Maria
Seeing the old house takes a toll I didn’t anticipate. My emotions are twisted and pulled in every direction until I am a mess, on the verge of tears. Instead of ruminating, I force myself to sleep on the car ride back to Manhattan. And when I wake up, someone has placed me in my bed. We were gone the entire day, and I was not expecting to see Mikhail sitting beside me in the bed. His hair is tousled over his forehead as if he’s been pulling at it. Shirtless, with his tattoos showing, he’s deep in thought as he studies a book. Instead of glossy photos of art, the pages are handwritten.
“What time is it?” I ask, stretching. Then I notice someone removed my dress before putting me in bed.
He looks up abruptly, startled that I’m awake. “It’s almost one in the morning.”
The nap makes me feel restored, and I move a little closer to Mikhail. I stretch again, feeling the silky sheet against my toes. It feels like all the destructive emotions between us were left behind. Our confessions made us vulnerable, but somehow, we connected more than ever before. The weight of our lies could’ve broken us apart, but this time, it led to understanding. I understand Mikhail better now.
“Mikhail?” I whisper, trying to take his attention away from that book.
Silently, he glares at me, and maybe I’m the only one who came back changed.
A lazy grin tilts his lips, and the charm floods into his sexy gaze as his finger grazes my cheek. “I love you, Maria.”
I see the sincerity in his eyes. But there’s also something else, a darkness that lingers below the surface. There will be more bad things before there is anything good. I need to understand the man I’m going to marry and the ghosts that haunt him and me.
I run my hand along his hard thigh and place my hand on the book, trying to tug it out of his grip. His expression darkens as he pulls it away. I sit up, wondering what it is, and I crane my neck to get a better look at the handwriting, but he closes the book quickly.
“Mikhail,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “I need you. Make me forget their hate.”
He hesitates, his gaze searching mine. But all he will find is desire, raw and undeniable, burning through the doubt that has held me back for too long. I’m ready to love him.
Mikhail places the book on the bedside table. His voice is soft, almost reverent, as he moves toward me. “I caused that hate,” he whispers. “So I’m completely forgiven?”
“More than anything,” I breathe, placing my hand on his chest and feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my fingertips. “I need this, Mikhail. I need you.”
Our lips meet in a sizzling kiss that ignites every nerve ending in my body. The taste of him, the feel of his strong hands on me, sweeps the pain away, erasing the past and putting me in the heat of the present.
“We will marry, Maria,” Mikhail murmurs against my mouth, and I nod, surrendering my uncertainties completely.
As he slips my panties off me, each gentle touch feels like a balm to my battered soul. Every caress, every whispered word of love and reassurance, brings back my faith, reminding me that I am courageous.
You have a gift for charming dangerous men.
I hold onto his broad shoulders, my fingers caressing the hard muscle under the skin, and it sends tingles along my thighs. Mikhail covers me with his muscular body, careful not to put his entire weight on him. I wrap my thighs around his slim hips, and each time I kiss him, I press against him, his cock hardening until he moans in my mouth.
“You like to tease me,” he whispers.
I grin like a pleased feline. “I only tease because I know you’ll deliver.”
He nuzzles my neck, grabbing my hips as I part my thighs. The building passion sets me on edge, making me desperate and needier as I arch my body against his.
Our bodies come together, and we move in a smooth rhythm, enjoying the slow ride. He drives me crazy with his mouth touching my skin-my lips, neck, and chest. I moan as my hard nipple slips into his warm mouth. I open my eyes in a dreamy haze, and he’s watching me with his mouth pressed against my skin. It leaves me breathless.
There’s no trace of anger in his passionate moves, only the fierce devotion of a man who would do anything to protect the woman he loves.
With each slow, deliberate thrust, I feel the past slipping further away, and I can’t imagine my life before I became his. It’s all replaced with an overwhelming sensation of being loved unconditionally and without suspicion.
My body tightens as I lose control. My thoughts fly out of my head, replaced by lightning sensations rushing all over my skin as I tighten around him and shake, staring into his eyes.
“Maria,” Mikhail moans my name as if it’s a prayer, and the sweet sound sends me spiraling over the edge again, tumbling into oblivion, where there is no darkness, only light.
I lie underneath him, giggling as joy replaces hurt. Mikhail whispers my name as his body pushes harder into mine. His cock spreads me wider and then fills me as I slip into a fantasy that I’ll try hard to remember when the world comes and finds us again.
As our breathing slows and the sensations fade, I cling to Mikhail, my head resting on his chest. My heart is at peace for the first time in what feels like an eternity, and the heaviness of hate has eased off it.
“Thank you,” I whisper, my voice thick with emotion. “For making me forget that once we hated each other.”
“I can’t imagine not loving you, Maria.” Mikhail presses a soft kiss to my forehead as we lie there, wrapped in each other’s arms. For now though, all that matters is the warmth of his body against mine, the steady beat of his heart beneath my ear, and the knowledge that in his arms, I belong.