He touched his forehead to mine. “You’re going to be the end of me.”
He picked me up again and swept us both inside. I’d deal with my backpack and suitcase later. I had lost time to make up for.
Xander
Water pounded down on us. I’d admired the remodeling work Hector had done on this bathroom before, but my gratitude now was on a whole different level.
I kneeled on the wet ceramic tiles, barely having the sense to shut the water off so I didn’t overflow his septic system, and cherished my wife. One leg was wrapped around my shoulders, I had two fingers inside of her, and she moaned my name over and over as I tasted her inside and out.
Hands twisted my wet hair. I’d washed both of us down in record time and I was finally where I wanted to be. Not just with Savvy, but between her legs.
I brushed my tongue against her clit in the slow, sensual way she’d loved on our first and only night together before this, but I didn’t get long to play. She arched her back, her hands releasing me to press into the tiles of the wall.
“Xander. Oh my God!”
Heat flooded my face, and I lightened the pressure but didn’t let up. Her hips bucked against my mouth as I drained every ounce of pleasure from the first orgasm between us.
When she sagged against the wall, I helped her put her foot on the floor and rose.
Wet hair hung behind her and moisture dotted her eyelashes. My own little water fairy was in the shower with me. I cupped her face in my hands and she met my gaze with her satisfied one.
“That’s nothing like what I can give myself for orgasms.”
I dropped a kiss on her lips. “It’s a shame you had to do that for yourself.” As if I hadn’t been doing the same, in this very shower, in a rush so no one would know what I was up to.
Desire dimmed under her regret. “It’s my fault.”
“Shh.” I kissed her again. “I said whatever you were comfortable with and I meant it.”
“I want to get to know you. And myself. And . . .”
My erection pounded, my dick so hard my eyes could cross, but this discussion was open and honest. We were bared to each other in all ways. “And what?” I brushed my thumb across her lower lip. “You can tell me.”
She flicked her tongue out, catching my skin. I was so close to her, just a little adjustment and I could thrust inside, but she wasn’t ready. “I want this to be more.”
There was that vulnerability again. She wanted us to be about more than sex and money. What she didn’t get—and what I had to show her—was that we’d already been more on our blazing wedding night. We were more than that damn trust.
To put her at ease and give us both what we desperately wanted, I ran my hands down her sides and lifted her legs. She instantly wrapped them around my hips and I loved the trust it showed.
“It is more, and I’ll prove it.”
“Yes.” The word came out breathy, needy. She ground her hips into me.
I stooped and placed myself at the entrance to heaven and thrust inside. Savvy cried out and hugged me closer, her teeth digging into my shoulder.
“Shit, did that hurt?” I shook from the effort of not moving, but dammit, I’d hurt her enough. I’d left her. I only wanted to pleasure her now.
“No,” she moaned. “Keep going.”
I pumped in and out. All my plans to bring us both to the brink and keep us there until we were about to collapse vanished. I only knew her wet body gripping mine, keeping me for herself.
Fucking without a condom blew my damn mind, but I had a feeling it was because of the woman in my arms. There were no barriers. Her body around mine, me stroking us each to climax. She clung to me so tightly, the movement was enough to tease her clit and send her soaring into another orgasm. I managed to last until she stiffened, a long groan leaving her as her muscles spasmed around me.
My hips jerked, hardly able to move thanks to the grip she had on me with her legs, but it was enough for my crest to slam into me. The biggest orgasm I’d known threatened to take my feet out from under me.
“Fuck, Savvy.” I couldn’t get out more eloquent words. My mind was gone, too busy enjoying the rapturous wave I rode as I released inside of her. My first time coming in a woman and it was exquisite. She was exquisite.
Somehow, I stayed standing. Her head was buried in the crook of my neck and mine hung next to it. I had one hand on the damp wall and the other helping hold one of her legs.
“That was amazing,” she murmured. “I can’t believe I can orgasm that close together with you.”
