Chapter 9
Nine
Rowan
The playful taunt in her tone forces my attention back on her. "This Russian is the only one who can make this special blend."
She almost smiles and then counters with a cocked brow. “Are you offering me forever, Daddy Volkov?”
Daddy.
She’s testing me and being playful, at the same time. I see the dark desires curling through her body hoping I take the bait. The way her nipple hardens, the parting of her lips. Even the way she shifts her weight on the stool. I have no doubt my little beam of sunshine is wet between the legs.
My balls draw up and my cock is instantly hard.
I breathe in and it’s not the coffee I’m smelling anymore. It’s her. Clean. A hint of my shampoo and soap on her skin and in her hair. On her it’s addictive and it etches into my brain. I know ten years from now I’ll look back on this moment and remember her.
I fill my lungs again. God, her fucking scent curls through me.
Four steps and I have Cora in my arms. I palm her face in my hands and angle her head up, taking her in a forceful kiss.
She moans into my mouth and fuck me. I make damn good coffee but on her tongue it tastes like manna from Heaven. Forbidden. Delicious. A gift from God.
I sweep my tongue over hers and she does the same, climbing up my body. She wraps her legs around my middle, neither of us breaking the kiss.
I free her of the sweater and pop the button on her jeans open. Her heavy sigh offers me a ray of hope that maybe we could work.
White cotton clings to her round breasts. Hard nipples press against the fabric and my cock throbs for a woman I can’t have. Black jeans stick to her shapely legs and I can’t keep my fingers from threading through the long lengths of her hair.
I break the kiss and press my forehead to hers. With every inhale, I draw her breath into my lungs and it is another moment where I feel like I’m taking her light into me.
“Fuck, Cora. What the hell are you doing to me, woman?”
She shudders, and a flush of goosebumps rises on flawless skin.
I claim her mouth, my fingers stabbing into her hair. I lock her to me and don’t let her break away until she opens for me. I am not left wanting.
The second our tongues touch again, she moans into my mouth. Her heavy sigh fills my soul and I draw in her air as she draws from me.
We are both panting and reeling when I break our kiss.
Holding her face and anchoring her in place, I look into Cora’s eyes.
It’s at that moment I know this is a big mistake.
There’s so much trust glittering up at me behind those pretty lashes.
I can’t break that. Ever. She needs me to keep a level head and I can’t do that if it’s buried between her legs.
For both our sakes, I slowly lower her to the floor and take a step away.
Hunger dilates her pupils until the violet of her irises is nearly black. Her hands slide down my chest to settle over my forearms. “What? Did I do something wrong?”
Her gaze shifts between hurt and rejection.
“Not even in the slightest. You’re perfect in every way.” I take her hand and lift her knuckles to my lips. I press a kiss to each one before I completely break contact. “You have stolen my heart and my good sense, malyshka. You are dangerous in ways no one could ever match.”
“Is that a compliment or a back-handed slap?” She nibbles at the plumpness of her bottom lip.
“Compliment, for sure.”
Her tongue sweeps over her bottom lip. Her pretty eyes sparkle with defiance.
My phone goes off with a text message.
Cora doesn’t bother with putting her sweater back on and the view is beautiful when she crosses her arms over her chest.
A pretty brow arches. “Saved by the bell again.”
Creamy breasts scream for me to pull her back to me and enjoy a taste of those hard candy nipples. Her stance says the moment has passed.
My phone goes off again and this time I palm the fucking thing. It’s Luca. Shit.
While I’m busy reading an update, Cora turns and grabs her sweater. Her unusual silence tells me I’ve hurt her.
My hand slides over her hip and I let her feel the hardening length of my cock against her ass. She shivers against me, and those lashes are back to falling closed.
“I’ll be working if you need me.”
I force myself to step back and head for my office. The heat of her gaze shoots daggers at the spot between my shoulder blades.
I’m back to hating the blood in my veins.
I step into my office and pull up security feed of the entire underground compound. Cora stays in the kitchen and I watch her wipe at a tear.
Fuck. Anger floods my veins and I am tempted to push aside Luca’s message. It’s only an update. But I can't ignore it, not when Cora's safety hinges on me wrapping this up.
