Chapter 15 #2
He kisses me then, soft, sweet, and desperate all at once. When we break apart, his forehead rests against mine. He doesn’t say anything for a long moment. He just holds me with intensity, and maybe I’m fooling myself, but I hear “I love you” in the silence that passes between us.
The possibly-inferred because I really want it to be true confession threatens to break me and loosens something that’s been locked away since Alex.
I pull him down for another kiss and pour all my fear, hope, and desperate need into the contact.
The voice of reason that likes to rear its ugly head reminds me he’s still engaged, and his declaration of love doesn’t mean he’ll cancel his engagement, but I ignore it in the heat of the moment.
This time when we come together, it’s different from the frantic passion by the pool or the desperate need I’ve been imagining for weeks.
This is slow and deliberate, like we have all the time in the world.
He begins by simply touching my face, tracing the line of my jaw with gentle fingers.
“I want to memorize every detail,” he whispers, brushing his thumb across my lower lip.
I turn my head and kiss his palm, tasting the salt of his skin. “Then memorize this too.”
He smiles at that, a real smile that transforms his usually guarded expression. “You’re going to be the end of me, Sarah.”
“Good,” I whisper back and pull him down for a kiss that starts gently but quickly deepens.
We take our time, with no urgency or desperation driving us.
Just want and tenderness and the overwhelming need to be close.
He starts by sliding the silk robe from my shoulders, watching as the fabric pools around my waist. His hands follow the path the silk took, skimming over my bare shoulders and down my arms.
“You’re so soft.” He presses a kiss to the curve of my shoulder. “Like silk.”
I reach for the buttons of his pajama pants, working them open slowly while he watches my expression. When I push the fabric down his hips, he helps me, kicking them away until we’re both completely bare.
Instead of rushing, we simply look at each other. I let my gaze travel over his broad chest, the defined muscles of his stomach, and the tattoos that tell the story of his life. When I reach up to trace the stars below his collarbone, he catches my wrist gently.
Vulnerability flickers in his eyes. “Do they bother you?”
I press my lips to the rose over his heart, feeling his pulse quicken beneath my mouth. “They’re part of you. I want all of you.”
Something shifts in his expression at those words, something vulnerable and raw that he usually keeps hidden. He kisses me again, harder this time, pouring emotion into the contact until I’m breathless and clinging to him.
I explore the tattoos more thoroughly now, tracing the intricate designs with my fingertips and then my tongue. There’s a dagger on his ribs that I follow from hilt to point, making him shiver. I find a phrase in Cyrillic script across his shoulder blade that I can’t read but kiss anyway.
My finger traces the letters. “What does this one say?”
His voice roughens. “Death before dishonor. The bratva code.”
I press a soft kiss to the words, then touch a small crown on his wrist. “And this?”
“For my father. He had a tattoo just like it to honor his father.” He lets out a ragged breath when I kiss that one too. “Sarah...”
I continue my exploration, learning the geography of his body through touch and taste. When I reach the new bandage over his ribs, I’m extra gentle, pressing the softest kiss to the edge of the white tape.
He groans softly, tangling his hands in my hair. “You’re driving me crazy.”
I nip gently at his collarbone, then soothe the sting with my tongue. “That’s the idea.”
He pulls me up for another kiss, rolling us so I’m beneath him on the soft sheets. Now it’s his turn to explore, and he takes his time about it. He starts with my neck, finding a sensitive spot that makes me gasp and lavishing attention on it until I’m squirming beneath him.
“I love the sounds you make.” His breath is warm against my throat. “The little gasps and the way you say my name.”
He moves lower, pressing kisses to my collarbone, and then lower still. When he reaches my breasts, he doesn’t rush. Instead, he teases me, placing soft kisses all around but not quite where I want him most.
I arch toward him. “Yarik, please.”
He looks up at me with dark eyes, clearly enjoying my frustration. “Please what?”
“Touch me. Properly.”
He smiles wickedly and finally closes his mouth over one nipple, making me cry out. He takes his time here too, using his tongue and teeth until I’m writhing beneath him, my hands fisted in his hair.
