“Family can be complicated.”
If anyone understood that, it was Cassie. “I’m sorry,” he blurted.
“For what?” His apology genuinely confused her. Her compassion deeply touched him.
“For piling my burdens on you when you’re dealing with problems of your own.” They were a little more immediate and important than him coming to grips with his past.
“You’re helping me with my troubles, listening to me talk about them. Why wouldn’t I do the same for you? It’s what friends do.”
“Are we friends?” He hadn’t had one since the day the vampire attacked him. In a dire situation he could depend on Maccus and the others, but none of them were exactly best pals by necessity. If one of them had to be put down at any point, it would make it harder.
“I’m half naked and sitting on your lap. We damn well better be friends.”
She looked so vexed, so put out with him, that he laughed. At first she frowned, but then her lips curved upward. Alexei pulled her in for another hug. He loved the way her breasts pillowed against his chest. She fit against him, a puzzle piece clicking into place, like there was nowhere else in the world she’d fit quite so well.
“Yeah, we’re friends.” His voice was gruff, thick with emotion.
She walked her fingers up his chest and batted her eyelashes at him. “Friends with benefits?”
They really needed to discuss their plans, but he was ready to recapture the amorous mood from earlier, before he’d opened up about his past. He was on edge, wound up. It was either run or work out to release some of the physical energy pent up inside him, fight, or fuck. Of the three options he’d found that worked for him, he’d much rather fuck.
He brought one of her hands to his lips. “Whatever you want.” This he could give her.
“Oooh, I like the sound of that.” She was being playful with him to try to cheer him up, to help ease the sting of the past. He fell a little more in love with her for it.
Giving a growl, he playfully nipped at her fingers. She laughed, placed her hands against his shoulders, and shoved.
He fell back, his big body bouncing against the mattress.
“Now I’ve got you where I want you.” She ran her hands over his pectoral muscles. His chest was hairy. Some women didn’t find that attractive, but she seemed to actually enjoy it, trailing her fingers through it.
His erection kicked against the zipper of his pants, an impatient reminder to get on with things. But he was in no hurry. Yes, he was ready to explode, but he loved this side of her. No one had played with him for years. Satisfying his carnal urges had always been nothing more than a physical exchange. He hadn’t really talked to the women he’d picked up, and they’d only wanted him for one thing—fucking.
Most of his other partners had feared him to some degree. They might not have known what he was, but he was still a big, silent man. That hadn’t stopped them from taking him home with them, though.
His animal side was delighted, had missed having someone to frolic with. He rolled suddenly, taking her onto her back. She shrieked and he froze, worried he’d crushed her or that she was suddenly frightened. Then she laughed and everything in his world righted once again. “I’m not letting you get away with that,” she informed him.
“What are you going to do about it?” He nuzzled his nose against hers.
“This.” She dug her fingers into his sides and tickled him.
He jerked away and fell onto his back. Giving a yell, she pounced on top of him, raising her arms triumphantly in the air. “Now I know your weakness.”
“And what is yours?” he asked.
“Oh no, you don’t.” She wagged her finger at him, giving him a mock frown. “I’m in charge here.”
He raised his arms over his head. “I surrender. Do with me as you will.”
Grinning, she jumped off him and attacked the button of his jeans. His cock was hard as a battering ram, trying to get past the cloth barrier. When the zipper got low enough, his erection popped out.
“Look what I found.” She slid her hand from the base to the tip. “Finders keepers,” she teased.
Alexei was in heaven. Cassie was touching him. Even after everything, she was still here.
He covered her breasts with his hands, testing the weight of the full mounds. The pink nipples peaked when he rubbed them. “You’re not playing fair,” she complained.
“What are you gonna do about it?”
Groaning, she threw herself to the side and scrambled up onto her knees. “You’re gonna pay for that.”
He couldn’t wait to see what she had in mind.
Fisting the hem of his pants, she tugged. Impatient, he helped her remove the rest of his clothing. “What about you?” he asked.
She gave him a saucy smile and stood on his bed. “This is payback.” Taking her sweet time, she rolled her hips from side to side. He fisted his hands in the covers to keep from lunging for her.
The button opened on her jeans. Then she ran her fingers over the zipper, toying with the tab.
Pull it down.
The mental command, the compulsion was so strong, he wondered if she’d actually obey it.
But did she do it fast? No, she was torturing him with a tantalizingly slow exhibition, exposing her long legs one slow inch at a time.
He groaned, gripped his shaft in his hand, and pumped hard. It was either that or give in to insanity.
She’d only recently embraced her sexuality, but if she got any better at this she’d kill him. But what a way to go.
Her fingers trailed over her smooth belly and up her torso.
Was he drooling?
His eyes practically rolled back in his head when she palmed her breasts. Her smile was knowing and sensual. “Is that,” she pointed below his waist, “for me?”
“All for you.” The air in the room shifted, the playful mood giving way to the raw honesty in his voice.
