Chapter 25 Ivy
IVY
The latch to Konstantin’s bedroom door falls into place with a quiet click, his words that he was taking me “to bed” to “make it official” burning through my body. A lamp burns low on the bedside table, turning brass into honey.
His heated gaze never leaves my face as he leads me to the foot of the bed. That look carries heat and promise, and my lower belly tightens in response.
“Nothing and no one will interrupt us tonight,” Konstantin says, his voice rough but full of promise.
A shiver goes down my spine. My mouth suddenly goes dry, so I just nod.
He is so handsome, it almost hurts my eyes.
His suit, which looks like it had to have been sewn on him since it fits so well, is still pristine, but sometime during the ceremony, he must have grown irritated with the tie.
It sits loosened around his throat now, and the first two buttons of his white shirt hang open, revealing more of his tattoo than I’ve seen yet.
The ink travels up his chest and wraps around his neck. My hands itch to remove his shirt and uncover the rest of the tat, but somehow, I restrain myself.
His fingers skim my cheekbone and pause at the comb hidden in my hair. He eases it free, setting the veil on the chair by the bed. I’ve never been in Konstantin’s bedroom, but I’m too distracted to notice anything but a huge bed that takes dominance in the center of the room.
Cool air reaches the small of my back, startling me since I hadn’t realized he’d unbuttoned the back of the dress.
But then his warm palms follow, quickly heating my skin as he learns my curves.
A few seconds later, my dress slides to the floor in a pale pool, and his gaze trails the path the fabric takes, leaving pricks of desire in its place.
A shiver runs through me and Konstantin’s green eyes crinkle in pleasure, the slanted smile telling me he knows what he’s doing to me and enjoys every second of it.
It’s not fair that I’m standing here in just my bra and panties, so I reach up and unbutton his shirt, then slide it off his shoulders. His hands stay pressed at my waist, letting me undress him. Inch by inch, I reveal the tattoo then gasp when I finally get to see the artwork in its full glory.
“It’s a dragon,” I breathe, the awe in my voice clear.
He raises an eyebrow at me, but I barely register it. “Your tattoo, it’s… beautiful.”
A dragon’s tail wraps around his waist, then moves upward and to Konstantin’s right side.
The scales are dark blue but with gold specs on them.
One giant wing is spread out, practically covering his belly, and then it moves upward past a thick neck and head.
The head is what I’ve only caught glimpses of before.
My fingers go to the tat without my even realizing what I’m doing, and I trail them over the dragon’s head.
So majestic and beautiful. Its mouth is open partway, the tongue curled back, and just a glimpse of fire beginning deep in its throat.
The eyes were designed so incredibly that whenever I move, they look like they are following me.
They are bright red with little orange flames where human pupils would be.
Its head is bent and lies on Konstantin’s smooth chest like a loving caress.
The top of its head covers the side of his neck.
“You like tats?” Konstantin asks, drawing me out of my examination.
I nod but don’t say anything.
He steps back just one step and looks at me, his gaze leisurely covering my body. “But you don’t have any?”
I shake my head. “I don’t like needles.”
He laughs, the sound deep in his throat that manages to send shivers of pleasure through me.
Konstantin notices and goes to the fireplace to stoke the fire, misinterpreting the reason for my shiver.
I don’t enlighten him, though, because I’m too caught up watching the way the muscles in his naked back move and roll. Full of power and strength.
When he returns, his eyes fix on mine and then he lowers his head and his warm lips press there, right under my ear.
He breathes against my skin and the sound comes out rough.
I draw in a quick breath and slide my fingers into his hair to keep him close while he kisses a slow line along my neck and his hand settles at my waist, firm enough to hold me steady while he learns my body.
I’m lost in sensation, the way his lips feel against the sensitive skin on my neck, the way our bodies are pressed so closely together, I can feel his heartbeat and the heat emanating from his body.
He finds the clasp of my bra and opens it, and the straps slide from my shoulders with barely a sound. Konstantin raises his gaze as he runs his thumbs over my puckered nipples, making them tighten even more and ache for his touch.
My head falls back of its own accord and I moan.
He wraps a hand around my waist to keep me in place, then lowers his head.
The instant his warm mouth wraps around my nipple, I cry out with the intense pleasure of it.
His mouth and teeth scrape and soothe while his free hand cups and molds my breast.
“Konstantin,” I breathe.
He stiffens. “Are you asking me to stop?”
My eyes shoot open and I stare at him with an open mouth. “Don’t you dare!”
He chuckles and resumes his pleasure-torture.
I don’t know how or when it happened, but the next thing I know, he’s laying me on the bed.
His hands remain at my waist for a brief second, and then he peels my panties down to my ankles.
