<b>Chapter </b><b>169 </b>
<b>“</b><b>We </b><b>should </b><b>stop</b><b>,</b><b>” </b><b>she </b><b>said</b>, <b>but </b><b>her </b>tone was convincing.
<b>“</b><b>Please </b><b>don’t</b><b>,</b><b>” </b>Alexei murmured against her lips, his hand cupping the back of her neck as he pulled back slightly. “I <b>don’t </b>want <b>to </b>stop.
“Alexei<b>,</b><b>” </b>she breathed.
She didn’t pull away again. She didn’t ask if this was a good idea or a mistake. He kissed her and she didn’t hesitate in kissing him <b>back</b><b>. </b>Instead something inside her melted, like it finally clicked in ce.
She groaned when he was the one to break their kiss.
Alexei lifted his hand, tracing the line of her jaw, the pads of his fingers along her jawline his touch warm against her skin. Keira met his gaze.
He was a man of contradictions, one who provoked and frustrated her, but also one who had stood between her and danger. If <b>they </b>ever <b>got </b>out of here, did she dare tell him he had stolen a piece of her heart? Was she ready for that? For him? This is all they might have.
Alexei’s thumb traced her bottom lip with tenderness. “I need you to be sure about this, Keira. Because once we cross this line…
“I know.” Her voice caught. “But I do… I want you. I need you.” She hadn’t meant for it toe out so needy
The admission hung between them, it hadn’t just been needy but raw and honest.
She could see his eyes darken, pupils dting in the dim light filtering from the bathroom. She watched him struggle with restraint, his jaw clenched tight.
“Maybe here isn’t the right choice,” he said finally. “Not in this ce.”
“Where else is there?” She shifted closer, her body pressing against his on the narrow cot. “This might be all we have.” Keira was surprised that she was the one pushing for sex.
For them both tomorrow was uncertain. Rescue was a hope, not a guarantee. They could die at any time. This moment, this feeling between them, might be their only chance.
She watched him fight with himself, but finally Alexei’s resolve cracked. His mouth crashed against hers, desperate and hungry. She responded immediately, her hands fisting in his shirt as she pulled him closer. The kiss was nothing like the tentative exploration from moments before. This was need, greedy and consuming.
His hands roamed her back, fingers finding the zipper of her dress just above her bottom. The sound of it sliding down seemed very loud in the silence. Cool air hit her bare skin, making her shiver.
“You’re so fucking hot,” he whispered against her throat, pressing open–mouthed kisses along the column of her neck.
Keira cried out and arched beneath him, her hands working at the buttons of his shirt. Each one that came undone revealed more of the chest she’d glimpsed earlier, muscles defined from years of training. He was no soft royal. Her palms ttened against his skin, feeling <b>the </b>rapid beat of his heart.
“Your head, should we be doing this,” she asked worried about him hurting himself more.
“Is fine, my head isn’t as bad now,” he assured her, as he shifted above her. “Now I have you where I want you<b>, </b>I’m not going to <b>stop</b><b>.</b><b>” </b>
He used both hands to pull her dress down over her shoulders, teaving her bare from the waist up. Alexei’s eyes wandered across her naked skin with an adoration that stole the air from her lungs. No man had ever looked at her like that, like she was something <b>precious </b><b>and </b><b>perfect</b>. <b>Not </b>like she had slept with heaps of men… Just two, but they had found her too hard to handle. So the rtionships had fizzled <b>out </b><b>quickly</b>.
His <b>mouth </b><b>followed </b><b>the </b><b>path </b><b>his </b><b>eyes </b>had taken, pressing kisses <b>to </b>her corbone, the swell of her breasts. <b>When </b>his <b>lips </b>cloud drowne <b>nipple</b><b>, </b><b>she </b><b>gasped</b><b>, </b>her <b>back </b>arching off the thin mattress. His hot mouth sucking her like that was so…<b>unbelievably </b>excitin
<b>“</b><b>Alexel</b><b>,</b><b>” </b>she breathed, her fingers tangling in his dark hair.
He gave attention to first one breast, then the other, his tongue creating sensations that shot straight to her core. She’d never been particrly sensitive there, but under his skill, every touch felt electric. She felt her core fill with heat and flood in <b>readiness</b>.
Her hands explored the broad expanse of his shoulders, memorizing the feel of warm skin over hard muscle. When her fingers found the waistband of his pants, he caught her wrists gently.
“Let me,” he murmured, his voice rough with want. “Let me take care of you first.”
Before she could protest, he was sliding down her body, pressing kisses to her ribs, her stomach. His hands worked the dress down her <b>hips</b><b>, </b>taking it with him as he moved lower. Soon she was naked beneath him, vulnerable and exposed in a way that should have terrified her.
She didn’t, she felt powerful. The way he looked at her, touched her, worshipped her with his mouth and hands, made her feel like <b>a </b>goddess.
When his lips pressed against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, she trembled. He was taking his time, building anticipation with soft kisses and gentle touches that had her writhing beneath him. He woulde so close to her core before moving away. He was being a tease.
“Please,” she whispered, not caring how desperate she sounded.
He looked up at her, eyes dark with desire. “Tell
me
What.
<b>you </b>want.”
Heat flooded her cheeks, but she forced herself to meet his gaze. “You. I want you.”
His smile was pure sin. “Where?”
The question sent fire racing through her veins. She’d never been good at talking during sex, had always been too self–conscious. But something about Alexei, about this moment, stripped away her inhibitions. She felt like she could do anything without shame or embarrassment.
“Everywhere,” she admitted. “Touch me everywhere. I don’t care just get to it.”
He rewarded her honesty by pressing his mouth to her center, his tongue finding her most sensitive spot with frightening uracy. The sensation was so intense she cried out, her hips bucking against his mouth. She was already so wet and having him there made her core clench even without him inside.
He held <i>her </i>steady with strong hands not letting her move, his tongue working some pretty awesome magic that had her gasping and moaning. She’d never felt anything like this, had never been touched with such skill or maybe the chemistry just hadn’t been there. But then again her other lovers had been around her age. Younger men seemed to not have the slow pace of love making that Alexei did. They had been focused on their own pleasure. Alexei seemed determined to drive her insane with want. She put a hand over her mouth to stop crying. out. Remembering almost toote where they were.
When he slipped one finger inside her<b>, </b>she nearly came apart. Thebination of his mouth and his hand had her teetering on the edge of something overwhelming and faster than she would have guessed was possible.
“Let go,” he murmured against her skin. “I’ve got <i>you</i>.”
The gentlemand was her undoing. The orgasm crashed over her like a wave, stealing her breath and making her vision blur. She cried out his name, grateful her hand was over her mouth, her body convulsing with pleasure inside and out as he worked her through <b>it </b><b>with </b>gentle strokes of his tongue.
When the tremors finally subsided, shey boneless beneath him, chest heaving. He pressed soft <b>kisses </b><b>to </b>her thighs, her stomach<b>, </b><b>working </b>his way back up her body until he was lying beside her again.
Chapter <b>169 </b>
**<b>That </b><b>was</b>…” she <b>started</b><b>, </b><b>then </b><b>trailed </b>off<b>, </b>unable to find words,
<b>Just </b><b>the </b><b>beginning</b><b>,</b><b>” </b><b>he </b>promised, his hand stroking her hair.