She swallowed hard, her slender throat rippling. The pulse in her neck fluttered. A deadly hunger surged to life inside him, tore at his guts, attacked his brain, demanding to be heard. Closing his eyes, he sucked in a huge breath, fighting the urge to sink his teeth into her neck.
Not now. Not at such a crucial and special time.
The mattress dipped. He half expected her to leave, to abandon him. Then her weight settled on his upper thighs. Even though his eyes were red, he opened them, letting her see his true self.
She stared back, not flinching. Totally accepting. Something locked deep inside him burst forth. He sat up, hooked his hand around her neck, and slammed his mouth down on hers.
He couldn’t get enough of her taste, her sweetness. Urgency rode him hard. He’d never get enough of her. Not even if he had her in his bed for another ten thousand years.
With his hair gripped tight in her fingers, she drove her tongue into his mouth. Her urgency fed his. His shaft pressed against her stomach, pulsing hard with every thump of his heart. He cupped her face in his hands, loving the softness of her skin, and then ran his fingers over her neck and down her arms. The little sounds of pleasure she made had his balls pull up tight.
But he wasn’t going to rush things.
He was a bear on a mission.
He rolled so she was on her back with him levered over her. She’d automatically parted her legs, so his erection was pressed against her core. It would be so easy to slip inside her welcoming warmth, to ride her hard until they were both satisfied.
It was tempting. And so bloody close to happening.
Did she have any idea how special she was? He’d destroy the world to keep her safe. Cassie deserved better than him, but there was no way he’d ever walk away. She was the very air he needed to breathe.
Reaper she might be, but she’d given him life.
He’d been dead inside
all this time. He just hadn’t known it.
“What is it?” She stroked her fingers over his cheek, her touch gentle. No one was gentle with him. They didn’t think he wanted or needed it. Hell, he hadn’t thought so, either.
Not until he’d walked into The Pit and saw her working behind the bar.
“Nothing. Everything.” There was no way to put into words what she did to him.
“All that? Maybe this will help.” She tilted her hips up so the head of his cock brushed against her opening.
She was wet and warm and welcoming. He was going to lose it.
Giving a growl, he shook his head to try to clear it. The perfume of her arousal filled his lungs.
Have to taste her.
He pushed back onto his knees and settled between her thighs. Her nostrils flared, and her pupils dilated, but she didn’t stop him.
The skin of her inner thighs was soft and smooth. The slightest pressure and she opened them wider. The folds of her sex were plump and swollen and wet. His mouth watered in anticipation.
She could have stopped him at any time. Her acceptance, her openness humbled him. A huge lump stuck in his throat. He swallowed heavily a couple times to clear it.
He wanted to make this perfect for her. Leaning down, he nibbled on her thighs and then ran the flat of this tongue over the pretty pink center of her. His name slipped from her lips.
Ignoring the pain in his dick, he settled between her legs and feasted.
…
Cassie gasped as he attacked. Not in a dangerous way. Okay, maybe it was dangerous to her heart. She didn’t even try to hold back a moan of pleasure as he thrust his tongue inside her.
It was so good she thumped her feet against the mattress, unable to stay still. Somehow her fingers were tangled in his hair yet again. She rotated her hips as he used his nimble lips to suck and lick every inch of her. His soft beard tickled and abraded her sensitive flesh and the insides of her thighs in the most delightful way.
She wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. One minute he’d been playful, the next deadly serious. There were so many sides to him. And she adored them all.
Best of all, she loved how he made love to her. Because this was more than a one-night stand. Fucking was something she’d seen on television; she’d even watched some people do it.
Her cold heart was chilly no longer. It was on fire. Heat radiated from every inch of her, but it wasn’t just because of physical exertion. Her heart felt different—swollen in her chest and beating faster. She slapped a hand over it.
Am I having a heart attack?
Was such a thing even possible?
Alexei raised his head, his eyes once again an unearthly icy-blue and not the reddish tone they sometimes turned. While she was fine with either, she adored his blue eyes.
“You okay?”
“Never better,” she told him honestly.
His mouth turned up at the corners into a smile. His eyes gleamed. She thought he might crawl up and over her, but he lowered his head once again.
Making love was a continuous bombardment of sensations. It was overwhelming, almost frightening at times. Not that she thought he’d hurt her, but it was just so…much.
She couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else. It was the most vulnerable she’d ever been in her life. And not just because she was naked and exposed, but because her emotions were raw and her heart wide open.
He licked one side of her sex and down the other, doing something with his lips that ought to be illegal, maybe even was in many states. One of his teeth grazed her, seeming sharper than normal.
“Oh God.” Her breath caught in her throat. The heavy beat of her heart drowned out all other sound. Every part of her being was poised on the edge of orgasm. So close.
Her back bowed when he took her clit between his lips and sucked. Breath caught in her throat. Then he inserted one of his thick fingers into her core and the world exploded.
