Page 175 of His Forced Bride

My body arches toward him before my mind fully surfaces from sleep.

"You were dreaming," he murmurs against my collarbone.

His voice is heavy with sleep and hunger. "Calling my name."

"Was I?" My fingers find the thick hair at the nape of his neck, holding him closer.

The baby flutters inside me, responding to our movement, and Yuri's hand immediately covers the swell of my belly through the thin silk of my nightgown.

I'm not far along, but it was inevitable the way he devours my body every night.

"Always restless."

His palm spreads wide, possessive.

"Both of you."

His teeth continue their assault on my neck, but his hands are greedy, pulling me against his body so I can feel his hardness press into my thigh.

His bare skin under my touch is hot, and the tattoos that snake his arms and decorate his skin only outwardly display his nature and the personality inside of him.

I trace the winding body of the snake that coils on his shoulder.

"The serpent suits you," I tell him.

"You suit me better."

He kisses me, sucking my lip into his mouth as he slides his hand up my back and pulls my hair so my head is forced backward, giving him access to my neck.

When he pulls away, his eyes hold that look—the one that still makes my breath catch after six months of marriage.

Hunger mixed with tenderness, possession tempered by worship.

"Rosa made blini," he says, though neither of us moves to get up.

"She's been cooking since dawn, convinced you need to eat more."

Ever since Rosa learned there was a new Gravitch heir, she's been mothering me more than ever.

I'm thankful for her in my life.

I'm not sure what I'd do without someone to help guide me through all these hormones.

"I eat plenty."

My hand moves to cover his where it rests on my belly.

"The baby is healthy."

"Our baby."

He says it with the same reverence he uses when he tells me he loves me.

Everything important gets that tone from him—absolute focus, complete commitment.

It brings a smile to my face because I know how deadly this man is, how terrifying.

And yet he chooses to be tender with me, and it melts me every time.