Page 36

We both smelled like smoke, and a fine layer of soot coated my skin.

His hands swept over every inch he could reach, and he carried me toward the big bed in the middle of the room.

Neither of us cared, only focused on our mouths and fingers, and wrapping ourselves around each other.

I wanted this man like I had never wanted anything else in my life.

Nothing could have torn me away from him.

At the edge of the bed, he ran his hands down the backs of my thighs, putting my feet back on the floor.

The thick carpet soothed the scratched soles of my feet as he stepped back to sweep his gaze over me from head to toe.

He frowned, pushing the sleeves of his jacket down my arms until it puddled around my ankles.

“I need to look at you, make sure you’re all right.”

“I’m fine,” I said. I had aches and pains, and I was certain there were bruises, but I didn’t feel any of it. Not when he was blazing a trail over my skin with a scorching look of concern mixed with desire.

“You’re not,” he said, anger barely hidden by his soft tone. He ran his finger over the knot on my forehead. “Who did this? If they’re not already dead, they will be,”

I had to laugh. “I did that. I headbutted the guy who grabbed me.”

“Good.” He nodded approvingly, then gently touched the scratches on my cheeks.

“That was me, too. They didn’t want my face messed up, so I got a bit belligerent.”

“Excellent,” he said, but not smiling. “I love that stubborn streak, but try not to hurt yourself so much next time.” He shook his head. “There won’t be a next time, Mila. I swear it.”

His eyes glittered with emotion as he gripped the sides of my face and kissed me hard on the mouth, as if trying to make me believe it.

Running his hands down and behind my back, he undid my bra, following its descent to meet his jacket and then moving his gaze back up my body.

He looked like he was in another place, but completely focused on me at the same time.

Lowering his head, he nuzzled my breasts, licking and teasing my nipples until they were hard little nubs, aching for more of his touch. He worked his way down my belly, his hands smoothing over the sides of my hips. At the edge of my panties, he knelt and looked up at me, gripping my flesh.

“Mila,” he said, low and rumbling. The way he said my name washed over me like a caress.

I looked down and trailed my fingers through his hair, lost in that look in his eyes. Arkadi Mikhailov knelt before me, almost worshipful, as he began to tug on the band of my panties with his teeth. And holy hell, I liked it.

My legs shook, but this time not with fear but with anticipation. When he told me he didn’t have anything to do with the auction, I threw myself at him in a frenzy, wanting him to take me at once. He had other plans, determined to really make me understand who I belonged to.

Oh, I understood, but I was more than willing to let him have his way, no matter how much it was driving me crazy.

The panties ended up on the floor, and I kicked them aside, sighing as he kissed his way down.

Shivers ran down my legs and up my spine as his tongue darted between my thighs and found my swollen nub.

“I can’t stand up,” I moaned. Not when he was sparking every nerve ending to life.

“I’ve got you,” he said, holding tight to my hips and nuzzling deeper into my wet heat.

Resting my palms on his strong shoulders, I briefly thought about how unfair it was that I couldn’t feel his skin when I was completely naked before him. I tugged on the heavy cloth, finally slipping my hands under his shirt to dig my nails into his shoulders with every lap of his tongue.

He held me tighter when I started to moan, louder and louder, until I was crying out his name.

“Let me taste you,” he murmured against my flesh. “Come for me, Mila.”

The orgasm exploded like a shockwave, sending blissful shimmers up and down my weak legs. I found myself leaning over, grabbing at his hair as I was taken away on wave after wave.

I was sobbing by the time he lifted me and laid me on the bed, the silk covers cool and smooth beneath my back.

How did he make me so utterly weak, and yet make me feel more powerful than I ever did before, all at the same time?

All I could do was hold on. My vision returned to find him leaning over me, his hands planted on either side of my head.

The look on his face was ravenous, and his lips crashed down onto mine.

As he kissed me, I spread my legs, needing him inside me before the last of that glorious orgasm faded away.

“Hurry,” I urged breathlessly. “Why are you torturing both of us?”

“It is torture,” he breathed near my ear. “The worst and the best kind.”

Grabbing the front of his shirt, I ripped with all my strength, sending buttons flying. One pinged off my forehead, and another clicked against the brushed metal headboard. Arkadi laughed, sitting up to shrug out of the ruined shirt.

“My little savage,” he said.

