“No.” I trace my hands up to his shoulders, rub the muscles that jump beneath the skin. “A man who has survived a brutal childhood. A man who did what was right even when it cost him. A man who will do whatever it takes to protect—and avenge—the people he loves.”
I love you.
It almost slips out a second time. It’s harder to hold back, so I give in and tell him the only way I can.
32
SERA
Ikiss him.
Alik groans against my mouth, leaning into me as I deepen the kiss. If I can’t tell him how I feel, I can show him.
I dig my nails into his shoulders, shivering at the strength I find there. He’s hot and hard and surrendering to me so eagerly I feel lightheaded. Alik lets me touch him at will, his hands tense on my knees, but motionless. This is my time, my opportunity to have him exactly how I want.
A lick of power lights up my chest, adding to the warmth already growing between my thighs. I’ll never, ever get tired of having this staggering man bend to my whim.
Our tongues twist and tangle, Alik meeting every one of my little moans with a throaty growl. I slide forward on the sofa, taking up all the space between us, letting my hands roam. I can reach so much of him, can touch every bare inch of skin I want. The line of his spine, the dip above his ass, the tantalizing muscles in his back. I’m practically petting him, a wild animal tamed for me and me alone, and the emotion gathering in my chest is overwhelming. All-encompassing, blocking out everyharsh bit of reality until it’s just me and him and the way we fit together so perfectly.
That bubble bursts when Alik’s phone rings in his pocket. We cling to each other a moment longer before he breaks away and checks who is calling. “It’s. Dr. Ruiz. I have to take this.”
Alik stands, drifting across the room as he talks quietly to the doctor. His back is to me, and I can’t help but stare at his tattoo. The mark he’s had since he was a teenager, his future foretold on his skin.
Like the addict that I am, I trail after him. Alik’s head is bent as he listens to whatever Dr. Ruiz is saying, his expression intense. But goosebumps bloom across his back as I touch the flaming sword inked down his spine. I reach the waistband of his jeans as he disconnects the call. We both stand there, just inches apart. Alik says, “Gloria was calling with an update about Dimitri. He’s going to be okay.”
I sag with relief. “Oh, thank God. What else did she say?”
He gives me a weak smile over his shoulder. “The usual. Lots of instructions on what Dimitri can and cannot do during recovery. She wrote a list. He’s going to hate everything on it.”
I remember Dr. Ruiz’s instructions for my own recovery and smile back. “I’ll help him. Whatever way I can. Poor guy will be so over me taking care of him he’ll heal up quick.”
Alik laughs and I can feel it beneath my fingers. The subtle shift of his back, the heat pouring off his body. All impulse to smile is consumed by a surge of intense lust. I press my lips to his shoulder and close my eyes when Alik hauls in a breath.
“What are you doing,moya voitelnitsa?”
I stay quiet, letting my lips drift over and across his upper arm, until I have to shift to his front, my mouth charting a trail across his pecs.
I lick a line up to his neck. Alik tips his head back on a groan, grabbing my waist for balance. His heart is pounding, his lungs working harder than usual, and feeling him losecontrol from just a few kisses and licks is a powerful aphrodisiac.
He’s driven me wild so many times. Now, it’s my turn.
Trailing my mouth down his chest, I brush Alik’s hands off my hips and drop to my knees in front of him.
“Sera?” His voice is low and rough and utterly divine. It tempts me away from his rock-solid abs long enough to look up at him. The view is nothing short of spectacular.
Alik is staring down at me, jaw slack, lips parted, eyes half-lidded and stormy. The tendons of his neck are taut, his upper body tense as his lungs work overtime beneath his ribs. His inked wings seem to dance across his skin and just looking up at him like this, seeing how strong and powerful and yet vulnerable he is, makes me want to do this even more.
I maintain eye contact as I start to strip off his jeans.Thisis what I want. This thing I’ve never done, never wanted to do, not before Alik Valentin crept into my life.
I want his cock in my mouth, his surrender as I kneel before him, worshiping him with everything I’ve got.
I have his fly open and the denim halfway down his hips before Alik stops me, grabbing my hands. “Sera, babe. You don’t have to do this.”
“I do,” I promise him. “Very much.”
There’s heat in my voice, and strength, and he trembles in front of me. A tremor that grips him from head to toe. He releases my hands, giving in. Giving himself to me, and want pools low in my stomach, making me even hungrier.
I yank his jeans down his thighs and Alik traces fine lines across my temple. “Serafina.” His voice is thick with wonder and need. “Named after the Seraphim. The highest order of angels in heaven. Fiery attendants of God. I should be prone at your feet. An archangel is lower, lesser than you.”