SIXTEEN

 

 

So being housebound for her own protection was in her future. Dale couldn’t say she was looking forward to that. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever accept being told she was a prisoner until her husband said otherwise. Maybe if he offered some sort of explanation…? Samuel hadn’t.

“If you do that to me in the future, will you at least tell me why I’m not allowed out of the house?”

“Yes. I can do that for you.”

Oh. Well, that was easy. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Does your father still live in the Sharpstown area?”

Her stomach lurched. “Yes. Why? Was that information in my file?”

“Do you visit him often? Could Dawson have followed you there at any point?”

That spooked her enough to make her stop him in front of the counter she’d sat on last night while they’d eaten. “No. Aside from yesterday, I’ve only gone back once since I moved out. I thought you said I didn’t have to be concerned.”

“You don’t. Why don’t you see your father?”

She focused on an elegant wrought iron bird cage that held potted flowers rather than birds. “We don’t get along. But I would like to go over and get the things I dropped of yesterday.” Not that she needed any of it. Everything from clothes to tampons had been stocked in Lukas’s rooms for her.

“Would you like to go now?”

She looked up at him. So accommodating, her mobster. She moved a little closer. Sure, she wanted her perfume. Her underwear. Her own bras. Her photos and…stuff. But they could wait another day. “No. I think—if you’re staying home—I’d like to do other things right now.”

Like get pregnant. There was a new urgency riding her, and she was pretty sure it had something to do with needing a baby now, so she could focus on it rather than this developing fascination with its father. She had to nip this damn thing in the bud before it got away from her completely. As it was, she could barely make it out in the distance, and the more time she spent with him, the faster it moved beyond her grasp.

“I’ll accommodate that. But first, are you on any medication? I didn’t think to ask if you have any sort of condition I should know about. And why don’t you and your father get along?”

“The only thing I need meds for is this bi-I-need-to-have-sex-polar disorder I seem to have developed. Is that a known illness?” She went on her toes to nibble her way up the side of his neck, trying harder to distract him. “I’m pretty sure I caught it off this doorknob at work last night, and it’s become a damn uncomfortable affliction. Affects the brain like you wouldn’t believe.” She swirled her tongue around the shell of his ear. “Think you might be able to help me work it out of my system, Mr. Murdery?”

He got a loose grip on her nape and came close to her ear. “I’ll have you moaning in under five if you tell me about you and your father.”

She grew instantly wet between the legs. “That’ll ruin my mood. And after that freaky conversation we just had that ruined dinner, I was hoping we could go the other way and do something enjoyable.” Her ring caught the light, drawing her eye. “We have to get this insured.” She turned her hand to show him the incredible emerald cut diamond weighing her finger down. “Maybe I shouldn’t wear it until that’s taken care of.”

This ring had been his second choice. The first had been five carats, and he’d understood she didn’t want it when she’d laughed so hard she’d had to hide her flaming face in his chest. The only reason she hadn’t burst into tears was because she’d known Samuel and Farah were looking around the exclusive shop behind them, and Dale had refused to embarrass Lukas. She’d agreed with his second choice—three carats—and had been staring at the masterpiece all day.

He tugged on a strand of her hair. “Why do you bring so much into a conversation? Do you think I’m unable to wade through your stall tactics?”

She looked away, shaking her head.

“Frank sent the information to my insurance company before we even left his shop, so the ring stays on your finger. I’ll take you to your father’s tomorrow, or if you’d prefer, I can have someone else pick your things up. I’ll fuck that rather attractive sounding disease right out of you the minute you give me a little insight as to what puts that look in your eyes every time your family is mentioned. And you can forget about the conversation we had over dinner since you’ll never be affected by it because you’re also under house arrest until that asshole is in the ground. Now. About your father.”

Mmm. This man was too much. And she was so fucked up because the moment he settled those issues, a million more floated to the surface. In between thinking about babies and sex today, she’d been trying to come to terms with what she’d committed herself to. She’d given up her life—not that she’d had much of one to give up. But it had been hers. Now? She was Lukas’s.

My sweet, greedy pussy pulling at me. She likes her new owner’s touch…so fucking beautiful…and all mine.

