Chapter 26 Liev
LIEV
Torturing Sera in a public place has been one of the hottest experiences of my life. However, it is also proving to be the most painful. I’d been so lost in the fantasy, thinking about what I wanted to do with her, I’d actually forgotten about Anton.
It takes me a second to calm myself enough so that I can walk over to where Sera is speaking in hushed tones with Etienne and Henri.
“What happened to Anton?” I hear Sera demand as I get closer.
“I don’t know. It looks like he slipped in the kitchen and hit his head…” Etienne darts a look my way. “We can’t rule out it’s a distraction in order to get the rubies. I’m heading to the hospital as soon as we get the jewels in the hotel safe.”
“If there is a threat to—”
“Nothing happened anywhere near your client.” Etienne snaps at her.
“Watch your fucking tone,” I growl.
The man rolls his eyes at me. “Apologies,” is his less than sincere response.
“What about Vegas? We’re supposed to leave tomorrow.” Sera pushes.
“The event isn’t for a few days. In that time, we will brief the museum, and they will decide if the parure will continue to be a part of this…” He waves his hand.
“Are we in danger? Is it those tree-hugging assholes?” Keke snipes, when we hustle her, Dani, and Marco into the elevator.
“It was an accident.” Sera jabs at the button for our floor repeatedly, as if it will make it move faster.
The second the adjoining door clicks shut, and Keke is safe in her room for the rest of the night, Sera folds her arms over her chest.
“Start talking, Gangster.”
I open my mouth to lie but stop. “He threatened you.”
Her eyes narrow. “What did he say?”
I hesitate. “It wasn’t the words exactly. It was how he looked at you.”
I’m bracing for her to push back, to be horrified at how extreme my response was. Instead, she surprises me.
“If there’s anyone who doesn’t need threats explained, it’s me.” Her hazel eyes cut straight through me. “You think he would have hurt me.”
“No doubt.”
The floor feels unsteady under my feet. I still can’t read her.
Is she upset? Afraid?
“Thank you.”
I blink, unsure I heard her correctly. “What?”
She studies me for a second, then rises onto her toes and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “You said you’d protect me,” she murmurs. “And you did.”
Her fingers trace lightly over my chest, and something tight and heavy swells inside me when she adds, even softer, "You'll never know how much that means to me."
Before I can respond, she steps back and shrugs out of her blazer, letting it slide to the floor. She tugs her top free from the waistband, and my pulse kicks up a notch.
"What are you doing?"
Sera doesn't answer. Instead, she pulls her blouse over her head in one smooth motion, dropping it beside the blazer. My blood surges hot through my veins as she kicks off her boots and socks.
But when her hands go to the button of her pants, I can't stay still. I cover her fingers with mine. "You don't have to."
Her eyes glitter up at me, a spark of challenge in them. "I know. But if you don't follow through with what you started down there..." She pauses. "I will kill you."
This moment—right here—this is when I know I'd hand her my soul on a silver platter without a second thought if she asked.
No regrets.
Slowly, I shrug out of my suit jacket, my fingers working the buttons of my white dress shirt. Sera's gaze devours every inch of skin I expose, her breath hitching as she slides the zipper of her pants down, letting them pool at her ankles before kicking them away.
She's standing there in a simple nude bra and panties, nothing fancy, but goddamn, I've never seen anything more perfect.
My cock strains, aching already. I rip at my belt and pants, frantic at first, but then I catch the subtle twitch in her shoulders, the brief hesitation. I force myself to slow down.
My voice is rough when I promise, "You say stop, we stop."
Her lips lift in a small smile, and she nods. It's too quick, too automatic. I catch her chin gently, tilting her face up to mine.
"I'm serious, malyshka. Even if I'm inside you and you say stop—there's no line where you can't say no. Understand?"
"Yes," she whispers, her expression softening, the tension easing from her body. "I want this with you.”
An idea sparks, something to give her the control she needs. I grab my discarded tie from the floor and hold it out to her. "Then you're in control."
She looks confused for a beat, glancing between the silk fabric and my face. Then understanding dawns, heat flooding her cheeks, her pupils dilating with desire.
I hold my wrists out in front of me, and she wraps the tie around them, knotting it securely. It's loose enough that I could break free with a tug—we both know it—but I won't. Not until she says so.
With a sly smile, she steps closer, her breasts brushing my chest, and my muscles contract involuntarily.
"Remember to be quiet," she warns, smirking.
I suck in a sharp breath as her hands loosen my pants the rest of the way, shoving them down.
I lift one foot, then the other, kicking them aside, my eyes locked on hers the entire time.
Using the knot between my bound wrists as leverage, she pushes me back onto the bed.
I shift until I'm lying full length, my cock hard and throbbing against my boxers, begging to be freed.
“I could get used to this,” she says archly, looking down at me.
“Don’t” I growl, my voice ragged.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she teases, throwing a leg over my hip and settling astride me. The heat from her pussy presses against my cock through her panties, and I bite back a groan. “I think I like being the boss of you, Gangster.”
She bends forward, capturing my mouth in a deep, hungry kiss. With my hands trapped between us, she rocks her body against mine, the friction sending sparks through me.
“Baby,” I whimper, my hips bucking up instinctively. "Please."
