34. Galena
GALENA
A t the moment of impact, I knew who was behind it, and I was secretly glad Dino was finally coming out of the shadows because it marked the beginning of the end.
I’d loved Ilias’s idea about taking a break from work and traveling, but I hadn’t been so sure about leaving the city while the search for Scarpato continued without us.
When the bullets started flying and Ilias’s body pressed against mine, I prayed we’d escape unhurt, and Dino was dumb enough to come at us unprepared.
When Ilias had left the car, I realized we hadn’t said those three little words to each other yet.
I loved him. I just hadn’t said the words out loud yet, and suddenly I regretted it. What had I been waiting for?
I watched the aftermath as if it were an out-of-body experience as the firefight spread over the street and Ilias and his guards took out the men attacking, bullets pinging off metal as they went.
Even as Ilias punched and kicked Dino, I knew that he was holding back, and part of me had detached completely.
As we crossed into the brownstone, I felt his grip on control start to fray.
He’d looked at me with worried eyes the whole way back, gripping my thigh hard enough to leave a mark like he was afraid I’d float away ever since we’d gotten back into the car.
I knew what it cost him to hold himself together for me, and I didn’t say anything even as he leaned against the seat with his eyes closed.
He wasn’t overwhelmed for his own sake. I knew that. He was worried for me.
Ilias locked the door behind us and set the security panel.
I could feel the tension radiating off of him, coiled like a spring under his skin.
It made me ache, not just from the leftover adrenaline or the thin scratch on my forehead, but from my core.
He was still in that moment, still there on the street with glass in his palms and rage in his blood.
"Go upstairs," he said, his voice low, raw. "I’ll be right there."
I’d snap at him for ordering me around, but I wanted to take a shower and get all this glass out of my hair.
It was a hassle because I’d have to re-dry it.
I was blessed with naturally thick and curly hair, but it didn’t just dry on its own, and now I’d have to spend more time doing it.
Also, I was kind of sore from the accident.
I wouldn’t let Ilias know, but the impact of both vehicles yanked me pretty hard when I was thrown forward against the seatbelt.
Gingerly, I peered into the mirror at the shallow cut on my forehead, poking at it with my finger. It wasn’t too bad, but it needed to be cleaned. I kicked off my shoes, just as Ilias stepped into the bathroom, eyes moving over me like he was still trying to assess the damage.
He didn’t realize that the need went both ways.
He was a wreck, his knuckles bloodied, bruises across his cheek just to start.
“Take off your clothes," I said softly. "Let’s see.” He didn’t speak.
Just pulled off his bloodstained jacket, then the ruined dress shirt beneath.
Bruises were already forming along his ribs.
My throat tightened. There was a bloody gash along one shoulder, but it didn’t look deep.
“You too.” His throat flexed as he undid his belt. “Do you need help?”
Shaking my head, I pulled my slacks down over my hips, kicking them to the side before attempting my sweater. I knew it wouldn’t feel very good, but I took a deep breath and pulled it over my head, ignoring the irritating bark of pain from my chest. I wouldn’t complain, though.
“Does it hurt?” His hands settled on my hips as if they needed anchoring, and his lips touched my shoulder softly just where a mark was beginning to form on my skin.
I shrugged. “Yes, but it could have been worse. We’re okay. Thank you for keeping me safe.” Touching my forehead to his chest, I tried to communicate to him that all was good with me, even if there were a few bruises, we were together and whole. “I love you, Ilias.”
“ Agápi mou .” His mouth traced heat along my throat, my collarbone, and the edge of the strap of my bra as he eased it off my shoulder.
“I love you so much. My heart was going to break if you were hurt.” And then he broke—not in words, but in the way he kissed me, worshipful as if he needed to feel that I was still here.
He lifted me and sat me on the edge of the marble counter, my legs parted for him without hesitation. “I’ve never been so scared,” he whispered, voice hoarse against my skin. "You have no idea. "
"I’m here," I whispered back, threading my fingers into his hair. "I’m right here."
He sank to his knees and, with deliberate slowness, pressed butterfly kisses along my thighs and every slight mark.
Already, I was desperate for him, needy, and wet.
I wanted to kick off my underwear and have him take me hard, but I’d learned over the last few weeks that one of Ilias’s favorite things was to eat me out.
For some reason, it racheted up the pleasure for him, and I was not one to complain.
I relaxed and let him lead the way, so when his mouth closed around the small bud through the silk of my panties that already pulsed and ached, I leaned back on the counter on my elbows.
He nipped with his teeth, pushing his mouth against me like he was feral, growling as he dug into me against the silk so hard I thought he might tear it.
The sounds he was making made my thighs tremble, turning me on even more than the friction he was causing as the edge of the counter dug into my back.
It was like he was desperate, starving for me.
I wasn’t even sure what was happening, only that I needed to open my legs wider to allow him whatever access to my pussy that he needed.
To reassure him that I was his as he dragged his mouth back and forward, pushing his tongue through the silk against my core.
I came with a cry, everything pulsing, soaking the fabric.
He looked up at me. “I don’t ever want to be that close to you dying again.
Ever.” I pushed his boxers down and wrapped my hand around his dick, stroking it up and down.
He groaned like it physically hurt to be touched.
Pre-cum was already gathering at the tip as he closed his eyes and thrust between my fingers lazily. “Promise.”
“You know I can’t,” I whispered. I wished I could promise that death would never find me, but that wasn’t possible.
Life was precarious at the best of times.
I’d learned that firsthand in that moment in the alley with my mother.
We’d been caught off guard completely. What I did know was that Ilias and I could live the life that we were given together right now and through all the moments in between until we were taken from each other.
“But I swear that I’ll be with you until I have no breath left in my body.
” I ran a thumb over the tip of his dick as he shuddered, gliding through the moisture that gathered there.
“I guess that’ll have to do.” He captured my lips, cradling my face almost tenderly, even though I could feel his grip on my hair that was making me feel wild. He pulled my panties down, tossing them aside as if they were offensive, making me laugh. “I need in you now.”
I tilted my hips and guided him inside me with a soft hiss.
There were no words for how much I wanted him, not just because of how much he turned me on, but because I was on fire.
I was wet and throbbing again already, and I wanted him to affirm that we were alive and whole here on this Earth together.
We didn’t move fast. There was no need. The closeness, the echo of what we’d survived—it all threaded together.
Ilias buried his face in my neck, arms locked around my waist as he thrust into me, slow and deep.
One hand slid down between my thighs, fingers finding the bundle of nerves already swollen and aching so that I keened at the intensity of the sensation.
He came with a rough gasp, his forehead braced against my shoulder, and his breath huffing against my skin. I followed, my pussy clenching around him, as I rode the waves until all I could feel was him.
We stayed there, tangled together on the counter. No words. Just breath and heartbeat, and the subtle reminder that we were still alive.