10. Lev
Several hours later, and I’m staring up at the skylight waging war against the ever-present insomnia that plagues me and wondering what the fuck I’ve just done.
No women.
That was the silent vow I made to myself when I became pakhan. No women until the instability of the bratva is rectified. I don’t need the distraction, and I certainly don’t need the fucking trouble that may come with it. With this.
But I couldn’t help myself. I’d seen her from afar before and acknowledged her attractiveness, but up close, her startling beauty took me by surprise. The darkness of those big brown eyes. The soft dusting of freckles across her nose. The way she licked her glossy lips when she was nervous.
Don’t.
The word played on repeat in my head as the urge to share more than conversation with her became overwhelming.
So I started to tell myself all the reasons why taking her home with me was a good idea and conveniently forgot all the reasons why it wasn’t.
I had no intention of bringing her back here for what turned out to be some of the best sex of my life. But I was intrigued by her and wanted to peel back her layers and see what lay beneath.
There’s no denying she’s sexy as fuck. Long blonde hair. Big brown eyes. Curves that don’t quit. Lips I want to ruin over and over. I was drawn to her like a fucking moth to a flame. I wanted more than just conversation. Needed more. Despite every sensibility screaming at me to stay away. But I didn’t.
Couldn’t.
I fucked my little bunny until she was a writhing mess on the bed, again in the shower against the tiled walls, and once more on the bed. Now, I’m spent. But despite my exhaustion, as usual, sleep eludes me. I stare up at the midnight sky pressing against the skylight in the roof. When was the last time I slept through the night or got more than four hours of sleep in one hit? Not since I became pakhan and began carrying the heavy weight of the Zarkov legacy on my shoulders.
I turn and look at Brooke sleeping soundly beside me. Her glossy hair looks like silk sprawled across the pillowcase. Her long lashes fan her high cheekbones, and her lips, God, those lips, are slightly parted with every gentle breath she takes. I dampen down the urge to kiss her awake and my thickening cock protests with a throb.
She stirs, and one delicate hand finds its way onto my chest. The touch of her skin against mine sends a strange sensation tightening in my chest. She told me about her disastrous wedding day and her need to get out of town to process what happened. But I know there is more to the story, and I wonder just how much more of it she would be willing to share with me if I wake her up and give her another orgasm. Anything to avoid acknowledging the anxiousness of insomnia crawling up my spine.
The thought of fucking her again brings my cock roaring back to life, and I’m tempted to do just that. One last mind-blowing orgasm for the road. Because when we wake up, and I tell her who I am and what I am doing in town, well, she’ll want to run as far away from me as possible, no question.
She stirs again and this time nestles closer to me, draping her arm over my torso and resting her cheek on my shoulder.
I decide to let her sleep and close my eyes. I listen to her soft breathing and find an unfamiliar comfort in her breath against my skin. It’s like a sweet, soothing lullaby.
I can’t remember the last time I fell asleep with someone lying next to me.
Again she stirs, and her warm body brushes against mine, and a wave of contentment washes over me, and I have to concede I’ve never felt so comfortable in my entire life.
A warm darkness crawls over me, and my body sinks deeper into the mattress.
And slowly my eyes close, and I fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.