Chapter 44
Alexei
I cross the space between us in four long strides.
Her eyes widen as I approach, but she doesn’t back away or flinch.
She just watches, probably waiting to find out which version of me will emerge from this rage.
I stop before her, close enough to feel the heat of her body and smell her perfume.
Close enough that she has to tilt her head back to meet my eyes.
I cup her cheeks in my hands, forcing gentleness into my touch even though every primal instinct inside me wants to break something.
“No one threatens what’s mine.” The words are rough, scraped raw by the effort of restraining myself. “No one hurts you. No one touches your sister. Not while I’m breathing.”
A single tear escapes, sliding down her cheek to meet my thumb. I brush it away. “I should have told you sooner. I was just so scared.”
“How am I supposed to protect you when you hide things from me? You’re not alone anymore.” I press my forehead to hers, breathing her in. “You have me. All of me.”
And it’s true, surprising as the revelation is. She does have all of me. Not just my name, my protection, and my body, but the pieces I’ve kept locked away. The pieces I didn’t think existed anymore.
“We’re going to your show. We’re going to celebrate your work. And tomorrow…”
She nods in understanding. “Yes.” Strength returns to her voice. “Okay. That sounds like a good…plan.”
I mold my hand to the small of her back, guiding her toward the door. My phone buzzes in my pocket. Trevor with information on Gio, no doubt.
Too bad. Gio can wait.
Tonight is for Aurora. Tomorrow is for blood.
We stop near the elevator. She’s trembling, fear pulsing off her in waves.
The rage inside me changes shape.
Still burning, still demanding release, but now focused on a different kind of possession.
I need to know there are no more secrets between us. I need to claim her, mark her as mine in a way that Gio can never touch.
And she needs to pay for keeping things from me.
I face her, my hand gentle on her shoulder despite the storm in my blood. “Are you hiding anything else from me?”
She chews her lower lip. “No. Nothing. I swear.” Her voice, raw with emotion, breaks on the last word. “I should have told you about Samantha. About Gio. I just…” She presses a shaky hand to my chest. “I didn’t know how to trust anyone with her safety. She’s all I had.”
Had. Past tense. Even in the midst of her misery, she acknowledges that’s no longer true. The realization floods me with satisfaction.
“You have me now. But I need to be sure that you’re not withholding anything else.”
Over my shirt, the heat of her palm brands my chest. “There’s nothing else. I promise. How can I prove it to you?”
The question is electric with possibility. Blood pounds in my ears, my throat, my groin.
“Strip.”
Aurora freezes, her expression morphing into confusion. “What?”
“You heard me.” I retreat two paces to give her space. “Strip. Show me there’s nothing hidden. No more secrets.”
Understanding dawns in her eyes. A flush spreads across her cheeks and down her neck.
At first, I think she might refuse. We should be leaving for her show soon. Aurora needs to arrive early for any last-minute adjustments. Now isn’t the time for this.
But desire flickers in her expression, mirroring my need.
Her hesitance shifts into a newfound sexy playfulness.
She bites her lip and reaches behind her for the zipper.
She tugs it down, the steady snick echoing in the quiet loft.
The fabric parts to reveal the pale skin of her back, the delicate curve of her spine.
The dress slides down her body and pools at her feet.
Teasing, she peeks at me from over her bare shoulder.
“Exquisite.” My pulse stutters and rises.
She waits before me like an offering, black lace underwear stark against ivory skin. Part of her armor for tonight’s event. She reaches behind her back and unhooks her bra. The straps slide down her arms as she removes the delicate material.
My mouth dries as the heat in her eyes pumps straight to my groin.
Her firm, medium-sized breasts are perfect, rosy nipples already tightening. She hooks her thumbs in the waistband of her panties, hesitates a second, and then pushes them down her legs, stepping out of them along with the dress.
Except for her heels, she’s completely naked. The fear has vanished from her eyes. Now they only gleam with a growing desire that matches my own.
“Turn around.” I drink in the sight of her. “Show me everything.”
She complies, spinning in a full circle, her body illuminated by the afternoon sun. The light streaming through the windows graces her skin with an unearthly glow. When she completes the rotation, a small smile plays at the corners of her mouth.
