“I want to watch you fall apart for me.”
And then he pushed inside, slow and unyielding, stretching her, claiming her, until there was nothing left but him. The air thickened with anticipation, but he didn’t rush. Instead, he studied her, fingers trailing over her breasts.
She opened her mouth to answer, but the words never came. Their bodies moved together in a rhythm as old as time, the slow slide of skin against skin, the heat building betweenthem with every thrust, every gasp, every whisperedplea.
Jazz clung to him, her nails digging into his back as pleasure built to an unbearable peak, every touch, every kiss unraveling her completely. She had never known anything like this—this aching, all-consuming connection that shattered her, redefinedher.
Titus groaned her name, his voice thick with desire, his control slipping as he drove them both higher. “Look at me, Jazz,” he commanded, his lips brushing over her jaw, her cheek, her mouth. “I want to see you come apart for me.”
She obeyed, her eyes locking with his, drowning in the hunger, the raw possession, the unspoken promise that she was his. That she had always been his. The moment crashed over her like a tidal wave, pleasure fracturing through her as she cried out his name, her body tightening around him, pulling him with her into oblivion.
Titus followed, his release ripping through him, his arms locking around her as if he could keep her in this moment forever. He buriedhis face in her neck, his breath ragged, his body trembling from the force ofit.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. The only sound was their mingled breaths, the crackling fire, the steady beat of his heart against herown.
Then, slowly, he shifted, rolling them so she was tucked against his chest, his grip unyielding, as if he refused to let hergo.
Jazz lay there, her body sated, her mind spinning. She should say something. She should push him away before she lost herself completely. But she couldn’t. Notyet.
Because, for the first time since this marriage had begun, she felt like she truly belonged tohim.
And that terrified her more than anythingelse.
Chapter 2
SHE FITagainst him like she’d always belonged there.
Titus lay awake, his body relaxed but his mind clear, taking in the golden strands of Jazz’s hair spilling over his arm. She slept deeply, wrapped around him, her breath warm against his chest. His palm rested on the small of her back, fingers splayed over bare skin, absorbing her warmth.
This was right. Inevitable.
He’d told her this marriage was practical, that it was about family and financial advantage. He’d let her believe that. Let everyone believe that. It was easier thatway.
But Jazz Mirabella had been his from the moment he laid eyes onher.
The first time he saw her, something in him settled. Adeep, unwavering certainty.
She was meant to behis.
That certainty had only solidified when she stood across from him yesterday, wearing his ring, bound to him in every way that mattered.
Now, she lay in his bed, in his arms. And he had no intention of ever letting hergo.
Possessiveness swirled in his chest, hot and undeniable. Not just because she was here, tangled up with him, but because she belonged here. With him. Always. He had made that choice long before she had ever spoken his name. Long before she had agreed to be his wife. And now, with her breath warm against his skin, her body pressed into him so trustingly in sleep, that certainty settled even deeper. He had claimed her.
His gaze drifted down, tracing the elegant curve of her spine. Her skin was smooth, warm beneath histouch, still carrying the faint evidence of last night—his touch, his possession. She wore him now, whether she realized it yet ornot.
A flicker of movement drew his attention.
Her hand, resting on the sheets beside him, shifted slightly. Atiny smudge of darkened skin caught his eye—afaint, shadowymark.
Titus frowned, eyes narrowing.
Slowly, he lifted his ownhand.
The same smudge marred hispalm.
A low hum rumbled in his chest.
