Becoming Mrs DeLuca novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18

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“Do you take the pill!” I asked. It came out rougher than I intended, more like a demand than a question.

It was hardly the kind of romantic words a husband should say to his new bride, but it was something I’d avoided asking all day, and it couldn’t wait any longer.

Valentina gave a quick nod, and her cheeks flushed pink as though the acknowledgment itself embarrassed

her.

Relief pricked at me. I shifted over her, settling my weight carefully as I guided myself between her thighs. My cock pressed against her opening, but the moment she felt me there, she flinched, shrinking back against the pillows.

Frustration surged hot in my chest. My body screamed to push forward while my mind snapped at me to slow the fuck down. I gritted my teeth, swallowing back the urge to snap.

“Valentina,” I said, trying to catch her eyes. There was more pleading in my voice than I liked.

Her wide eyes met mine. “Can you… hold me?”

My heart skipped a beat. She didn’t ask me to stop, she didn’t beg me not to touch her, she asked me to hold her. I nodded once, then lowered myself down, bracing on my elbows so I wouldn’t crush her. Sliding one arm beneath her back, I pulled her against me until her soft body was flush with mine.

“Like this?” I murmured, close enough that my breath brushed her lips.

She gave the faintest nod, and looked at me like she was seeking my help, my protection, my closeness.

I kissed her lightly, first at the corner of her mouth, then her full lower lip, then the top. She tasted faintly of the ginger ale she’d been nursing all evening, sweet and tangy at once. While I kissed her, I shifted my hips, aligning myself so that the head of my cock nudged her entrance.

She stiffened, holding her breath like she was bracing for impact. Sweat dampened the fine hairs at her temple, sticking to her skin. I brushed them back with my fingers, smoothing her bangs away from her forehead.

“Breathe out,” I whispered.

Her chest rose, then slowly fell as she exhaled. In that moment, I pushed forward an inch. It was enough to breach her, enough to feel her tight heat clamp around me like a vice.

Discomfort flashed across her features as her hand clutched at my bicep. The small strength behind her grip told me more than words could.

“If it’s too much, you tell me. We’ll figure something out,” I said before I could stop myself.

The softness in my voice sounded foreign, but it earned me a quick, trembling smile from her. That smile— fragile as it was- made my chest ache, and beneath me, I felt her body give the smallest, tentative bit of

room.

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Chapter 18

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Taking advantage of that tiny shift, I pressed deeper Valentina squeezed her eyes shut and let out a long breath through her nose Inch by inch, I slid into her. The resistance was both unbearable and intoxicating. She clenched around me, and I knew this was the part that would hurt her the most.

1 bent my head and kissed her temple, letting my lips linger there as if the contact alone might take away some of the sting Then, with one thrust, I buried myself fully inside her. Her body jerked beneath me in a flinch she couldn’t suppress, and the sound that escaped her lips was half gasp, half ragged breath

I shut my eyes, fighting for control as her tightness gripped me mercilessly. My cock throbbed inside her, and every nerve in my body screamed to move, to take her, to lose myself. I released a shaky breath, hovering above her, forcing myself to stay still.

“Valentina.” I rasped. “Talk to me. How are you?”

Her lashes lifted, revealing wide, uncertain eyes. “Okay,” she whispered in a trembling voice. “It’s…. strange…. feeling you inside me.” She shifted slightly under me, as though trying to make sense of her body’s new reality. “It feels… really full.”

The corners of my mouth tugged despite myself. Her words were honest, awkward, and entirely hers- my young wife trying to describe something so new.

She flushed. “I’m talking nonsense, aren’t I?”

I shook my head and cupped her cheek, running my thumb along her warm skin. “It’s not nonsense.”

Her lips parted like she wanted to say more, but no words came. Instead, I pulled back just enough to begin moving. I gave shallow thrusts at first, testing her body’s reaction. Every time I eased forward again, she tensed, but she didn’t cry or plead for me to stop. She simply endured, even though her hands were gripping me for dear life.

I kept my pace steady, gradually lengthening my strokes, sinking deeper each time. The tension in her body didn’t fully fade, but she bore it in silence, and I was grateful- grateful that she didn’t meet me with tears or sobs, grateful she wasn’t fighting me.

Her heat dragged at me, and it wasn’t long before I lost all restraint. I let myself give in, quickening my movements, chasing the release that had been clawing at me since the moment I first pressed inside her. She squeezed her eyes shut again, a faint whimper caught in her throat, and I forced myself to kiss her cheek, her temple, her jaw, anywhere I could reach.

The end came fast and rough. I couldn’t hold back, not anymore. And as I spilled my cum inside her, all I could think was that at least she would be glad that it was over.

She sucked in a sharp breath, and I went completely still. I lowered my forehead to the pillow beside hers, trying to ease the weight pressing down on her. Beneath me, she was motionless. Her chest rose and fell in shallow bursts, and for a few tense seconds I braced myself for tears, for sobs, for broken pleas.

But they never came. There was no crying. No panicked thrashing. Just her breathing, uneven but steady enough. Relief seeped through me, loosening the knot in my gut.

