Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Heart in her throat, Saskia sheltered under the protection of Shola’s steady arms, running to keep up with her as they made their way toward the house.
Prickles of fear skittered up and down her skin, making her hair stand on end.
She wasn’t afraid for herself, but for Radik.
She knew him, knew he would be running toward the explosion to get answers.
What if they were under attack? What if he was injured?
“Stairs,” Shola barked and Saskia lifted her feet higher, running up the steps and into the house in lockstep with her bodyguard.
Saskia straightened as she stepped away from Shola. “Saferoom?”
“Saferoom,” Shola confirmed.
Though Saskia despised being locked in those tiny secure rooms, unable to join those around her in their fight to protect their home, she understood it was safer for everyone if she wasn’t in the way.
Saskia rushed to the basement with her bodyguard leading the way.
“Hurry,” Nikka said, holding the door to the saferoom open. “Nonna’s already inside.”
As Shola was about to close the door, locking Saskia, Nikka and Nonna in the saferoom, Saskia thrust an arm out, blocking her. “Go to him, Shola. Promise me you’ll protect him.”
Shola shook her head. “No, I stay here, guarding the door to this room.”
Shola had one job; protect Saskia. Not Radik, not anyone else, just Saskia.
But Saskia didn’t agree with such a short job description, and she had a good eye for talent, having grown up surrounded by security staff.
She knew Shola was likely the most skilled fighter in the compound.
She shouldn’t be sidelined if there was a fight.
Saskia was about to find out the extent of her authority in Radik’s house. “You will go to him, that’s an order.”
Again, Shola shook her head, but she looked torn, glancing toward the stairs. She was a woman of action; she wanted to join the battle.
“Go!” Saskia strode to the desk and pulled the gun out. She checked the chamber and cocked the gun. “We’ll be fine.”
Shola gave her a tight half smile. “Don’t shoot any friendlies.” Just before slamming the door shut on Saskia, she added, “I want you to remember this. By following your orders, my loyalty lies with you.”
Saskia hadn’t thought of it that way and opened her mouth to thank Shola for her loyalty, but the door slammed in her face. Shola was not into touchy feely sentiments.
Saskia barely had time to settle into the chair, turning on the security monitors before the security panel next to the door beeped, indicating someone was opening the door from the outside. “Get behind me,” she ordered Nonna and Nikka before snatching up her gun and aiming it at the door.
“Look!” Nikka pointed at the monitors.
A glance at the feed showed Radik on the other side of the door.
Saskia set the gun down, a relieved smile on her lips as she turned to greet him. “We’re not under attack.”
“We’re not,” he agreed as he stepped into the room. “It was a weapons accident, only minor injuries reported.”
“I should go see if they need help.” Nonna slipped past them. “Nikka, run and grab my first aid kit from the kitchen.”
Saskia frowned at Radik. “Children live here. Weapons accidents can’t happen in a place where children live.
You need to look into it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
” As she walked past Radik to leave the saferoom, he gripped her arm and swung her around to face him, caging her against the concrete wall.
A shiver of anticipation ran through her.
“You gave Shola an order she should not have complied with and now you’re giving me an order,” he said, his voice husky. “Who do you think you are?”
She could see the teasing twinkle to his eyes, despite the seriousness of his tone. “Play your cards right, and I’ll be mistress of this place. Then you’ll all have to take my orders.”
He swooped in for a kiss, his lips taking hers with an aggression that had her head spinning. It was their third kiss and god, it just kept getting better. His tongue delved into her mouth, taking it by storm, sweeping her away on a giddy wave of pure pleasure.
When he pulled back, she clung to him, winding her arms around his neck and pulling his head down. “Stay with me,” she breathed, pressing kisses to the corner of his mouth, then down to his jaw where she explored the sandpapery skin.
A groan started deep in his chest, rumbling against her.
“Muhammed,” she whispered, closing her eyes as he explored her neck, his hand on one side of her head, anchoring her for his exploration.
“Not here,” he said in her ear and she nodded.
