Page 51 of The Bratva's Forced Kidnapped Bride
He tried to turn on the ancient television, but there was only static. When he turned, I waved him over. “I don’t want the noise, anyway,” I said.
Sitting by my side, he took my hand again, looking down at me with a mix of expressions crossing his face. “Just tell me what I look like,” I said.
“You look like the bravest woman I’ve ever known,” he told me, gently running a finger down my jaw. Then he smiled. “And still the most beautiful.”
I opened my mouth to accuse him of lying, but closed it again. Not worth a fight I didn’t want to have, and my aching cheeks warmed because I somehow believed him. I pulled myself up, wrapping my arm around his neck to bring his face down to mine. I needed his kiss, even with my swollen, split lip. He obliged, so gently and tenderly I almost thought I was dreaming again. I pulled back, resting against the few, flat pillows as best I could, exhausted all over again. We were bothreally there, in that dingy motel, together. Alive. But for how long?
“This place is out of the way,” he said, seeming to read the worry creeping into my thoughts. “We’re safe here for the moment. You can rest.”
I didn’t want to rest. I tugged at his shirt, and he dipped his head low, his tongue swiping against my lower lip as his mouth met mine. Carefully, as if I were made of fragile blown glass, he ran his fingers through my tangled hair, cradling the back of my head. I pulled him onto the bed beside me, tugging him down.
The pain receded into the background, replaced with a feverish urgency to stay connected to him. Exhaustion took a back seat to a rush of need so strong it made me sit up and push him back down onto the bed until his head touched the pillows.
“Your ribs,” he said, sliding one hand lightly down my side, over the thick lump of bandages.
“They’re fine,” I said. They really were. I straddled him, my fingers moving to unbutton his shirt until I could run my palms down his hot, hard chest.
He looked pained and concerned, but I felt something else hot and hard rise to nudge me between my thighs. My face still wouldn’t move right, and my smile must have been a hideous sight.
“Is it hard to look at me?” I asked, but his eyes didn’t leave mine as I ran my hands lower.
“Never,” he said. “I’m so damn glad you’re alive.”
My breath came in urgent huffs, nothing to do with the tight binding. I was gripped by pure, animal lust with a wild dose of something that felt like it threatened to swell my heart untilit burst. Not just gratitude that he’d found me and got me out of there, away from those killers, but something more. Familiar, but not. Terrifying, but something I still wanted to let take over.
I really freaking wanted him. With a moan, I planted my hands on his chest and shifted on his stiff cock, closing my eyes as the heavy desire coursed through my veins. He kept a firm grip on my hips and let me wriggle and sigh as much as I liked.
“Anatoli,” I gasped, moving my hands down his rock-hard abs to fumble with the button on his pants. “I need…”
He took my hands and drew them to his mouth, kissing each one. I opened my eyes to see him looking at me with an odd, crooked smile on his handsome face.
“Please,” I whispered.
He deftly got my jeans unbuttoned and unzipped, and I rose up on my knees so he could tug them down. I nearly tumbled forward, but he somehow managed to get them all the way off, and I clumsily kicked them to the floor, just about falling onto him again.
He held me close, kissing my hair. “I know what you need,” he said. “But I won’t risk hurting you more. Just hold on.”
He slid his hand between us, and as I writhed against his thick bulge, he found my clit through my panties, circling until I was gasping like a landed fish. I rose up, digging my fingers into his shoulders, my head dropping forward so that my hair fanned around his face. Pushing my panties aside, he slid his fingers into my wet heat, returning to teasing my swollen clit until I clenched my thighs around him and cried out. His cock pulsed beneath me, and I pushed down, moaning as pleasure washed over me. His fingers never let up until I lay in a heap on top of him, as weak as when he found me, but so much happier.
I tried again to reach for his pants, still feeling his thick length against my belly, but he only rolled me onto my back and pulled the covers over me. Desire blazed in his stormy eyes, as strong as mine was before he brought me to release, but he only pulled me close to his chest and tucked his arm under my head. It was a much nicer pillow than the squashed ones the motel provided. He wasn’t going to do anything that might put my ribs out of alignment or jostle me too hard, no matter that I knew exactly how insatiable he could be.
“Rain check,” I promised, moving my hand lower. He caught it and brought it to rest on his chest.
“I’ll be here when you feel better.”
“I feel a lot better right now,” I said, then my stomach did a flip as reality started to wrestle its way back in. My fingers curled against his chest, and he patted my arm, once again sensing my thoughts.
“You’re safe,” he reminded me.
“They won’t stop until I’m dead,” I said. “They’ll go after my family next to try to flush me out.”
There was a moment of silence, and more of the heady glow he’d been able to wrap me in began to dissipate. This would be the best outcome for him, to let the Collective and my family duke it out until one or both were no longer a problem for him.
“That’s not going to happen,” he said, stroking my hair out of my face. “I have a very small team of men we can trust who are on their way. You know that software you’re always distracting me from working on? I’m pretty sure I’ve been able to figure out where Julio’s at. As soon as my guys get here, I’ll take care of the Collective once and for all.”
The glow was back, brighter than ever. My heart really might burst after hearing him jump in to defend my family. He had no reason to do it, and in fact, he was probably going to make things more difficult for himself by only taking out one enemy instead of leaving them to destroy each other.
He had to be doing it because of me. Because he cared about me, just like I suspected in my darkest hour.
