Page 35

Michail lays one hand on top of mine.

“I woke up some nights, especially that first month, with the taste of you on my lips.”

Fire? No, it’s molten lava now coursing through my veins. That and the knowledge that whatever walls I thought I’d erected to keep myself safe from Michail are nothing more than an illusion.

“Michail…”

His other hand comes up, smooths strands of hair back from my face. This is the man I fell for that night. The man who could demand and soothe in equal measure.

“I want to taste you again.” He shakes his head slightly. “I need to taste you.”

Shuddering, I part my thighs. His breath rushes out as he places his hands on my legs and gently pushes. I lean back on the bed, watch as he lowers his head. My eyes drift shut when he places a soft kiss on my inner thigh. I cry out when he grazes his teeth just above that. My inhibitions disappear as he moves higher, higher still, teasing, driving me mad with every caress.

He places his mouth on me and I explode. I fist my hands in his hair, my hips pressing into his mouth as pleasure catapults me up so high I wonder if I’ll ever come back down to earth.

I’m aware of Michail standing, feel his absence like a part of me has been wrenched away. I open my eyes in time to see him pull his shirt over his head.

“You really do have perfect abs.”

His laugh is short but pleased as he pulls off his pants. “Glad those hours in the gym are worth something.”

He stands next to the bed, naked and confident. Skin bronzed by hours spent under the sun. Dark hair thick andslightly mussed, adding to that hint of wildness that’s always just below the surface. His body is sharp and defined, from the thick bulk of his arms to his muscled thighs. The sight of his hard arousal makes me feel satisfyingly feminine.

I hold out my hand to him. “Definitely worth it.”

He joins me on the bed, gently pushing me onto my back as he kisses me. This time he’s gentle, each kiss a soft promise of what’s to come. His hands drift up and down my body, cupping my breasts, teasing my skin. I dimly note that he avoids my stomach. But I’m too distracted by the growing sensation, by the intensifying ache between my legs, to question it.

My own hands explore his body, my fingers sliding across hard muscle and heated skin. I reach for him, wrap my hand around his length. His groan has me smiling and pumping my hand.

He stops me. “I need to be inside you this time.”

I frown. “I want to play.”

His grin is quick, uninhibited. “We have all the time we need.”

But we don’t. The thought is fleeting, painful. We have a year. After that… I don’t want to hope for more. Hope that things can change between us.

He kisses me again. I push the thoughts away and focus instead on him—my husband—and the pleasure between us.

“Tell me what works best.”

I smile against his mouth. “I’ve never done this before pregnant.”

His laugh is warm against my lips. “A first for me, too.”

He places his hands on my hips and rolls. I push up on his chest and straddle his waist, moaning as he hardens, his cock pressing against my core. I wrap my fingers around him again, lifting up slightly before easing down just enough to feel the tip of him against my wet skin. I smile as his eyes darken.

And then I sink down, slowly taking him inside. My body stretches then tightens, clamping down around him. I sigh as he fills me up.

“I missed this.”

I freeze. I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Ridiculous to feel self-conscious when I’m naked with my husband deep inside me.

Michail leans up, threading his fingers through my hair as he pulls my head down.

“So did I.”

The kiss is a soft caress, his lips whispering across mine. Tears press against the backs of my eyes but I blink them away as I kiss him back. It changes, deepens, turns into something hard and hungry as he thrusts up into my body.