Love Thy Enemy

by Katie Reus

  Taking him by surprise, she shoved at his head. “You’re killing me,” she rasped out. Her body writhed under his in the most sensual way, her legs clenching around his waist, her grip tight.

  She was basically rubbing herself against him, looking for a release—one he was going to give her with his mouth, fingers, cock.

  He moved down to her belly, layered more kisses along the flat plane of her stomach as she lifted her hips, silently begging him for more.

  She might be a virgin but she seemed to know exactly what she wanted. He wondered if she’d ever had someone go down on her, but didn’t want to ask for a multitude of reasons. This time was just about them.

  Crouched between her legs, he kept his gaze pinned to hers as he hooked his finger in her panties and began dragging them down her smooth, tanned legs. She had fine, pale blonde hair on her mound. “Tell me what you want,” he demanded. “Say the words.” Because he needed to hear them. Some primal part of him wanted her to spell it out.

  Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes heavy-lidded. “Kiss me.”

  “Where?” He wasn’t sure why he was pushing, but he wanted to hear the word on her lips. He’d push her more, later, once she was ready. For now, he just wanted to hear—

  “My pussy.” She whispered the words, as if someone might overhear.

  He jerked at hearing the words roll off her tongue, wanted to capture her mouth again and plunge right into her, but first…

  He inhaled her sweet scent as he ran a finger down her slick folds. She was soaked, and the knowledge did something primal to him. She made him feel like a fucking caveman with the need to claim her, to make sure everyone knew that this sensual woman was his.

  Leaning down, he flicked his tongue over the tiny bud already swollen and peeking out from her folds.

  She jerked against him, a shudder racking her.

  “So sensitive,” he murmured before teasing her with his tongue again, this time with more pressure.

  Her hips rolled against his face as he continued kissing and licking her clit. The moaning sounds she made were the most erotic thing he’d ever heard. She wasn’t acting. This wasn’t a show for him. This was her completely enjoying herself. Her fingers dug into his head and he savored the nip of pain.

  When he finally slid a finger inside her, he shuddered at her slickness. She was so damn reactive and this was all for him. He knew he shouldn’t care that she’d never been with anyone, and if she had, he wouldn’t have given a shit. But to know he was going to be her first made him crazy.

  Made him feel honored in a way he was certain he didn’t deserve.

  But he could be the right man for her. That he knew with a bone-deep certainty. He could give her everything she wanted, take care of her, keep her safe. He knew that no one was entirely safe but he’d make damn sure she had the best of everything.

  As he slid another finger into her, she groaned. “Viktor, more. Please.” The sweet way she begged made him crazy.

  He decided to stop teasing. She was so wet she’d be able to take him fully. But he needed her to come first. She had to have pleasure before that pain. He wouldn’t allow anything else.

  Increasing the pressure of his tongue, he circled her pulsing clit, relished the way she writhed against his face, her cries growing louder as he teased her. He moved his fingers in and out of her, her tight sheath clenching around his fingers quicker and quicker.

  She was close.

  He needed her to come. Needed it so bad he was practically shaking.

  “Oh… Oh, Viktor…” Her back arched and she dropped her hands from his head, clenching those fingers—the ones he’d imagined wrapped around his cock too many times—into the covers.

  He tweaked her clit with just a little more pressure. She was so close. Her inner walls tightened around him faster and faster and he knew the exact moment before she was about to fall over the edge.

  Her entire body tightened right before she cried out and let go. His fingers grew even slicker as she found her release. He savored the little ripples of her tight pussy as she reached orgasm.

  Lifting his head, he watched her ride through it. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks and chest flushed pink as she continued coming. Eventually she stilled against the covers, her breathing erratic as she opened her eyes to look at him.

  Her lips curved up in a sensual smile of pure bliss, looking thoroughly satisfied. “That was amazing,” she murmured, instantly reaching for him.

  The way she moved for him, her arms outstretched, made his heart swell until he felt it would explode.

  He stripped off his shirt and pants, getting undressed in record time. He grabbed a condom from his pocket but she frowned at it and sat up as he crawled back into the bed.

  He was rock hard, his cock jutting out so thick and heavy that for the first time in his life he wished he was a little smaller.

  She took the condom from him and tossed it away as she grasped his hard length. “I’m on the pill and I don’t want a barrier between us the first time.”

  He couldn’t believe she was putting that much faith in him. The fact that she was made him realize that this was a woman he could trust, a woman he was never letting go.

  He looked down between their bodies. Watched, mesmerized, as she stroked him oh-so-slowly. Way too gentle for what he normally preferred, but just having her hand on him, he was pretty sure he could come right there if she continued.

  He didn’t respond about the condom. If she didn’t want one, he trusted her to be on the pill. The truth was, he wanted to be inside her bare too. Even the thought was almost too much for the last shred of his control.

  Crushing his mouth to hers, he covered her body with his. He grasped her wrist, pulled her hand away from his cock because no way was he coming in her hand. Not this first time.

