She appeared to be drifting a little, still floating from the crashing orgasm. Her body had rippled with aftershocks all the while he'd lain over top of her, blanketing her thoroughly and possessively. When he drew circles with the pad of his finger over her breasts, stroking her nipples, he saw her stomach muscles bunch and knew more ripples teased her sheath.
Her eyes suddenly went wide again. "Fyodor. We didn't use protection. I forgot. You forgot. My female is gettin' close. This could be a bad time."
"I don't forget to use protection, Evangeline." He was amused at the thought. He was gloved all the time. His hands and his cock. He was bare for her. Only his woman. She could see the tattoos on his fingers proclaiming him a killer for his lair. She could have his cock bare and hot and hard just for her. "It doesn't work so good on leopards anyway."
She closed her eyes and turned her face away.
He caught her chin and turned her head back toward him. "Don't do that, malen'kaya lyublyu moyo. If we have children, I will love and care for them with the same passion and intensity I do you. You're a strong woman. You said yourself you're no submissive and you aren't. You'd kick me hard if you thought I'd harm our children."
Her eyes opened and he saw resolve there. Determination and truth. "If you tried to harm our children, Fyodor, I would find a way to kill you. Understand that. Know I mean what I say. No one will ever do to our children what your father did to you, or mine did to me. When I have children, they will be loved and they'll know it. They'll be cherished and protected fiercely. I'll guard them with everything I am."
"No, Evangeline, we'll guard them. I feel exactly the same way. My children will get to be children, and they'll know they're loved. I want that as much as you." He loved that she thought she could kill him if necessary--and maybe she could. He would never harm her, not for any reason, and that would give her a huge advantage if it ever came down to a real fight between them.
He leaned down and kissed her mouth. Instantly she forgot all about everything else and gave herself up to him like she always did when he kissed her. Her body was so warm and soft he couldn't help sliding his hand under her breast and just letting it rest in his palm. When he lifted his head she looked a little bemused.
"You need to go to sleep, malyutka." He brushed another kiss on her temple, his thumb sliding lazily over her nipple. He couldn't help enjoying the shiver that went through her body. It was visible and she didn't in any way try to hide it from him. "You're sensitive."
"Very."
"I like that. Someday I'm going to get you off by just lavishing attention on your breasts." The idea excited him. To see if he could do that for her. "When I do this . . ." He brushed her nipple again lightly and then bit down with his thumb and finger briefly. One more brush as she arched her back and gasped. "Do you get damp for me? Tell me what this does to you."
She touched her tongue to her lip, drew in breath and settled on the bed again. "I can feel it inside. Deep. It's like there's a straight line leading from my breast to my vagina. I not only go damp but my muscles clench."
He liked that. He liked that she hadn't hesitated to answer him. He wanted her comfortable, talking to him about everything so if she was worried, he'd know about it.
"You won't be alone, Evangeline," he said. "Never again. You'll have my brother and cousins and me. Especially me. But also friends. I want you to meet Siena and the other wives."
She lowered her lashes. He was coming to know that was rejection of whatever it was he was telling her.
"I don' need friends. I have Saria and Pauline and I suppose if I wanted, Charisse. I'm not good at relationships, Fyodor. I never had them so I don' really miss them."
That was a lie. He could hear it in her voice. She wanted those things, she just didn't think she could have them. He picked up her hand and brought it to his mouth, first kissing her fingers and then turning her hand over to place a kiss in the center of her palm. "I want you to have the best possible life, Evangeline. There are things I can't change. What I am. Who I am. I made a commitment and there's no way out now. But the rest of it, I can do for you and I will."
She turned her head and looked at him again. Straight in his eyes, the way she always did when she meant something. "I'm happy, Fyodor. I take responsibility for my own happiness. I always have. I don' want you to think you have to do anythin' special for me to be happy. You make me happy. My leopard. The bakery. Even the boys, as weird and crazy as they all are, I sort of consider them family. They've been comin' in the bakery for so long, especially Timur and Gorya."
