Chapter 71
1441words
Settling on top of him, my thighs on either side of his hips, I tease his shaft behind my back. I'm fascinated by his face. His expression is one of wanton joy. I can feel his hands tighten their grip against mine, as if he's on the verge of fighting me for control.
Suddenly, I feel nervous. I'm too aware of my belly and how it's starting to protrude. The bump is subtle, but at this angle, I can see it clearly. The pregnancy is starting to change me, and although I have never been a shallow person, I'm feeling very much not in my own skin.
What is he thinking? He said I was beautiful, but ...
Asher speaks, interrupting my thoughts. 'Stop it."
I startle. 'What?"
'Stop doubting yourself," he replies. 'I can see it in your eyes. You're thinking about how you look. Stop it."
Blushing, I do the opposite and think more. I release his hands and circle my arms around to block his view of my naked body.
Asher snarls, gripping my wrists to force my hands away.
'Asher—"
'Never hide yourself from me." His eyes flash with a demanding presence that sets my blood pumping. I'm almost excited by how angry he sounds. 'Understand? You're my wife, now and always. No matter how much you change, I will always find you beautiful. Irresistible. Because you're you. And that's what I'm attracted to."
I feel tiny buzzes of excitement shivering through my body like champagne bubbles. It's the same feeling I felt the night at the ballet, when he knelt between my knees and pleasured me in that empty theater meant only for us. Each swish of his tongue and each kiss he left against my thighs was a promise. The promise of pleasure. The promise of forever. The promise that he is a man who leaves no doubts on the table.
Lowering myself, I push my tender breasts into his hard chest and let my hair fall around us in a curtain to hide us from the world. I kiss him again and again until my lips go numb. His hands free now, he traces the familiar lines of my spine until they rest on my lower back. Holding me steady, he enters me with his massive girth.
I gasp and moan at the familiar sensation of him. I really did miss this. The moment he stretches my walls, I feel a new sensation filling my body. Not just pleasure. Not just desire.
But the feeling of being home.
It's a feeling I thought I'd never experience again. But in a single swift motion, Asher has reminded me that I will always have a place by his side.
He rocks inside of me at a slow pace—a demonstration of his iron discipline. As much as we lust for each other, neither of us wants this to end.
For the first time in what feels like forever, I'm not thinking about my troubles. Danger and death are banished from my mind. Here and now is all that matters. Asher's firm arms … his gentle caresses, the way he finds the dimples on my hips and explores them as he slowly fucks me and draws out ripples of pleasure coursing through my core …
This is my world.
This is where I belong.
He moans my name. And I moan his in response. Our voices entwine together like two strands of the same melody—simultaneously a promise and a wish for this to be all we ever want to think about again. The ability to form coherent thoughts flitters away from my mind with each second he buries himself inside me, and I don't care. Our movements are perfectly timed—he rolls his hips and I sit back onto his length. He pulls back, and I rise to tease him at my entrance.
It's as if the two of us can read each other's mind.
In that moment, you'd never dare to imagine that there could be secrets between us.
That there are secrets between us.
A bolt of pleasure—slowly rising since the moment he walked into my room—finally tears through my body. It starts in my core and radiates out, leaving delicious heat in its wake as it works its way over my skin. It blooms into being with each bead of sweat rolling down my face, my breasts, my legs, and my belly.
It leaves me breathless and gasping. My back arches instinctively. My toes curl as if they have a will of their own. I squeeze my eyes shut as stars explode across the darkness behind my eyelids. A deep, guttural cry punches from the depths of my throat. I couldn't hold it back even if I wanted to.
And I don't want to.
The wake of my orgasm leaves me trembling, and I collapse onto Asher. But he's not done yet.
'I love you," I whisper, panting, into his ear.
He clutches me tighter, his speed increasing. 'I love you too, ptichka." His teeth grit together. His strong arms grip, moving me along with him. His pace begins to quicken until it's a blur. I know he's not holding back now. My release has broken his control, and his facade is slipping with every thrust.
His brow furrows like he's exerting himself. It's the only warning I get before he holds me close and roars as he floods my insides. Reflexively, our bodies keep moving as if they are mindless automatons, sending shock waves of pleasure rippling long after we're both finished.
Eventually, my muscles begin to cramp. I wince, reaching for my calves. Asher slides me off him and reaches down to massage my legs. The sensation of his powerful fingers kneading away the knots in my calves feels almost as good as sex. Slowly, he works up to my knees, then over my hamstrings until I'm positive my muscles have been churned to butter.
His eyes meet mine, reading my mood as he copies my smile.
'That was amazing," I say.
'You're amazing," he agrees. Kissing my forehead, he braces himself against me on the bed. We're both slumped in relaxation. My eyes flutter shut—I sway in and out of awareness. His presence is so comforting that I start to fade into sleep.
And when I wake, it's dark out. I don't know how much time has passed, and I don't care. The only thing that matters is that he's still here when I'm awake.
He's playing with the tips of my hair, letting them wind through his fingers, then drift away to land on my collarbone.
'There's something I need from you."
My smile is full of lazy contentment. 'Anything."
He lets the rest of my hair fall. 'I have to speak with Jonah Sanders."
And just like that, he sends us plunging back to icy reality. Cold dread snakes through my body, chasing away the comfort he brought me earlier.
'Oh."
'It's important," he explains, watching me with expectation.
'I suppose it is."
'So." His eyes never leave me. 'You'll do it?"
I shift on the bed to stare at the ceiling. 'Why can't you ask him directly?"
'Because this is a meeting that has to remain secret. Because Jonah can't trust the people around him."
That's probably true, I think. How else could Yannick have found me and my mom so quickly when we were supposed to be in witness protection?
'But what if he doesn't want to meet with me?" I ask.
'That's why you're not going to ask him." Asher's voice takes on an amused edge. 'He won't dare keep his wife from seeing a friend that she thinks is dead."
I can't help the smile rising to my lips. One way or another, Asher always finds a way. Even if it's something as unpalatable for him as working with Jonah. The thought of Adriana also sends a twinge of guilt through me. She must be panicking after everything that's happened. She hasn't heard from me since the last time she saw me at the safe house. And if what Asher said is true, then the next time she went, she would've found the scene of a slaughter.
If nothing else, I owe it to her to let her know that I'm okay.
That I'm alive.
'Okay." I nod. 'I'll do it."
'Thank you." He curls me against his naked chest. But the feeling that I'm home is gone. Where this same exact spot once promised warmth and security and never-ending happiness, now all I feel is something else.
Something dark. Something cold. Something that frightens me.