She’d come so hard when she’d heard that. She’d like it. A lot. Even though she’d gone on about them being “partners,” she knew that wasn’t the way their relationship was going to be. Having Samuel put Farah on lockdown tonight, and having her accept it without protest, proved to Dale what she’d already known. The Zavrazin men weren’t your average brothers. They were autocratic and used to commanding and being obeyed.

Because her parents had been hands-off, Dale had been making her own decisions pretty much her whole life. What if she couldn’t conform to Lukas’s ways? Would she eventually end up resenting him? Or worse, what if, after the chase, he found she really wasn’t worth the effort?

“If I ask you something, will you answer me honestly?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. Even though you have a hard time with the concept, I won’t punish you for it by mimicking your closed mouth.”

She wanted to kiss him and slap him at the same time.

“Are you one hundred percent sure you want to do this?” The day’s growth tickled her palm when she touched his cheek. She’d been waiting for hours to feel it on her inner thigh. “Because if you change your mind before the big day, all you have to do is tell me. I can give this back, and we can go our separate ways.” She tapped her thumbnail on the diamond, and pushed through to get the rest out over the pain that flared in her chest. “Really,” she said as he stepped back to lean against the counter. “I’ll understand if you think we might be too different to make this work.” She cracked her knuckles and waited.

“Is that what you thought about whenever you disappeared into your own head today? How different we are?”

“Yes. But it’s not just that.” When she looked around the spotless room, she felt the top pop off the boiling pot of her anxiety, and everything she’d been worrying about came flowing out of her. “Every little while it hits me what I’m doing, and I’m freaking out.” She pointed in the direction they’d just come from. “I just walked away from a dirty table I won’t ever have to clear. I won’t have to do dishes or clean or paint when the walls get chipped or dirty. I like doing that stuff. It’s relaxing. But here, I’ll get in the way, or I’ll interfere with someone’s job, or I’ll just get laughed at if I want to clean the toilet. I’m no longer going to have to worry about making rent or budgeting my paychecks so I can take a few days off every couple of months just to lay around and do nothing.” She flapped her hands in front of her. “But if I lay around doing nothing here, your brother and Farah, and eventually, your dad, will think I’m a lazy mooch. What if your dad doesn’t like me? That could very well be because I can be so annoying,” she informed him. “I think stupid shit and share it before I realize just how stupid it is. Want an example? I’m beginning to feel like I better have sex with you soon, so you get your money’s worth. But you’re not paying me,” she whispered as she grabbed two handfuls of her hair and looked at him in horror. “Isn’t that fucked up? Please tell me that’s fucked up.” Before he could, she blurted, “I’m not bringing anything into this relationship but myself, Lukas, and I don’t think that’s enough.”

He took a hesitant step toward her. “Have you always suffered from anxiety?”

She dropped her arms to her sides. “No. That’s the fucked-up part. I’ve never let myself give a shit about anything before, so I never had cause to worry. Not about anything.”

He smiled and put his hand out.

She moaned. “Are you doing this on purpose?”

“What?”

She gestured to him and all this patience he had with her. “This…” She rolled her shoulders to try to get the knots out of her back. “You.”

“What. Do you want me to apologize for being irresistible? Is that what you mean?”

She tried not to smile. “No. That’s not what I mean.”

“Then I’m afraid I’m at a loss.” He flapped his fingers.

“I don’t think you know the meaning of the word,” she muttered as she put her hand in his and tried not to feel ignored when he didn’t find anything she’d said worth addressing as he continued through the house.

Instead of going to the back of the kitchen and turning right, which would have brought them to the foyer and the staircase, he went through the arched exit he’d used last night and brought her to the end of a short hallway. He opened the door and got her through it before closing it behind them.

She breathed in, and when the smell of leather and everything male filled her nose, she looked up from the tiled steps they were taking into the lower level of the house. What she saw was a man cave like no other.

The walls were made up of subtly illuminated refrigerator units, all of them encased in dark wood and reaching floor to ceiling. They were filled with bottles of wine. Each had its label facing out, row after row, all the way around the room. Except where a massive stone fireplace broke the uniformity. There were brown leather couches and a couple of chair groupings. Small tables holding what she was pretty sure were humidors were scattered around, and a couple of chandeliers that matched the few free-standing lamps were above them but muted to a light glow. Fresh flowers, chocolate brown floor tile, and a gorgeous area rug completed the masculine decor.