Darting under his arm, she rushed toward the stairs. “Bedroom!”
They thundered up to the second floor with the grace of a herd of stampeding elephants. Thank goodness they were alone in the house.
Saskia rushed into her room, spinning around as Radik booted the door shut.
His gaze was predatory, every muscle in his body rigid.
She thought he would rush her, even held her arms out in anticipation, but he shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds before opening them.
The fire she’d ignited in the basement was still there, but he was ruthlessly controlling it.
She was about to ask him what was wrong, but he spoke first. “You don’t have to do this.” His voice was guttural, almost mournful.
She blinked, then realized what he was saying. He was giving her a chance to reject him, to decide without him touching her, fulfilling his no-rape promise.
Saskia fell more deeply in love with him.
“I want you,” she said breathlessly, reaching for her shirt and yanking it over her head.
Her heart pounded with fear and anticipation.
“I want you on top of me, under me, inside me, everywhere.” She used her bedpost to bend over and yank her shoes off her feet.
“Please, Muhammed, I don’t want to wait. I know what I want, and it’s you.”
Her bold words worked and before she could unbutton her jeans, he was on top of her, picking her up by the armpits and throwing her backwards onto the bed where she landed with a bounce.
He crawled over top of her, enveloping her with his body. He framed her face with trembling hands, gently brushing stands of her hair aside. The way he looked at her, wonder glittering in his bottomless gaze, made her feel incredibly powerful. He was so still, as if holding himself back.
“What are you thinking?” she whispered, clinging to him, running her hands over his arms and as much of his back as she could reach.
“That you’re beautiful and I don’t want to stop looking at you.”
Saskia felt her cheeks heating. “I’m not beautiful.
” She wasn’t digging for a compliment, she was realistic.
She was cute at best, but not an elegant brainiac like Shaun, a gorgeous badass like Leeza, or a stunning powerhouse like Ayaan.
Even Shola had the whole warrior princess thing going for her.
“In my eyes, there are none more beautiful than you.”
The earnestness of his tone got to her and she teared up. She never thought she needed to hear those words from a lover, but they meant the world to her.
She touched his face, feathering her fingers over his strong jaw, then sliding them up to his thick black brows and along the ridge of his forehead. “To me, you are the most beautiful man on this planet.”
He grinned at her, his teeth flashing. “Then we are a pair of rare beauties, aren’t we?”
She laughed, but it quickly disappeared as he touched her, his finger exploring the dip in her throat before tracing a path over her chest, stopping on the clasp of her bra.
She took a quick moment to send up a prayer to the sex gods that she thought to wear a front clasping bra today. She watched with anticipation, her breath in her throat as he released the tiny metal clasp, allowing her breasts to spill out.
His intense gaze made her heart flutter as he lifted a shaking hand, laying it over her breast, enveloping it with his rough hand.
She gasped, arching into his touch.
“You like that?” he asked, wonder in his tone.
“Yes,” she whispered, forcing the word past her constricted throat.
He stroked over and around the nipple. His finger looked huge next to her breast. He was huge. Was this even going to work? Don’t think about it, she ordered herself, forcing her mind back to the sensations razing through her.
And god, those sensations were incredible! Arrows of heat ran from her nipple, straight down to pool in her belly. She felt like she was melting from the inside out.
It was the most exquisite feeling; one she wanted to last forever.
“More!” she demanded, arching into his exploring hand.
He groaned, burying his face between her breasts, his hands reaching down her body to unzip her jeans.
She gripped his head, holding him in place as he latched onto a nipple, sucking it into his mouth, gently rolling it between his teeth and tongue. Pleasure streaked through her, filling her with a building desperate need.
Crouching over her, Radik pulled her jeans and panties down her legs, yanking them off and tossing them away. She was now completely naked.
“Touch me!” She gripped his head and lifted her hips, showing him what she meant.
His groan vibrated through her as he slid his hand between their bodies, trailing his fingers over her belly until he reached the soft hair at the apex of her thighs.