Only his hold on her kept her from flying off the bed. Her orgasm roared through her. Somehow he kept it going, not letting her come down. Until finally she couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop,” she begged.
He removed his finger and his mouth before nuzzling her mound. Totally boneless, she collapsed back onto the bed.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse could come charging into the room and she wouldn’t care. And it wasn’t because she was personally acquainted with them. She was too relaxed, too amazingly sated to worry.
Alexei propped his chin on her stomach. She managed to lift one hand and wave before it flopped back down. Satisfaction filled his face. His lips and beard were damp with her juices.
“Not the way it was supposed to happen.” When he frowned, she snorted. “I was in charge. Remember?”
His nod was solemn, but mischief shone in his eyes. “I remember.”
“I’ll get payback.” She’d done it earlier, tormenting him with a striptease.
“God, I really hope so.” His fervent reply made her laugh.
When he pushed himself up, his biceps flexed, his abs rippled. The man was built like a god. Better. And she’d met enough of them to accurately make the comparison.
She might have come, but he was still hard. The head of his penis was wet, and the thick veins running down the length seemed to throb to every beat of her heart. Even with her body still humming with pleasure, there was an answering throb in her core.
She wanted it all.
He slipped his arms beneath her legs and surged inward. His thick shaft stretched her channel, and her slick inner muscles rippled around him. It was tight, as she was still swollen from her mind-blowing orgasm.
When she sucked in a breath, he hesitated. “Don’t stop,” she warned, wanting all of him. He took a deep breath and thrust forward until he was buried to the hilt. Was he swearing? Maybe it was praying? It was impossible to hear his mumbles over the roaring in her ears.
With his hands flattened on the mattress beside her head, he thrust. Slowly at first, but quickly gaining speed. “Can’t wait,” he told her.
“Next time, let me take the edge off first.”
He paused mid-thrust and laughed. “Promise.” He began pounding into her, going hard and deep. Filling her until she thought she couldn’t handle any more, yet somehow she did.
The aching pleasure built once again. On each inward stroke, he stimulated a spot that had her eyes rolling back into her head. Oh yeah, she needed more of that. Wanting to help, she dug her fingers into his biceps, using her grip to angle her body to hit it every time.
He fucked her harder. Faster. As desperate as she. Sweat glistened on his face and chest. His hair was damp, sticking to his face in several places. His muscles bunched and released as he pushed them both higher. A loud growl broke from his lips.
“Yes. Yes. Yes,” she chanted. So close. Her orgasm slammed into her the same moment he threw back his head and roared.
Her ears rang, the bed shook. Something cracked. She had a momentary concern the ceiling might come down on them, but it held.
Alexei collapsed on her, a dead weight. Not that she minded. Taking advantage of his position, she hooked her legs around him and hugged him.
The pain in her chest grew once again. Something powerful welled up inside her. Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. She was almost totally human now, a vital part of herself gone, shoved so deep inside she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to find it.
She was incomplete without it, but she wouldn’t trade this moment for anything.
His beard brushed her neck as he raised his head. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of their lovemaking and his woodsy soap.
This time when he touched his lips to hers, it wasn’t frantic, but slow and thorough, a quiet passion that seeped all the way from her head to her toes.
This wasn
’t just about simply satisfying a physical need, but about being connected on a deep, emotional level.
“You okay?” he asked. No one had ever worried about her until she’d met Alexei. Maybe some women might find it annoying for him to ask so often, but to her it was a sign of his caring.
“Perfect.” She ran her toes up the backs of his thighs. He stirred inside her, flexing as if to inform her he wasn’t quite done, so it was surprising when he withdrew and rolled over so he was on his side next to her. They were quiet for the longest time. He brushed his fingers over her stomach, the caress both soothing and arousing, especially when they coasted over the bottom curves of her breasts.
She was more content than she’d ever been in her life. It wouldn’t last. But she wasn’t quite ready for it to end yet.
“How did you become an assassin?”
His hand stilled on her stomach before he withdrew it. She turned so she could see him better. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” It wasn’t fair of her to ask him to reveal all his secrets.
“My parents.”
Cassie was momentarily shocked. Surely he didn’t mean he’d— She didn’t even finish the thought. No way would he do that.
“It’s not what you’re thinking,” he told her.
“I’m not thinking anything.” Not strictly true.
“Don’t lie.” His brows came together in a fierce frown and his lips flattened.
He was right. She wasn’t telling him the whole truth. If her goal wasn’t to hurt him, she had to acknowledge that or allow a wall to build between them.
“I’m not. Did I have a moment when I thought maybe you’d gone after them? Sure. I’m only— I’m not perfect.” She’d broken off before she could say she was only human. She was far from it. “But I dismissed it almost as soon as I’d thought it.”
“Why?” Crap, he was back to short sentences.
She brushed a strand of hair away from his broad forehead. “Because as angry as you might have been, they were your family. You probably watched out for them, even if they didn’t deserve it.”
Arctic Bite Page 17