Page 104 of Vows of Blood

I help her out of the shower and wrap her in towels, drying her hair, her body, and treating her like a precious and fragile treasure, because she is.

The thought of what could have happened has rattled me in a way that nothing else ever has. Not since the last time I lost her.

“Amore mio, I will always come for you.”

Sienna gives a small shake of her head.

“You shouldn’t need to come for me. I don’t want to ever have to go through anything like that again.”

Wrapping her in my arms, I let her cling to me, resting my chin on the top of her head. “I will make sure of it.”

For a moment, I consider whether this is too much. If it’s selfish of me to pull her into this world, knowing that by being at my side, she will become a target. But it’s too late now, and I’m not a good enough man to let her go.

Kissing her deeply, I point her toward the bedroom, pulling fresh clothes from the dresser, but before I can help her, Sienna yanks the comforter that’s covered in bloody pawprints off the bed, then crawls up to sit with her back against the headboard, watching me. "Come here."

Unable to refuse her anything, I join her on the bed and wrap an arm around her, letting her rest her head on my shoulder, entwining our fingers together in my lap. Really, I should be back downstairs, ensuring Corso has Mikhail under control and that my staff is okay, but I can’t make myself leave.

Sienna rests her hand on my chest, sliding it across my skin, and I twist to face her, dipping to kiss her once more. When she buries her fingers in my hair, deepening the kiss, she climbs over me and straddles my hips.

I smile but shake my head as her hands press against my shoulders, keeping my back pinned to the headboard when I attempt to lift her off.

"Sienna… you need rest, not…"

My protests die in my mouth when she untucks the towel, letting it fall away on either side, revealing her glorious body to me.

“Fuck,” I mutter, my hands sliding over her hips and up her sides to cup her breasts, taking their full weight in my palm before sliding my thumbs over her dusky pink nipples. Opening my mouth to argue that this is a bad idea, to suggest we save this for tomorrow, somehow, I find my lips wrapped around one stiff peak instead as my hand massages the other.

Sienna tips her head back, her damp hair hanging down her back as she sighs in pleasure. She rocks her hips, and I curse, unable to stop my hips rising up to rub against her.

“You almost…”

Sienna presses a finger to my lips to silence my protests, her mouth blazing a trail across my shoulder and up the side of my neck.

"Let me," she whispers against my skin, her lips brushing my ear and sending a heavenly shiver along the centre of my spine. "Please. I need this, Luca."

Rising up on her knees, she scoots forward, blue eyes staring into mine as she lines herself up above my rock-hard erection.

I stare, obsessed with the sight of me disappearing inside her as she lowers down slightly, just taking the head of my cock inside her slick channel.

“I considered leaving,” she admits. “I probably should have.”

Growling, I grab a handful of her ass, kneading the flesh, and fighting back the flash of anger that flares inside me at the mere thought.

“But even though I know I was lucky to survive tonight, I wouldn’t survive losing you. Not again.”

“You’re not leaving me,” I insist, possessiveness getting the better of me. A decent man would tell her to think about it. That she can go if she wants. But I haven’t been a decent man in years.

“No, Luca. Never.”

My heart swells, and so does my already aching cock.

“Fuck,” I mutter, any semblance of restraint vanishing with the raw emotion behind her words, combined with the feel of her warmth wrapping around me.

She moans, drawing me further in with each tiny pulse, up and down, of her hips.

My hands find her waist and lift her, then lower her, higher and lower each time, needing to set the pace, to regain some control.

“Yes,” Sienna moans, rolling her pelvis, grinding her clit against me, getting the friction that she needs, taking what she wants.