Chapter Nine
Natalia lingered in the doorway. The bedroom was larger than any apartment she’d ever stayed in.
Dark walnut furniture filled the spacious room, softened by warm lights. A fire cast flickering light across polished wooden floors and the enormous four-poster bed dominating the far wall. Every inch of the room screamed Alexei.
Behind her, the door clicked softly shut. The sound made the room suddenly feel much smaller. For a long moment neither of them spoke. The events of the evening still clung to them.
She flexed her fingers unconsciously. There were tiny cuts across her knuckles where fragments of glass had caught her during the shooting. It was nothing serious. She'd barely noticed them.
He reached for her hand, and she almost pulled away. In the end, she allowed him to turn it over gently in his own. His hands were large and warm. He brushed his thumb lightly across one of the tiny cuts.
"You were bleeding." His voice carried an unexpected sadness.
“It’s not serious,” she told him. “I’ve had worse.”
“I know,” he murmured.
Natalia looked up. He wasn't staring at her injuries, but at her. The intensity of his gaze made her heartbeat stumble.
"I couldn’t help but worry about you,” he admitted quietly.
"You shouldn’t. My job is worrying about you,” she reminded him.
He chuckled. The sound warmed something inside her she had spent years convincing herself no longer existed. Without thinking, she reached up and loosened the knot of his white bow tie.
"You've been wearing this thing for six hours. Allow me,” she said.
She slipped the silk free before smoothing the collar of his shirt, aware he watched her like a predator. It dawned on Natalia that she liked that his attention was fixed solely on her and nothing and no one else.
“Turn around. I’ll do your dress,” he instructed, and she obeyed without thinking.
Slowly, he reached toward the zipper hidden along the back of her gown. The zipper slid downward with a quiet whisper. She felt the evening gown loosen around her shoulders. After spending hours enclosed in fitted satin, the release felt unexpectedly comforting.
Natalia was tempted to gather the fabric before it slipped too far, but he caught her wrist.
“Don’t do that. I want to see you, all of you,” Alexei said.
She let her arm drop, and the dress finally pooled at her feet. She stood before him now, merely in matching black lace panties and bra. An animalistic growl slipped from Alexei’s lips, sending a shudder of anticipation down her spine.
“Take the rest off,” he ordered.
Feeling unexpectedly playful, she wagged a finger at him. “Only if you do the same.”
“Challenge accepted.” Alexei grinned.
To her delight, he took off his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt. In response, Natalia unclasped her bra, pleased to feel his gaze on her breasts, her stiffening nipples.
Soon enough, both of them were nude. She undid the ribbon holding her hair in place. His breath caught. Natalia took one look at him and realized she wanted him, all of him, to herself.
What a selfish thought. Then again, when was the last night she wanted something this much? Alexei closed the distance between them. He brushed his fingertips along her cheek before curling his fingers into her unbound hair.
"I've wanted to do this all evening." Before she could answer, he leaned down and plundered her mouth.
She found herself leaning closer, one hand resting against his chest. His heartbeat echoed beneath her fingertips while she kissed him furiously back. He deepened the kiss, and she automatically sucked down on it.
Alexei slid his hand to her waist, and still kissing, led her to the bed.
Natalia ended up lying on her back, gazing up at the only man she’d ever loved.
Maybe love was the wrong word to use, because in some ways they were still practically strangers to each other.
Still, he was the only man she ever considered.
He joined her, straddling her in bed. Alexei left a trail of burning kisses on the side of her mouth, her neck, her chest. Her breasts, he kissed reverently, before closing his mouth on one nipple.
Alexei bit down, making her moan. He lifted his head, and must’ve seen the expression on her face, because he grinned, and marked her other one as well.
Then he moved lower, kissing his way downward, to her ribs, belly, and finally the valley between her legs.
“Already so wet for me,” he murmured, then plunged his tongue into her waiting pussy.
Natalia gasped, groaning as he tasted every inch of her. He licked and sucked, swiping his tongue around her clit.
“Don’t come yet,” he said. Unable to speak, she could only nod. Alexei lifted his face, licking his lips.
“How do you want me?” she asked him.
“On fours,” he said, positioning her on the edge of his bed.
Natalia parted her legs, eager to feel him inside her.
He gripped her hips, then entered her in one smooth push.
She thought she was ready for him, but the length and hardness of him took her breath momentarily away.
Natalia loved it, though, liked the feel of him in her.
He paused, but then she begged him to move.
Alexei’s momentary hesitation finally melted away as he started to ride her. He alternated between slow and fast strokes, quickly finding a rhythm that suited them both. Soon, he reduced them both to panting, needy messes.
At his next push, he found her sweet spot. Natalia gasped, arching her back at the sudden flare of pleasure. Alexei kept aiming for that spot, and the pressure building inside her threatened to burst.
“I want to hear you scream my name, Natalia,” he said, slipping his fingers to her clit. One pinch, and Natalia shattered. Her mind flew a thousand feet in the air. The room fell away from her line of sight as she climaxed on his member.
Natalia collapsed on the soft black sheets, feeling boneless.
Alexei slowly pulled out of her. She heard him retreat to his bathroom, but, to her relief, he soon returned with towels in hand.
He cleaned them both up. Moments later, the mattress shifted as Alexei joined her, draping his silken, muscled body next to hers.
The room fell quiet. Only the rain outside disturbed the silence. For a while, they simply lay facing one another, not speaking. Alexei reached for her hand beneath the blankets. She threaded her fingers through his without thinking.
“That was ... wow,” she said.
“Wow?” Alexei lifted an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard that one before.”
“None of the women you’ve been with before complimented you in bed?” Natalia asked.
“Oh, I’ve received compliments.”
Her face fell, and Alexei caught her expression because he leaned in closer for a kiss. Normally, Natalia could control her emotions better, but around him and in this intimate moment, it felt impossible.
“None of those women matter,” Alexei said after the kiss. “Only you matter.”
He tugged her closer, and she didn't bother to resist. She settled against him, resting her head beneath his chin while he wrapped his arm securely around her shoulders.
His heartbeat was slower now, she realized. She listened to it in silence, while he stroked his fingers absentmindedly through her hair. He kissed the top of her head.
“If tonight’s incident taught me one thing, it’s this—I won't ever let you go again,” he told her.
The promise settled over her like another blanket. He tilted her chin upward just enough to kiss her once more, a gentle kiss that carried no urgency, only affection and quiet conviction.
Natalia returned it just as softly before nestling back against him. She said nothing, not because she didn’t want to. Happiness had never stayed.
She had learned that lesson young, when everything she'd loved had been torn away in blood and fire. Every good thing had carried an expiration date, and each moment of peace had eventually given way to violence.
Promises were beautiful. Life had taught her they were also fragile. She wanted to believe him. God, she wanted to. Natalia wanted to believe that this room, this warmth, this man holding her as though she were something precious instead of something broken, could become her future.
But hope had sharp edges. It cut deepest when it was lost. So she tucked the feeling quietly inside her heart instead of giving it voice. She couldn't trust happiness, not yet and perhaps not ever.
What she did trust was the steady rise and fall of Alexei's breathing, the strength of the arm around her, and the quiet certainty that, for tonight at least, he was alive. That was enough.
And though she would never tell him, she made a promise of her own as sleep slowly crept over them. She would remain at Alexei Volkov's side. She would stand between him and every bullet, every assassin foolish enough to come for him.
Natalia would stay until the day he looked her in the eye and told her he no longer needed her, or until the day her presence became the very thing that endangered his life. Only then would she walk away, but until that impossible day arrived she would guard his life with her own.