“Your wine cellar?” she ventured a guess as they reached the bottom step. He was showing her another piece of himself by bringing her to this room. And, as she’d already known, he was beautiful.

“My wine cellar.” He brought her around and proceeded to talk wine. Thank God she knew all the basics from the courses she and Erika had taken when they’d been hired at Scorch last year. She asked about his vineyards after he told her most of his stock came from the two he owned, and soon found herself relaxing in the cozy room that suddenly didn’t seem as big as it really was.

They eventually ended up in front of one of the large sofas. He took her shoulders and turned her to face him before he sat with his arm thrown over the back of the sofa, and his ankle hooked on his knee. He was wearing black slacks and a midnight blue shirt. No tie.

“This room is mine. No one has permission to come down here other than Oksana. And that’s only at my request when I feel it’s in need of dusting. As of today, this room also belongs to you. When you feel the need to clean…” He waved his hand around. “You may polish and scrub to your heart’s content. I promise to bring snacks down and to leave dirty glasses, and even the odd ashtray when I enjoy a cigar, so that you know there are dishes that need to be done and you can get to them at your leisure. Also, I have a feeling we’re going to make something of a mess of our bedroom. Cleaning it will fall to you because I’m much to set in my ways to bother. But,” he put up a long finger, “once you’re pregnant, you can fight with me every day if you feel you must, but you will not scrub a toilet or push a vacuum cleaner around. If I learn you have, you’ll be sorry.”

She was in love.

Well, not in love in love, she distractedly corrected, but in such a powerful lust it was crazy.

She moved forward and came down on her knees at her accommodating mobster’s feet.

“The money you’ll get used to,” he continued. “And if you have free time to laze by the pool while I’m working, take it, because once the children come, you’re going to wish for those empty days. Or so I’ve heard.” He twirled a piece of her hair around his finger. “My father is going to love you, and I can jerk off just as well as the next guy if you’d like to wait to have sex. Now, that’s not to say I’ll enjoy the wait, but, until you realize fucking me isn’t some sort of payment option, I don’t want your pussy. Because, yes, that’s very fucked up.”

As his deep voice feathered into her ears to soothe her worries, she held his lazy stare and trailed her hands up and down his hard thighs. “Know what, Mr. Murdery?” she whispered as she leaned in to press her aching breasts into his lap. She placed a kiss on his chest where his shirt was open. Her first. She slipped her tongue out for a brief second to taste him and shivered when he stroked his hand over her hair.

“What.”

“When our children come to me with a problem, I’m going to take them by the hand and lead them straight to their father.” He inhaled sharply, but she wasn’t sure if it was because of what she’d said or because she’d gotten her hands between them and was fingering the buckle of his belt. She slid the leather through and undid the clasp. “Because you’re going to be amazing with them, and that’s incredibly sexy.” She undid the fastener on his pants and inched the zipper down. She kissed his chest again. “I’d like to see you.”

“I’d like to see you.”

“Me first.”

He nodded at her body. “Get rid of the dress. That’s it. Just the dress.”

She scraped her fingernail across the length of his erection, her mouth watering to taste. To tease. To satisfy. Her stomach dropped and rolled with nerves at the thought.

She got up and pulled the stretchy material of her dress down one arm.

“Slowly, Dale. Let me savor this.”

She glanced up from his chest to see him rubbing the tips of his fingers across his lips. His arm was still over the back of the sofa, but his legs were splayed to the sides now.

A king.

She was going to procreate with a king.

Inching the sleeve the rest of the way off, she talked because she felt self-conscious. “A year after Oma died, I asked my mom about getting a headstone for her grave. She told me if I wanted one so bad I could always ‘start dancing because those girls make enough money to buy any stupid shit they want.’” She pushed the dress down to her hips as Lukas’s darkening eyes met hers. “I’m sorry I can’t do this any sexier. Had I taken my mom’s advice, I’d have been one broke peeler.”

“Stop putting yourself down,” he ordered in a voice so rough it was like sandpaper over her tingling skin.