She pulls back, her breath coming in soft pants, her cheeks flushed.
"You were so good at talking dirty downstairs," she murmurs, grinding down harder.
"Whispering all those things about my breasts, about tasting me.
.. making me wet in front of everyone." Her fingers trail down my chest, nails scraping lightly. "Now it's time to show me."
I think I might have created a monster when she shivers, and her hips begin moving in slow torturous circles.
"Fuck, Sera." My voice is frayed, barely above a whisper. "You have no idea how bad I want to touch you right now.”
Her lids are heavy as she reaches behind her back to unhook her bra, tossing it aside. “What were you saying about my breasts?”
They spill free, full and flushed, and I nearly come undone just looking at her perched above me. She leans forward, and I latch on greedily, tongue swirling around the tight peak, sucking hard enough to make her gasp—but she bites her lip to stifle it.
Her hand slips between us, wrapping around my cock, stroking slowly. I thrust into her grip, my bound hands pressing against her stomach.
“Do you want me to touch you?” I’m not above begging at this point. “Do you need my fingers?”
She nods frantically, shifting to slide her panties down and off, leaving her completely bare.
Straddling me again, she positions herself so my bound hands can reach her.
I work two fingers into her slick heat. She's drenched, clenching around me immediately, and she rocks against my fingers, her head falling back.
"That's it," I murmur, thumb circling her clit. "Ride my fingers like you want to ride my cock. Do you want that, Sera? Me, filling you up?"
She whimpers softly, her movements picking up speed. "I... I think I'm ready for…” Her hands pulls my waistband lower.
I groan, deep and tortured, my fingers stilling for a second. "Not here." The words come out rough, frustrated. "Not like this. I don’t have any condoms, and when I finally fuck you, malyshka, I want to hear you scream my name. No holding back."
“Then make me come like this," she whispers, grinding down harder on my hand.
I curl my fingers inside her, hitting the spot that makes her tremble, my thumb relentless on her clit. She strokes me in time with her hips, her free hand bracing on my chest. The pressure builds fast, her walls fluttering around me.
"Liev," she gasps, her body tensing.
"Come for me," I urge.
She shatters with a muffled cry, biting down on her fist to stay silent.
The sight of her pleasure, the feel of her pulsing around me—it's too much. My own orgasm crashes through me, hips jerking as a groan escapes my throat.
For a long moment, neither of us moves, the only sound the soft rasp of our breathing.
“Holy shit,” Sera mutters, as she rolls off me, falling to the side.
Reaching for the tie still knotted around my wrists, fingers trembling, she works the silk loose with careful tugs until my hands are free.
The moment the fabric falls away, I flex my fingers then reach for her. I catch her chin gently between thumb and forefinger, tilting her face to mine. I don’t speak. I just lean in and kiss her.
There’s no heat now, just the deliberate press of mouths that says everything I know she’s not ready for me to say out loud.
When I finally pull back, her lips are swollen and soft, her breath shaky. I brush my thumb along her jaw, then ease myself off the bed.
“I’ll be right back,” I murmur.
In the bathroom, I clean myself quickly, then soak another washcloth, wring it out, and grab a bottle of water from the minibar on my way back.
She’s sitting up when I return, sheet pulled to her chest, hair a wild cloud around her flushed face. I uncap the water and hand it to her without a word. She takes it with both hands, drinking slowly, eyes never leaving mine.
“We don’t need condoms.”
Has she changed her mind? Did I misread the situation?
Her face reddens a little. “I mean they aren’t necessary. I have an IUD, and I know Brady made you get a full blood screening…” Her voice trails off as her colors deepen.
My cock twitches hard against my thigh at her words, heat surging low in my gut like she just flipped a switch. Bare. Inside her. Nothing between us. The thought alone makes my pulse hammer, but I lock it down.
“Fuck, malyshka… You have no idea what that does to me.” I kneel on the edge of the mattress, warm cloth in hand. “Lie back for me.”
She hesitates only a second before reclining, letting the sheet fall to the side. I part her thighs and stroke the warm cloth between her legs.
When I’m done, I set the cloth aside and meet her gaze again. “Thank you.”
She gives me a tired, quizzical look. I cup her jaw stroking my thumb over the uneven skin of her cheek. “For trusting me.”
Emotion floods her eyes turning them glassy. I bite my tongue to keep from saying the words trying to fight their way free.
How much I love her. How I don’t want to spend another day without her. That today was only the tiniest glimpse of what I would do to protect her.
But they are too big. Too intense for this moment.
Sera made herself vulnerable by being naked with me. She just shared something that she has kept guarded for almost two years, and I refuse to make her feel as if there is any expectation in this moment.
“We should put some clothes on,” she says quietly. “Keke…”
I pull her pajamas from the drawer and hand them to her in silence.
After slipping into my own pants, I slide into the bed behind her and pull her tight to my chest. I drop a kiss to the curve of her shoulder, and she nestles back against me.
Her fingers find mine where they rest on her stomach and laces them together.
I stay awake a little longer, listening to the quiet rhythm of her breathing as it evens out into sleep, marveling at how lucky I am—that this woman, this brave, beautiful woman, chose to let me in.
I press one last kiss to the nape of her neck and vow that she will never be sorry.