When he switches to the other breast, I nearly come apart from the sensation. He seems to know exactly how much pressure to use, exactly how to make me desperate for more, and with me being more sensitive from the pregnancy, I swear I could come just from his mouth on my nipples.
“You taste like heaven.” His words vibrate against my skin. “I could do this for hours.”
I gasp, not sure I can last that long. “Hours?”
He looks up at me with a wicked grin. “We have all night.” He continues his slow exploration, kissing and nibbling his way down my ribs and across my stomach. He pauses at my navel, dipping his tongue inside and making me jump at the unexpected sensation. Amusement colors his voice. “Sensitive?”
My admission comes out breathless. “Everything’s sensitive when you do it.
” I still for a moment, suddenly worried he’ll notice something different about my stomach.
It feels firmer to me, but there’s not much of a noticeable protrusion yet, so I try to relax.
That proves easy when he chuckles and continues lower, pressing kisses to my hip bones and the sensitive spots where my thighs meet my torso.
When he finally settles between my legs, I’m already trembling with anticipation.
Even here, he doesn’t rush. He starts with soft kisses to my inner thighs, working his way closer to my pussy but not quite getting there. By the time he finally uses his tongue, swiping up my slit, I’m nearly sobbing with need.
My back arches off the bed. “Yarik…”
He hums against my clit, and the vibration makes me shudder. He explores me thoroughly, relearning what makes me gasp and moan. When he slides one finger inside me while continuing to tease my clit with his tongue, I nearly scream.
“So wet for me.” The words rumble against my sensitive flesh. “I love how responsive you are.”
He adds a second finger, then a third, stretching me carefully while his tongue works magic on my clit. I’m getting close, relishing that familiar tension building low in my belly.
Sensing how close I am, he pulls back, leaving me gasping and desperate. “Not yet.”
I glare up at him, temporarily lost in anger and need. “Yarik, please, I need?—”
He chuckles. “I know what you need.” He moves up my body, settling between my thighs. “I want to be inside you when you find it.”
I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him closer. “Yes. Please.”
There’s no barrier between us this time. It’s just skin against skin as he enters me slowly. The sensation is incredible, with heat, pressure, and perfect fullness that makes us both groan.
He rests his forehead against mine. “ Bozhe moy . You feel...”
I roll my hips slightly, making him hiss. “What?”
“Like home.” The honesty in his voice makes my chest ache with emotion.
We move together slowly at first, savoring the sensation of being completely connected. He sets a gentle rhythm, pulling almost all the way out before sliding back in, each thrust deep and deliberate.
I whisper against his lips, the words coming even easier this time. “I love you.”
He doesn’t say it back, but he kisses me more deeply, with desperate hunger that seems to relay the depths of his emotions. Or maybe I’m fooling myself, but I don’t care right now.
The emotion between us builds with the physical pleasure, each movement bringing us closer not just to climax but to something deeper. When the gentle pace becomes too much to bear, I dig my nails into his shoulders. “Faster. Please.”
He responds immediately, increasing the rhythm until the bed creaks beneath us. I’m on the verge of another climax and arch frantically against him.
“Come with me.” His breath is hot against my ear when he reaches between us to touch my clit. “I want to feel you.”
The combination of his touch, his words, and the perfect angle has me falling apart around him. I bite down on his shoulder to muffle my cries as the orgasm crashes over me, my inner walls clenching around his cock in a rhythmic fashion.
He follows immediately, my name falling from his lips like a prayer as he pulses inside me. We collapse together, hearts pounding, and skin slick with sweat.
We stay like that for long minutes, wrapped around each other, breathing slowly returning to normal. When I finally lift my head to look at him, his eyes are soft with satisfaction and something that looks like wonder.
He kisses me sweetly, and I let myself imagine telling him the truth about the baby growing inside me.
Maybe soon. Maybe tonight was the beginning of something real enough to handle that truth.
For now, I just want to stay here in his arms, pretending the world outside doesn’t exist, and avoiding any talk of the future.
Part of me assumes tonight is all I’ll have.
We’ll revert to how it was tomorrow, with him engaged and me distant, so I want to savor this moment.