Chapter 86 Beyond Protection
Rose
"What did you mean?" I'm caught off guard by the question. I didn't expect it, and I don't even understand why he's asking, even though I know for a fact he knows the answer.
Despite this, I take a deep breath before answering.
"I guess I've always wanted something different." My parents were in a marriage of convenience. And although they eventually fell in love, it was a love more charged with duty. The men in our family, the men in clothes, tend to view their women as personal property, something they must protect…
"As it should be," Enzo whispers.
I look at him to keep him quiet.
"At least, that's how my parents' relationship sometimes felt. They like duty, responsibility. And I didn't want that. Part of me always knew I might not have a choice in marriage, but I dared to hope. I always wanted a love that was pure, not motivated by duty or responsibility. I wanted someone to care about me for me. Not because he was obligated to. Not because he bought me with a contract," I say quietly.
Enzo flinches. It's almost imperceptible, but I notice. A muscle twitches in his jaw as he turns away from me.
"I think we were doomed from the start," he mutters.
"No. That's not what I'm trying to say," I say, rising to my feet. My heart pounds with every step I take toward him. "I wanted what was best for myself, and I still do. We're not there yet, but despite the early days of my parents' relationship, they still loved each other. It might have been muted, but it was still love. And I want love too. Maybe not like theirs, but a love I can call my own.”
Pain flashes across Enzo's face. "Rose, I don't know how to give you what you want."
My chest rises and falls with every second.
"You can try. No, forget it, you're going to fucking try. Because I may not have had much choice in choosing you, but I'm choosing you now, and you're going to work hard to become a better person. Got it?"
He smiles. "I must say, not many people give me orders with the word 'understood' at the end."
"Get used to it," I say with a smile of my own. I even playfully stick my tongue out at him.
Enzo's eyes darken. "Don't stick your tongue out at me, princess. I want to suck it in my mouth."
My breath catches. As soon as he says it, the temperature in the room rises a couple of degrees. I can tell he realizes he said something wrong. Or maybe it's right, because I'm becoming increasingly aware of the lust boiling within me. My carefully controlled feelings for him.
"What's stopping you?" I ask breathlessly.
Our eyes meet, sparks flying across my skin. My chest tightens, and my heart starts pounding. We both move at the same time. His lips meet mine, and almost immediately my pulse thumps between my legs.
His teeth glide over my bottom lip in a way that drives me crazy. One of his arms wraps around my neck, pulling me close and kissing me. My body trembles from his touch.
I close my eyes, savoring the feel of his lips on mine. His hand slides down to my ass, and I gasp as he squeezes it.
"Fuck, so soft," he says against my lips.
The desire inside me rises to new heights. He continues to explore my lips like a man on a mission, keeping his word and sucking hard on my tongue. My hand slides to his hair and tugs at the roots, eliciting a groan from him.
The feel of his tongue on mine is devastating. When Enzo stirs, his cock presses against my stomach. I know it all too well.
His hands slide over my curves before he grabs me.
My hips. He turns and presses me against the wall. When he breaks our kiss, I make a protesting sound, which fades as his lips move down my throat. I arch under him, trying to get closer to him.
I feel Enzo's smile against the swell of my breasts. When he manages to free one of them, he unhesitatingly covers the hard bud with his mouth. I sob softly.
"Keep making those sounds, darling," Enzo whispers. "I beg you. Unless you want me to go easy on you."
When he looks at me, his eyes are full of desire and something else I can't quite place. His thumb slides over my nipple, teasing and pinching until I squirm.
"Tell me what you want me to do," he says quietly, continuing to squeeze my nipples, moving from one breast to the other. "Do you want me to kiss you until your pink lips are swollen?"
His thumb slid up and brushed across my bottom lip. My heart was pounding so hard I was afraid he could hear it.
"Or do you want me to sink my teeth into those sexy dark nipples? Mark you there until it's clear you're mine?"
I moan in response when he punctuates the sentence with a sharp touch to my nipple. My eyes almost roll back as he leans down to suck the sting out.
"How about we take it further?" Enzo's tone is deceptively gentle, warm as butter, unlike the dirty words he's saying to me. His hand slides down my legs to the open slit in my dress. He easily pushes the material aside, his hand slowly inching closer to my center. "How wet are you, princess?"
"Enzo," I breathe out as he rubs his finger across my damp panties.
Heat flares inside me as he pushes my panties aside before thrusting one finger inside me.
"Fuck," he curses softly, a tremor in his voice. "You're wet, Rose."
His voice is so full of lust it threatens to drive me crazy. I roll my hips, pressing against his finger, still inside me. I moan softly, my nails scratching his hands.