12. Luka
LUKA
I kiss her until neither of us can pretend this is still a fight.
Her hands are in my hair, her mouth open under mine, her body pressed against me like she has been holding herself back for weeks.
I have thought about this too many times to be patient now.
Every time she walked past my office, every time she argued with me, every time I watched her arrange dates I never wanted to go on, this was underneath it.
I want her.
I have wanted her for longer than I can excuse.
My good arm slides under her ass, and I lift her.
She gasps into my mouth. “Luka, your shoulder.”
I kiss her harder.
The wound stings, deep enough that I feel it through my chest and down my arm, but I don’t put her down. She wraps her legs around my waist, careful at first, then tighter when I keep kissing her. Her hands move to my jaw, holding me in place like she is afraid I will change my mind.
I carry her into the bedroom and lower her onto the mattress. Her apartment is small and warm, and the bedroom smells like clean sheets and her perfume. The lamp beside the bed throws soft light over her face, her swollen mouth, her messy hair, the oversized sweater slipping off one shoulder.
She looks up at me, breathing hard. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
Her expression changes. “Your shoulder?”
“You.”
She goes still.
I take off my coat with one hand, badly. She sits up immediately and helps me, pushing the fabric down my good arm first, then carefully easing it over the injured side. I grit my teeth when it catches.
“Stop pretending it doesn’t hurt,” she says.
“Stop talking.”
She glares at me, but her fingers are gentle as she removes my jacket, my tie, then my shirt.
The buttons take her longer because her hands are shaking.
I let her do it. I like watching her undress me.
I like the way her eyes move over my chest when the shirt opens, the way she sees the bandage, the bruising, the scars, and still looks hungry.
When I reach for her sweater, she lifts her arms.
I pull it over her head and drop it on the floor.
She is bare underneath.
For a second, I just look at her. Full breasts, tight nipples, soft stomach, flushed skin. She tries to hold my gaze, but I can see the nerves under her confidence.
“You’re staring,” she says.
“Yes.”
“Say something.”
“You’re beautiful.”
That shuts her up.
I push her back onto the bed and cover her body with mine, keeping my weight on my good arm. Then I put my mouth on her neck. She tilts her head back immediately, giving me more room. I kiss her throat, then bite lightly where her pulse is beating too fast. Her fingers grip my shoulder.
I move her hand to the uninjured side. “There.”
She obeys.
I kiss down her chest and take one nipple into my mouth. She arches immediately, quivering little breaths leaving her as I suck harder. Her hand slides into my hair and pulls. I give the other breast the same attention, licking and sucking until she is moving under me, restless and impatient.
I move lower.
Her stomach tightens when I kiss below her navel. I hook my fingers into her shorts and underwear, and she lifts her hips before I ask. I pull them down her legs and throw them aside.
She is naked under me now.
I spread her thighs and lower my mouth to her pussy.
She’s already wet.
The first taste of her makes my cock throb. I lick through her slowly, then drag my tongue up to her clit. Her hips jerk off the bed. I hold her thighs open with one hand and keep my mouth on her, finding the rhythm quickly because I remember what made her shake in the boardroom.
She tries to stay quiet. It lasts less than a minute.
I circle her clit with my tongue, then suck it gently. Her hands fist in the sheets. When I slide two fingers inside her, she moans my name, low and broken, and clenches around me so tightly I have to stop myself from rushing.
She’s hot and soaked around my fingers.
I curl them inside her and keep my mouth on her clit. Her body reacts immediately. Her hips lift into my face, her thighs tremble, and her hand comes back to my hair. This time I let her pull as hard as she wants.
I work her with my tongue and fingers until she stops trying to control the sounds she makes. She is all gasps and soft moans, her body moving against my mouth, chasing pressure. I suck her clit harder, then flick it with my tongue while my fingers stroke inside her.
Her legs begin to shake.
I keep the same pace.
She comes with her back arched, her pussy clenching around my fingers, my name breaking out of her like she cannot stop it. I keep my mouth on her through it until she pushes weakly at my head, too sensitive to take more.
I pull away and look at her.
She’s flushed, naked, breathing hard, eyes unfocused.
I get off the bed and open my trousers. She watches every movement. When I push them down and take myself in my hand, her eyes drop to my cock and stay there.
She sits up and reaches for me.
