Page 23

The constant calculations were exhausting. Should I act this way or that way? Trying to stay one step ahead was killing me, even when it came down to having a light conversation over breakfast. It wasn’t in my nature at all to be so deceptive, even though it was in the interest of my self-preservation.

Now that I had met Zoey and thought I could get her to help me, I was torn up with guilt for leading her to believe that Dima was abusive. I’d been absolutely gleeful to see the worry in her eyes as he led me out of the coffee shop earlier.

And here I was, just as happily making out with him in the pool. Just getting him in here so fast, so that he’d forget his stupid background check and possibly not let me see Zoey anymore, had been an act. For all of five minutes, anyway. Until he kissed me.

It had to be because I was so starved for company, right? The last couple of weeks had gone by in a blur, and on top of working constantly, Dima had been careful to give me space since I freaked out over him wanting me to call my father. All of a sudden, he wanted to spend time with me, and I was enjoying it way too much.

I had been pretending and calculating every move I made around him, every last smile or sentence I spoke. After all, I had a plan I needed to stick to, so it was fine. But right now, I didn’t want to pretend. Not about this. The way he made me feel when his hands roamed up and down my sides, and the way I felt when he kissed me like I was the last drink of water in a desert was all too real.

I wanted to keep going, wanted it like I wanted my damn freedom back. The two things could never be compatible, so I had to pull away, which would put us back at square one. It took every fiber of my being to wrench away from his kiss, and the stress from all my lies and acting had tears about to start pouring down my cheeks.

“What is it?” he asked as I slowly started to short-circuit.

The concern on his face was going to be my undoing. His blue eyes were dark with what I could easily make myself think was real. Couldn’t I believe he cared for me, maybe even loved me?

No, never that. He only wanted me, nothing more.

And I wanted him, damn it. Desperately.

“What’s wrong, Liv?” he asked again.

The sweet nickname, the tender tone in his voice, and the fact that he wasn’t blustering and making demands the way I expected pushed me beyond my limits.

“I don’t…” I trailed off, because how could I explain that I didn’t want to fake this. And I couldn’t afford for it to be real.

Just those two words out of my mouth seemed to hit him like a punch with brass knuckles, and I wavered, putting my hands on his chest. His very hard, warm chest. I’d almost forgotten we were in the pool until a breeze blew past, chilling my exposed skin.

Even as he kept his gaze locked on my face, he smoothed the goosebumps that erupted down my arms, waiting patiently for me to explain.

There just weren’t any words, or at least none I could speak out loud, and by then, I was well past caring about anything but getting that pain out of his beautiful eyes.

“I just want you so much,” I sobbed. Truer words were never spoken.

A moment later, he had his arms wrapped tight around me, his mouth nuzzling the side of my neck. Sizzles of heat radiated from everywhere he touched me, and I grabbed for his hair to bring those lips to mine.

“I need you,” he growled, yanking me tight to his body.

Every muscle was coiled, and the stiff bulge that ground against my belly made me moan. I wrapped my legs around him, to feel his shaft rub my tender clit, already so swollen and needy that I was nearly frantic to get him inside me.

He had other plans, though. Gripping me firmly around the waist, he lifted me to the edge of the pool as if I weighed no more than an inflatable raft. As soon as my backside hit the smooth edge, Dima spread my legs and pulled himself up close, grinning up at me. With his hands firmly on my thighs, he plunged his face between them.

My hands hit the tiles, and my head fell back as I let out a long sigh. The sun was just dipping below the trees, and the first stars were already winking in the deep blue dusk, the moon a sliver on the other horizon. Birds made a ruckus as they settled into their nests for the night, and far away, a lone coyote howled, ready to hunt.

All of nature was witness to Dima absolutely destroying me with his tongue, and I let out another long sound of pure pleasure. His chuckle vibrated against my clit, and I wrapped my legs around his neck to capture him. Now, he was my prisoner and seemed perfectly happy to stay there.

“Dima, what do you do to me?” I asked the sky. “Why does this feel so good?”

His fingers dug in, and he made a wild noise as he shoved his tongue deep, tipping my hips so he could push farther. I rocked with his motions, clawing at his hair.

“You know why.” His voice was a muffled rumble, and in the next instant, his tongue was circling my clit and driving all thoughts from my brain.

Except one. Because this is real.

The unwanted thought was terrifying, the worst lie I’d conjured in these past weeks. So now I was deceiving myself as well?

Dima’s hands tightened, sliding up to my hips, pulling me even closer. “Stay with me,” he commanded, lapping at me with such intensity I crashed back into the moment. And oh, what a moment.

My hands had loosened in his hair and I dropped them to the tiles, still warm from the afternoon sun. My arms shook, my legs were weak, and every sense was alive with urgency. Turning his face, he nipped at my inner thigh, and I groaned, pushing him back where I needed him to be.

