Page 136 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

I do what he says, but when I finish, I’m wound even more tightly. I groan. “Now, I’m stressed because I’m not good at destressing.”

“Stop thinking.”

I narrow my eyes. “Stop saying that like my thoughts are a switch. They don’t work that way.”

“You did it before.”

“Yeah, but only because we—” I stop myself, biting the words back.

Nikolai is watching me with a feral kind of intensity. “We what?”

We had wild sex in an airplane bathroom, I think. But I can’t bring myself to say it.

Instead, I shake my head. “You’re dangerous.”

If he’s surprised by my topic change, he doesn’t show it. “Am I?”

“Very,” I insist. “I can’t get tangled up in anything risky. Not when I have Elise to think about. I should be looking for a stable job, planning what my next move will be when we get home.”

“Should, shouldn’t. Can’t, won’t.” Nikolai shrugs. “It sounds like a lot of overanalyzing when what you should be thinking is,What would make me happy?”

I stay silent, blinking as he wades closer to me. His chin dips below the water like a predator circling prey.

“What do you want, Belle?” he says softly.

I feel his fingers brush across my ankle under the water, but instead of pulling away, I shift closer.

Just like with everything else, Nikolai notices.

“You know what you want,” he says. “And I know what you need.”

“And what is that?” I ask quietly.

His fingers hook under my thighs and pull my legs apart. A second later, he’s between them, his chest pressed to mine.

“A distraction.”

When our lips meet, it feels like I’ve been underwater and he’s my first breath of fresh air in far too long. My lungs burn and my chest heaves as I wrap my legs around his waist.

Nikolai grips the back of my neck, holding me close. He parts my lips with his tongue and slips inside.

It feels easy, natural. Kissing him, tasting him. It feels like I've been doing it forever and also like it's somehow brand new. Every second is exciting. The way our bodies brush under the water, the way his hands stroke down my spine and grip my waist.

When Nikolai pulls me against him, rocking my aching center against his cock, I can't wait another second.

"I want you inside of me," I gasp, shoving my hands inside his boxers.

He kicks the material off and then shoves my panties to the side. In one swift thrust, he's in me to the hilt. I lean my head back against the stone sides of the hot spring, my mind blissfully blank at last.

How can anything else matter when this feels so good?

"Finally," Nikolai breathes, sliding slowly in and out of me. "Now, you're starting to relax."

"Apparently, this is what it takes.”

He kisses my neck as he thrusts shallow and fast. "A sacrifice I'm willing to make."

I grab his stubbly face and pull his lips back to mine. I kiss him with everything I have, letting the last of my stress melt away in the water.

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