Chapter 9 #2
“What?” I ask with mock innocence. “I’m working out. It’s not my fault you can’t keep your mind out of the gutter.”
He leans back against the bench, crossing his arms over his chest, and openly watches me, his eyes darkening with every squat I do.
Is it hotter in here?
“Impressive form,” he finally says, his voice laced with challenge. “But can you keep it up?”
His words feel like a dare. I know as well as he does that he isn’t talking about squats.
I can’t look away and neither can he.
My lips curve into a playful smile as I do another squat, holding the position a beat longer just to tease him.
I rise slowly, my movements fluid and deliberate.
When he approaches me, there’s a flicker of challenge in his eyes.
He steps behind me, grabs a few more weights, and adds them to the bar, his movements deliberate and calculated. I raise an eyebrow at him.
This isn’t about the weights, and we both know it.
“Think I can’t handle that?” I tease. I chose lighter weights than normal just so I could taunt. I also didn’t really want him knowing just how fucking heavy I can lift.
“Let’s find out,” he says, leaning back against the wall and folding his arms again.
I shake my head and begin another squat. It’s heavy. I manage the first few reps easily, but I’m getting tired.
Wordlessly, he grabs two more plates.
“Keep going,” he orders, his eyes on me. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Bastard.
I squat again, straining with the effort. Again, I make it down and with effort push to the top, only to find him waiting for me with two more plates.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“You said you could take it. Show me.”
I do another squat, then another. I can’t breathe. My legs are shaking.
I will not let him win.
I explode to the top with a shot of adrenaline, fury racing through me.
I lift the bar off my shoulders and before I can throw the damn thing his way, he braces it with one hand and lifts it effortlessly.
He turns from me and hurls it away where it slams to the ground and rolls away, the plates spiraling away like tightly wound springs unraveling.
Before I can react, he spins back to me, eyes blazing. He moves toward me with predatory grace. I back away, but I waited too long. He’s too fast. I struggle, but I’m exhausted from working out and my reaction time is impaired. In seconds, he’s got me pinned to the floor.
“You don’t fuck around with weights.”
“You started it!”
Jesus, what am I, twelve?
“You think you can do whatever you want?” he growls, his voice a low rumble in my ear. “You think you can taunt me, workout half naked, and expect me to keep my hands off of you?”
I open my mouth, unsure of how to respond. Of course I thought I could taunt him. I thought I could workout half naked. Not sure if there was ever an assumption he’d keep his hands off of me…
He flips me over with ease, his hand crashing across my ass. The sting is immediate, and I jolt. Heat sears through me.
“You need to learn some discipline,” he murmurs, his tone dark.
I’m vividly aware of how turned on he is.
How turned on I am. My God, I’m aching. He spanks me again, each strike sharp enough to make my clit throb but just enough that the pain doesn’t eclipse the delicious arousal coursing through me. I’m breathless and trembling.
He flips me back over and cups my chin, tiling my face up to meet his gaze.
The intensity in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine.
I’m on fire. I touch the side of his face, my palm meets stubble, and he leans in, claiming my mouth with a punishing kiss that leaves no room for doubt.
Lev Romanov wants me, and I have his fucking number.
Our tongues tangle and our breath mingles.
He tastes like mint and vodka. I want more.
My hands find my way to his hair, and I pull him closer as he deepens the kiss.
My body arches beneath his and one large, warm palm cups the small of my back and holds me to him.
The length of his erection presses against me belly.
When he breaks the kiss, his breath is ragged. I stifle a moan. I want him back.
“You drive me crazy,” he mutters.
“Good.” My own voice shakes. “I like keeping you on edge.”
With a growl, he claims my lips again. Our bodies mold together. I’m vaguely aware of him pushing the thin layer of fabric between us aside and reaching for my pussy. I bite his lip as he strokes my clit which earns me a tight pinch.
“Fuck!” my hips jerk.
“Behave yourself,” he grates.
“Never.”