His fingers sifted through it before delving further, separating her, stroking her, igniting the fires of her lust. She felt helpless to do anything but moan and thrust her hips at him, seeking that incredible peak she’d only ever experienced at her own hands.
He wrapped one hand around the back of her neck, lifting her, forcing her to look at him as he played her like an instrument. “I want to watch you fall apart in my arms, knowing I will be the one who catches you and makes you whole again.”
She only heard half the words, but it was enough. She exploded beneath him, a keening cry flying from her as she bucked against him while his finger continued to circle her clit.
As she drifted back, she wondered if it could get any better, then he thrust one long, thick finger inside her.
“Oh fuuuuck!” Her back arched, then slammed back down on the bed, her entire being focused on the intense, tight sensation.
“Too small.” Regret glinted in his eyes.
She knew with complete certainty he intended to pull away and leave her. His desire to never hurt her overriding his own lust. She wanted to love him for it, but she was too desperate for that big cock she knew existed but had only ever brushed up against through his clothes.
She grabbed his face and dragged it down so he could see the fire in her eyes when she said, “Fuck me now or I swear to god, I will find the first willing man to scratch this itch.”
His eyes widened in surprise but then narrowed as he gave her the look she’d been hoping for. It was aggressive, possessive, so fucking delicious words could not possibly describe it.
“Now,” she commanded, reaching down his body.
She felt the huge ridge of his cock beneath his fatigues and gripped it as best she could, savouring the way it jumped and jerked against her palm. Her mouth watered to taste it, but she wasn’t going to give him a reason to come anywhere but inside her.
Their first time had to be perfect; it had to be symbolic of their union. A partnership, each strong in their own way.
He took her hands in one of his and pushed them over her head, pinning them in place. “Look at my men with anything more than disinterest and watch the bodies pile up around you,” he growled down at her. “You belong to me, now and always.”
A shivery thrill went through her, and she nodded, staring back up at him. “Same goes for you.” Okay, there were few single women living in the compound and most besides Shola feared Radik, so she had much less competition than he did.
“Deal,” he said, sealing their vow with a violent kiss.
He rolled away from her, leaving her cold and bereft for a few seconds. She watched him tear off his clothes with the speed and precision of a military man.
Then he was on top of her again, covering her with his warm muscles. Somehow, despite his incredible height, and her lack of height, they matched perfectly.
He cradled her to his chest, her head nestled against his throat as his cock found her heated core. He guided himself against her, thrusting gently, the slippery head teasing her clit until she couldn’t stand it.
She wrapped her legs around him and lifted herself, forcing his cock into her wet passage. She gasped at the tight fit but clung to him to keep him from pulling away.
He looked down at her, concern and strain in his expression.
“I’m okay,” she whispered, answering his unspoken question. “Please, more.”
He thrust deeper, filling her to the point of pain.
She pushed her face into his shoulder, so he couldn’t see her agonized expression as she adjusted to him. It took a minute, but soon she was rocking her hips, taking more and more until he thrust all the way home and she felt him touch the deepest parts of her.
They were finally one, connected, speaking an ancient language that both instinctively knew. She wanted to stay that way forever, but she also badly wanted to come again. Tendrils of fire licked at her, building an inferno only he could quench.
As if recognizing her need, he began to thrust, pulling in and out of her, the muscles of his arms bulging on either side of her head as he held himself back from taking his own pleasure ahead of hers.
He gently coaxed her higher and higher until she was thrashing beneath him, begging for release.
“Now, now, now!” she shouted.
He pushed the hair from her face, watching her as he increased his thrusts. Finally, she was there, soaring off a cliff like a bird on fire as her orgasm shuddered through her.
She barely heard him shout as he followed her over the edge, burying his face in her hair, his hands anchoring her to the bed.
He collapsed next to her, pulling her on top of him until her limp body was draped over his.
She closed her eyes as exhaustion guided her into sleep. She felt his fingers brush over her face as she drifted off.