“Please,” River whispered.
As if she had to ask him to take care of her in such a way. As if this wasn’t exactly what he’d been dreaming about for years.
Still, Nikhail had to hear her say it. “You’re sure, River?”
He would understand if this was too much for her right now.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.” River stroked him again.
He groaned, his fingers digging into the countertop. It was taking everything he had not to come in his pants.
“I want you, Nik. You’re the one who has been with me through everything. You’ve been my rock.” She drew her bottom lip into her mouth. “Unless you don’t feel the same way?”
How could she ever think that?
“Fuck, little storm, of course, I want you.”
He had desired to make her his from the very first moment he glimpsed her. Back when he couldn’t touch her, when he had to keep his distance.
“You do?”
“Absolutely.”
Nikhail picked River up, and her legs hooked around his waist. Nikhail reclaimed her lips, kissing her passionately as he strode towards the room he’d claimed as his.
“I knew you were meant to be mine when I first saw you standing on the staircase at Waterborn House, looking down at me,” he murmured against her lips as he opened the door to his bedroom and stepped inside.
Shutting the door behind them, he turned the lock and tapped the lamp on the desk. It turned on, a muted glow that provided just enough light for him to see River.
He observed her appreciatively. “You are a goddess, and I want to show you exactly how much I have yearned for you.”
River gasped into his mouth, her tongue tangling with his, as he gently leaned over the bed. The mattress dipped as he placed her on it.
Stepping back, Nikhail tugged off his tie and studied River. She was divine, this water fae of his. Truly spectacular in every way. He drank in the sight of her, from the necklace he’d given her to the braid hanging over her shoulder and the black panties peeking out from beneath her nightgown.
He groaned. He wasn’t sure he’d survive this, but he would do his best.
Nikhail undid his buttons, peeling off his shirt, then his pants. He stood in front of the bed, cock straining against his boxers.
“Are you wet for me, little storm?” he asked.
River’s pupils dilated, but her hand traveled between her legs. She grazed her panties and whimpered, dipping her chin.
“Words,” he reminded her.
“Y-yes,” she breathed, her cheeks flushing. “I am.”
“Good.”
Nikhail wanted nothing more than to sink into River’s warmth, but he was a patient man. He’d already waited so long for her; he could hold out a little while longer, making sure he looked after her, as well.
He removed his boxers, standing bare before her.
River scanned him, starting at his lips, to the scars that littered his chest, and lower. It was a miracle he remained upright, with all the blood that had rushed to his dick at the lust he saw in her gaze.
“Touch yourself, River,” he commanded softly. “Show me what I’m missing.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t object. She rucked her shirt up to her hips and slid off her panties. Her knees fell open, and he let out a soft curse at the sight of her.