I wave away my emotions. “It’s just…pregnancy hormones or whatever…”
But what if it isn’t?
He takes me into his arms without another word. The closeness of his heart, the firmness of his embrace, and the flex of his muscles weaken me.
“Rodnaya,” he whispers. “You’re worth more to me than anything in this world.”
Desire tingles in my core as I bite my lower lip and give in to him. This is all I want. His arms around me. For him to tell me that Imatter.That I’mhis.That’s it.
More tears roll down my face as he kisses my temple. “Stop doubting yourself.” His hand trails downward, pausing at my belly. “Nothing is worth more than the family we’ve started building.”
Even with a sob lodged in my throat, I manage to squeak, “Can I tell you something?”
“Anything.”
“For my whole life, I’ve always wondered what would happen if I were part of a big family—you know, with more than just Jonas as a brother.”
He hums while slowly rubbing circles on my stomach.
“But now that I’m alone, I feel like I’ve strayed so far from that dream. What if…?” I swallow hard and lick my lips. “What if it’s all just for nothing?”
“It’s all forsomething,” he insists while putting a few inches of space between us. He holds my shoulders and peers into my eyes. “There will be an end to this war, Liya. I promise you that. And then you’ll see that the life we’ve built is worth ten times the dreams you used to have.”
Tears sting my eyes as he kisses me, the sweet sorrow in my center giving way to pure affection. Those awful feelings from the terrace come crashing to a halt when I feel his fingers softly brush the waistband of my jeans.
Desire ripples through me, inspiring me to hug his shoulders. I arch toward him with a desperate mewl as I stand up on my toes, trying to get his hand to drop lower. The air is palpable with my intent as his mouth closes against mine, as his tongue slips naturally into my mouth, and my own lips part hungrily for more.
He exhales heavily and nudges me into the counter, thumb skimming the flesh just under my navel. “What do you want,Lisichka?”
“I…I want…”
His thumb hooks under the waistband and teases my slit.
My knees buckle and I gasp. “Oh.”
His dark chuckle tickles my ear as he unzips my jeans. He slides my pants from my hips and traces my slit, nudging my head back with his nose so he can access my throat.
And I give it to him.
Everything melts away when he touches me like this, his promise evident in the way his lips dance across my neck. He massages my sensitive nub with firm circles that soothe my core and inspire me to open myself to him. It’s hard to stay still when he has this effect on me, hard to stay still when I’m totally lost to the smoldering sensation of his breath—hot and insistent—against my skin.
One finger slides between my slit. Then two. I’m swallowing my moans to guard our secret excursion, failing miserably as each sigh of pleasure falls unbidden from my lips. His lips skip north and dance over my jawline, marking a hot path to my mouth.
But he doesn’t kiss me.
I lean in to steal his lips, whining when he pulls back with a devious grin.
“Open,” he commands.
I splay my knees apart with effort, and he hisses as his fingers push into my hungry channel. “Wider,rodnaya.”
I’m coming apart with the way he’s watching me. Shallow thrusts scorch me from the inside out. Waves of bliss burn across my body. My pants are around my ankles at this point and I’m dying to kick them off, to have him buried to the hilt between my legs. To prove to me how much he wants me, how much he belongs to me.
I grab his dress shirt. “Pavel…”
“Not yet.”
“But I—”