Hooking her thumbs into the material, she wriggled her hips to draw his attention then slid the dress down and off. She shook it out and laid it over the table behind her, making sure to take her time bending over so he’d get a good view of her backside. Doing yoga every day did more for her than keep her sane.

She heard the creak of leather and then felt warm hands stroke down her back, over her ass, and down her legs to her ankles. His mouth landed on her right cheek, and as his hands roamed up her front, skimming over her thighs and midriff to come up and cup her breasts, he bit her just hard enough to make her gasp. Her eyes slid closed as he laved the spot with his tongue.

Wanting to do the same to a particular part of his body, she turned in his arms. He pressed his face to her flat navel.

“Tell me you know this is real.”

Ignoring him, she pushed at his shoulders and came down. “I want you in my mouth. But I’ve never done this before, so you have to help me.” Her hands were grabbed before she could pull his pants open.

“Excuse me?”

She kept her eyes on the glimpse of skin she could see where the edge of his shirt had pulled free from his pants. “I want you in my mouth,” she repeated, not brave enough to say it any other way.

“You’ve never sucked a co—performed a blowjob?” he corrected at the last second.

Her face blew hot. “No. I…haven’t dated much, and casual sex didn’t have a point, so…”

He groaned and dropped his head back. “Magdalena. If you honestly think you’re not bringing anything into this relationship, you couldn’t be more wrong. And I’m not talking blowjobs.”

She smiled at the reassurance, and, surprisingly, didn’t need details. Didn’t really want them because she would just find a way to disregard them.

“That dimple of yours is turning me into a weak man.”

She looked up from the bulge hidden from her view to see him glowering at her. She smiled wider and pulled his pants apart while putting a hand inside to scoop out his hard length.

The softness in the air bled out as a sharp-edged desire took her over at the sight of one magnificent cock. Long, thick, and topped with a perfectly shaped head. She wrapped both hands around him and stroked only once before opening her fingers and kissing up the front.

“Tell me what to do,” she whispered between her lingering pecks.

His hand fisted on his thigh as he wrapped the other in her hair. “When you see it…smell it…feel it…and you know it’s my cock…what do you want to do with it, yagodka?”

Instead of answering him, she parted her lips and pulled the bulbous head into her mouth. His moan came from low in his belly, growing harsher and lasting forever when she began sucking gently and steadily. When a warm saltiness presented on her tongue, she made a noise that sounded awfully proud, but she didn’t care.

“That’s it,” he murmured as he reached down and stacked her hands instead of leaving them overlapping. “Fuuuck. Just keep doing what you’re doing, but move your hands up and down while you work.”

She did, slowly and rhythmically, and because she’d seen as much porn as any other girl her age, she continued to mimic what the actors had done by licking Lukas like a lollipop, kissing the weeping slit, and going deeper each time she took him into her mouth. His dark curses and encouraging moans were reassuring.

When she came to the top at one point, he tightened his hold on her hair, preventing her from going down again. “I won’t come in your mouth. Not yet.”

“It’s okay. I want it,” she admitted baldly, uncaring what it sounded like. Nothing mattered right then but the pleasure she was giving him. She wanted to make him feel the way he’d made her feel this morning. Mindless. Needy. Desperate for more. It was all back, creating an aching throb in her pussy she could barely stand. “I want you to finish.”

“Because you feel you owe me?”

Her face screwed up. “No. Because I want to make you feel the way you made me feel this morning. It was incredible, and I want to give that to you.”

“You sure?”

She nodded enthusiastically, and before she knew what was happening, he was lifting her and dropping her into his lap.

“Then I’m finishing in your pussy.” He had a hold of her hips, and he ground his erection up. His hands moved over her heated skin, his touch almost rough.

He thrust up and caught her clit with his shaft. She cried out, and couldn’t stop her hips from rolling, dragging her silky underwear up and down his cock. Needing his taste, she captured his mouth and kissed him with all the desire she was feeling. When his hand got between them and delved into her panties to rub her soaked pussy, she nearly combusted.

“I’m ready.” She pulled his hand away as she panted against his lips, her fingers undoing the buttons of his shirt. She was shaking from the need to touch him. To feel the warmth of his skin against hers. “Please let me stay on top.”

