Page 18 of Protective Phlox

As tired as I was, sleep wouldn’t come. Cutter was beside me, curled up and sound asleep, his breathing easy after the insane forty-eight hours. I, on the other hand, hadn’t been able to sleep a single second. Maybe it was because of the events that led us here, the size of the room and bed, which was larger than most studio apartments, or the man somewhere in this house. Heck, it could even be the fear that Mr. Mikhailov would storm in here with guards to try and have me killed. I’m sure Nathan would find that convenient.

Sighing, I slipped out of bed and went hunting for a snack. Normally, when I couldn’t sleep, I’d work, but given my current predicament, I didn’t have any, so this was the next best thing. Wrapped in the robe from the closet, I walked out into the dimly lit hallway and headed to the stairs. The cool marble was refreshing on my bare feet. I was never one to wear socks. I hated the constricting feel of them.

This place felt like a museum. Elegant portraits hung on the walls while the combination of marble and rich wood floors were lined with expensive rugs. Massive statues loomed around every turn, but it also had modern crown molding and leather couches. It was a unique blend of historical and ultra-modern, as if the designer couldn’t make up their mind, but it still somehow worked.

I noticed a few guards, but other than a glance or nod, they didn’t say anything and didn’t move from their posts. Were they meant to make people feel safe or to keep me a prisoner? The Mikhailovs needed maps hanging all over the place to get around because this was insane.

It felt like it took twenty minutes for me to find the kitchen. I could’ve asked one of the slinking shadows in the hallway, but I preferred to do things on my own, and it kept my mind busy.

I stopped in the middle of the kitchen and noticed the five refrigerators, each the size of two. How many people lived here that they needed this much food? Starting with the one closest to me, I pulled open the door and stared in awe at all the drink choices. Every kind of juice, milk, soda, and water. It was endless inside. I grabbed the carton of orange juice and walked over to the cupboards to search for glasses. Once I found them, I wandered over to the large window, over a pair of sinks, to stare out at the moon steaming down as I poured my drink. I took a sip, then moaned and licked my lips. That was top-shelf OJ.

“Not thinking of running away, are you?” I jumped at the sound of Nathan’s voice, and the glass slipped from my hand and crashed in the sink, but not before I made a grab for it and sliced open my finger on a sharp shard.

“Dammit,” I swore and glared at Nathan as he appeared by my side, grabbing my hand to look at it.

“Let me see,” he said.

“I’m fine.” I tried to tug away, but he held firm.

“Stop fighting, Savannah,” Nathan ordered, and giving in, I let him look at my bleeding finger. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said and turned on the water, placing my finger under the spray.

“It’s fine,” I said cooly, and I could feel his eyes on my face.

I never backed down from anyone or anything, but Nathan had me trapped in so many ways that even if I managed to free myself from one cage, I would walk right into another.

“Don’t do that,” he said, his eyes turned molten as he took my finger and sucked it into his mouth. I gasped before I could stop myself. I could feel the touch of his tongue and the tug of his pull right down between my legs.

“I’m sorry about your glass,” I said, trying to remove my finger from his mouth. My mind was already drifting to other things he could do with that mouth.

“I don’t give a fuck about the glass.” He gave me back my finger only to push open the silky robe and grab my hips. “Only you.”

He easily unarmed me with the slightest of touches, and I felt myself falling under whatever spell he cast over me. I tried to step back, but Nathan picked me up and sat me on the counter so quickly that I let out a squeal as my butt hit the hard surface.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” He stepped between my legs and held my chin between his thumb and finger. The rapid beating of my heart was getting louder in my ears. “Nothing has changed.”

“Everything has changed,” I corrected and then sucked in a ragged breath as he attacked the spot on my neck where he’d already left a bruise back on the plane.

“Not my reaction to you,” he countered and gripped my ass, pulling me to the edge of the counter. His cock nudged at the little shorts I was wearing. From the first touch of his hand, I was wet, but feeling how much he wanted me made me want to rub my legs together. It was nice to know that the same need coursed through him.

“I’m pretty sure that’s how we got into this mess,” I said, placing my hand on his bare chest, but I couldn’t push him away.

“I’m pretty sure it was you begging me for my cock that first night, Savannah,” he growled, and I shivered as his tongue swirled circles on my sensitive skin.

“We shouldn’t do this, not until we talk,” I weakly argued.

Nathan pulled back until he was looking me in the eyes. “I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to argue, negotiate, or plead our cases. My emotions are frayed, my brain is too tired, and when I’m tired, I say things I regret.” He nipped at my bottom lip before running his mouth to my ear. “I don’t beg, Savannah. But I will for you, right now, just to let us have this moment with no anger or hurt between us. I want to fuck my wife,” he said, his voice deep and thick with lust. I’d been ready to say yes before he opened his mouth, but now…very little would’ve stopped me from giving in.

I nodded and cupped his face, kissing him the way I’d dreamed of doing for so many nights that I’d lost count. The mind was a powerful thing, and so many times, I’d wake up after a vivid dream and think that he was there in the room with me.

He groaned, pulling my body flush against his. The intoxicating essence that was Nathan Mikhailov had completely corrupted me. As he picked me up, I wrapped my legs around his waist and moaned. He pushed me up against something hard, making me gasp as the cold touched my back.

“Fuck,” he groaned as he broke the kiss. “Not in here.”

I didn’t care where and bit at the side of his neck, loving how he trembled under my fingers. There was something so invigorating about making him lose control. I could feel the power in him and how he was, piece by piece, losing his composure as I wiggled, whimpered, and begged him to take me. I’d regret him fucking me on the counter tomorrow, but right now, I needed him as much as he wanted me.

Wrapping his arms around me, he began to walk. I had no idea where he was going and didn’t care or give a shit about the guards that we passed. I could feel their eyes on us, and I wanted them to know what he planned to do to me.

A door banged closed, and I was laid down on something soft and cool. I looked around the dim space but couldn’t decipher what type of room we were in. “Where are we?”