She licked her lips.
It felt like she’d known him much longer than two days, which was ludicrous considering she’d spent the first day sick and sleeping and the second day at work and running for her life.
But, Lord, he had her attention every time they were in the same room. Her palms were sweating as she watched the ripples run down his back. If the situation were different… If she wasn’t the sort of person she was… If she could actually throw caution to the wind and be reckless… Oh yeah. She would sleep with this sexy vampire in a heartbeat. Not a doubt.
As if suddenly sensing her presence, he released the blinds and turned around. “Hey, didn’t hear you,” he whispered.
She stepped inside, shaking lustful thoughts from her head to find her brain. “I don’t want to kick you out of your bed.” It was true. She felt horrible about that. However, she also didn’t see a solution. It was hardly reasonable for her to go sleep with Sergei on the couch. Although, the sectional was huge. If she had one end and he had the other…
“It’s no problem.”
“It’s rude of me. I can seriously make do with anything. A blanket and a corner of that gigantic sofa will be fine.”
Nikolav chuckled. “Not a chance in hell, babe.” He stepped toward her. “If you thought your chastity was unsafe with me, you haven’t met Sergei.”
She flinched. “I’m pretty good at keeping my clothes on without any outside help.” And then she cringed. “Or I was until yesterday.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She rolled her eyes. “Somehow I found myself dressed in the most ridiculous T-shirt and sweat pants. I know I didn’t put them on.” She felt a flush creep up her face as she verbalized her embarrassment.
Nikolav chuckled again. “Belinda, yes you did. Trust me, I wasn’t sure you were lucid enough to manage changing alone, but you did. Obviously you weren’t lucid enough to remember it, though. Yes, I went through your things to find you something to wear, but I left you in the bathroom to put them on. What you were wearing when I arrived needed to be burned.”
Now she was more embarrassed. “Oh. Okay. Fine. Good. But still. I think I can handle myself around your friend. You act as if I’m unable to ward off random male advances.” In reality, she sort of was—at least when it came to Nikolav. If he stepped any closer, she might fling herself at him to see how his lips tasted and to feel his firm chest pressed against hers.
Hell, if he reached for her himself, she would be complete putty.
So maybe there was some merit to his concern, but not with regard to Sergei. Sure, the man was as enormous and built and tall and sexy, but he didn’t do it for her like Nikolav did.
The broody vampire expression she often found on Nikolav’s face made her panties wet. In fact, she reached for her throat with one hand to rub her neck, shivering at the thought of his lips on her. She really needed to stop reading vampire novels or get her head examined.
But it was difficult to avoid thinking of him as some sort of night stalker since his looks epitomized every male bloodsucker in every novel she’d ever read.
“Nevertheless, I don’t leave women I care about alone with Sergei for one minute. The man’s a chick magnet. He can draw a woman into his web in seconds and eat her up and spit her out.” He turned toward his dresser and opened a drawer. When he spun around again, he held out a black T-shirt.
She was still reeling from his description of Sergei. Was Nikolav concerned for her well-being out of sheer politeness, or did he want her for himself?
“You want something to sleep in? Or you gonna stand there all night and argue with me about who gets the bed?” He stepped closer, lifting the T-shirt higher and shaking it out.
She glanced at the bed. It was king-sized. This entire argument was unnecessary. They were grown adults. They could both sleep in his bed without mauling each other. It wasn’t as if there was some reason to maintain some level of propriety. Who cared?
She took the shirt from him and pulled it toward her chest. On her next breath, she realized what a mistake it would be to put it on. It smelled exactly like him. Even though it was clean and folded in the drawer, it held his scent.
“I’ll let you get some sleep.” He started to squeeze past her where she still stood blocking the doorway.
“This is silly. We can both sleep in that bed. It’s large enough that we’ll each have our own zip code. Just give me a few minutes to change.”
He narrowed his gaze. “Not a good idea.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re sexy and feisty and smart, and you smell like a million bucks. All qualities that will make it impossible for me to keep my hands to myself.” He grinned.
“So you’re saying Sergei isn’t the only one who can’t keep it in his pants for more than a few seconds?” What the hell was making her tempt him like this? She needed to shut her mouth and stop pushing.
But it was too easy. And she stood taller after he presented her with all those characteristics, making her feel like she was the best catch on the planet. Did he truly see her that way?
He chuckled. “Woman…”
She set a hand on his rock-hard chest and pushed him out the door. “Give me five minutes.” Before he could speak again, she pushed the door closed, leaving him standing in the hall.
Before she could change her mind, she crossed the room, stripped out of her clothes, and put the T-shirt on. Dressed in nothing but her panties and the shirt that hung halfway down her thighs, she folded her clothes and set them on the desk chair.
And then she went back to open the door.
Nikolav was exiting the bathroom across the hall. His gaze met hers and then roamed down her body. He followed her back into the room and closed the door once more.
“Which side do you want me to take?”
He shook his head and smirked. “Any side you want,” he replied as if there were more than two options. “I won’t be in it with you.”