I eased out of her carefully, and shifted onto my side. Still, I didn’t put distance between us. I stayed close enough that she’d know I wasn’t retreating.

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Chapter 18

Valentin turned onto her side too, spilling her hair across the pillow Her wide eyes found mine Her cheeks were flushed, her lips parted like she was still trying to catch her breath. Then, in a voice so soft it barely carried, she whispered, “Thank you”

1 blinked at her. “For what?”

It wasn’t for an orgasm. I knew that I hadn’t given her that release. Not tonight. But I’d give her plenty, in time. That much I silently promised myself.

“For being patient,” she said after a pause, lowering her lashes briefly before she looked back up at me. “And…

careful.”

1 frowned, searching her face. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Her lips curved in a small, almost uncertain smile, and she didn’t answer right away. She didn’t need to. The words hung between us, unspoken but loud enough.

Memories of Serena flooded my head. Serena enjoyed playing the guilt card. She wielded her tears like a weapon, always ready to twist my guilt back on me no matter what I’d done. Even when I’d tried to be decent, she’d cried. She always cried.

“Women talk, you know,” Valentina murmured. “Some men… they don’t because it makes them feel more powerful. Some because they enjoy causing pain. And some just want to make sure there’s enough blood on the sheets so they can brag afterward…”

Her bluntness caught me off guard. For a second, she didn’t sound like a girl fumbling her way through this night but like someone who had listened and learned, who knew the uglier truths of our world.

I arched a brow. “I don’t need to prove my dominance by hurting you in bed. I’m an Underboss. I command men every day. That’s more than enough power for me. And yes, I enjoy hurting when the situation calls for it.” My tone dipped into a serious one. “But never women. Never children. That’s not the kind of man I am.”

Her gaze softened, though I could tell she wasn’t completely convinced.

“As for the last thing,” I continued, lips twisting, “maybe some men think a big bloodstain proves they’ve got a monster dick. In reality? It just proves they’ve got no clue how to use it.”

She blinked at me, and then, unexpectedly, she laughed. A real laugh, light and quick, that made something stir in my chest.

When her amusement faded, her lips curved into a teasing smile. “Do you?”

My own laugh rumbled low in my chest. “Do I what?”

“Know how to…” She trailed off as her cheeks bloomed pink. “Use it?”

I leaned a little closer, enjoying her flustered honesty more than I should have. “I think I do,” I said simply. “Tonight wasn’t about pleasure. I know that. But it won’t always be like this.”

She studied me for a long moment, tilting her head in a thoughtful way that made her look older than she was. Finally, she gave a small nod. “Okay.”

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Chapter 18

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I glanced down and caught sight of the blood smeared along my cock. A reminder of what we’d just done, of her innocence taken. With a sigh, I sat up and extended my hand to her.

“Can you sit up for a moment?”

Valentina gave me a puzzled look before she placed her small hand in mine and pushed herself upright. “Why?”

Her question barely left her mouth before her gaze followed mine, darting down the length of her body. Realization hit her instantly. Her eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Just wait a few seconds,” I said quietly.

She wrinkled her nose, making the faintest grimace. “That’s… kind of disgusting.”

“I know,” I admitted. “But it’s tradition.”

I reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair away from her face. Her eyes lifted to mine, curious, and a little shy. They were such a dark brown, like the darkest most expensive chocolate you could find. Her nose tilted upward ever so slightly, giving her a coyness that felt unintentional but no less disarming.

“Do you…” she hesitated, biting her lower lip. “Do you find me pretty?”

“Yes, I do.”

Only then did I notice I was still holding her hand. My thumb was stroking lightly along the back of it, an absent motion I hadn’t even realized I’d been doing.

“Oh.” Her voice was soft, almost surprised. “I wasn’t sure. You didn’t act like you cared much.”

It was a good thing that I’d perfected my poker face over the years and a necessary evil in my line of work. “I did and do find you very attractive.”

“Hmm. Usually I’m good at telling those things. Most men are really obvious about their interest. They get that intense look as if they want to devour you.”

Something angry and dark curled in my chest. “Did it happen often… that men looked at you like that? As if they wanted to devour you?” Despite my best intention, my voice held an edge it hadn’t before.

She tilted her head, considering me in that quiet way of hers. “Occasionally. Sometimes men who visited my father, sometimes strangers when I was in college with my bodyguards. It’s not like anyone ever approached

me.”

“Good,” I growled.

Her eyebrows darted up. “Are you jealous?”

“No… Possessive. I don’t share well. I don’t like sharing at all.”

She laughed.

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Chapter 18

“That’s funny to you? I’m dead serious.”

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She rolled her eyes. Rolled. Her. Eyes. I couldn’t even remember the last time someone had dared roll their

eyes at me.

“You get jealous over men watching me from afar, knowing full well that you gave me my first kiss in church today? You never had to share me, nor will you.”

“Have you ever given a man that look?” I questioned.

“No,” she said without hesitation.

“A sheltered upbringing doesn’t make you blind.”

She pursed her lips. “I never looked at men long enough to make up my mind about them. It didn’t seem wise, considering I wasn’t going to be the one choosing my husband.”

That was true. She had no say in the matter.

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