Stolen from the Hitman: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance(57)

“Too late now,” I reply quietly, tilting my face upward as our lips meet in an inevitable, questioning kiss. His lips are so soft and sensuous against mine, cautious at first. And then his hands move to pull me closer and I gasp into his mouth as he kisses me more passionately. My whole body tingles with pent-up desire. I have known from the first moment his skin touched mine that this would happen. I knew we would end up here. It was only a matter of time.

We were always walking down this path. I just never saw it until now.

His one hand wraps itself in my hair, tugging gently, while the other slides down to cup my ass. I can feel his cock straining through his trousers, hard against my thigh. His arms wrap around me and in one shared, fluid movement, he supports me as I hoist myself up into his embrace, my legs folding around his waist. His lips trail down my jaw to nip at my neck, making me gasp and moan in pleasure. I’ve never been touched like this before — never even been kissed except for that one unnatural, unwanted kiss from Will.

But this… I want this more than anything, without a hint of doubt.

Being so close, his scent teases my nose, a rugged cologne that brings out his masculinity. I’ve never been so aware of how someone smells, how they touch, and certainly never how they tasted. His tongue presses in against mine and a thrill goes down my spine as my mouth opens to let him explore.

My eyes close, and for a moment, it’s like the entire world stands still. All the tension of the day drains away as I’m held by him, as his mouth moves from mine down to my neck, and back again. He’s ravenous for me, his body intent on exploring mine. It’s a thrill I’ve never known, and my hips slowly start grinding against his waist, needy for more.

Max carries me easily into the bedroom and presses me down into the bed, crawling over me and kneeling to take off his jacket and shirt, revealing his strong, broad chest and muscular arms. I look again over his scarred chest, over all the marks of his storied past, and this time I don’t recoil. This time I just accept them, like I accept him. My fingertips go to the burn mark, lightly touching it, as if in apology for all the pain it has caused him. It was a symbol of who he was, and now it’s gone, but never forgotten.

He bends down to kiss me again, his fingers trailing down to tug my leggings down, tossing them aside, then doing the same with my flowy tank top. I feel so vulnerable, but at the same time... that feels good. Because I can trust him. The way he looks at me, over my partially nude body, makes my breathing hitch in my throat. I wonder what he’s thinking about when he’s looking at me.

I don’t have to wonder long, though, because quickly his mouth drops to my collarbones, and he’s licking and suckling my skin, his hands working up and down my legs.

“You’re so beautiful,” he says, his voice huskier with passion. “From the first moment I saw you, I knew I’d have to watch myself with you.”

His words send a jolt through my nerves, and he lifts me up against him, grazing his teeth along the hollow behind my ear as he unhooks my bra and drops it over the side of the bed. Gently laying me back down, he hovers over me a moment, his enigmatic green eyes surveying my bare breasts. I always feared that I would feel uncertain in this moment, but instead I just feel liberated.

I feel wanted.

“I tried to resist you,” he says, his fingers running over my flesh, along my rib cage, exploring me with his fingertips. “I know I should, even now. But I’ve never felt like this for a woman, and I don’t know if I’ll ever have this chance again.”

His honesty startles me, and I have to bite my lip just to keep from gasping. I had no idea I meant that much to him. I had no idea I could mean that much to anyone. My fingers go to his dark, tousled hair, and they run through it, guiding his mouth back to mine.

“I want you to be my first, Max,” I say, and that makes him pause. That battle again goes on behind his eyes, the knowledge that we shouldn’t be doing this. I’m his student, someone he’s supposed to be looking out for, but I think he’s done that better for me than anyone ever could.

And I know our connection, what we feel, won’t go away. Our attraction was always meant to bubble over like this, and I don’t want to fight it.

“Don’t fight it,” I say, and my mouth meets his once more. I’ve never learned how to kiss, but my tongue probes his lightly, like he’d done to mine, and within a few seconds, I feel him press back in before pulling back.

“I won’t take advantage of you, after all you’ve been through,” he says, and for a second I think that means he’s going to leave, but instead his mouth encompasses my left breast, taking my nipple in between his teeth. The little spark of pain makes me moan.