Her warm body and honest words made my cock twitch. “Same.”
She lifted her head. “But you only went once.”
I jerked my hips, intense pleasure sending a rush of blood back to my dick.
Her eyes rounded. “Oh. So soon?”
“Let’s find out.” I pulled out and she dropped her legs. I spun her around and kissed across her shoulders.
“Aren’t they going to be back any minute?”
“They probably just got to town.” I nibbled her ears and caressed her damp body. We’d need another rinse off when we were done and if we were going to use the water, I’d make it worth our while.
Shivers broke out along her creamy skin. I felt them more than I saw them. My hands had free range. I wasn’t fully erect yet, but everything was happening quickly, including Savvy squirming under my touch.
“You want it again, don’t you.” I nipped her skin.
“God, yes.”
I slid my hand across her belly and down. She was still wet. She jerked at the touch to her swollen bundle of nerves. All I did was rest a fingertip on top and let her do the rest as I kissed and licked her skin. She turned her head to meet mine for a kiss.
It was an awkward angle, but I made it work. She swiveled her hips as our tongues met and danced. I used my other hand to stroke up her torso, cupping a breast, and rolling her hard nipple between my fingers, then back down.
This time took longer. She’d already climaxed twice, but neither of us wanted it to end.
When she was warmed up again, her skin flushed, and her body demanding more, I nudged her legs apart and placed myself. Her entrance was a furnace, scalding me with nothing but pleasure.
I pushed inside and took it slow. Long, solid strokes. We enjoyed each other. Her hands were splayed on the wall, her hips pushing back into me while I circled her clit as gently as possible.
“I missed you,” I said into her wet hair. I’d said it already, but she had to know. She’d left her home and I doubted she had any more cash than I did, all because of me. Because I couldn’t stay in DC with her and get over myself.
Sure, I’d had my reasons. But here, in a different country, those reasons rang hollow. She’d followed me when I couldn’t be bothered to stay.
“I dreamed of you,” she said.
I captured her mouth again. “You won’t have to anymore. I’ll be right beside you.” I pulled almost all the way out and thrust back in, loving the way her breasts bounced against my hand. “It’s a twin bed so . . .”
A giggle escaped before she let out a little gasp as my thrusts gained momentum. “Are we both going to be under the covers?”
“I don’t know.” I pounded into her, the tempo picking up at the sound of her voice. She’d been in my dreams too, but her voice made it real. It wasn’t dulled by memory or slumber. “You never did show me how quiet you could be.”
“I’ll make it work.”
“You don’t have to be quiet now.” I couldn’t last longer and neither could she.
She came with force, her cries bouncing off the tiles. She flooded my hand and my dick with her sweetness. I dropped my head and finished myself off in her slick body. Fucking amazing.
Never again. I was never masturbating in the shower again when I had a responsive wife who’d gone through so much to be with me.
I reached over and flipped the water on, angling myself to take the initial cold spray.
The shock was exactly what I needed to get us both rinsed and dried off without taking her again. By the time I was dressed in my other pair of clean jeans and red flannel, I was fighting off another erection. Savvy’s bags were downstairs so I wrapped her in a towel and led her across the hall to my twin bed.
“Eris is pregnant, right?” she asked as she perched on the edge and took in the small rectangular room with its bare walls and single chest of drawers. My empty suitcase was by the chest, next to the closet door, and my laptop was under the bed.
I nodded as I finished buttoning my shirt. “They’re going to keep the baby in their room after it’s born. They keep assuring me it’ll be fine, but I think I need to find another place to stay. I can keep working here for a while, help Hector out, but . . .”
I faced her, hoping she didn’t expect me to finish. There was nothing to add. I had no clue what the hell I was going to do, but Hector and Eris needed their house for their growing family.
With the sun streaming through the small window, Savvy’s exhausted face was clear. I hadn’t noticed the circles under her eyes before. She was ready to drop.