I tap Luca’s message which reads:
Still working on getting proof your son is behind this. With that we can pull in help from Harlon.
I respond: Agreed. Anything to get this done and over with.
The selfish bastard in me wants to keep Cora locked up down here forever.
She’s mine, my inner demons growl.
But I know I can't keep the light from seeking the sunshine for long.
And she’s not mine, I correct myself. Not really.
The next hours are pure fucking torture.
She wanders through my home, room by room. Her fingers brush over the spines of my books, she dips her toes into the cool water of my underground pool before turning to the bedroom around noon for a nap.
Instead of making calls and getting information from my informants, I watch her sleep on the security monitors on the back wall of my office. If she knew the inner me, she wouldn’t sleep so soundly.
Ash white spills over black silk. I didn’t notice the contrast the last time I watched her sleep. I was too mesmerized by her body.
I shut the feed off before I do the one thing I can’t and that is go to her.
My restraint lasts about two hours while I make a handful of calls and let everyone know to watch their backs. A few of my informants have seen my son and they’ve promised to feed exact locations if they come across him again. For money of course.
It’s five in the evening when my control breaks and I turn my security feed back on.
My sunshine walks the halls. When she finds my office, I go still. She stands outside the door and raises her hand to knock but steps back instead.
She raises her hand again but backs off, this time heading toward the kitchen.
It takes me a second to register that my heart locked up.
I return to my desk and fall back in my chair cursing myself for not jerking the door open and pulling her inside. I watch her open cabinets and mumble to herself. She finds the spices and organizes each item in alphabetical order.
What a curious little creature.
"Fourteen jars," she murmurs to the empty kitchen. “Fourteen and not a single one of them is paprika.”
I make a mental note to pick up more spices as I watch her prepare spaghetti and meatballs.
At six that evening, she sets two plates on the table and thirty seconds later she's at my door. This time she does knock.
I open it to find a set of violet eyes raised to meet mine.
“Would you like to join me for dinner?” She looks up at me like she’s going to say something else.
I swear to all that is holy if she says Daddy one more time I’ll fuck her on the table. She slips her hand into mine and I follow her to the dining table set off in an alcove off the side of the kitchen.
I pull out a chair for her and then find mine once she is seated. “This looks delicious. Thank you. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
“It’s the least I can do. It’s the one meal I can cook really well.
” Her small smile guts me. Regret coils deep in my stomach.
No one will understand my reasons for keeping my distance.
Least of all me. My head says it’s fear keeping barbed wire wrapped around my heart.
But I know it’s because I love this woman’s innocence. That truth forces me to keep away.
How do I know I love her? I don’t know. It’s only been hours and my thoughts are consumed by this woman.
But I refuse to let my darkness taint her soul.
For the next five minutes she twirls her noodles but doesn’t join me in eating.
I set my fork down and turn my attention to her. I take her chin between my fingers and hold her gaze with mine. “Talk to me, Cora. What is wrong?”
“Why did you walk away from me?” The red on her cheeks deepens. “Is there something about me you don’t like?”
I never found the use in lying. “The problem is you make me want to marry you.
Your very energy speaks of forever, of love, of light and happiness.
I want that. I want what my brothers have and I know you are my soulmate.
But I can't let you close. If I have another taste of you, I won't be able to walk away. You have too much to live for and I have a short life expectancy. I refuse to pull you into my early grave.”
She blinks up at me and is silent for a long moment. Her fingers curl around mine, tightening, and I watch her throat work through a swallow before she trusts her voice.
"I've never had anyone tell me they think they love me." The words come out raw, stripped of her usual gritty humor and bright energy. Her bottom lip trembles by a fraction and she catches it between her teeth to stop it.
I shake my head. "No, Cora."
She inhales sharply, her grip loosening on my hands. Her chin drops and her shoulders pull inward, folding toward her chest.
"No?" The pain in that single word drives a blade into my ribs and twists. Her voice cracks on the syllable and she won't look at me. Her lashes are wet when I tip her chin up with my finger.
"Look at me, malyshka."
Her eyes lift to mine and the violet in them darkens. The hurt swimming in her eyes nearly drops me.