Over the top of Sasha’s head, Alexei caught Misha’s unblinking gaze. That stoic stare didn’t laugh, didn’t mock. Unlike Grigoriy’s, Misha’s mouth didn’t curl at the corners with silent amusement. Yet a speculative light flickered in his fiery blue eyes, more so than the way he usually studied the world around him. Alexei didn’t like that penetrating blue light. Didn’t like the implication that Misha knew more than Alexei had intended to reveal.
Still, there was nothing he could do about it now. He had slipped in front of the most perceptive man he knew. A man who guarded Alexei’s darkest secrets and could name the ghosts of his past.
With a slight nod of acquiescence, Misha backed off, wandering to the attached kitchenette, leaving Alexei to comfort Sasha in relative privacy. More respect than Grigoriy had ever offered.
Alexei edged her out of his embrace and untangled his hand from her hair. Using two fingers, he lifted her chin until her watery blue eyes met his. “It’s okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She shook her head, surprising him. “I was worried about you.” A tear tracked down her cheek. “I’ve never been more scared.” She drew in a deep, shaky breath and pressed her palm to his cheek. “Not for me. For you.”
He didn’t know what to do with that confession. For a moment, the ground moved so violently beneath his feet, he thought he might stumble to his knees. She was telling him more than he could acknowledge, more than he could comprehend.
More than he had ever deserved.
He dealt with the staggering blow the only way he knew how—he dipped his head and caught her in a soft kiss. Her mouth fluttered
beneath his, her breath little more than involuntary hiccups. Then her lips caught his and welcomed him to more.
Slowly, languorously, he savored the sweet taste of pure emotion. He allowed it to soak into his veins the way her tears had soaked into his shirt, one tiny drop at a time that seeped outward until his chest tightened uncomfortably and the forbidden dreams he harbored stirred to life. Then, when that all-encompassing feeling threatened to choke him with the futility of it all, he demanded more from her mouth. Nudged her lips farther apart and claimed her with deep, possessive strokes of his tongue. Passion was easier to accept, pleasure something he could willingly give.
A low, quiet moan vibrated in her throat as she flattened her palms against his back and slid them up his spine. There were no lies in that raw sound. No fallacies he could convince himself she didn’t mean. Just simple, unguarded truth.
He drank it in, desperate to believe her unspoken promises could somehow heal the darkness in his soul. They couldn’t; she’d never understand how it felt to watch his mother wither, to know the only way to save her came with money only he could earn. The kind of money no part-time job would yield. If Sasha ever learned the truth of what he had done, she’d withdraw those promises.
But for now, they were everything he needed.
He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers, eyes closed, heart racing. He didn’t care if Misha watched while he took her on the couch, but he suspected she wouldn’t be so agreeable to having a witness. “I need you, princess. Need to be buried inside you, now.”
She tipped her head to brush her lips against his. “I need you too.”
No way could she possibly mean that the way he did, but the words gave him contentment enough. He bent, scooped her into his arms, and carried her down the hallway to the steps that led to the bedroom. There, he set her on her feet, intending to take her by the hand and escort her to that great big luxury bed.
Instead, Sasha turned into him, her hands pushing his shirt up as
her mouth greedily fastened on his. The slide of her soft palms over his ribs made it impossible to concentrate on navigating the stairs. She let out a tiny sound of frustration, and her hands dropped from beneath his shirt to the button of his jeans. “Too many clothes.”
Alexei chuckled, despite himself. Somehow, between the frenzied assault of her hands and his own deep need to feel her skin sliding against his, they made it down the stairs, shedding clothing as they descended. At the bottom, they fell onto the bed, a tangle of questing fingers and tongues.
Desire was fierce and instantaneous. So was the need. But something deeper pounded at Alexei, refusing to let him surrender to the blistering pleasure of her fingers as they wrapped around his cock and stroked. With a determined grunt, he caught both her wrists in one hand, wrested them above her head, and pinned her to the mattress with his body. She stilled, wide blue eyes looking up at him. Filling with affection that reached in and fisted around his heart.
