AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rurik nodded, but his bland expression didn’t change. Maybe he knew Lyon was dying to fuck his wife senseless, maybe not.
Lyon didn’t care.
He had the door open in less than five seconds and closed even faster. Then he was pulling Kira into the darkened suite.
He threw the keycard on the console table in the suite’s foyer and swept her into his arms. Even with the baby — their baby — growing inside her, she felt light as a feather, and still, the most treasured thing that had ever been his.
She didn’t protest, just looked into his eyes as he carried her through the darkened living room, New York City shining like a jewel beyond the park.
He set her gently on her feet next to the bed, then took the gold clutch from her hand to place it on the end table.
He looked at the dress that flowed over her swollen stomach, looking for the fastest way to remove the garment. He prided himself on acting smoothly at times like this, but he’d never seen the dress, didn’t have the patience to hunt for a way to eliminate it as a barrier between them.
He chuckled softly. “How do I get this thing off?”
“Zipper,” she said, her eyes shining as she looked up at him. “In the back. It’s the only thing that fit.”
He bent to kiss her forehead. He wasn’t the only one who had suffered during his captivity. Kira hadn’t been able to enjoy her pregnancy, hadn’t been able to shop for new clothes or finish the nursery or do any of the millions of things they would have done together if Vadim hadn’t stolen a precious month of their lives.
“Turn around, my love.” Emotion — anger — had thickened his voice.
She did, facing the bed so that her back was to him, and he felt for the zipper in the dark of the room.He pulled the metal tab slowly, revealing her smooth back an inch at a time, afraid to speak, almost afraid to breathe in case he might wake himself from a dream he never wanted to end.
She was here. Right in front of him. He hadn’t dared to believe it might actually happen. Hadn’t dared to believe it might not.
He slid the dress from her shoulders, heard it drop in a soft rush of fabric, felt it pool at their feet.
Then the heat of her body was against him, her back molded to his chest as he reached around to touch her breasts, plush and heavy. He stroked her nipples and she lay her head back against his shoulder with a sigh.
He moved his hands to her stomach, marveling at the smooth swell of it in his hands, then laughed in surprise when he felt the baby nudge softly from inside.
He felt as if someone had placed an overfilled balloon in his chest, so happy he might float away.
“You’ve never been more beautiful,” he said.
She turned in his arms. “I thought maybe you didn’t still want me.”
He flinched. “How could you…?”
She sighed. “I’m… not how I used to be. We haven’t — ”
He smoothed her hair back from her forehead and looked into her eyes in the dark. “Nothing could make you more desirable to me than the fact that our child is growing inside you. Nothing could make me want you more. The last week has been so busy. I’m sorry you felt neglected.”
He didn’t know how to tell her the truth.
I’m not how I used to be either.
He wanted to pretend the imprisonment and torture he’d endured at Vadim’s hands hadn’t affected him.
He was the Lion.
He was supposed to be immoveable.
Fearless.
Unbeatable.
But his weeks locked in the tunnels, being subject to the whims of his captors, had shaken him. It had proven he wasn’t a god. He wasn’t invincible. He hadn’t even been able to protect his wife and unborn child when Vadim’s men invaded their wedding.
