Chapter 35
Chapter
Thirty-Five
KAYLANI
Why was I nervous?
It wasn’t like this was our first time. And yet, standing in front of the mirror, wrapped in nothing but a hotel bathrobe, my hands trembled like a bride about to walk down the aisle.
Fluffing my hair one last time, I took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door. Then, I froze.
The lights were low, and candles flickered atop every surface. Rose petals were scattered across the floor and the bed. Champagne waited on ice.
My eyes swept the room before landing on him. Goran sat in the corner, shirtless, carved from dark shadows and golden light. Every muscle was defined. He watched me like he had been waiting his entire life for this moment.
My pulse stuttered.
“How…” I swallowed. “This…”
Goran rose slowly and walked toward me. I had never seen him look this sexy, predatory, dangerous…and entirely mine.
“I can plan a secret or two as well.”
He reached me but didn’t touch me. Still, the heat from his body made goosebumps rise on my skin.
“I see that.”
His eyes remained locked with mine.
“This entire night has felt like a dream.”
“Good. You deserve it.” Finally, he slid his hand around the back of my neck. “You need to know something.”
I stilled.
“I want you to hear me when I say that you’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. The only woman I will ever love. No matter what happens, I will always choose you.”
“Goran…”
“No. Let me finish, because I’ve been holding this in and I really want you to understand.”
My throat tightened.
“No matter what happens, I will always choose you. Not the family. Not the position. You. I never meant for you to feel that I wouldn’t. I’m programmed to worry. My instinct is to protect you at all costs.”
Tears pricked my eyes, leaking slowly down my cheeks.
“Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye to me?”
“No. Never. It’s not goodbye. It’s a promise. My life is not complete unless you’re in it.”
He held me a little tighter and kissed my forehead.
“This world is dangerous. You know that. But I will stand in front of you when danger comes for us. Beside you when you’re strong. And behind you when you need someone to push you forward. That is my vow to you, now and always.”
His eyes burned a hole straight to my soul, branding me with his love and the intensity of every word. He lifted his head and tilted my chin slightly.
“Ya lyublyu tebya bolshe vsego na svete.”
My heart cracked wide open.
“You mean that?” I breathed.
He didn’t hesitate.
“Yes. I will always love you more than anything in this world.”
There was no embellishment, no poetry, and yet he couldn’t have said anything sweeter.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down into a kiss that sealed our vow to belong to each other.
Goran held me as if I might vanish. And for the first time since all of this began, he wasn’t guarding me.
He pulled the tie on the robe, and I shuddered as the cool air caressed my naked body. Goran’s hands slipped inside the soft fabric, and a trail of fire ignited wherever he touched.
His palms flattened against my bare skin, thumbs dragging slowly upward as if he were rediscovering every dip and curve inch by inch. My breath stuttered as he broke the kiss.
The robe slid down my arms until it pooled at my feet.
He didn’t rush to remove his pants, even though I wanted to rip them off him.
Instead, he stepped back and just stared at me. I had never felt so vulnerable and yet so desired under the dark intensity in his eyes. My pulse pounded so loudly I could hear it in my ears.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured.
“You’ve always made me shake,” I admitted.
It was the truth. Goran was the only guy who had ever made me nervous. He sent butterflies spiraling through my chest, and I never knew what to say, always praying I didn’t sound like a fool as I rambled.
The feral glint in his eyes made my breath catch.
“I’ve craved a moment like this, free from the weight of fear. One night, when I wasn’t calculating exits, threats, and contingencies.”
His fingers moved to my hips, pulling me flush against him. Skin to skin. My nipples hardened, as my core throbbed, and heat spread throughout my body.
“Tonight is ours. Tonight, you’re mine,” he growled, the sound vibrating through me.
Goran walked me backward until my knees touched the mattress.
“Lie down and spread your legs. I want to look at you.”
I did as he ordered, and rose petals pressed into the mattress beneath my shoulder blades. Candlelight danced over his torso as he stared down at me.
My legs slowly opened, but my body tightened with anticipation.
Goran’s eyes traveled from my eyes to my breasts before settling at the apex of my thighs.
“Do you remember the first time you called me late at night? You somehow convinced me to stay awake until I had to get ready for work? The way you moaned in my ear drove me wild.”
He unbuckled the leather belt, and a shiver raced down my spine as the ends fell open.
I blushed, the heat of the memory making me wish for a fan.
“How could I forget? I was terrified that you’d turn me away.”
His eyes snapped back up to mine.
“I could never turn you away.”
His zipper sounded loud in the quiet room as he pulled it down. My pussy clenched with desire.
He stepped out of his pants, leaving me staring at his thick length already hard between his legs.
I sucked in a gasp when he wrapped his fist around his shaft and began to stroke.
“Touch yourself.”
Biting my lip, my hands began to move. They roamed over my chest, down my stomach, and then between my thighs. I was already wet, and a soft moan escaped as I rubbed small circles over my clit.
“You have no idea what you do to me, Lani. The way you’re lying there…like you’re offering yourself to me.”
“I am offering myself to you.” My voice was barely more than a whisper.
Goran dropped to his knees, and I gasped as he pulled me closer to the edge of the bed.
“I don’t share. I don’t bargain. And I won’t give you back without a fight.”
Before I could respond, his mouth stole every thought from my mind.
“Ohh.” The moan slipped from my lips as my knees fell open the rest of the way.