“Here.” I dug a clean T-shirt out of a drawer. “I’ll go grab your bags and see what they have for food.”
“Thanks.” She sounded as tired as she looked.
I left before her naked body gave my dick any more ideas. She needed rest more than she needed sex. I grabbed her bags but didn’t stop for food. I could find something while she was getting dressed.
As I jogged back upstairs, I hoped things didn’t get awkward between us. Or that our lust-induced haze didn’t make barely having a roof over our head seem less dire than it was.
I pushed open the door. Savvy was curled on her side, fast asleep, wearing my shirt with the towel over her long legs.
She was on top of the covers. I set down the bags and took an extra blanket from the closet and covered her. Then I sat on the bed and let my mind wander. It wasn’t often that I got the place to myself.
Savvy breathed softly beside me. We were together now. Newlyweds with our whole future ahead of us, however long or uncertain it was. And we had no idea what we were doing.
Chapter 14
Savvy
My muscles strained. I pulled, tugged, shifted my weight, but I couldn’t reach my goal. If only . . . All I needed was another inch, maybe two, but I couldn’t fucking do it.
“Need help?” Rina’s catty voice broke into my concentration.
It was just the push I needed to get the heavy limb I was dragging over the mound of earth that’d been tilting my way.
“Nope. I got it.” I had no clue how much farther I could pull this log.
Xander appeared next to me, frowning. “Let me grab a hacksaw and get those branches off for you. It’ll be easier to drag.”
“What about your work?” Rina’s pout made me fantasize about scraping it off with those branches Xander was going to cut.
“It’ll get done,” he said tightly. Annoyance crossed his features as he shot a glare at Rina.
Rina could’ve mentioned that these branches and fallen trees would be easier to clear away if I cleaned up the limbs first. I should’ve thought of it myself, but my scraped and bleeding hands were telling me that no parts of me were used to this.
“I can do it.” I dropped the ragged end of the branch. It was longer than I was tall and the base wasn’t bigger ’round than my thigh, but it was heavy—for me. Xander could’ve cleared it within minutes.
“You . . .” Rina moved her arm back and forth. “Saw?”
“I can saw.” How hard could it be?
Xander’s expression went neutral before he turned to grab the saw. Rina stalked off.
It’d been a week since I’d arrived. I’d been put to work the next morning. Eris had had me help with dishes. At least I knew how to do that. Mostly. She had some tips and was a patient teacher.
There was only so much to do in the house. Kosovo had four seasons and there was a lot of work to be done to get the cabins up and the trails manicured for campers. They needed me outside more than sweeping the already clean floors.
“Here, let me show you.” He squatted and he couldn’t look sexier if he tried. Muscles flexed under denim and his shirt stretched over his shoulder. Today was cool, but with the work we did, there was no need for sweaters.
“I can do it.”
He looked up and squinted at the sun dappling through the healthy trees. “I know you can, but I’m not Rina. I’m not going to throw you into the fire and walk away.”
She’d do that too. Rina didn’t flirt with Xander anymore. She’d given up on him. Her focus was me. Hector’s initial insight had been correct. Rina wanted a challenge, and scaring me off of manual labor and out of Kosovo was her next one.
It wouldn’t work.
It might work.
My arms shook each night when I carried my plate to the kitchen and helped Xander do dishes and clean up the meal. Then I gave myself a cat bath to keep from using their well water for a fifth person in the house they hadn’t planned on. I was usually asleep before Xander entered the room. No chance to test how quiet I could be when we were having sex.
I brushed stray hair off my face. I’d thought about cutting it twenty times in the last week, but Rina kept her hair long and managed not to look like she was dying every day. So no haircut. I kept it piled on top of my head and hoped that I didn’t miss brushing out the bits of debris that got caught in it before I went into the house.
Rina liked to point them out.