“I could eat your pussy all damn day,” he told me in a ragged voice. “But little girl, I need you to come so I can fuck you like you’ve never been fucked before.”

The second his mouth found my tender nub, I screamed, rocked to my very core with waves of euphoria. And it just kept going.

“Dima,” I cried, incoherent and completely lost in the orgasm he was still drawing out.

Strong hands lifted me back into the pool, and I wrapped my arms around his neck with all my remaining strength, because I knew there was more. So much more.

“You’re the gift that keeps on giving,” I gasped as his hard cock pulsed against me.

“All that you can take,” he promised.

Dropping my forehead to his, I breathed out hard. His movements became slow and sinuous as he gripped the backs of my thighs and eased my body up and down against the length of his shaft. A low growl rose from his throat as he continued to drive both of us crazy with desire.

“Please, don’t you want me?” I asked. I pulled closer, and his fingers dug deeper into my flesh.

“So much,” he told me. “So damn much I never want it to end.”

“So that’s why you’re not starting?” Despite what felt very close to agony, I giggled.

He joined in with a rough sound that might have been a laugh. “Liv,” he said, leaning back so we were face to face.

So much poured out of his eyes that I couldn’t have looked away if I tried. I was captive to every raw emotion, unable to begin to hide whatever shined out of my own eyes.

“I like it when you call me that,” I admitted.

“I think you’ll like this as well,” he said.

I grinned at the mischief that took over everything else that was so easily read on his face. And then I was moaning as his big cock finally rammed deep and hard inside me.

“I guess skinny dipping was a good idea,” I said, letting myself drift back as he held me with his strong hands.

“I’ve always thought you had the best ideas,” he agreed.

It didn’t matter that I’d stripped out of my clothes to distract him. Nothing mattered but the feel of him. I couldn’t say anything else because my breathing was becoming erratic, my pulse racing with each thrust. Shoving off the pool wall, I wrapped my arms around his neck again, needing to feel every inch of his hot skin.

“Tell me how good it feels,” he commanded.

I shook my head, too consumed by his cock pushing so deep, stretching me, and ruining me for anyone else. There was never going to be anyone else.

“Too good,” I gasped. “Don’t you dare stop—”

A swipe of his tongue along the side of my neck as he moved his hand to tease me from behind had me throwing back my head and screaming again. All I could do was hold on and enjoy the ride until moments later, he was roaring just as loud, crashing into me with a fury that drove me wild all over again.

“More,” I said, barely able to breathe.

His eyes flew open, and he grinned. He was exhausted but never one to give up on a challenge. With one hand holding me tight, he found my clit with his fingers and watched with smug satisfaction as he made my eyes roll back.

Perfect. How did he know exactly how to work my body, turning me into nothing but a blob of quivering mush? I was completely lost in the sensations that coursed along every nerve, the only thing keeping me from begging for another was the fact I was breathing too hard to speak.

The next thing I knew, we were settled on the steps in the shallow end, his arms wrapped around me and holding me close to his chest. I blinked several times and looked up at him, making him laugh.

“I carried you,” he explained.

“If you hadn’t, I probably would have drowned,” I said. Seriously, how did he do that?

“Never,” he told me. “Nothing’s going to happen to you when I’m around.”

Reminding me that this all came down to my safety and that I was little more than his prized possession—for the moment, anyway—brought me back to reality a little too swiftly. No, just a little longer. Didn’t I deserve a break?

“You know, we really ought to try that in our bed,” he said, still joking around.

But I was no longer in the mood for laughs. Every time we did this, shared this otherworldly experience, it only dug me deeper into a situation I was doing my best to get out of. Wasn’t I? After all, I was the one who’d stripped off my clothes and shimmied my way to the pool first. Reality was back, and hitting me hard.

“Don’t you have a background check to do?” I asked.

“It can wait a bit longer,” he said, running his hand down my arm.

So much for reverse psychology. I really thought that acting like I didn’t care would get him to forget about it, but of course, he was determined. Not even mind-blowing sex could get him to stray from his course. That was me who kept straying.

Frustration nearly had me crying again. If there was anything slightly suspicious in Zoey’s past, so much as an overdue library book, I might not be allowed to see her again.

“Are you going to run a check on every new person I meet for the rest of my life?”

“Of course,” he said, leaning back to grin down at me. “I’m pleased you finally seem to get that we’ll be together for the rest of our lives.”

Well, hell, I walked right into that one. There was no more hiding my irritation, so I shoved away and splashed up the steps and out of the pool.

“That won’t be very long if you keep acting so controlling,” I threw over my shoulder as I stomped into the house.

Damn it, this was exactly what I feared would happen if I let myself give in. We were back at square one.