He knew my body so well that within minutes, I was gasping, already teetering on the verge of an orgasm. Goran’s grip tightened when I arched. My ass pressed deeper into the mattress before lifting again, searching for more.
The sounds he made were animalistic.
“You don’t move unless I tell you.”
His voice was rough against my skin, his eyes feral as he looked up at me from between my spread legs.
The control in his tone made my head spin. But the way he used his mouth wasn’t careful. It wasn’t sweet. It was the desperation of a man driven to the edge. It felt like he was proving something. Maybe to me. Maybe to himself. Maybe to every doubt that had ever stood between us.
My hands fisted in the sheets.
“Goran, oh…please. Can I move?”
My body was on fire.
He didn’t answer or slow down. I trembled in his grip, my body quaking beneath his touch.
“Move. Come on my tongue. Show me how much you want me.”
My mind shattered as he relentlessly sucked my clit, and my hips thrust up into his mouth.
“Gor…an…” My voice fractured around his name as my climax hit. “Oh my god.”
I twitched and shivered as the final waves rolled through me. Goran licked along the inside of my thighs, his tongue warm against my skin, his eyes dark with lingering hunger.
When he crawled on top of me, something in his expression had changed. There was a wild edge to it now. Something slightly unhinged, possessive, and completely undone.
“Turn over.”
I did.
Goran guided me onto my knees, one hand sliding up my spine. He wrapped my hair around his fist, tilting my head back until every nerve sang. His breath ghosted my ear, hot and intoxicating.
“I’ve spent too long pretending I could survive without this,” he murmured, nipping at my ear. “Without you.”
His cock teased me as he lined up with my pussy.
I wanted him all night. I wanted him forever.
The first thrust stole the air from my lungs, leaving me gasping for more.
He didn’t ease in or build slowly. He took, and I gave, screaming his name for all of Vegas to hear.
Every movement was intentional, almost punishing in its intensity.
One hand gripped my hip, the other tangled in my hair, leaving no question about who set the pace.
Goran was relentless, and even as I came, he didn’t stop.
Stars danced behind my eyes. Whimpers left my mouth, the sensation overwhelming yet not enough. It would never be enough.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, it hurts to look at you,” he snarled, as if it enraged him.
His body slammed harder into mine.
“Goran…oh…please…”
“Please, what?” He growled. “You think I don’t feel you everywhere I go? You think I haven’t imagined this every night for the last two years? You think I haven’t fantasized about hunting down every guy who has ever looked at you and tearing their eyes from their head?”
The dark confession ignited a need in me that I hadn’t known existed.
But I wanted more. His rhythm grew heavier, harder, his breath became ragged.
Goran released my hair and gripped my hips with both hands.
His thrusts were so powerful my arms trembled, straining to stay upright.
My nails dragged across the sheets as the pleasure and pain collided, building too fast to manage.
“You’re mine.”
When I came apart for the third time, I pulled him over the edge with me.
“Fuck, Lani…yes…I’m fucking coming.”
Goran froze, and I turned slightly to savor the expression on his face. His body was arched, muscles taut, eyes closed, and face twisted in pure pleasure. His cock throbbed inside of me as he came, shuddering in a way that was almost vulnerable.
For that brief moment, I saw what lay beneath the strangled control. The darkness Goran carried and kept locked tight. He was lethal, and he was mine.
Then he inhaled slowly, and his eyes fluttered open. They were glazed over as he pulled out.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
I had no idea what he was up to until I heard the water running. Lying back, I relaxed into the bed, letting my mind go still. It was rare, but it felt good not to think about anything.
Time lost meaning, and suddenly there he was. Goran lifted me effortlessly and carried me into the bathroom. The oversized tub was already filled, steam rising thickly around us.
He stepped in first, sitting down before lowering me between his legs. My back pressed to his chest, water sloshing over our skin. I melted into him as he lathered soap between his palms and began washing me. Every motion measured, every touch deliberate.
The aggression from moments ago softened into something deeper.
“You don’t get to see this part of me often,” he murmured against my hair. “You rarely see the real me.”
“Who is the real you?”
“I’m the man who wants to love you without worry. I hate that I can’t show this side of myself.”
His hands slid up my ribs, then wrapped around my body, holding me close.
“I don’t want to conquer you. I never have. I love your spirit, your drive, and how you take what you want from this world,” he said quietly.
“Even if that something is you, when you didn’t consent?”
Goran chuckled, the sound rumbling against my ear.
“I would’ve consented.”
I leaned back against him, looking up at his face.
“I meant what I said. I’ve never been able to say no to you. None of the rules matter when you ask for something.”
“But would you have said yes?”
“I’d marry you a thousand times.”
He kissed the top of my head, water rippling with the movement, and I snuggled deeper into his hold.
I turned my head slightly.
“Good.”
A low sound left his chest, almost a laugh.
He rinsed the soap from my skin, his palms gliding over me again.
“I’ll always choose you.”
There was no steel in his voice, only certainty.
I let my eyes close, sinking into him, warmth wrapping us together. And then the thought pressed against my mind. The words heavy on my chest.
Should I tell him now?
I’m pregnant.
His child. The start of our own family. A new heartbeat in a world that had never been gentle with either of us. I realized I wanted this child more than my next breath. I hadn’t even known how much until this moment.
His hand drifted absently to my stomach beneath the water, and the smallest smile touched my lips.
I pictured his face when he found out. The shock, the possessiveness, and how his entire universe would narrow down to protect our child.
No. Not tonight. Tonight, he got peace. Tomorrow…I would tell him just how permanent we were.