Page 21 of His Public Claim
Instinctively, I back up, and my shoulders hit the wall.
Lev slowly places one hand on the wall above me, then the other. I’m blocked in, trapped, similarly to how I was earlier.
And honestly, I love it.
“You’ve seen it all, Nicole.” He leans down and puts his face so close to my neck I can feel his heat. Then he breathes in, like my day-old scent is the best thing he’s ever smelled. “How I’m obsessed with you. How you’re the focus of my whole life. I’ll get down on one knee and buy you the biggest ring you’ve ever seen and say words about honour and love. But you already know that I’ve killed to protect you, and I’ve compromised everything—my mafia and the alliance with your family, and possibly started a war with the Essex cartel—all for you.”
I hadn’t exactly thought of it like that, but… Heat blooms and curls in me with the realisation of why I feel safe with Lev, and I always have. He would—and has—put me first.
“And paid five million pounds.”
He touches his forefinger to my chin and tilts it up so I look right into his face. There’s a smile in his silver eyes.
“You haven’t run away, little mouse,” he continues. “You’ve had multiple opportunities to go back to your old life, or choose something different. But you don’t want that. You want to be my wife, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I admit.
“Goodgirl.” Lev pulls me into his arms and kisses me.
I push into him, luxuriating in lacing my fingers into his hair—just as soft as I always thought—and melt as he forces one thigh between my legs and traps me entirely to the wall. I arch closer. I don’t know if I’ll ever be close enough to this man.
“I want to see you.”
“Myshka,” he murmurs, voice hoarse, then he grips my bottom, and an involuntary noise comes from my throat as he lifts me up. “Wrap your legs around my waist.”
I do, and hide my face in his neck, pressing kisses to his sinewy flesh, and he rumbles as he pads through the house.
“Where are we going?” Though I know the answer. Hisbedroom. Bursts of arousal make little explosions inside of me.
“Ourlounge,” he replies as he turns. But his Russian accent is strong, and my heart expands for what that indicates. He’s not hiding from me. This is Lev, honest and unleashed.
I risk a peek at him, and am caught by the stunning light-filled room. It’s so late now it’s morning. The black of night has given way to the pure white-yellow of a summer dawn. Sunshine streams through the windows.
Serene abstract blue and green paintings cover the walls, and there are thick rugs, comfortable white leather sofas, and the compulsory bachelor enormous television. But the real feature is how the floor-to-ceiling windows make it seamless to the dawn outside, where a sea of grass stretches out and rises up into layers of summer flowers and shrubs, then trees. It’s totally secluded.
I swallow hard.
“I thought that you’d take me to bed,” I confess into his neck. Apparently, my favourite way to speak to Lev.
He chuckles and sets me gently onto my feet, leaving sparks as he slides me down his body before he draws away. My sound of discontent is hardly dignified, but I guess I’m beyond that.
“You wanted me to reveal my identity in the car.” He steps back into a pale sunbeam, and tugs at his tie. “You needed to know how I’d been hiding in the shadows, stalking you.” Two practised flicks and his cuffs are undone, the gold cufflinks drop into his pocket. “And I think that you kinda liked being on show,” he says as he strips off his shirt.
My eyes go wide. It’s too much to take in. His claim that I enjoyed being watched while we had sex, and the sheer masculine beauty he’s revealed. He’s gorgeous.
His chest is covered with intricate tattoos in swirling black lines. Patterns that are sharp and organic and hide pale lines. Scars. Signs of the brutal life he’s led, and all the pain that has brought him to this point, strong and beautiful as he is.
He’s black and white, but amongst the shapes of bold tribal designs, there’s a surprising addition. My gaze fixates on it, even as Lev moves. A mouse drawn nestled securely between his pecs, curled into a swirl of the design, the little creature has her head tilted as though to observe his face. It’s unexpected and I nearly ask about it, but the snick of his belt draws my attention down and makes my pulse race.
I look over his flat belly, where there’s a scattering of black hair that I want to pet and explore, right to where his trousers reveal his hardness, making my mouth water.
“And that leaves us with a problem.” He toes off his shoes and socks, but I’m fixed in place, unable to do anything but watch Lev slowly release the zipper that’s bulged out. “Because you’re mine, and I don’t share. But you need to be admired. To see everything, and be seen.”
He shucks off his trousers and underwear slowly, teasingly, his sinful mouth curving into a smile as I take in the glorious sight of Lev, naked. His thighs are densely muscled.
His erection is sticking up in front of a tempting trail of dark hair, thick and long. Intimidating, and making my heart race. All that went inside me, and it feltamazing.
I want to lick him all over. My mouth waters.
