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“I woke myself up like that.”

She laughs. “How can you say that?”

Her breath catches when my lips touch her skin.

I kiss her once, just beside her nipple, and wait. Her fingers tighten in the sheet, but she doesn’t pull away. She does the opposite. Her back arches by a fraction, small enough that she may think I will miss it.

I don’t miss anything about her.

“Elara,” I murmur against her breast. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

She doesn’t answer.

Instead, her hand comes up and slides into my hair.

That’s the only answer I need.

I close my mouth over her nipple again, and this time I do it properly. Slowly. Deliberately. I suck her into my mouth and feel her whole body react, the little broken sound leaving her before she can swallow it. Her head tips back against my shoulder, her hair brushing my jaw, and the sheet slips down her chest because she is no longer holding it properly.

“God,” she whispers.

I drag my tongue over her nipple and feel it tighten harder.

She lets out a breath that’s almost a laugh, except it turns into a moan when I suck her again.

My hand moves from her waist to her stomach, then lower, not rushing, because I like the way she tenses in anticipation. Last night she was wild under me, shameless by the end, taking everything I gave her and asking for more with her hands, her mouth, her hips.

I slide my hand between her thighs.

She grabs my wrist, but she doesn’t push me away. “Nikolai.”

“Yes?”

“We have to go downstairs.”

“We will eventually,” I say.

“What are we going to do about the bed?” she asks.

“I’d rather not think about that right now,” I say, licking around the valley of her tits now.

“What if Anya heard us?” she asks, and then whimpers when I stroke her between her thighs. “What if she can hear us right now? Am I not too loud?”

I smile against her breast. “Then you should be quiet.”

Her thighs part under my hand.

“And don’t worry, sound doesn’t travel in the house,” I say. “In my line of business, we have to keep things very private.” I blow softly on her nipple and her grip on my hair tightens.

“And what is it that you do?”

I go stiff for a moment before relaxing. “I’d rather not talk about that right now.”

“Rig—” The word comes off on another moan as I suck her harder.

I touch her over the sheet first, just to feel the heat of her through the fabric, and her hips shift against my palm. She tries to turn her face away, but I catch her chin gently and bring her back enough to see her expression.

“No hiding,” I say.