He suckled at the center of her palm, drawing her skin into his mouth. Her hand was small and soft. Her voice was drowsy. He'd worn her out, and he liked that too. "Did I hurt you?"
"You know you didn't."
"In a minute I'll get a washcloth and clean you so you can go to sleep."
"Not before you tell me what happened tonight. Who keeps tryin' to kill you?"
He was silent. Leopards didn't lie to each other. He couldn't give her everything, because he didn't want her to have any part of his business, but on the other hand she deserved the truth. He sighed. "Not me, Evangeline. You. They came after you. In the bakery. At the hospital and here."
Her eyes widened. She frowned. "Why in the world would someone want to kill me? Who? Who wants me dead?"
"It was Patrizio Amodeo. Evidently he blamed you that the meeting he was counting on didn't go so well."
"That's insane. I'll talk to him . . ."
"You won't." He said it abruptly. "No one talks sense into a man who takes a contract out on them. We'll be careful. At the bakery and here. I want you to move in with me here. Your house is nice, but it's small and I can't protect us as well there."
She opened her mouth to protest so he leaned in and kissed her again. When he lifted his head his gaze moved over her face, drinking her in. "She's so close to rising, Evangeline. I can feel her every time I kiss you. My male gets close to the surface. Can you feel her?"
She nodded. "She makes me itch. It comes in waves, although while you were . . ." She trailed off.
"Making love to you." He wasn't about to say fucking. He hadn't fucked her. Even when he did, when he made it all about wild, he knew he would touch her with love, that it would always be about making love to her.
She nodded. "She left me alone with you. I appreciated that. I wanted it to be just us the first time."
"It was. My male left us alone as well."
"And it was perfect. Really, Fyodor, I loved every single thin' you did." That flush slid up her neck and into her face, turning her skin a rose color. "And the things you said to me. It was hot. Dirty maybe, but hot."
"I intend to do dirty things to you. I thought you might want to know what you were getting into." He brought her palm back to his mouth, teeth scraping gently.
"Where did you go tonight?"
"I had to take care of business. It didn't take long. I was anxious to get back to you."
"I don' know about movin' in yet, Fyodor. When you aren't here, I get nervous. I could spend a few nights here but then when you have business I can head home."
"Not. Going. To. Happen." He punctuated each word with a scrape of his teeth and then he bit down harder in the center of the mark he'd put on her palm. He ignored her yelp as she jerked her hand away from him and glared at him.
"If you insist on being at your house, I'll be staying there as well. I want you in my bed. I want to wake up to you. Go to sleep to you. Wake up in the middle of the night and take you however I want. I was serious about your body belonging to me. Mine belongs to you. When you want something, anything, I want to be there. And, malyutka, the next time you reach for your little toy, I'd better be with you. When you pack your things, make certain you pack that as well."
"You have a thing about bitin'."
"I'm leopard. I like to use my teeth and you're very . . . bitable."
She blushed again and squirmed a little, her hips shifting restlessl
y. He smiled at her, although he felt like smirking. She liked his teeth and the way he talked to her. He rolled off the bed and padded on bare feet to the small bathroom in the safe room. He washed himself thoroughly and then got a washcloth wet with warm water. He went back to her, watching her face. She had her eyes on his cock. The desire made him go from semi-hard to hard instantly.
"Spread your legs wider for me," he instructed.
She complied immediately, reaching for his belly, trailing her fingertips there, just above the head of his now pulsing cock. He washed her carefully, looking for signs of damage. He was as gentle as possible, taking his time, enjoying the look on her face and the way her fingers drifted down his belly to outline his cock.
"Are you shy about touching me?"
She shook her head but then nodded. "Maybe a little."
"Remember when I said my body belonged to you? I meant it. Whatever you want to do, I'm here for you."
"What if I don't know what to do?"
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the tiny curls covering her mound. "Then I'll give you instructions. I'm going to shave you. Right now."
