Ivan covered the distance between them in three large strides. Setting the bottle down onto the coffee table as he passed by, he didn’t even bother checking to make sure it didn’t tip over and spill.
He didn’t give two shits about the beer or the carpet. In that moment, the only thing that mattered to him was convincing her she was no longer alone.
Never again, Cera. You’ll never be alone again.
He stopped inches from where she stood, those golden eyes of hers growing wide as he reached for her. Cupping her cheeks with the gentlest of touches, Ivan stared deep into her searching gaze and did his damnedest to make himself crystal fucking clear.
“No, sweetheart.” That sounded a little less dickish, didn’t it? “I don’t want you to leave.”
“Ivan?”
“I thought I’d lost you, Cera.” His back teeth clenched as his gaze landed on those damn bandages again. “I saw you lying on that fucking sidewalk, and I thought…”
“You didn’t lose me, Ivan.” She wrapped a tiny hand around one of his thick wrists. “I’m right here, and I’m okay.”
He inched closer, his mouth moving closer and closer to hers. “I don’t want you to leave,” he said it again.
I’ll say it a million fucking times if that’s what it takes to convince you.
“I-I don’t want to leave, either.”
The tension in his shoulders relaxed slightly, the tightening in his gut easing from those precious words. But still, he needed her to know…
“That’s good.” A hair’s breadth was all that separated their lips. “Because I want you to stay. And not just because you need protection. I want you to stay with me because…”
“Yes?” Cera rose onto her tiptoes, her chin lifting to bring her mouth closer to his.
Ivan stared deep into her gaze. Praying she felt the same powerful connection he did, he threw caution to the wind and whispered, “Because I need you.”
11
Cera was movingbefore she knew it, her lips slamming against Ivan’s with an explosion of passion. With his arms wrapping around her like the best kind of safety net in existence, they each gave into a desire reaching levels she may never understand.
Their mouths moved together with a hunger that had been building quietly in the background since the moment they met. Ivan’s kiss was possessive. Demanding.
And Cera responded in kind.
Sliding her hands up his chest, she reveled in the feel of his taut muscles beneath his clean shirt. She couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t quench the burning desire that consumed her.
Ivan’s lips left hers, trailing a path of fiery kisses down her neck. She gasped with pleasure as his hands roamed over her body, exploring every inch of her as though he wanted to commit them to memory. She arched into his touch, unable to deny the magnetic pull that existed between them.
“You feel it, too, don’t you?” she panted. “The electricity arching between us?”
“Trust me, sweetheart.” Ivan’s wet, hot lips met the curve of her jaw as he continued to shower her with sweet, sexy kisses. “I definitely feel it.”
It was crazy and irresponsible, at best. They barely knew each other. Had both nearlydiedmere hours before. Yet somehow—though it defied all logic—being with him like this felt…
Right.
With a strength that surprised her, Ivan bent down and scooped her into his arms, carrying her back down the hallway toward the bedrooms. But rather than enter the one she’d been using, he took her to the one at the end of the hall.
The one with a massive king-sized bed in its center.
The afternoon sun filtered through the room’s sheer curtains, casting a silvery glow across the bed as he laid her down on the plush mattress. His eyes never left hers as he stripped off his shirt, revealing a body that was a sculpted work of art.
Hard curves and shaded crevices swirled together to create an almost statuesque image fit for the gods. Cera’s breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight of him. This man, this selfless, wonderfully confusing man was a force of nature who commanded attention without even trying.
She reached for him, her fingers tracing the contours of his chest. Heat from his skin radiated beneath her palm, and Cera found herself wondering what it would feel like to be consumed by that same warmth.