A grin. “Hop on.”
I scramble up his thighs, line us up, and then sink onto him. The second he’s fully sheathed, a full body shiver goes through me from the delicious stretch. I clutch his shirt and roll my hips, searching for the angle that’s going to get me there.
His hands grab my ass. “How’s that?” he asks, his voice strained.
“Good,” I pant, my pussy fluttering, my mind spinning. “So good.”
He starts fucking me from below, meeting my thrusts with his own. His groans intermingle with my moans in the cold night air, making me wonder for a moment if the neighbors might hear us.
But then he changes his angle just so, and I decide I don’t care. Nothing that feels this perfect could be wrong.
He speeds up his thrusts, leaning his head back while keeping his hooded gaze on me. “Fuck, baby. You’re making me lose my mind.”
I dig my fingers into his neck, searching for something to keep me tethered to Earth as I come undone. My eyes squeeze shut against the onslaught of pleasure that crashes through me.
Nero grunts and thrusts into me two more times, his hands digging into my thighs as he spills inside me.
When I manage to open my eyes again, I catch him staring at me, his chest rising and falling with harsh breaths. He tugs me against him and presses his lips against the shell of my ear. His hands travel over my back, rubbing it in soothing motions.
Something in the air shifts.
I think he wants to say it again. Those three magic words.
Will I say them back? Can I?
My teeth dig into my bottom lip. There’s something inside me that’s so tangled up that I can’t figure it out. The moment I say those words, there will be no coming back from them. My transformation will be complete, and I’ll become someone new.
A woman who loves a killer. A woman who’s willingly married to a killer.
Can I accept that I’m her?
The silence lingers. It lingers as Nero pulls out of me and carries me inside the house. It lingers as he undresses me, cleans me up, and gets in bed with me.
I tuck myself against his chest and revel in his warmth.
I’ll figure it out. I just need a bit more time.
Nero’s phone rings. Whatever name he reads on the screen makes his brow furrow. He picks up. “Hello?”
I sit up, holding the duvet against my chest. Is it Maksim? Do we need to rush back to New York?
The thought of Nero meeting the pakhan sends a chill down my spine. He’ll be walking into enemy territory. What if the pakhan does something to him the moment he gets the information he wants?
Panic claws my insides as a realization dawns on me. It’ll be Nero’s life on the line again. Did I even think about that when I encouraged him to go through with this? Or was I only thinking of myself?
Nero runs his fingers through his hair. “When?” A beat passes. “We’re two hours outside of the city.” He glances at me.“Tomorrow? Yeah, we can make it, I’m just not sure… Let me talk to her. Okay. Thanks.” He hangs up and tosses the phone onto the nightstand.
“Who was that?”
“Cleo.”
I let out a relieved breath. “I thought it was Maksim.”
He scratches his chin. “They’re hosting a thing for Sandro tomorrow.”
“A wake?”
“More like a celebration of life, I guess. They want to remember him with the guys. Cleo asked if we want to come, but I wasn’t sure you’d be—“