Keeping his eyes on mine, he lifts first one foot and then the other to remove the underwear all the way.
My hungry eyes drop to his waist, at the ropes of muscle across his stomach. As he bends, the dragon’s body shifts, as if moving with him. Konstantin stands at the side of the bed, then lowers himself to his knees beside me. He doesn’t look into my eyes—his eyes are hungry for much more.
I never knew I could actually feel eyes roaming over me, but I can feel his. The hot gaze pauses for a long time between my legs and I start to squirm even as heat and wetness pool there. He breathes in deeply, as if he can smell my scent, and his green eyes darken even more.
“I’m naked,” I manage to say in a husky voice. “You’re not. Fix it.”
His eyes jerk up to mine and he chuckles. “Impatient much?”
I nod. “Right now, yes.”
But he doesn’t take off his clothes. He starts at my knees, at the tender and sensitive skin on the inner side, his hands slowly pushing my legs apart as he moves.
Like he said, I’m impatient and spread my legs wide to give him plenty of access.
His hot breath brushes against me intimately with his chuckle and I swear I feel it all the way to my core.
“You don’t have to go slow for me,” I say, desperately wanting him to cover my body with his and take what I’m so boldly offering.
He looks up from between my knees. “What if I want to go slow?”
“Next time,” I rasp as his fingers find my folds and start exploring.
“Thank God,” he mutters, his voice so low I almost don’t hear him.
He stands and reaches for his pants fastenings, but I quickly sit up and impatiently brush his hands aside.
“You undressed me,” I say with a smile. “It’s only fair I do the same for you.”
His expression heats even more and he drops his hands to his sides. My fingers fumble only a couple of times before I undo the fastenings and open the fly. The tip of his dick springs free and I look up at him in surprise.
“You went commando to our wedding?”
He nods. “I go commando everywhere. I don’t like restrictions.”
I push his pants down, squatting down so that I can take off his shoes and remove his pants.
On the way back up, I pause, my head level with his penis.
A drop of precum glistens on the tip and I can’t help myself.
Sticking my tongue out, I gently lick the tip, capturing the semi-salty drop on my tongue.
His body jerks as I close my eyes and moan at the taste.
“Holy shit,” Konstantin groans, then lifts me by the armpits and tosses me on the bed. The mattress gives and I bounce a couple of times, laughing as he climbs atop me.
My laughter dies, though, when his lips capture mine and we really get down to consummating this marriage. My thoughts scatter when his dick presses insistently at my opening. Breathing is a forgotten ability.
Konstantin reaches down beneath my knees and raises them, spreading them even wider so that he settles perfectly in the cradle between my thighs.
“You’ve done it now, Ivy,” he breathes against my mouth. “I wanted this first time with you to be slow, but I can’t wait. I need to claim you now.”
Music to my ears. For answer, I arch my hips at the same time he presses inside me. He buries himself and then pauses, letting my body get used to his.
“Look at me, Ivy.” His voice is tight, and when I open my eyes and look at him, his expression is tight, too.
It’s only when I keep my eyes on him that Konstantin begins to move, in and out, his strokes filling me completely. My arms wrap around his neck while my knees encase his sides. One hand reaches up to wrap in his hair, pulling snugly on the silky strands.
“Fuck,” he groans, then reaches a hand between our bodies. His talented finger finds my clit and he rubs and pinches it. Heat coils inside me, my core tightens, and I swear stars burst behind my eyelids as the best orgasm of my life soars through me.
A second later, he speeds up, our bodies slapping together as the pressure builds again, higher and more intense. Just as I’m peaking on my second orgasm, Konstantin groans and pushes even deeper inside me. His dick pulses inside me as he finds his release.
Once our breathing has settled, Konstantin rolls to his back and pulls me into his side. My head fits snugly at his shoulder, my cheek resting on the face of the dragon tattoo.
A smile hovers over my face even though my eyes are closed. I feel… drained, sated… wonderful.
Until thoughts start creeping in. Unwanted thoughts that I try to tell my brain to shut up, let me enjoy this moment. But it won’t and worry starts to take over.
Konstantin married me out of a sense of duty, but someday, I will be out of danger. What then? I can’t expect him to stay wedded to me. He has his own life to live. No matter how much I’ve come to care for him, or maybe because I care for him, I can’t be responsible for him throwing his life away.
My fingers idly draw circles across his chest as I take a deep breath to get courage for what I want—no, what I need—to say.
“When…” I clear my throat and try again. “When Vadim is locked safely away in prison and all this is over, we can get an annulment or divorce—"
“When a Mikhailov marries,” he says, voice low and even, “we do it for life.” He holds my gaze and then says, “There will be no divorce.”