She squirmed again. "You are?"
He slid off the bed, went back to the bathroom and returned with shaving cream, towels, a razor and water. "While you tell me what you'd like to do to me."
She swallowed hard. "Fyodor. I don' know if I can do that."
"It's just me here with you, malyutka, your man. If we're going to have the best sex life possible, we have to be able to talk."
He placed a thick pillow under her bottom to raise her hips, rubbed his palm over her mound and then pressed a kiss over the short curls again. "I might miss these, but I want you to feel every single sensation I can give you with my mouth." He spread the shaving cream over her mound lavishly. "Keep still while I do this and keep your legs wide apart for me."
She did so, her eyes on his face. "I want you to feel every sensation I can give you with my mouth," she said, her voice no more than a whisper.
His gaze jumped to hers, his heart beating right through his cock, and then he looked down at what he was doing. He found it sexy, sitting on the bed with her, taking a razor to her most private area, with her talking about her mouth on him. He rinsed the blade in the water and returned to his project.
"What will you do with your mouth?" he prompted her.
There was a small silence. He willed her to talk to him. The easier she could talk about the subject, the more he knew he would be safe trying anything he wanted. He would trust her to object if she didn't like it or tell him if she was nervous.
"I want to learn to please you, Fyodor, to bring you the kind of pleasure you bring me." Her voice got a little stronger. "That's important to me."
His heart clenched at her admission. He moved her leg to get her lips clear. Already she looked smooth and bare so that he wanted his mouth there all over again.
"Tell me what you want to do first?"
"Explore. Take my time. Kiss every single scar on your chest and back. The ones on your belly and that single line across your . . ."
"Cock. And it's your cock so you can kiss it, suck it, fist it, deep throat it, do whatever the hell you want to do. Trust me when I say it's going to love being inside that sweet mouth of yours."
He was looking right between her legs, and every word elicited fresh citrus-cinnamon-spice cream. She liked the images in his head. Clearly the things he said turned her on. He was careful to get every hair and not cut or give her razor burn. As in all things, he was meticulous in his detail. That had been drilled into him from an early age and there was no changing it.
"I definitely want to do every single one of those things," she assured in a low tone. "All of them."
The intercom buzzed. "Boss, we've got company. Elijah and Joshua are here."
He sighed as he cleaned off every bit of shaving cream remaining, feeling her gaze on him. "I'm sorry, malyutka, you can rest, or take a bath and then rest. This might take a little while." Elijah was going to be angry. He had to have heard about the fire at the Amodeo estate. There were dead bodies scattered all over his house and sooner or later he'd hear of the missing cop, security guard and dispatcher. Honestly, he didn't give a fuck how angry Elijah was, but he still had to deal with it.
"It's the middle of the night, Fyodor," she protested, clearly not wanting to give him up. "Why would they come this late?"
"We're leopard. Leopards like the night. They aren't aware I've finally coaxed my woman into my bed. I'll be as fast as I can. Go into my room, use the large bathtub and climb into my bed after." She wouldn't have access to the audio and security screens in his room. He ran his finger from her chin down her throat, between her breasts, to her belly button and right to the vee between her now bare lips, feeling her shiver. "Go to sleep, angel moya, and I'll wake you when I send them on their way.
She nodded.
He kissed her because he couldn't resist kissing her and because of that little nod. She might not be in the least submissive, but she did like to please him. He was fairly certain there wasn't a luckier man on earth.
15
"DAMN it all to hell, Alonzo," Elijah snapped. "You've got dead bodies from one end of the city to the other. What were you thinking?"
Alonzo studied the man's face for a long time, keeping his features expressionless. For years Elijah had been an enforcer in his father's territory. He'd become the same for Antonio Arnotto. He had been a soldier. He'd wanted to stay a soldier. Elijah had talked him into becoming a boss. That hadn't felt right until now. This moment. He knew what he'd done was necessary to keep his woman safe. Not just his woman, his family. Timur. Gorya. Mitya and Sevastyan. The other members of his crew. His soldiers. They needed someone strong or they'd all get eaten alive.