I let her touch me for a few seconds. Her hand wraps around my cock, warm and cautious at first, then firmer when she sees my reaction. My jaw tightens. I put one hand on the wall beside the bed.
She looks up at me. “You like that.”
“Yes.”
Her thumb moves over the head, spreading the wetness there.
I catch her wrist. “Enough.”
She looks pleased with herself. “Already?”
“You want to be clever, or do you want me inside you?”
Her smile fades.
I reach for my wallet, take out a condom, and put it on. It’s clumsy with one hand, and she helps me without making a joke, which tells me she understands how close I am to losing control.
I push her back onto the bed and settle between her legs.
The first press of my cock against her makes her breath catch.
I look at her face. “Tell me.”
She understands. “I want you.”
I push inside her slowly.
She’s tight, wet, and hot, and the feel of her around me nearly ends me before I have fully entered her. I stop halfway, breathing hard through my nose.
Her nails dig into my sides. “Don’t stop.”
I push in the rest of the way.
She feels so good. Her legs wrap around my hips, pulling me closer, and I have to brace my good arm beside her head.
Then I start moving.
Slow at first, deep enough to make her gasp each time.
Her hands slide over my back, careful around my shoulder, then grip my waist when I increase the pace.
I kiss her while I fuck her, swallowing every sound she makes.
Her mouth is soft and greedy under mine, and she keeps chasing the kiss even when she can barely breathe.
I shift my hips and hit deeper.
Her whole body tightens. “There.”
I do it again.
She moans louder.
I keep that angle, fucking her steadily while one hand slides between us to rub her clit. She comes fast, her pussy pulsing around my cock, her legs tightening around my hips as she cries into my mouth.
I don’t stop.
I slow enough to let her breathe, then roll us carefully so she is on top.
She looks down at me, hair falling around her face, cheeks flushed, lips swollen. “Your shoulder.”
“Move.”
She hesitates.
“Nina.”
That is enough.
She plants her hands on my chest, careful of the bandage, and starts riding me. Slowly at first, testing the angle, then harder when she realizes how much control she has. I grip her hip with my good hand and guide her rhythm.
She’s beautiful like this.
Sweaty, focused, a little unsteady, taking what she wants from me while trying not to look too desperate for it. Her breasts move with each roll of her hips, and I sit up enough to take one nipple into my mouth again.
She gasps and grinds down harder.
I suck her nipple, then bite lightly. Her head tips back, and her pace gets messier.
I can feel myself getting close, so I stop her.
She looks furious. “What—”
I turn her over onto her stomach before she finishes the sentence, pull her hips up, and slide back inside her from behind.
She cries out into the pillow, the angle makes her grip the sheets, and I have to pause for one second because she feels too good around me.
Then I start fucking her again. Harder now.
Her back arches, her ass presses back against me, and every thrust pulls a broken sound from her. I keep one hand on her hip and the other braced on the bed. My shoulder burns, but the pain only keeps me sharper.
She pushes back into me.
That’s all the permission I need.
I fuck her deep and steady, watching her body take me, listening to the wet sound of us, the desperate little noises she cannot hide. I reach around and rub her clit again, tight circles that make her shake almost immediately.
“Luka,” she gasps into the pillow.
“I know.”
Her body tightens around me.
I keep rubbing her clit while I drive into her from behind, and she comes again, harder this time, her pussy clenching so violently around my cock that I lose the last of my control.
I bury myself deep and come with a groan, my hand locked on her hip, my forehead dropping against her back as pleasure hits hard enough to make my shoulder flare with pain.
For a while, neither of us move. Then I pull out carefully and lie beside her
She turns toward me immediately. “You hurt yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
“No. You’re banned from saying that.”
“I’m alive.”
“That is a terrible standard.”
“It’s worked so far.”
She stares at me, naked and flushed and still annoyed, and I feel something in my chest shift in a way I don’t want to examine yet.
Her hand lifts to my face, then stops halfway.
I catch it and press her palm against my cheek. She goes quiet.
I turn my head and kiss the inside of her wrist.
Her breathing changes.
For once, she doesn’t run.
She stays beside me, warm and silent, her bed a mess around us, her body close enough that I can feel every breath she takes.
Outside this room, everything is still waiting.
Alina. Misha. The attack. The resignation. The fact that I’ve crossed every line I spent years drawing.
But for the first time in weeks, Nina isn’t leaving.
And I’m selfish enough to keep her there.