started to form on his forehead. But her voice was enough for him to turn his gaze back to her.

  “You were right.” Tears still welled up in her eyes, and the tears that had already fallen reflected like shiny rivers down her cheeks. She was only wearing one of my shirts, long enough to cover her body to her knees. “It’s my fault that our marriage didn’t work. I was in love with somebody else, and that wasn’t fair to you. The person you should punish is me, not him.”

  Liam lowered the gun slightly. “You mean that?”

  “Yes.” Her breathing started to slow once Liam began to calm down. “And I’m so sorry for hurting you. You and I can work on this. Let’s go somewhere quiet and talk. Just don’t kill Damien.”

  The last thing I wanted was for Annabella to do something she didn’t want to do, especially on my account. She only offered him that to spare my life, but I’d rather die than let her be forced to do something against her will.