Page 13 of Dangerous Liaisons

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we let our guards down. This is a volatile crowd, especially with newcomers around.” Hunter took another swig of his beer. “We can’t afford any surprises.”

“I get it.” His mind raced back to the moment in the kitchen. He could still feel the heat of Isabella’s gaze, the thrill of their conversation. There was potential there, but wrapped in layers of complications.

“Good. Let’s get back to the fights.”

Forcing himself to smile, Xavier pushed himself off the railing. He took a deep breath as he followed Hunter and pushed aside his thoughts of the dark-headed Russian.

CHAPTER SIX

It was a perfect night for a swim, and without hesitation, she changed into a swimsuit upon her return home. Kira stayed behind at the clubhouse, checking on her only a split second before, when satisfied she would be okay, she had cornered Eddie. The man had not objected to her advances, and Isabella knew she was all but forgotten. In the back of her mind, she knew she should forbid the interaction between the two, but it had been too long since the woman had enjoyed herself. The years since Nikolai’s death had been hard on them, so the idea of ruining a simple moment of happiness for her friend seemed ridiculous to even debate.

Isabella allowed herself to tread water as she stared up at the night sky. She missed Russia, but there was something about California and her home that she couldn’t bring herself to be apart from for long. The house was too big for her and Mikhail, even with Kira staying there, but it had been the last piece of property Nikolai purchased before his death. She couldn’t bring herself to sell it.

Instead, she had returned a year later after his death and furnished it enough to where it had become a loving, safe home for her son. While he had only been there a few times, his room possessed all of his favorite toys and a closet full of clothes for the times she allowed him to travel with her. Her earlier call to Mikhail almost brought her to tears. He was growing so fast, his world opening to his questioning curiosity, and not a day went by that he didn’t remind her of his father.

After a few laps, she pulled herself from the water and wrapped herself in a robe. She towel dried her hair as she made her way to the kitchen, the act of grabbing a glass from a cabinet almost a nightly ritual at this point. She poured vodka into the cup and added a few ice cubes. It was halfway to her lips when the surveillance monitor next to the coffee machine captured her attention. She lowered the glass onto the counter, and a familiar motorcycle parked in the driveway, two guards approaching the rider.

Glass in hand, she ventured toward the front door and gave little thoughtto her state of dress before she opened it to stare at her visitor with a raised eyebrow. She motioned him inside, shooing her guards away with a wave of her hand, before shutting the door.

Xavier glanced over her robe and wet hair. “Before you yell at me, I only wanted to check-”

There was no smart reasoning behind it, no debate or thought why, but Isabella didn’t allow him the chance to finish before she pressed her lips to his. The spark she feared would existed, the contact of her mouth on his causing her to press into his taller frame. Xavier sucked in a gulp of air out of surprise, but the act was fleeting as the kiss deepened and he wrapped his arms around her.

She barely paid attention to the glass when it fell from her hand and shattered into pieces on the floor. All she knew was the feel of him beneath her fingers, her hands grabbing onto him at the same time he lifted her off her feet. She hooked her legs around his waist and continued to kiss him. Cradling her ass in the palm of his hands, he carried her into the living room and lowered her onto the couch. She didn’t give him time to back away, clutching at the leather vest, and connecting their lips again. He groaned, and she shivered as the sound vibrate throughout her entire body.

He broke away from her, dark gaze staring at her from where she lay on the couch beneath him. Aware of how she must have looked, hair spread out with blush on her cheeks and bruised lips, she felt a rush of embarrassment.

“Stop.” His hands stalled her as she moved to pull her robe tighter across her body. He took her hands in his. “Let me see you.”

Swallowing, she let her hands fall by her sides.

He kept his eyes on hers, discarding his beanie to the floor, and he shrugged off his vest. “It’s okay, Isabella. I’ll take care of you.” He rested his weight on his knees on the floor, and she couldn’t help her gasp as he reached forward to pull her toward him. “Spread your legs.”

Despite her embarrassment, she complied. She kept her gaze on him as he reached out for the sash of her robe and pulled the soft material apart. He took in the two-piece bathing suit she wore underneath, and she could have sworn he let out a soft sigh.

Xavier raised his questioning gaze to hers. Not seeing any objection, he pulled the bottom fabric of her suit down between her legs. It landed on the floor next to his vest, and she couldn’t contain her shiver at his hands sliding up her calves to the back of her knees. “Is this okay?”

Biting on her bottom lip, she continued to stare at him.

“I need to hear it, Isabella. Is this okay?”

“Yes,” she swallowed, fingers clutching the fabric of the couch beneath her. “You can touch me.”

He slid her leg over his shoulder, and there was no time for rational thought the second she felt his lips press against the inside of her thigh. She couldn’t stop herself from crying out at the sensation of his tongue licking alongher wetness. He grunted at the taste and dove in greedily, his hands yanking her to the couch’s edge.

She grabbed for anything she could hold on to, her hands finding his hair. He didn’t seem to mind the tight grip, his answering grunt of satisfaction echoing in the room. The room spun, her body beginning to tingle in the depths of her stomach, as he continued to eat her out, and there was no stopping the movement of her hips each time he dipped his tongue into her heat.

“Fuck, that feels so good.” Her hips rode his face, and it caused him to intensify his hold, his fingers digging into the soft skin of her hips. He grunted again, sucking harder, and she couldn’t help crying out as her orgasm crashed into her. He drank deep until her whimpers of satisfaction filled the room.

Isabella collapsed against the couch and shut her eyes, her body trembling from the aftershocks of her orgasm.

Weight shifted on the couch. “Isabella,” his tone was soft but firm, “look at me.”

Exhaling, she opened her eyes to stare at him hovering over her, his hands on either side of her face. The desire in his eyes, and she blushed at the telltale signs of her arousal in his beard. Something inside her tightened.

She leaned forward and their lips met, silencing whatever he was going to say. She broke away to shrug the robe off all the way,hands shaking as she pulled the bikini top over her head and tossed it to the floor. His eyes darkened at the sight of her naked body. She reached out to grab his shirt.

“No.”