“What wouldIdo withoutyou?” he asked back.
I wrapped my legs around him, bringing him closer. I could feel the hard length of him between us and I nipped at his bottom lip.
“Oh, who’s trying to be serious now?” I teased, grinding against him.
“Fuck being serious,” he growled against my mouth.
His hands ran up and down my back, pressing me tightly against him. No matter how much of Nik I had, I always craved more. My mouth moved to his shoulder, and I bit down, eliciting a hiss from him.
“Wicked witch,” he chided as he dug his fingers into my back.
“Would you have me any other way?” I asked against his skin.
“Never.”
He lifted me then, lining himself up to my entrance. When he pulled me back down, I let out a groan as he filled me, thewater sloshing over the sides of the tub. I braced my hands on the rim behind him as I threw my head back in pleasure, moving up and down in agonizing slowness.
Nik dug his fingers into my hips, and I reveled in the thought of the bruises they would leave behind tomorrow. I loved to wear him on my skin.
Nik’s hands moved around my back up to my shoulders where he pulled me down with each thrust. I leaned back, glancing down at him as I rest my hands against his shoulders and rode him. His eyes were pure liquid flames as he watched me, my full breasts bouncing before him. He took one into his mouth and bit down, eliciting another groan from me. My hands moved to his hair where I buried them in it.
He feltso damn good.
His hands on my shoulders increased our tempo, and the water sloshed to the floor in big splashes, eliciting a soft giggle from me. I would be the one having to clean that up later. He moved his hips to meet mine, both of us chasing the pleasure that was fast approaching.
I cried his name as I came, over and over against him. His mouth captured mine again as he found his own release, pumping into me so hard the breath left my lungs.
I fell into him, completely sated and spent.
My breasts were pressed against his chest, my legs still straddling him. My head fell to his shoulder where I placed a gentle kiss.
“I love you, Nikolai.” My voice sounded like a prayer as I leaned back only enough to meet his gaze.
“I love you, Diana. I am the luckiest bastard alive to have the privilege of being bound to you.”
Nik helped me wash off a second time, and we toweled dry, stealing kisses while laying towels across the floor to soak up the spilled water from the bath.
Nik had successfully distracted me and washed away the anxiety of the oncoming battle…for now. I knew that it would come back to me in the darkest hours of the night, haunting my dreams. I wasn’t prepared for what was to come, but I also wasn’t sure there was anything I could do to relieve that anxiety.
We both fell into bed naked. We were still damp, wrapped in each other’s arms. I pressed into Nik’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around me, quickly finding sleep. I lay awake in his arms for hours until sleep finally took me.
Nik had chased away the nightmares for now, but they would come back.
If not tonight, then tomorrow.
If there was one thing I could rely on, it was that they always did.
Ihad slept without nightmares for the first time in what felt like weeks. Despite my anxiety, I was more rested than I had been since coming to Istmere. The sun was streaming in through the window across from the bed, and Nik’s arms were wrapped around me, his soft breaths in my ear.
The serene sounds of his sleeping were interrupted by a fierce knock on the door, and he woke with a start.
“Can we have one moment without being interrupted?” he groaned, hanging over the bed to grab his pants.
“I think we had several uninterrupted moments last night,” I reminded him with a mischievous grin.
“Well, I’d like a few more,” he teased, shrugging his pants on and heading for the door.
I tucked the bedsheets around me to cover myself. He opened the door, his hair disheveled and his zipper undone.