The little minx is enjoying this.
“Beautiful.” My cock pulses at the sight of this woman bared before me. My woman. “But I still think you might be hiding things from me.”
“Oh.” Her voice is breathy, as if she finally understands the game. “What else can I…show you?”
“Open up to me.” The double meaning is intentional, hanging between us like a promise. “Show me everything, lyubimaya.”
Without hesitation, she saunters to one of the dining chairs in her three-inch heels, hips swaying. She places one foot on the seat and separates her legs. With steady fingers, she parts the lips of her pussy, presenting pink flesh already glistening with arousal.
My cock hardens, straining against my pants as I prowl closer. “Wider.”
She withdraws her fingers, places her foot on the floor, and moves to the couch instead. I follow, blood singing in my veins.
Lying back, she grips her ankles, drawing her legs up and apart. My pulse surges. Everything is exposed now, the swollen lips of her pussy, the tight pucker of her ass, her wet, ready entrance.
I kneel between her spread legs, drinking her in. So completely open to me in a way she’s never been to anyone else.
“You’re still hiding things.” My hand hovers just above her heated skin. “I can sense it. There are places you’re not showing me. Secrets you still keep deep inside.”
Her breath catches, her pupils dilating until her eyes are mostly black and only a thin ring of green remains. “How can I prove there’s nothing?”
“Show me what’s inside.” I rest my hand on her inner thigh. The muscle jumps beneath my touch. “Use your fingers.”
With one hand still gripping her ankle, she brings the other between her legs. Slowly, deliberately, she slips two fingers inside herself. I watch, mesmerized and so hard I can barely tolerate it, as she works her fingers in and out, her juices coating them.
“Good girl.” My hand joins hers. I stroke the sensitive flesh, gathering her wetness and sliding it down to the tight ring of her ass. “So good for me. So open. But there are still places I haven’t explored.” I circle her rear entrance with my thumb, feeling it tighten at my touch. “Yet.”
She shudders. “No one…” Her voice breaks, and she’s forced to start over. “No one has ever…touched me…there.”
Triumph swells within me at the way her body responds to even the suggestion of what I might do. At the knowledge that I’ll eventually be her first there. With my free hand, I unzip my pants, releasing my aching cock. I stroke myself once, twice, savoring the mounting pressure.
Her skin flushes pink, fingers increasing the pace without me asking. Her juices flow, drenching her skin as her breathing grows ragged.
“You’re shaking.”
“I can’t help it.” She gasps. “What you do to me…”
I grind my cock between her legs and over her fingers, reveling in her wet heat. Then I follow the glistening line down to her tight entrance.
She gasps again.
“Relax. We don’t have enough time for that. When I take your ass, I will not be rushed. It’s something that needs to be prepped and savored.” Using my cock, I press her natural lubricant against the ring of muscle. “And I have no doubt that I will savor fucking your tight little ass.”
The words push her over the edge.
She comes with a cry, body arching off the couch, fingers buried deep inside herself. The rush of wetness soaks her hand and covers my crown and the couch beneath her.
It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed.
I continue to circle her entrance with my dick as she subsides from her peak, her body going limp against the couch. Her eyes are half closed while her chest heaves with each breath.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
Mine.
But I’m not done with her yet. Not even close. The need to mark her in the most primitive way possible burns through me like a fever.
“Alexei…” My name on her lips is a plea, though for what—mercy or more—I’m not yet sure.
I grab her legs just behind the knees, pushing them forward until they touch the couch on both sides of her head.
The position folds her nearly in half, exposing her to me.
Her pussy quivers still pulsing from her orgasm.
“Look at you.” I arrange myself at her entrance. “So open for me. So wet. This is how you should always be.”
Her eyes flutter open, focusing on mine with an intensity that robs me of my breath. “Always.”
I thrust into her in one smooth motion, burying myself to the hilt, balls slapping against her ass. The sensation is overwhelming. Tight, wet heat grips my cock like a fist.
She cries out as I groan, our sounds sharp with pleasure.
I don’t give her time to adjust.
Can’t.
The need is too great, the urgency too intense.
I retreat and slam into her again, harder this time.