She set her hands on her hips. “Do you have some crazy notion that sleeping in the same room with me will somehow taint my reputation or give people the wrong idea? Because I’m thirty years old. And so are you. If I wanted to sleep with you—have sex, I mean—I would do so with no regrets. Don’t tell me you’ve never slept with a woman you just met.” No way would she believe that. Every time Nikolav left the house, he undoubtedly had women vying for his attention.
He lifted a brow and crossed his arms, his legs spread and feet planted. “You telling me you frequently sleep with men you’ve just met?”
She hesitated. She should lie. But it wasn’t in her nature. “No. But that’s not the point. I could if I wanted to.”
“Do you?”
Hell yes. “Do you?”
He rubbed his head and turned around to face the wall. “Woman, you’re making my brain hurt.” He pointed behind him toward the bed. “Get in. If I argue with you about this any longer, I’m going to get a headache.”
She scrambled onto the closest side of the bed, next to the door, and pulled the covers over her chest. His comforter was a fluffy chocolate brown, and the sheets matched.
Nikolav blew out a breath, turned around, and headed for the other side of the bed. Her breath caught when he tugged his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
He turned out the light on the bedside table and then tugged off his jeans, letting them fall on the floor. Enough light showed through the sides of the blinds to illuminate him.
Wearing nothing but boxer briefs, he slid into the opposite side of the bed flat on his back.
Belinda’s adrenaline was pumping through her veins from the busy day, the chase through the Chicago streets, and hours of perfecting her notes for Chicago Multimedia. There was no way she could possibly sleep anytime soon, but she needed to at least lie still so Nikolav could sleep.
Every breath made her slowly regret her decision to share this bed, this room, or even this apartment. Everything smelled like h
im. His T-shirt, his sheets, the pillow, the air in the room…
Masculine with the faint scent of whatever soap he used. Visions of crossing into his time zone on the other side of the enormous bed and snuggling into his side made her mouth water.
She would never be able to sleep.
“You’re breathing like you ran a fast mile,” he muttered.
“I’m pretty sure that’s your fault.” It totally was. He managed to keep her off-kilter constantly, whether intentional or not.
He groaned, turning onto his side to face away from her and punching his pillow into submission.
“Look, I’m sorry, but I feel like I’ve been picked up by a tornado and dumped in another dimension. First food poisoning. Then a long day of work. Then masked gunmen chasing me through Chicago after attempting to blow me to pieces with an explosion. Then I meet with the FBI. The FBI? Who ever meets with the FBI? And then I have to put any normal response to too much stimuli aside and work in the middle of the night.
“On top of all that, a gigantic, brooding, bossy vampire is following me around, and I have no idea what intentions he has concerning me.
“So, yeah. I’m struggling to catch my breath, and I won’t be able to fall asleep for hours. I offered to sleep in another room or the floor. I have nothing of my own with me but the clothes on my back. I met the man in the bed next to me yesterday while I was leaning over the toilet, and there are three other people in the apartment I met briefly.
“I have no idea what I’m supposed to do tomorrow. I have a job to do that’s suddenly limited by the FBI, and chances are I’m going to have a battle on my hands the first time I mention going to work. I—”
Chapter Eight
Her last words were caught in her throat when Nikolav rolled over into her space, hauled her against him, and kissed her.
She lost her last brain cell.
He angled his mouth to one side and ran his tongue along the seam of her lips until she opened for him. It wasn’t difficult. It happened naturally.
Nikolav consumed her. His body hovered over hers, but barely. Everything important was lined up and touching. The only thing between them was the T-shirt she wore, her panties, and his briefs.
He hooked one knee between hers and tucked his arm around her, his palm under her shoulder blade.
Her breasts swelled, her nipples pressed against his chest, throbbing. A tight ball formed in her stomach as he continued to devour her as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks and would only survive if he could suck her essence out through her mouth.
She got so lost in the kiss, she found herself lifting her pussy up to make contact with his thigh. A growing need to have him inside her took over. She’d never in her life experienced such a strong drive to have sex.
His cock rested against her hip. Enormous. It should scare her. If it matched the rest of him, it would have to be too huge to fit.
She didn’t care. She wanted him to rip her panties off and press into her.
Now.
Who cared what happened afterward as long as she had this night with Nikolav Andropov?
Wetness leaked into her panties as she rubbed her pussy against his thigh. She grabbed his bicep with her free hand and squeezed the firm muscle, pulling him closer.
Nikolav’s hand slid down from her shoulder blade to her hip, and he pressed her torso into the mattress, keeping her from rubbing against him.
Her arousal shot through the roof at the restraint.
Did he have any idea what he did to her?
It was maddening.
Finally, he broke free of her lips slowly, still raining tiny kisses on her mouth until he separated, leaving about a millimeter of space between them.
She licked her lips, inadvertently touching his at the same time.
Holy shit.
“Vampire?” he whispered.
After that long, drawn-out speech, the only word he honed in on was that one? She squirmed, unsure what she wanted to happen next. Her body was on fire. She heaved for oxygen.
“What makes you think of me as a vampire?”