That earns me a nipple tweak, the asshole.
My clit aches. His hands roam my body, his touch possessive and purposeful.
I shiver when his fingers trace the counters of my waist and the curve of my hip before slipping under my shirt.
I gasp when his palm slides upward. I’ve never wanted my breasts touched so badly in my life.
His thumb skates over my nipple, drawing a moan from me.
“You’re mine now,” he whispers against my mouth.
“Is that a promise or a threat?” I don’t recognize my own voice. “Prove it.”
He captures my lips again. His hand leaves my breast and trails down my stomach before hooking into the waistband of my leggings.
“Mmm,” I moan, eager for more. My God it feels so damn good.
I gasp, my nails digging into his shoulders as he strokes me with practiced ease.
I’m on the edge of madness with every touch.
He moves lower, his mouth leaving a trail of fire in his wake. When he reaches the vee of my pussy, he gives me a wicked grin. And that does it. I can resist many things, but the wicked grin of a sex god ready to eat me out is my kryptonite.
I nod, wordlessly begging.
“Tell me everything,” he drawls.
“Mmm.” I’m aching with need. There’s no need to hold back from him. We’re going to fucking crush Javier and take over the cartel. He can have anything he wants from me. Only I’ll spoon feed it to him to maintain some semblance of control.
“What do you want to know?” I whisper. He doesn’t wait any longer. His mouth descends on me, flicking and circling and driving me wild. I cry out and my hips rise to meet his mouth.
“Javier’s next plan.”
“I don’t know but I can find out. I have sources. People on the inside. I know he’s got men in The Cove watching you. They know where your headquarters are.”
He rewards me with another delicious swipe of his tongue.
“His number one lieutenant. Who is it?”
“Carlos Cabrera.” I frown. “You should know that.”
He bites my clit and I scream. “Hey!”
“I do know that. It was a test. Next in command.”
I smack at his shoulders, but he only reacts with another lick that makes my toes curl.
“Tell me about Carlos,” he orders.
“He’s ruthless, loyal to Javier, but has a weakness for money. Bribing him is an option.”
Another swirl of his tongue makes me gasp. I tangle my fingers in his hair.
“Javier’s hideout?”
“It’s a compound in the hills outside of town, but you won’t find him there,” I manage between breaths. “It’s his safehouse and meeting point. Heavily guarded. I can get you the schematics, though.”
“Security rotations?”
“Mmm.”
He licks me again. Goddamn, Lev has my number. He can intimidate me all he wants but the real key is holding sex above my head.
Whatever.
He hums approvingly, sending a jolt of pleasure riding through me. “Shipments? When and where?”
“Every other Thursday. Midnight. Docks on the south side. New shipment next week – drugs, weapons, you name it.”
“Good girl,” he drawls. Oh, damn, I like that. When he licks me again, I practically see stars. I’m so on the edge.
“Javier’s biggest weakness?”
I bite my lip, trying hard to concentrate through the growing haze. “Paranoia. He hates betrayal. Threatens his men’s families. If you can turn someone close to him against him, it’ll dismantle everything.”
He grins. “I think I already did.”
“You can hold onto that belief. I’ll give it to you,” I say magnanimously. “If you let me come on your mouth now.”
His mouth returns to its task.
My body trembles and my hips rise as he licks me to completion.
I explode into pleasure. Bliss floods my veins and I scream his name as I tangle my fingers in his hair.
I moan, drowning in pleasure that courses through me over and over in waves of perfection until I collapse to the ground beneath him.
“You’re incredible,” he whispers in my ear. “Together, we’ll take him down.”
He pushes himself up on his elbow. Gives me a long, lingering look. Bends and brushes a kiss to my cheek before he stands and walks away.
I stare at him.
I’d say he used me, if I didn’t know full well I completely let him.
I push open the door to my temporary quarters, a luxurious room that feels more like a gilded cage with each passing hour, the lingering memory of what we did making it hard to walk.
What. Just. Happened?