“You have no idea,” I told him, reaching for the front of his pants.

That button came off just as easily under the strength of my need. I tore past the zipper and wrapped my hand around his hot, thick shaft.

“Oh, I think I do,” he said with a smile.

It was only because of him that I was this way, that I was yanking his cock toward my eager opening. I wrapped my legs around his hips and pulled him so that we were pressed together. I could feel him pulsing between my legs.

“You don’t,” I said, biting his earlobe. “But if you don’t start fucking me right now, you’re going to find out.”

His dark eyes widened with delight as he took my warning to heart. Kissing me soundly, he slammed home with one smooth, fast motion, making me gasp into his mouth.

“Better?” he asked, sliding sinuously away from me so that I grabbed at his shoulders.

Once again, he plunged deep and hard. “Much better,” I gasped. “Do. Not. Stop.”

“Not until you’re screaming again,” he promised.

And he kept that promise, driving me on until I could do little more than clutch at his shoulders and try to drag him closer than he already was.

I wanted to look at him, kiss him, devour him as he brought me to the edge.

His hand slid up my thigh, which was wrapped tight around his hips, forcing it higher so he could go deeper inside me.

I cried out, bit him, and then let my head fall back, needing what presence of mind I had left to breathe.

“God I love fucking your perfect little pussy,” he growled. “Let me feel you come. Now.”

His demand was one I couldn’t deny. One more deep thrust and I screamed, letting go completely.

My hands fell to my sides, too weak to keep clutching at his hair.

I was lost again, but Arkadi was there with me.

He shouted my name, reaching to grab the headboard so he could keep going, harder, harder, harder, until he collapsed against my heaving chest.

“Oh my God,” I gasped. “Oh, Arkadi, how?”

I weakly wrapped my arms around his back, feeling the rise and fall of his chest as he struggled to find his breath. He shook his head against my shoulder. He didn’t understand this magic between us either, but there was no denying it was there, and very real.

He was crushing me under his weight, completely limp in my arms, but I didn’t care. Who needed oxygen when I was still half in the stratosphere? After a moment, he rolled off and onto his back, dragging me with him because I wasn’t letting go.

Smiling down at him, I traced his eyebrows and down his nose. He made a half-hearted effort to nip at my fingertip, then returned my smile.

“I think I know how,” he said, secrets dancing in his eyes.

“Hmm?”

“How we manage fireworks every single time,” he said.

“More like a volcano erupting,” I said, making him laugh. “Well then, tell me.”

He shook his head, rolling to the side so that I tumbled off of his chest. Tucking my head under his outstretched arm, he whipped half of the covers over us. “You’ll figure it out on your own.”

He was only teasing me, and I didn’t mind it. Resting my cheek so that I could hear the steady thump of his heart, I relaxed and let it really sink in that I was completely safe. More than that, I was perilously close to happiness, something I hadn’t felt since before my shop closed.

Now, how the hell was that possible? I leaned up on my elbow to find his eyes were closed, inky lashes resting on the top of his chiseled cheekbones.

The man was freaking handsome, even with a slight sheen of ashes still clinging to him.

As grubby as I felt, there was nothing that could have gotten me out of that bed and away from his side.

Again, how was that possible?

“What happens next?” I asked. Arkadi’s eyes flew open, perhaps with a hint of disappointment that I went there. I shrugged. “Everything’s still up in the air, after all.”

He got serious, almost stony, leaning up on his elbow and facing me. “First of all, I’m going to take care of my uncle,” he said. “And anyone else who isn’t loyal to me. I may have been gone for all those years I was in LA, but Moscow is still my territory.”

“Part of it,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “So, how can your people manage to get along with mine on this side of the ocean?”

He stiffened, but when he saw I was teasing, he gave it right back.

“It’s because they’re always so busy looking for me that they don’t have time to worry about what I’m doing over here.

” His laughter ended, and his face darkened again, going back to an unreadable mask.

“That’s not my top priority now. And I don’t really have any more answers about what comes next.

Now that you’re safe, I’ll deal with Eldar, and then we’ll go from there. ”

I sat up and grabbed his hand, pulling it close to my heart as if he could feel the fire burning there. “I want to be there when you do it,” I said, surprising the hell out of him and myself. “More than that,” I told him. “I want to help.”

His slow grin told me I’d get my wish.