“Is that a fact?”
The smell of him—a mixture of subtle cologne, body wash, and pure masculinity—seizes me entirely. When combined with the intense look in his eyes, it does crazy things to my insides. If I were not completely and utterly under his spell right now and madly in love with him, that look might have frightened me. There is something savage, almost primal about it, and he’s clearly displaying his dominant nature.
“Y-yes,” I manage to choke out.
He leans in, and I feel myself tremble at his nearness.
“You’re a terrible liar, Raeva,” he whispers, inches away from me. “I have not even touched you, and your body is screaming for me.”
I know that I am a lost cause when I can feel the heat of his breath against my neck combined with the timber of his deep voice, I know that I am a lost cause. I curse myself for being so needy for him, so weak.
“I can tell just by the way you squeeze your thighs together tightly. I bet that if I venture down just a little more, I’ll find you soaking wet for me.”
He follows this statement with action, and when he finds himself to be correct, I can feel him smile against my throat. He knows he has me exactly where he wants me, and it barely took him any effort at all.
“I am yours to command, baby. I’ll do anything you want me to do,” he says seductively.
His hand that has been resting on my waist slides up a little higher, caressing the side of my breast. The quickening of my breathing is a clear sign of my state of mind. My nipples betray me as well, hardening instantly, the pebbles clearly visible through the thin t-shirt I am wearing.
“Tell me, Sweet Pea,” he urges. “Tell me, and I will give it to you.”
My lips part and my tongue darts out, wetting my lips. Good God, in these moments it seems like there is nobody else on the planet but the two of us. I always lose myself easily in the brilliant blue ocean of his eyes. The combination of walking in on him in nothing but a towel, looking nothing short of delectable, and his dominance on clear display short-circuits my brain. My mouth opens and shuts several times before I finally find my voice.
“Touch me,” I beg him, voice trembling. “I want your hands on every inch of my body.”
Victory is painted on his handsome facial features, and I don’t even care, I’m ready to offer myself to him. Just the mere thought of what it is that he might have in store for me has me squirming where I stand. My brain is only filled with lustful thoughts, my visit to River pushed far away from my list of priorities.
“Your wish,” he whispers against my neck, “is my command.”
He releases his hold of my arm above my head, but it stays put. His hands trail downward, and when he reaches the bare skin of my thighs, I gasp for breath. My heart is beating so fast and so hard, I swear I can feel it thumping against my chest wall. I surrender myself to him, completely at his mercy. As scary as this should be, it feels safe because I trust him with every fiber of my being. Mika leans in, and his tempting mouth finds mine. My lips part for him immediately and allow him access when I feel the gentle caress of his tongue. His hands slide all over the most sensitive parts of my anatomy while his tongue makes love to my mouth. I’m lifted off the ground as easily as a rag doll, and he guides my legs around his waist while he holds me up. Cries of pleasure escape from the depths of me, egging him on. The virile sounds that come from Mika as he positions himself at my opening have me losing my mind with desire; I cannot think of a sound that is more arousing. He makes me feel wanted, and that, for me, is a powerful aphrodisiac. I get lost in his eyes as they seek out mine and penetrate any and every imaginary wall I have put up to protect myself. There is a whole world to be discovered in his gaze. I have been silently begging him for months to let me in, to let me discover him, and I feel as if he’s inviting me to explore with him. I feel like he’s finally letting me in completely, and it is giving me a newfound brazenness. I’m overcome by not just feelings of lust but also feelings of love. I would love to confess to him the powerful feeling that is consuming me at this very moment, but I am held back by fear. No matter how aggressively this man has pursued me, he has yet to tell me that he loves me. I know he’s fond of me, sure. But love? I can’t just assume that he does, right? Mika thrusts into me, seating himself to the hilt. Our lips touch and passion ignites, his embrace so intense, so completely dominating, that it takes not just possession of my heart, but also of my soul. Our eyes are still connected, and neither of us seem willing to look away, even for a moment. It’s as if we are both aware that it would break the spell.
“Raeva,” he breathes. “I love the way I feel when I’m inside you.”
He pulls out of me, his impressive length stroking the nerves in my walls as he does. My fingers dig into his back, and I moan.
“I love the way you submit your body to me when we make love.”
He slams back into me, and I feel him in the deepest part of me.
“I love the way you always stand your ground and never let me get away with anything.”
Mika pulls out of me once more, his movements slow and deliberate.
“I love how caring you are to everyone in your life, even those who do not always deserve it.”
He slams into me again, causing me to whimper.
“And just in case you are not getting what I am trying to tell you...”
He pulls out again, his movements dreadfully slow as he makes sure to drag across every nerve.
“You are incredible, Raeva Ray. And I love you.”