  He’d never wanted a woman like this. Ever. He felt fucking possessed as he positioned himself at her entrance and slowly slid inside her inch by inch. He pulled back just a little so he could see her face, could make sure he wasn’t hurting her. Her dark eyes were dilated as he moved into her, her breathing erratic and the pleasure in her gaze crystal clear. She was slick and so tight it took all his control to do this right.

  Which was hard when his balls were pulled up tight and all he wanted to do was empty himself inside her. Especially after she’d said she wanted him inside her with no barrier.

  Yeah, this woman was his. In a way he hadn’t fully comprehended until now. He knew that having her in his life would give him a weakness he’d never had before.

  But letting her go wasn’t an option. He couldn’t live in a world with her and not have her in his life. Nope. Not happening.

  “You’re mine,” he growled against her swollen lips. The words came out guttural as he held back the urge to slam into her.

  She sucked in a breath, her eyes glazed over with passion as he gave the final push inside her. There was a slight resistance that gave way before he was buried fully inside her.

  Her inner walls tightened around him but he didn’t move, just watched her carefully, heart pounding. “Is this okay?”

  Her lips curved up ever so slightly, her breathing uneven as she nodded. “It’s different. I feel very full but…no pain. Promise,” she whispered.

  The truth in her eyes was clear so he pulled back slowly, gritting his teeth at how good she felt, how tight.

  Everything about this moment was so intimate. He wanted to look away, felt too vulnerable as she stared up at him, but he couldn’t. This was more than sex to him. More than he could put into words.

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to. Being with her like this had ripped him in two so that he felt like a different person. A better person with her.

  She stroked her fingers down his back as he thrust in and out of her. The sensation of being inside her was too much and not enough. He didn’t think he’d ever get enough of her.

  She was an addiction he was more than glad to succumb to.

 
He wasn’t sure if she’d be able to have a second orgasm, but he was damn sure going to try. Slowing down his thrusts, he reached between their bodies and tweaked her clit, rubbing with enough pressure he knew she’d like it.

  She jerked against him, sucking in a sharp breath as her inner walls started rippling around him. He felt her climax start to build almost immediately, could hear it in the way her breathing grew erratic and out of control.

  When she reached down and grabbed his ass, digging her fingers into him in a purely possessive way as she cried out his name, he let go. There was nothing else to do.

  Her name was on his lips as they both came. He thrust into her long and hard as he found his release. It felt as if he climaxed forever. He buried his face against her neck, breathing her in as his orgasm finally subsided.

  She wrapped her arms around him tight, holding him so close he never wanted to let her go. Her embrace made him feel honored and possessive at the same time. “That was wonderful,” she murmured, her voice just a little sleepy.

  He couldn’t find his voice so he just held her, trying to come to terms with how his life had just shifted.

  And he was done worrying that she was going to stab him in the back, that she was working some angle against him. This, what she’d given him… He simply knew now that she wasn’t waiting to hurt him.

  The only way she could hurt him was by walking away.

  Chapter 15

  “I could lie here all day,” Dominique murmured against Viktor’s solid chest. She wasn’t sure what time it was but it was early. At least it was Saturday so she didn’t have to worry about work.

  His hand stroked up and down her back in a lazy rhythm. Though he was hard, he hadn’t made a move to touch her since their last bout of lovemaking. Which was good because she was too sore. She traced her finger over the curves of one of his many tattoos. When he’d completely bared himself to her she’d been surprised by how many he truly had. Not to mention the multitude of long faded scars that covered his body—mainly his torso and arms. One day she would ask him what the tattoos meant and how he’d gotten the scars.

  After their first time he’d been so sweet, surprising her by getting a warm cloth and cleaning between her legs. It had been so intimate, so…unexpected. She’d quickly learned that he did a lot of unexpected things. He’d made her so angry last night, just taking over and ordering her back to his house, but she could see that it was from a place of protectiveness. And it certainly didn’t make her like him any less. If anything, his bossiness turned her on. Not that she was going to tell him that. Not yet anyway. He’d probably turn into a super caveman if she did.

  “I would like that very much. How are you feeling?” He reached between her legs, cupping her sex in a purely possessive move. His big hand was gentle though.

  Feeling her cheeks heat up, she shifted her head so she could look at him. “A little sore, but good.”

  His blue eyes heated with hunger but he withdrew his hand and wrapped his arm around her, just holding her close. “I thought you would be.”

  They’d had sex again a couple hours after that first time. He’d slowly taken her from behind as she gripped the headboard, teasing her clit as he moved inside her. Even thinking about it made a shudder rack through her entire body.

  She set her head back on his chest, feeling more content than she had in a long time. “Why do you hire so many Russians? I mean, I know you are Russian. I just wondered if there was a reason,” she said after a few minutes. There was so much about him she wanted to know.

  “That’s a long answer.” The rumble of his chest under her head vibrated through her.

  She smiled against his hard body, wishing she wasn’t so sore right now. “I don’t have anywhere to be.”

  He didn’t respond for so long, she thought he wouldn’t at all. “I had already started to break away from my father before he…died. He was a violent, vindictive asshole so I had to move slowly, setting up various accounts and a lot of stuff I won’t bore you with. For lack of a better term, he was a gangster. He’d created his own little empire right here in Miami but not all the men who worked for him did so willingly. From the time I was a kid I watched him carefully—watched his people carefully. I knew who would break away from him when I made my move.”

