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CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

T he door shut behind them, and Nina wasted no time jumping into action. She reached for Robert just as he did for her.

Their kisses were urgent, their hands tugging at clothes, uncaring if they tore or crumpled.

Robert nipped at Nina’s lips, then surfaced for air with a curse. ‘I need to check that wound.’

Fuck her wounds! Her entire body raged with fire, and Robert was the only balm she needed. She gripped his head. ‘Later.’

Nina wrapped her arm around his shoulders and squashed her breasts to his chest, trying to soothe the ache she felt for him. Her hand caressed his face, those cheeks, that chiselled jaw.

She framed his face between her hands, leaned in – then froze. Oh fuck. He looked like a gladiator after a successful fight. His entire face was smeared with blood from the gash on her hand.

A laugh bubbled out of her. What was it with this man making her laugh during sex?

Robert blinked at her, then his eyebrows furrowed. ‘Hey! Stop that! How am I funny to you? Is it a thing for you to?—’

Nina snorted. ‘Robert, it’s you.’ She pressed a quick kiss to his lips then untangled herself from him.

Holding Robert’s hand, she led him into the bathroom. The moment she flicked on the light, Robert let out a curse. Once more, she let her laughter fill the room. ‘I sh-should be ho-horrified.’

Robert turned to her, the shock on his face morphing into a smirk. ‘It just shows what a brave warrior I am. Now won’t you clean me up and give me a proper hero’s welcome?’

The door to the bathroom slammed shut, and this time Robert pushed her, cornering her until she stood under the shower. When the warm water cascaded, smacking her right in the face, Nina yelped. ‘Robert!’

He laughed like a man who knew all her secrets, eyes transfixed on her soaked shirt, drinking in the outline of her black bra and peaked nipples.

Nina bit her lip, toes curling with anticipation. That wild glint in his eyes showed his primal hunger for her .

Without breaking his gaze, Robert’s fingers expertly unbuttoned his shirt before he dropped it on the floor. As he unzipped his trousers, the bathroom mirror steamed up. Yet Nina shivered. Oh fuck, this man looked sexier than any GQ model and stronger than any superhero out there. God, how had he gone from attractive to lip-smacking perfection in such a short time?

She squeezed her legs together, that ache between them pleading to be soothed. When he finally dropped his pants, freeing his dick, Nina gasped. He wanted her. If she’d doubted that before, his erect member didn’t lie. Not one bit.

Her heartbeat picked up. Oh God, this felt so different from the last time. So very different from all the times before.

Every step he took, Nina took a step back.

She wanted to hurl herself at him, demand he take her right there, but the man now standing under the shower with her… This man wasn’t here for a stolen night of pleasure.

Aye, she had set out the rules. Had said she didn’t trust him, had said there would be nothing between them but the physical. But, oh fuck, she’d been as naive as a virgin.

Her breath stuttered. The eyes that gazed at her, the hands that caressed her face… they asked her one question. ‘Are you with me, baby?’

Nina swallowed. Her back now pressed against the wall, she glanced up at him. Tonight when he touched her, her rules would shatter. Tonight, as their bodies came together, their hearts would tango.

Robert dropped his head, his mouth now next to her ear. ‘Let me soothe you, baby.’

Nina’s legs squeezed tighter, her core screaming, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ but her head, her rational logic, blared the alarm. ‘Run! Run! Run!’

Nina rose on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to Robert’s cheek. ‘I’m with you.’

He sighed, his relief audible despite the pattering of the shower water. Their lips met, and Robert’s hands finally cupped her breasts, both soothing the fire and setting her ablaze anew. His fingers caressed her, his thumb toying with her nipples, and she arched her back, leaning into the pleasure.

But it wasn’t enough. She needed to be closer.

She hitched her leg around Robert’s waist, finding the heat of his member, and Robert gripped her waist and picked her up. He held her using just one hand, the other caressing her arse, leg, torso, then her breast.

Under the explorations of her own hands, his muscles rippled with strength – not just physical but the one that came from his heart. This man was precious. Not just because he wanted to do the best by people, but because he was him .

Nina slowed their kisses, sliding down to the floor. Then she reached for the soap, gathering the liquid in her hands.

With a grin, she reached down and spread the soap all over him, her touch languorous but firm. Robert threw his head back with a groan. ‘Nina.’

She leaned in and kissed his chest. ‘Yes?’

He responded with a growl, eyes shut tight.

Nina didn’t let up on her machinations; instead, she found the lines of his chest muscles and traced them with her tongue. She found her way to his torso, then lower, down, down, down, until she crouched in front of him.

‘Nina.’ This time, his eyes were wide, a warning in his voice.

She cupped his arse, giving the left cheek a little pinch.

‘Oh!’ He jerked.

A giggle slipped from her, then she lowered her head to kiss him – just on the tip of his sensitive skin. Then her hand found him again, rubbing up and down to wipe away the soap. With a final smirk, Nina opened her mouth and took him in.

‘Shit! Fuck.’

It had been a long time since she’d done this. A long time since she’d trusted a man enough, wanted a man enough for this.

Loving him now, tasting him now, hearing his pleasure, Nina felt power buzz through her. It should have scared the living daylights out of her. To feel such strong emotions for another human being.

No matter what they’d promised earlier, they weren’t guaranteed a tomorrow. She could go to prison, and he’d be forced to testify against her in court.

Robert held her arms and pulled her up. She found herself pressed against the cold wall, a shiver zinging through her, before Robert covered her with his warmth.

He tugged at her nipples, kissed in between the valley of her breasts, then trailed his lips up to her collarbone, her throat, stopping just short of her lips. ‘You drive me mad.’

Standing this close to her, his eyes whispered the secrets of his soul. Yes, they held ravenous hunger – and something else, something much more powerful.

Nina cupped his face and felt that same something zing through her. She lifted her head and found his lips. Their kiss was slow, gentle, as if each felt the other was as fragile as a butterfly’s wing. Perhaps it was because they were both as flight-prone as a butterfly. But right there, cocooned in each other, they were tethered.

Robert lifted her legs to wrap around his torso; she wrapped her arms around his neck and settled. And with their eyes still locked on each other, Robert entered her.

The sensation of him sliding in inch by inch, finding the deepest part of her, had her whimpering.

Once again he kissed her, held her tighter than he ever had before. Then they moved together, satisfied with a luxurious pace, basking in this feeling of being joined. This time it wasn’t external emotion that had driven them to make love. It was their hearts.

As the pressure built, approaching that acute climax, Robert’s muscles grew taut, and Nina whimpered, knowing she was right by his side.

She tightened her hold on him, clutching him to her body until the pressure reached its crescendo.

She came apart so hard, Nina pressed her head into the wall, buoyed by the air around her. Seeing stars – she now understood that expression.

Her breaths stuttered out in puffs, her heart hammering as if she’d run uphill.

Slowly, like a victim after an explosion, Nina fluttered her eyes and found the surreal feeling mirrored back at her in Robert’s gaze. She placed her hand on his heart and felt its frantic beat sync with her own.

Then they melted into each other, allowing the warm water to flow over them, enveloped in the safety of each other’s arms.