“Is that the only thing you heard me say?” she muttered, pushing or pulling on his bicep. She had no idea which. And it didn’t matter because he didn’t budge one way or the other. In fact, his hand still held her down at her hip, his fingers spread so they touched her belly, her thigh, and her ass. His palm rested precariously close to her sex, and she wished he would shift it closer.
“Oh, baby. I heard every word. I’m just curious about that one. Do you think I’m going to suck the life out of you?”
“I’m certain you’re capable of sucking the life out of anyone you meet. And I don’t frankly care what part of me you suck as long as you do it. But that’s not what I meant. I was referring to your looks. Your dark hair, brooding personality, furrowed brow, serious expression, pale skin—”
He cut her off again. “You want me to suck you? Anywhere I want?” She felt more than saw a smile spread across his lips. He was teasing her.
She pursed her lips and didn’t respond.
He exhaled and set his forehead against hers. “You taste better than I imagined for the last forty-eight hours, and inhaling your scent this close makes it impossible for me to control my body’s reaction.” He pressed his cock into her hip for emphasis.
She tried to return the pressure, but his hand on her other hip pressed harder.
“Stop squirming, imp.”
Her chest pounded. “So bossy. All the time. Do you ever turn that off? Even in bed you feel the need to tell me what to do?”
He chuckled sardonically. “Especially in bed, babe. If you rub your hot, wet pussy against my thigh one more time, I can’t be held responsible for the repercussions.”
“Maybe I’d like to experience the repercussions.” God, she was bold tonight. So unlike her. Sure, she was outgoing and pushy in her professional life. But in her private life? With a man? Never. The sort of words she’d used in the last few minutes weren’t remotely normal for her.
She’d never been this aroused.
“There are lots of things I’d like to do with your body, including suck every inch of your skin, but I’d never draw blood, by the way.”
She stopped breathing, pinching her lips tight to keep from moaning.
His hand finally released her to trail up her body slowly. When he reached her breast, he cupped the entire globe and squeezed. “Do not lift your sweet pussy into my thigh again, or I will flip you over and spank your ass.”
What?
Shit. A slow, long exhale left her without oxygen. How long could she go without breathing, and why did she long for him to make good on that threat? No man had ever spanked her before. Insanity.
When he thumbed her nipple through the cotton of her shirt, she arched her chest into him.
“So responsive…”
She let her eyes flutter shut and her head tip back, exposing her neck.
Nikolav leaned down to set his lips on the delicate skin beneath her chin and nibbled a path around to her ear. He sucked briefly on the sensitive skin behind her lobe and then released her. “Does that make me a vampire?”
“Mmm.” She turned her head to the side, willing him to do it again.
He chuckled. “I can read your body language. You have a way of manipulating me, or attempting to. But I have news for you, I don’t manipulate easily. It won’t work. In fact, if you continue to attempt to persuade me to fuck you, you’ll find yourself frustrated and horny for hours on end.”
“Huh?” What was he talking about? Did it require effort on her part to get him to want to have sex with her?
He kissed her ear and blew into it.
She shivered, wiggling involuntarily. His maddening thumb never stopped stroking over her nipple. The T-shirt she wore had worked its way up her body until her belly was exposed between the hem and her panties. “Please…”
“Mmm.” He nibbled her neck again and then nuzzled it. “I think I like this v
ampire idea. Maybe if I suck your neck right here…” he nipped her skin, “the mark will keep Sergei from making a move on you.”
She squirmed again. “Don’t you dare.”
He licked the spot. “Don’t tempt me.”
Her chest rose and fell with every breath. “Please…” she repeated.
Suddenly, his lips were back on hers for a moment, a brief kiss. And then he released her and rolled away several feet back to his side of the bed. He landed on his back and blew out a long, audible breath. Several feet separated them.
Belinda turned her head to the side to watch him as he lifted both hands and set them on his head and then ran his fingers through his hair.
What the hell?
“I’m sorry. I never should have started that.”
“Why?” The one word sounded more like a squeak. Her skin burned where he’d last touched her. Her breast, her thighs, her neck…
“You’re vulnerable. You’re tired. You’ve been through a lot in the last two days. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you. This is why I shouldn’t have agreed to sleep in the same bed as you.”
“I wasn’t complaining,” she whispered, slightly mortified at having been abandoned. She rolled onto her side, facing him, pulling her knees up toward her chest and hugging herself in a tight ball.
Nikolav dropped his hands to his sides and turned his face toward her. She could make out his features in the dim light easily enough. His expression was serious. “You should be. Go to sleep. It’s late.” He rolled to the other side, facing the wall.
Belinda remained still for several long minutes, unable to decide what to do. Should she argue with him? Touch him? Stomp from the room and find a spot on the couch?
She opted to do nothing. If he rejected her any more than he already had, her ego would take a huge hit. His behavior was unexplainable, but she was all out of risk-taking ability for the day…or maybe the week.
She closed her eyes and willed herself to go to sleep. It took a long time to get her mind to calm down enough. Her thoughts raced all over the place, from being chased through the streets to being held firmly in the arms of the man on the other side of the bed. Eventually she succumbed.
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