  “He died before that though, didn’t he?” Viktor had told her that his father had left him her family’s house as part of his trust and she couldn’t believe that he would have done that if Viktor had cut ties.

  She felt Viktor move slightly, as if he was nodding. “Yeah. There was another man who’d always been in competition with me.” He paused again, and she guessed he was choosing his words carefully. “He wanted my father’s empire, wanted me out of the way. I wanted the same thing essentially so I made a deal with him. I took the men I knew who were loyal to me and we severed ties from that life in a clean break. I’d already started working legitimate side businesses, so the transition wasn’t difficult. As long as I didn’t try to take any of his criminal enterprises we had no problem.”

  She looked up at him. The room was dim except for a few streams of light coming in through one of the curtain-covered windows. “He just let you go?” She didn’t know much about the criminal lifestyle but that sounded too easy.

  Viktor gave her a dark smile. “He had no choice. Not unless he wanted a war.”

  She bit her bottom lip. “Is there a possibility he’s the one who attacked you last night?”

  He snorted, his expression easing. “No. He’s actually at the bottom of my list. We haven’t had contact in years. I stay out of his way and he stays out of mine. The people who attacked last night weren’t pros.”

  “You still keep pretty intense security at your house.” She knew that even the Caldwell brothers didn’t have the kind of security he did. Not actual armed guards anyway.

  “I never let myself get complacent. I can’t afford to.” He cupped her cheek, his touch gentle. “I’ll never risk your safety either. Don’t doubt that.”

  “I don’t.” She might not have known him that long, but she didn’t doubt him. He made her feel…happy in a way she hadn’t been in a long time. Which was hard to swallow. She turned her face away from his hold and lay back on his chest.

  He stiffened slightly. “What?”

  “Nothing… Okay, I feel a little guilty being so happy with you. It makes me think of my mother and then I get so angry at her.” Shame swelled inside her for feeling angry at all. “She left me. I feel like…she didn’t love me enough. Like I wasn’t worth sticking around for. Which is stupid, I know.” Her throat grew tight as the mix of long-buried emotions shattered inside her. She hated feeling like that.

  His hold tightened ever so slightly. “My father was an evil man who ground people into the dirt. The fact that she endured being with him… She loved you very much, Dominique. That’s something you should never doubt.”

  His words soothed all the jagged edges. She didn’t respond, just let him hold her. She wasn’t sure how long they stayed there but when her stomach rumbled loudly she buried her face against his chest.

  He laughed, the sound so sweet to her ears because he rarely seemed to do it. “I think it’s time I got you fed.” He reached a hand down, palmed her ass before squeezing possessively. “Then I plan to eat you. Slowly.”

  His words set her on fire, but if she was going to have enough energy to keep up with him, she knew she should eat something. Then…she hoped they headed right back to the bedroom.

  Last night had been amazing. She hadn’t expected her first time to be so good. Now she was so glad she’d waited. Being with a man like Viktor who’d been so giving, clearly putting her pleasure before his own, had been incredible. She was pretty sure she’d fallen for him. It didn’t seem to matter that her head said this was way too fast. Her heart wasn’t listening.

  * * *

  He couldn’t concentrate on anything today. Not after last night’s failure. He’d hired those men sp
ecifically because of their shock tactics and penchant for violence. They were supposed to have killed Viktor’s men and taken the woman.

  Time was running out and he still needed her as a bargaining chip. He’d eventually kill her, but not until he got what he wanted. Then he’d kill her and Viktor. His brother too, because there was no way Abram would let his brother’s death go unpunished.

  It was Ivanov’s own fault, for coming after him first. The stupid Russian liked to hide behind a mask of civility, claiming that the things he did weren’t personal, just business. Well it was fucking personal to him.

  With a trembling hand he dialed his contact.

  The man answered on the fourth ring, his voice tight. “What?”

  “What’s the security situation like?”

  “Tight. Everyone is locked down and…” A door shut, then, “Both women are locked down as well. Both here.”

  Here meant Viktor’s house. “I want the woman.” He didn’t need to specify which one. The assistant would have been a decent choice, but knowing that Viktor truly cared for Dominique Castle, that she wasn’t some whore he was paying, made her the only choice.

  “Too bad for you.”

  He gritted his teeth, forced his voice to remain even. “Two hundred fifty grand in your account if you get her to me by this afternoon.”

  The man sucked in a breath. “That’s still not enough for my life. Because he will hunt me to the end of the earth if I take her.”

  “He won’t be around that long. Once I get her I’ll be able to bargain with him for what I want. Then I’ll pay you five hundred grand, with the promise that I’ll kill him and his brother. Once that’s done you’ll be able to start over somewhere with a nice chunk of money.”

  Seconds ticked by. One, two, three… “I’ll do it. I want that boat of yours too. The one in the marina.”

  Greedy bastard. Maybe he’d kill him too. He would tidy up all loose ends. “Agreed. Bring her to my office. Call me on your way. I’ll meet you in the loading area.”