A scream tears from her throat. Bliss contorts her face, and her back arches as much as the position allows. I establish a punishing rhythm, each thrust driving deeper than the last.
“Alexei! Oh god, Alexei!” Her voice rises with each thrust. “It’s so deep…I can’t…it’s too much…”
Her body tells a different story. She’s wetter than I’ve ever felt her, clenching around me with each stroke. She grasps the edge of the couch with whitened knuckles.
“Take it.” I increase my pace. “Take all of me. Every. Fucking. Inch.” I punctuate each word with another thrust.
“Yes!” She squeezes around me. “All of you. I won’t keep secrets…ever again. I’m…yours.”
The words fuel the fire inside me.
Mine. All mine.
No more secrets. Just this. Her body open to me, her pleasure under my control, her trust freely given. The need to mark her is still there. To give her something she’ll carry with her for the rest of the night. To punish her.
Though I have no doubt she’ll enjoy this punishment as much as I will.
I shift my grip, holding both her legs with one arm pressed across her shins. My free hand comes down in a sharp slap against her exposed pussy, the impact vibrating through both our bodies.
Her eyes fly open with shock. Then a dark, hungry look fills them. “What—”
I do it again, a little harder. The sound of my palm against her wet flesh is obscene and so fucking perfect.
She jolts, a high keening cry escaping her lips.
“You like that.” I slow my thrusts to focus on this new discovery while rubbing the spot I just struck. Soothing the disciplined area. “You like when I spank your pussy.”
Her face flames red, but she doesn’t deny it. She can’t. Not when her body’s response is so clear. She coils around me, and a fresh rush of wetness slicks my cock.
“Answer me.” I stop, doling out a true punishment for her in the state she’s in. “You like when I spank this pretty pussy that belongs to me.”
She dampens her lips. “Yes. I…I love it.”
“No more hiding things from me.” I reward her honesty with another slap, this one targeted to hit her clit.
“Again.” Her entire body trembles. “Please…again.”
“Hold your legs open, and I’ll give you what you’re begging me for.”
Hands quivering, she grabs her thighs, spreading herself even wider than before. Her eyes glaze over, her lips part, and her breaths come out shallow.
“What was it you wanted?” I can’t help but tease her.
She licks her lips several times before attempting to speak. “Please, spank this pretty pussy that belongs to you.”
A bolt of white-hot lust steals my breath.
I honor her request, alternating between deep, driving thrusts and sharp slaps against her sensitive flesh. Each impact has her clenching around me. Each thrust drives her higher. She’s incoherent now, words ceding to raw moans of ecstasy.
“You belong to me.” My release builds at the base of my spine. “This body belongs to me. This pleasure belongs to me. No more secrets. No more hiding. Everything open to me.”
“Everything.” She gasps between moans. “Everything’s…yours.”
I increase my pace, pounding into her without holding back. Her body offers no resistance.
“Say it again.” I grit my teeth, fighting to stave off my own orgasm. “Tell me who you belong to.”
“You!” she sobs. “I belong to you, Alexei. Only you. Always you.”
After one last slap against her swollen flesh, she breaks. Her body convulses around me. The tight grip of her pussy, the sight of her face transformed with pleasure, the knowledge that I’ve marked her in ways no one else will ever see…tumbles me over the edge with her.
I curse as I empty myself inside her. Each pulse feels like it’s ripping out a vital organ, hollowing me out and remaking me.
Hers.
Just as she is mine.
Time seems to suspend as we shudder through the aftershocks.
Carefully, I release her legs, allowing her body to unfold.
She winces as her muscles stretch back to their normal position, but there’s no real pain in her expression.
Only a dazed satisfaction that matches the languor spreading through my own limbs.
“You’re going to be my undoing, lyubimaya.” I lean down, pressing my forehead against hers. Our breath mingles as we continue to pant from exertion. “No more secrets.”
She meets my gaze, yes clear and certain despite the flush still staining her cheeks. “No more secrets. No more hiding. I promise.”
I believe her. Not because of what we just did, but because of what came before. Her fear for her sister and the vulnerability she exposed by sharing that fear with me. Her trust that I’ll help shoulder the burden.
This bond between us is genuine. Not just on paper, not just for protection or strategy.
Real. And mine to protect with everything I am.