“Stop,” he murmured as he dipped his head to flick his tongue around her nipple. “Let me love you tonight.” He raked his teeth across the distended bud, then closed his lips around it and sucked firmly. When she arched her back and let out a whimper, he let her nipple slide from his mouth with a quiet pop. “Let me love you the only way I can.”
Surrender came with her soft sigh. She went limp beneath him, compliant to whatever he desired. That unhesitating trust only fueled the desire in his blood, and his cock bobbed against her thigh impatiently.
His dick was going to have to wait tonight. She had given him something priceless moments ago in the other room. He knew only one way to return the gift.
Still holding her hands above his head, he crouched above her and drew her opposite nipple into his mouth. He rolled the hard nub against his tongue, nipped with his teeth. She tugged at her hands, let out a plaintive mewl that he did his best to ignore. His balls pulled
into his body anyway and a bead of pre-come moistened his swollen cock head. He shifted his gaze to her face.
God he loved this. Loved watching her give over to passion, the way her expression softened and darker color infused her eyes. She watched him through long, thick lashes, a smile faintly touching the corners of her parted lips. He held her gaze as he moved down her body, over her belly button, to the rise of flesh at the juncture of her legs. There he paused as her entire body tensed.
His gaze moved to where he held her wrists. “Don’t move.” He released her hands.
She moved, but only to grab the sheets at her sides. Alexei slid his palms down her strong thighs, stopping just above her knees to dip his fingers between them. With gentle pressure, he parted her legs, then using two fingers, parted the wet folds of her pussy. Soft, pink flesh glistened like a dew-kissed tulip. He dipped the tip of his middle finger in that sweet cream, then swirled it around her clit. Her breath hissed through her teeth.
“I want you to come against my tongue, princess. I want to taste your bliss.” His mouth hovered against her damp flesh, a breath away from doing just that.
“Oh, God, Alexei…” As she curled her fingers tighter in the sheets, she spread her legs farther apart, inching that swollen flesh closer to his lips.
He gave her contact. One prolonged stroke of his tongue swept from her clenched opening to her clit. Her hips lifted off the mattress, and another delightful mewl tumbled from her lips. Using his elbows, Alexei wedged her thighs apart, lowered his head, and suckled at her engorged clit.
T
he pleasure was intense. Alexei dominating her body, his tongue mastering her emotions—Sasha’s head reeled from the slow, deliberate way his mouth worked her over. Ecstasy tripped down her spine,
making her dizzy. She wanted,
needed
to hold on to something, to hold on to
him
, but his instruction not to move kept her from tangling her fingers in his long hair. She clenched her fists so tight her nails bit through the sheet into her palm.
“Alexei…” Her voice was ragged, hoarse.
Another shot of bliss speared through her womb as he swept his tongue through her pussy and teased her aching opening. She wriggled against him, aching for more. Needing the hard length of him pressing inside her, easing the slow burn that spread through her veins. Turning her head to the side, she bit down on her lower lip, tormented.
“Look at me, princess.”
The brief respite that came with his words was enough to give her momentary strength. The unrelenting pressure in her womb ebbed, allowing her to do as he asked. But when she turned her head, and her gaze met the dark intensity of his green eyes, he worked two fingers inside her opening.
Sasha bucked against the blisteringly pleasant intrusion. She forgot his instruction not to move and speared her fingers into his unruly hair. He met the lift of her hips, his mouth moving over her again, his wicked tongue taking her to the precipice of release.
She loved this. Loved the intimacy that flowed between them when she was as open as she could be, bared to his ever-gentle will.
“You feel so good,” she murmured as she gyrated her hips in a lazy circle.
He hummed a note of satisfaction.
The vibration shot straight to her heart and wrenched a cry from her throat. She forced her eyes to remain open, to stay on his. But he lifted his head, his fingers still working gently in and out of her, and the pleasure she saw in those mesmerizing depths dazed her. For one fleeting moment she couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but lose herself in his searing gaze. Then, as he dipped his head and flicked his tongue across her clit once more, violent need erupted in her core. Her womb clenched around his fingers.
His gaze flickered to an even darker hue.
She was going to break apart. She felt it in her soul. Watching him watching her—the connection was electric. Like shockwaves surging over a flat plain, obliterating everything in their path.
