Chapter Sixteen Konstantin’s POV
Chapter Sixteen
Konstantin’s POV
Two of the guards joined Devlin in firing covering shots as I crossed the distance of the smoke-filled room with Alina behind me.
“We’re under siege,” I declared as I led Alina and some guards to the safety of the hallway downstairs.
“Stay behind me,” I told Alina as I led the way to the short hallway after the gym. “It’s safer here. But don’t leave your gun.”
“Yeah,” she answered as we moved on.
I turned around to face her and was about to tell her I needed to go back out to finish the intruders off when Sergei emerged.
“Boss, they remain under control, but a few of them are advancing into the manor,” he announced.
“Then they didn’t do their homework,” I remarked, throwing the gun I held to the floor and signaling to him to hand me another one.
“Killian and the snipers are attacking from the attic,” he added.
I was torn.
First was my anger at the attack as a whole. It was an intrusion into my private space. The idea that someone or a group of people thought to attack a Lobanov filled me with rage. I couldn’t wait to find out the people behind the attack, the people who dared come against a Bratva residence.
On the other side of my anger was the adrenaline that shot through me at the feel of having Alina pressed to my back, pistol in hand.
I had never liked this kind of close proximity, whether the person was a soldier or even any of my men.
But now that it was Alina, I more than liked it. It felt like we were partners.
I heard heavy footsteps and, from the way Sergei and the guards with us turned their necks forward, they heard it too.
The shot to my left was the first of many as five men in black shirts, khaki pants, and boots emerged.
The bulletproof vests they wore made it clear that they were mercenaries.
They fired, and we answered in the same language.
Three of the men were down in a minute, but another four joined us in the hallway.
Still shooting with my left hand, I brought out the gun in my belt holster and started firing with both hands, advancing towards the men with Sergei by my side.
The gunfire exchange became brutal until two of the men were left standing.
One of the guards to my right shot again, making a clean hole in the middle of his head.
As his body hit the floor with a thud and the other man looked towards him for a second, I shot him right in the throat.
He spluttered blood out of his mouth before falling to his knees and collapsing to the floor.
I wiped his blood off the side of my face with the sleeve of my T-shirt.
“Bastards!” Sergei cursed as the hallway became silent.
It’s over.
I turned back to Alina. She was shaking, but there was no fear in the brown eyes that looked up at me. What I saw was steady defiance. I’d never seen a woman like her; so bold and brave even in the face of danger.
She’s something else entirely.
“Sergei,” I called, my eyes not leaving hers. “Take control. Settle things.”
“Yes, boss,” he answered as the guards went towards him.
Taking her by the hand, I dragged her to one of the secure rooms further down. Throwing the door shut, I turned to face her in the dim light of the room.
We stood opposite each other, eyes searching, bodies trembling.
“Were you hit anywhere?” she inquired, her voice soft.
“No. They’re not up to par. They never stood a chance.”
She nodded.
I took a step closer to her, and my hands cupped her face to check for injuries, scratches, anything.
She shuddered when my thumb accidentally brushed her lower lip.
At that moment, I was grateful for the ability to hide how the softness of her lip filled me with hunger for her.
I didn’t intend to act on my desire in the midst of all the chaos.
But then, her hair chose that moment to fall around her face and down her back.
On their own accord, my hands slid into her hair, and her lips parted.
I didn’t think as my lips clashed against hers and my body collided with hers.
My lips moved over hers with untamed hunger, and it only took a few dazed seconds for her to start kissing back with matching fervor.
My hands moved to her waist, and I moved her until her back was against the wall. The kiss was raw and violent, our desire mingling with an urgency that bordered on desperation. Our tongues fought for domination as our hot breaths intermixed.
“Konstantin,” she gasped, breaking the kiss.
I let out a shaky breath, my hands on both sides of her face again.
“Fuck. I love it when you say my name,” I rasped, my lips finding her lower lip and holding it hostage. “So sexy.”
She claimed my lips in a kiss, and I took control, slowing things down. Her hands gingerly came to my shoulders, and I pulled them closer, bringing them to my neck. I could feel her smile into the kiss, and I savored her it, the feel of her lips against mine was driving me nuts.
I grabbed her slender waist as her fingers toyed with the hair at the back of my neck. She moaned softly into the kiss as my hands moved to her butt. The sultry yet heavenly sound spurred me on, and I moved to the hem of her simple long-sleeved dress, snaking my fingers up her legs.
“Fuck,” I muttered into the kiss, loving the softness of her skin beneath my hands.
She brought her hands to my back and pulled me even closer as my hands went higher, between her thighs. That was when my brain caught up with my body, and my hands stopped moving. I ended the kiss with my lips still close to hers.
“This is not the time,” I growled like a wolf dying of terrible hunger.
The air between us was scorching, and her labored breaths made my jeans even tighter.
I kissed her neck, and she held me close. “This is the time.”
I kept kissing her neck, and she moaned in pleasure, making me crazy with desire. “Keep going,” she told me, her tone more like a command.
Between the sounds she made and the feel of her body, I lost the will to stop. I nibbled on her neck as my hand went higher. Her body shuddered as I rubbed the wet lace of her panties.
I shifted the soft material to the side and flicked the length of her soft flesh, eliciting a sharp intake of air from her.
I rubbed her clit, and her chest heaved as she moaned, holding on to me tightly.
My mouth claimed hers in a hungry kiss as I slid a finger into her, swallowing her moans.
I started moving my finger inside her, increasing my pace and driving both of us crazy with desire and pure lust.
I added another finger, and her body trembled as she let out another moan, breaking the kiss for a second. I fucked her with my fingers while kissing her, and she moved restlessly against me.
I felt her clench around my fingers, and I moved even faster as she tugged at the roots of my hair.
“Konstantin,” she moaned, breaking the kiss and throwing her head back as she came on my fingers.
Her body quivered beneath my touch, and I kept moving my fingers inside her until her chest was heaving in ecstasy.
Pulling my fingers out of her, I licked her sweetness off them with my eyes still on hers.
She closed the tiny distance between us again and kissed my lips, pulling me closer.
“Keep going. Don’t stop,” she whispered.
“Wait,” I told her, stepping back. “Now is not the time.”
The fall of her shoulders and the look of desire and hurt in her eyes haunted me as I turned and walked out of the room, leaving her there.
Fuck!