I gasp as he slams into me again, and this time he doesn’t slow down. It’s as if he has rid himself of a burden and is now free. Euphoria washes over me. He has said the words. He has finally admitted to me, and possibly to himself, that he loves me. Those three little words are so simple, but they spread through my heart like the sweetest of caresses. It dawns on me that I have yet to tell him that I feel the same. I am trying to find the words, but he is pounding into me with wild abandon, and I cannot wrap my brain around a single word. I seem to have lost the ability to string together a sentence, even a short one, so I just give in to the moment and let him take what he needs from my body. His admission repeats inside my head, and I can feel my orgasm approach me from the very tips of my toes. He loves me, I tell myself. Mika Kingsley loves me. The thought has barely crossed my mind when ecstasy explodes from the depths of my core. We have yet to break eye contact, and his piercing gaze undoes me as I try recover from the orgasm he just bestowed upon me. He stills for a moment when I hold his face in my hands.
“I love you, Mika Kingsley. I love how you go out of your way to put a smile on my face. I love how you have given me the ability to be 100% myself with you. I love how you have opened yourself up to me in a way that I know very few have seen. And no matter how frustrating it can be at times, I love the way you protect those you hold dear. You make me feel safe, and for that I cannot thank you enough. I love you so very much.”
His grip on me tightens, and his pace increases. His beautiful eyes seem to glow, and his mouth crashes on mine when he finally gasps my name as he reaches his climax. My lips part immediately, allowing him to conquer me with ease, like the Trojan horse conquered Troy.
Mika lowers me to the floor, and I can barely manage to stay upright. My legs are as wobbly as Bambi taking his first steps. Mika smirks at me, happiness radiating from him like lights on a Christmas tree. He turns and starts filling up the large bathtub, adding some scented oils to the water. I lean against the vanity, observing him closely. Moments later, when the tub is just over half-filled, he turns the faucets off and starts walking toward me. Without uttering a single word, he swoops me into his large arms and carries me to the bath tub. Still holding me, he steps in and lowers us into the soothingly hot water. He takes refuge behind me, letting me lean against him, my back against his chest. I lay my head back and close my eyes as I adjust to the heat of the water. The jasmine-scented oil he has added to the water brings back memories of
last night, which puts a huge smile on my face.
“I want you to stay.”
“I always love to spend the day with you, but don’t you have to work today?”
“I do in a bit, but that’s not what I meant.”
I must admit that he lost me for a moment. I frown.
“I meant what I said, Raeva. I love you. I don’t deserve you, not one bit, but I will try to rectify that every day for the rest of my life. I love having you here. I love falling asleep with you in my arms and waking up like that. I love being able to wake up in the middle of the night and watch you sleeping peacefully. I don’t want to go back to waking up alone without you.”
Truth be told, I have enjoyed the same things. And part of me—a huge part—would love nothing more than to make this permanent. But there are many factors at play here. What about Jill? I can’t just abandon her. And really, have Mika and I been together long enough to move in together?
“You were doing just fine before I came along, and you will do fine without me here every day. Even if I move back home tomorrow, we will still see each other every day. Me moving out doesn’t mean us breaking up.”
Mika’s muscles tense up.
“If it’s all the same, I’d rather you live with me. Give me one good reason why you shouldn’t make this permanent.”
“Jill. I can’t just abandon her.”
“Okay, give me two reasons. I can easily fix that one. She can stay here, too.”
I can’t help the exasperated chuckle that falls from my lips.
“Yeah, sure, move in your girlfriend and her bestie.”
“Have I not already done that?”
Touché.
He kind of has me there.
“I love you, Mika. So very much. And I have loved being here with you. Just give me some time to think about it, okay?”
He relaxes some.
“Okay, but I reserve the right to try and sway you to my way of thinking.”
Of course he does.
“Naturally,” I tell him with a chuckle.
After our bath, Mika rushes out of here. He’s dreadfully late, which is becoming a terrible habit lately. Maybe I am a bad influence on Mr. Kingsley, but if you cannot enjoy the perks of setting your own schedule as head of the helm, then what’s the point? After he gives me a lingering kiss goodbye, I throw on some clothes and alert Clark that I will be visiting my little brother again today. It has been a few hours since I last texted River that I would be there soon, and when I pick up my phone to tell him I will really be on my way now, I notice he has already sent me a couple annoyed texts asking where the hell I am. Oops. I text him that I will be there shortly and that I will be coming armed with breakfast and coffee. When I am safely strapped into the SUV and we have pulled into traffic, I pull out my phone and order some breakfast and coffee from the cozy little diner up the road from River. Steward, a member of the security team, runs inside the Prairie Rose to pick up the food I just ordered. Clark raises a brow when he watches Steward walk out with a tray filled with coffee and is followed by a server with two large bags of food.
“I have taken the liberty of ordering everyone here some food. I know that you all must get hungry when you have to wait around for me all day.”
“That is very kind of you, Ms. Ray, but we cannot accept. Mr. Kingsley wouldn’t be happy about that.”
I roll my eyes.
“Mr. Kingsley will be okay. Besides, he doesn’t have to know every little thing. You all eating a breakfast sandwich while I am visiting my brother should not be a problem, am I right?”
“No, ma’am,” Clark replies, but he doesn’t look convinced.