Xander positioned the saw. “These limbs are pretty small, so it shouldn’t take too long. I know it seems self-explanatory to just saw back and forth, but you have to get a sense for pressure versus speed. The blade is thin and can bind if you wiggle as you’re sawing.” He moved the blade, adjusting the angle a few times before the limb hit the ground.
“Looks easy enough.”
He rose and handed the saw to me, handle first. “It is. Don’t worry.”
I was more worried about looking inept in front of Rina.
The girl got under my skin. I couldn’t pinpoint why. It wasn’t because she’d tried for Xander. I mean, look at him. Wide shoulders. Powerful legs. Hair long enough to give him the bad-boy appeal, but anyone who talked to him would see what a good guy he was. Besides, I knew what he looked like naked. In the shower. In bed. On top of me. Behind me. She didn’t.
Yeah, so jealousy wasn’t it. But Rina’s treatment bothered me.
I squatted like Xander and started to saw. It was simple, but there was a technique, and it took me a few moments to get the hang of it without binding the blade.
“Dammit.” I readjusted and kept sawing. My triceps burned. I dropped to my knees. This was taking forever. Xander and all his muscles could cut a limb in a few swipes. It took me twenty to make a decent groove.
Sweat dripped down my forehead. Ick.
I stripped another branch. Each time I broke through the limb and it dropped to the ground I wanted to pump my fist in the air. But since neither Rina nor Xander celebrated after finishing part of a task, or even the task itself, I refrained.
I made a neat pile of branches that I’d have to haul to the wood pile later and went back to dragging the heavy limb. It was no longer as heavy and had fewer knobs to snag things on. At the log pile, Xander was chopping the limbs Rina and I cleared into similar bits that’d fit into a fireplace.
“Each cabin is going to have a firepit?” I knew the answer but I wanted to linger by Xander—and take a breather before I carried all the branches I’d cut and then gather even more.
“Yep, but Eris and Hector might go through a lot of this during the winter.”
It was the end of May and they were stocking up for winter? Mother just paid the electric bill and there was my fire.
“What about the wood chips?” I asked.
“Those will get used for landscaping.”
Hector didn’t have a wood chipper, but he w
as supposed to pick one up in town. We’d have it for a day, maybe two, and that was why we were working overtime to clear the trees that Hector wanted to use for expanding his hiking and camping business.
Since a peacekeeping mission after the war in Kosovo had been the reason Hector was in the country when he’d met his wife, he knew how it had damaged the tourism economy. He’d fallen in love with the country as much as the woman, and his goal was to do his part to help it heal.
I was helping too. Pride welled in my belly, much stronger than the day Chief had told me good job for landing an oil tycoon’s kid.
Yeah. This pride was better. Stronger. Like me. In that moment, the wobbly muscles I’d been building the last two weeks seemed like they could carry the wood chipper on the narrow road from town instead of waiting for a truck to haul it in.
There was an extra spring in my step as I went back to the branch pile. I arranged them in my arms and turned. Rina was eyeing a stack that I’d have to make another trip for. I’d been so preoccupied I hadn’t heard her tromping through the grass.
“Took you long enough,” she said.
My glowing bubble burst and I huffed out a hard laugh. “Why do you hate me so much?”
Her mouth pursed like she was inspecting a new bug we hadn’t come across before, and we came across a lot of bugs and spiders. I’d had to readjust my fight or flight response to better ignore the less glamorous parts of nature.
“I don’t hate you.” Her English had really improved in the last few weeks, and it’d already been good when I arrived. My presence had made her more determined to get every nuance of the accent right. That I intimidated her that much made me feel better. “I get sick of you.”
My brows drew together.
“Girls . . . like you,” she amended, nailing the phrase she must’ve wanted.
Okay, that was less personal. I adjusted my load to keep a branch from poking me in the shoulder. “Like me how?”
“Everyone . . .” She waved her hand around. “Does things for you. You don’t work hard. Don’t know how.”
King's Treasure (Oil Kings Book 3) Page 16