“Alexei. Sweet heaven,
please.
” She needed him harder, deeper. Needed something she didn’t quite understand, but knew only Alexei possessed.
At the same time he lifted his head to dust his mouth over hers, he pushed his fingers inside again and pressed his thumb to her clit. She cried out, the sound dying in his throat. Her feet flattened on the mattress and she lifted higher, chasing the pinpoints of ecstasy that lurked at the fringes of her mind.
“Come for me, princess,” he whispered against the side of her neck. “Let me take you there. Let me see it hit you.”
He dropped his mouth to her pussy again, taking her clit between his teeth and giving it a none-too-gentle nip. Sasha soared over the edge, writhing against the painfully pleasant pinch and surging headlong into unchained release. She curled her nails into his scalp with a sharp cry.
Alexei guided her through her orgasm with slow, steady strokes of his tongue. Gently he brought her down from that dizzying height, grounded her once more in the reality of the passion that they shared and the deep intensity of feeling he alone created in her soul. She loosened her hold on his head, let her body sink into the mattress.
Wearing the faintest hint of a smile, he rose to his knees and crouched over her sated body. His gaze dipped between them to the hard, thick length of his unsheathed cock. “Like this?”
Oh, God yes. She didn’t want any barriers between them. Not tonight. Not after thinking she’d lost him and having her heart nearly break.
Never again.
Nodding, she looped her arms around his neck and guided his body into hers. His eyes closed for a split-second as his cock pressed against
her slick opening. Then his jaw tightened, and with a slow thrust, he sank deep inside.
Buried as deep as he could go, Alexei stilled. Beneath her hands, Sasha felt the muscles in his shoulders flex. Inside her womb, she felt the pulse of his cock.
Heaven. Perfection…Nothing else on this earth compared to the feel of his body sinking into hers, his comfortable weight pressing her into the mattress, his long hair dusting against her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him more tightly, lifted her legs to lock them around his waist and take him even deeper.
“Ah,
fuck
, Sasha…” A shudder rolled down his spine and vibrated into her. “You’re fucking perfect.”
As he angled his hips and slowly withdrew, the sound of footsteps drew Sasha’s attention to the balcony at the top of the stairs. There, arms folded across his broad chest, Misha leaned a hip against the iron railing. Watching them.
In the back of her mind, Sasha knew she ought to be offended. Ought to be appalled that a man she’d known for only a few seconds was watching Alexei fuck her.
Instead, the dark appreciation that glinted in his eyes only aroused her further. Let him watch. Let him witness the way she gave herself to Alexei so completely. For no other man could ever have this part of her, could ever touch the depths of her soul that Alexei held in his hands. She could never be ashamed of this. Of the man she loved without reservation.
Turning her head away from the balcony and Misha’s stoic stare, she captured Alexei’s mouth and surrendered to the glide of his body, the thrust of his cock.
Love him.
Yes, she loved him. Loved the way he touched her, the way he stayed by her side, protecting her, keeping her safe from Kadir and even his own partner.
Alexei moved inside her again, and Sasha’s thoughts fragmented. Love, Misha—all that mattered was the pleasure that suffused her.
Alexei dropped his mouth to her breast, suckling as he drove in harder. Each draw on her nipple pulsed pleasure through her womb and clamped her inner walls around his cock. Each release made her whimper with the delight of it all.
“Sasha. Ah, princess. There you go.” Alexei’s voice was hoarse. His biceps twitched with the evident strain of holding himself back. “Damn. I could stay here…” He sucked in a sharp breath, pounded into her once more, and exhaled. “Fucking forever.”
She couldn’t stop her moans. They slid from her throat unbidden, falling from her lips to muffle against his shoulder. Ecstasy spiked, claiming her with wild ferocity. She sank her teeth into his shoulder to stifle a sharp cry and felt herself explode.
Alexei was right there with her, calling out her name on a strangled groan, pulsing hot jets of his release inside her. His arms came around her tightly, and he cradled her against his body as he spilled himself once more. She held on just as tightly, wanting to be
part
of him. Needing to be inside him as he was buried inside her.