The food smells amazing, and while Clark drives and keeps his eyes firmly on the road, I can see the rest of the team are happy to be able to bite into a yummy sandwich, judging from the five hungry faces around me. When we pull up to the apartment building, I impatiently wait for a member of the security team to clear River’s apartment so I can enter. Clark escorts me up and carries the bag of food while I carry the coffee. River, who seemed amused about this whole security thing the other day, seems out of sorts about it today. Or maybe he is just in a crappy mood, even though you aren’t able to tell that from his choice in clothing. He’s wearing yet another interesting outfit. His shirt is a mixture colors and has a loud pattern of triangles. He has paired this with purple shorts and Crocs. Of course, he’s wearing bright red socks that come up all the way to his calves. He looks like a blind man who dressed himself.
“Well, it’s about damn time. You told me you were going to be here hours ago,” he grumbles.
“Jeez, dimple, who kicked you between the legs this morning?”
“I have been sitting here all morning waiting on you. I have other things to do, you know?” he says sullenly.
“It was early when you texted, and I had some…errands...to run. Besides, I brought food,” I say, holding up the bag of goodies.
River grabs the bag from me and opens it up. His expression softens.
“You better have brought me extra bacon.”
I chuckle and shake my head.
“Of course. Who do you think you’re dealing with?”
River smirks at me, bad mood already forgotten. He’s easily appeased. After he scarfs his breakfast down, he gets down to business. River demands that I hand him my phone. I am not sure why, and I want to argue, but the look on his face makes me decide against it. I give him the phone, and he switches it off before hooking it up to a little device. He lays it down on the counter in the kitchen and nudges his head toward his work space. I frown for a moment, but decide to just let him do what he wants…for now.
“So I am still working on trying to get into the files to try and figure out why both Mikaela and Sam were seeing this Layla person. I am also not sure yet what her real identity is.”
I look at him, admittedly puzzled. If he didn’t have a single answer to my questions, why was I summoned here? I open my mouth to ask him just that, but he saves me that step.
“Don’t worry, sis, those files just take a little time, and the programs to open them are running as we speak. But after you left, I decided to beef up your security the only way I know how. While doing that, I discovered that there is a tracker on your phone and possibly a bug. I’m scanning for that now.”
“A tracker? Like someone is tracking me? That’s crazy, who would pos—” I stop talking.
The tracker is obviously Mika’s doing. After everything that happened with Jasper, I know he was a wreck when he watched the footage of Jasper shoving me into that van. As idiotic as it sounds, I am not even angry. I get it; my safety is what keeps him safe, but I doubt my brother is going to see it this way.
“I think that I know who put the tracker on my phone, River,” I tell him gently.
River looks at me expectantly.
“It’s Mika, isn’t it?”
He nods.
I chuckle, earning me an exasperated look from my little brother.
“This is somehow funny to you?”
“Well, it is and it isn’t. Mika is super overprotective not just over me, but his sister, too. After the kidnapping, I think he just went a little overboard. I think he’s scared it might happen again. So, I may not always like his methods or the fact that he doesn’t tell me about all of them, but I do get it. He needs to be sure that I am safe; he needs that to stay sane. He loves me, River. He needs to have the knowledge of my safety as much as he needs his next breath.”
River sits in silence for a moment, mulling over my words.
“Okay then.”
I laugh out loud.
“Okay then? That’s it? After all that, that is your retort?”
“If you are sure that you’re okay with it, who am I to judge that? Besides, I hadn’t looked at it the way you have. I had more nefarious motives in mind. Your reasoning makes more sense. Also, it makes me want to punch him in the face a little less.”
I rise to my feet a
nd envelop my little brother in a hug.
“Thank you for looking out for me, River.”
“Hey sis, I’ll always have your back. You know that.”
The doorbell rings, and we pull apart. I look at my brother, who frowns. I trail behind him as he makes his way to the front door to answer it. He opens the door, and Steward is standing there looking at me sheepishly.
“Ms. Ray? I am really sorry about this, but Mr. Kingsley has been trying to call your phone and was worried when he couldn’t reach you.”
River turns to look at me and bursts out laughing.
“You weren’t kidding, were you, sis?”
Steward looks from River to me, not sure how to proceed. I smile at him.
“I will be sure to call Mr. Kingsley right away. My brother is just updating my phone for me.”
He returns my smile gratefully and thanks me before returning to his post. Poor guy must have drawn the short straw to get stuck with that embarrassing job. Mika Kingsley isn’t an easy man to work for, I am sure. River’s device isn’t done yet, so he hands me his phone to call Mika. Good thing I memorized his number for occasions when I’d find myself phoneless. I swiftly call and reassure him, but I don’t tell him that I know about the tracker. That will be a conversation for later. River looks at me, amused.
“What?” I demand.
A gentle smile appears on his face.
“Watching your facial expressions as you talk to him, it’s obvious to anybody that you’ve got it bad.”
I return his smile.
“I think you might be right, little brother.”
I am sitting in my office after just finishing up a conference call with the London office when Ellie’s voice sounds over the intercom.
“Mr. Kingsley? There is a Mr. Ray here to see you. He doesn’t have an appointment, but he insists on seeing you.”
After Tomorrow (Kingsley series Book 2) Page 12