He'd made his decision and he'd carried it out, showing the other bosses no one messed with his people. Elijah didn't have to like it, but then, he didn't need Elijah's permission or his approval. He wasn't about to defend his decision or argue. It was done. He merely stared at the man who had recommended him for his position.
Elijah shook his head slowly, taking a deep breath and letting it out. Beside him, Joshua stirred. There was no doubt his leopard was very, very close.
"My cousin got out of this world," Joshua said. "You brought her back into it. I want her out." There was iron in his voice. His eyes glittered dangerously. "She deserves better than dead bodies in her home."
Alonzo felt the stirring of his leopard. A snarl. A rake of his claws in warning. He kept his expression frozen. His gaze cool. He shrugged. "She's my leopard's mate and she's my woman. We'll be married very soon. If you really want to challenge me, that's up to you, but you won't win. No matter how fast, no matter how experienced, you don't have that killer's edge to you. I do."
Elijah shook his head. "Joshua, you know once a female leopard accepts a mate, it's too late to interfere."
"She deserves a good life."
"I'll give that to her." Alonzo made the concession of reassurance because he genuinely liked Joshua. He didn't want the man for an enemy. He knew Joshua and Evangeline weren't close, but the man was still her family and clearly Joshua felt responsible for her.
Joshua paced across the floor trying to calm his leopard. Elijah ignored him, spreading his hands out in front of him. "We have to do damage control immediately. You have dead bodies here."
"We're taking care of it."
"Then speed it up. You'll need the cleaners to do their job a hell of a lot faster than they're doing it, because I can guarantee you're going to get a visit from the cops in the next few hours. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"
"I took care of business."
"Yeah, the fire is on every news channel. What else did you take care of?" Elijah asked suspiciously.
"No one threatens my woman, Elijah. What would you do if someone threatened Siena?"
"I'd take care of business," Elijah conceded. "I need to know if there's any cha
nce of blowback."
Alonzo shook his head. "None. The cops can come and search and they won't find a thing here or anywhere else. I've been home all night. My men can testify to that."
Joshua spun around. "What about your woman? Because they sure as fuck are going to ask her without you in a room."
Alonzo remained silent. He simply stared at the man. He understood why Joshua didn't want him for Evangeline. If he was in Tregre's shoes he wouldn't want anyone like Alonzo near her. The fact remained that her female had accepted his male. She had made her commitment to him.
Joshua swore again and shook his head. "She had a shit life, Alonzo. You have no idea what our grandfather was like. He raped women, even his own daughters-in-law. He beat them to death. He beat my father to death. He searched for Evangeline, and her father and uncle were too chicken-shit to go against him so they left her out in the swamp to fend for herself. She deserves . . ." He swore in Cajun and paced across the room again. "Not dead bodies in her fucking sitting room."
"Amodeo put out a contract on her. Not on me. On her. That hit in the bakery was supposed to take her out. The security guard at the hospital was a hit man, and one of the cops was in on it. He was on Amodeo's payroll, as was a dispatcher who prevented the police from answering any 911 calls from the bakery. The hit might still be open."
Joshua turned back toward him, clearly shocked. "That son of a bitch. We should have killed the bastard while we had the chance."
Elijah studied Alonzo's face, clearly seeing far too much. "I've never asked about your past because I didn't think it mattered. You're surrounded by Russians. They're obviously related in some way, and you never take off your gloves. Leopards don't like gloves because it's one more thing to take off when shifting. So I guess you're covering tattoos. It's common in Russia for the brotherhood to tattoo their fingers, especially if they've served any time."
Alonzo remained silent. There wasn't a question in there. Elijah was fishing.
Elijah sighed. "Joshua, would you mind stepping out of the room? Just for a few minutes?" He looked at his bodyguards.
Alonzo shook his head. "That isn't necessary."
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