Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 52062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
"And do you want that?"
He's quiet for a long moment. "I always thought I'd have a houseful." His thumb brushes across my nipple. "But the opportunity has never presented itself.”
“Why?”
He pauses, and I feel the tension in his body. "I live a thousand lives as a pakhan. I’m pulled in every direction. It hasn’t left much time to make babies. But I know I have a responsibility."
His thumb circles my nipple, and heat pools low in my belly.
“For what?”
"To provide an heir. For the Bratva. For the bloodline. But now I wonder if it's fair. To bring a child into this life. My son would inherit everything I've built. But also, everything I fight. Every enemy. Every burden. That is a lot to burden someone with."
He rolls my nipple between his fingers, and I arch into his touch, my body responding even as my heart aches for him. For the weight he carries. For the future he's not sure he deserves.
"But they would get to experience all the good things in life too," I say softly. “All the simple little pleasures life gives us.”
“Like what?”
"Their first feel of the sun on their face. The lap of a warm ocean against their toes. Snow on their tongue. Sea salt on their lips." I smile. "Meeting their best friend. Experiencing their first kiss. Falling in love for the first time."
"I've never been in love," he admits in the quiet.
"Never?"
"Never."
"I was. Once." The confession slips out. "When I was in college."
Nikolai's fingers stop rubbing my nipple. "Tell me about it."
"We met in art class and bonded over Picasso and Da Vinci and a thousand cups of black coffee from the campus cafe. We were young and free. Eventually we fell in love."
Nikolai frowns. “And what did love feel like?”
I search for the words. "It was giddiness. And butterflies. And counting the minutes until you see them again when you’ve just said goodbye. Everything reminds you of them. And your heart races just hearing their name."
His jaw tightens. "Why does that make me want to hunt him down and kill him?"
I chuckle, the sound breathy as his fingers brush over my nipple again. "Because you're a possessive monster."
"Yes." His eyes meet mine. "I am."
We’re quiet for a moment.
“So what happened to Mr. Wonderful?” he asks, not even attempting to hide his jealousy.
“Nothing. Our relationship simply petered out. The following year, we had different class schedules. We barely saw one another.” I pause, then add, “Love dies if you don’t feed it.”
Nikolai is quiet. But his fingertips keep moving as he thinks.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask.
“The many different ways I can kill him.”
I laugh. “You really are a jealous guy, huh?”
“Murderously so.”
I can't focus on words anymore. Not with his fingers working their magic on my nipple. Not with his body pressed against mine, all hard and warm and perfect.
Instead of answering, I grab his wrist and guide his hand lower. Between my legs. Where I'm already wet and achy for him.
His eyes darken with hunger as his fingers slide through my wetness.
In one fluid motion, he tosses the blanket aside and lifts me into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist and feel the hard length of him pressed exactly where I want it to be pressed.
I start to laugh. “What are you doing?”
"Taking you to my bedroom where I’m going to fuck every man from your memory," he says against my mouth. "And I’m going to keep fucking you until no one else exists but me."
26
NIKOLAI
Fuck, I need her.
She’s so damn beautiful and perfect. And who the fucking hell was that guy in college?
And why the fuck does the idea of him or any man make me want to blow up the entire fucking world?
I bend and suck one perfect nipple into my mouth, and her whole body arches.
She moans, and I feel it all the way along my cock.
Fuck.
She doesn’t know what she does to me.
My cock sways thick and heavy between my thighs, aching to be inside her.
“You want this?” I ask, grabbing the base of it in my hand.
Holly nods fast, wide-eyed. “I want everything.”
I crawl over her, dragging her wrists above her head and my mouth finds hers again.
Then I push into her and she cries out.
“Oh, fuck…” The words slip from my lips as I sink as deep as I can into her sweet pussy.
She’s hot and tight, and so fucking wet. I drop my forehead to hers, my arms trembling from the effort to not lose it completely and fuck her like a man starved.
And I am. I’m fucking starving.
I could fuck her a million times and I’m still going to be starving for her. Because I can’t get enough of her.
Not in a billion fucking years.
I start to move, my hips rocking forward, slow at first, then controlled and deliberate.