He ripped his shirt off, then got her out of her bra and bent to suck one of her nipples into his hot mouth as she forced her hips forward. He was holding her tightly, but she made it just far enough to catch the tip of his cock with her opening. When she began moving back, he sunk in little by little.

“Oh my God, Lukas,” she breathed, savoring the feeling of taking him for the first time as she stared at the Russian text and images inked all over his upper body. His abs were rolling hills, his pecs two sexy pillows, his nipples small and brown. “Yes, yes, yes…”

He gripped her hips and lifted her off his lap, then, letting go of her nipple, he held her eyes as he lowered her, impaling her body with his—

“Wait!”

He froze.

“A condom. I…I don’t take birth control.” Her nails sunk into his shoulders when she realized too late that she didn’t need it. “I never have,” she panted, feeling reckless and afraid at the same time. “I used condoms the few times I had sex.”

He groaned and tightened his grip on her, making the muscles in his arms and shoulders bulge. “If you’re trying to make me come, you picked the right thing to say,” he growled. “Now close that beautiful mouth and watch the fucking joy on my face as I get my bare cock into you. A first for both of us, because I’ve never fucked without a condom either.”

He all but dropped her down so that his wide girth stretched her entrance to the limit.

The one-two combination of his words and the sensation of taking him into her body sent Dale to a place not of this world. She was lost. And, at the same time, she was found.

 

***

 

I don’t take birth control.

Lukas was shocked his balls hadn’t given up the fight right then. The minute those words had left Dale’s mouth, his lower back had tightened, and he’d felt the need to piston into her like a machine until he came. Inside her. Deep inside where his release would be most effective.

Now? Feeling the tight sheath sucking and grabbing at him. He was glad this was going to last. Their first time. Experienced in a place he was most comfortable. He didn’t feel bad that they weren’t in a bed. Hell, she was lucky he hadn’t taken her on the goddamn stairs.

“I need to fuck you, yagodka,” he growled. “I hope you’re ready.” He twirled his thumb around her clit and nearly passed the fuck out when she undulated her entire body in a gorgeous wave that began with him deep inside her and ended with only his tip immersed in her heat. She did it again, her toned stomach rippling as she worked his length, driving him to the edge in a matter of seconds.

“God, you’re beautiful.” She panted the compliment as if plucking it from his mind as her hands roamed over his chest, her long nails scraping his nipples then his clenching abs. “I’m so ready for you.”

Good girl. He gripped her hips and lifted her so he could pound up. She cried out, her breasts bouncing, her hair shimmering all around her shoulders and flirting with her ribs. Her eyes glazed with a bone-rattling desire as he worked her body.

“I’m going to…Lukaaaas!”

She climaxed. Her head fell forward as her body shook, her knees trapping him. Her nails dug into his forearms where she’d latched on, and he fucked her through the orgasm, trying to take in everything at once. Her expression, her pleasure, her tight little nipples, her fragile shoulders and the indent of her waist, her flared hips and the black thong he’d shoved to the side, her long legs bent, her shoes still on.

“Tell me you know this is real,” he demanded as he slowed his pace. “And tell me loudly. We’re soundproofed down here.”

She denied him and took the pace back up, draping herself over him as she moved. Her mouth meshed with his, and she kissed the sense right out of his fucking head. Christ. She fucked him so good, knowing just when to go slow, when to speed up, when to stop completely until the urge to come had passed. He could smell their sex, hear it. She was drenched, and he was in fucking heaven.

“I want you under me.”

She nodded—so compliant—and all but fell to the side. He followed her down and settled his weight on her. She mewled like a kitten and wrapped her long legs around him to press her heels into his ass.

“Mmm. Even in my dreams you didn’t feel this good.” Back to his mouth she went as her hips thrust up.

He pulled his head back, denying her the kiss because he was too busy watching her. His hungry little berry was totally owning the moment. Her comfort level was off the charts, and it was the sexiest fucking thing he’d even witnessed.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Magdalena?”

She got her hands between them and greedily stroked his length as he pulled out. She tightened her slippery fingers and he watched her eyes roll when he pushed back in. “Looove. You don’t know how much.” She bared her teeth in a gorgeous hiss when he jerked his hips and lunged hard, trapping her hands. “Oh my God…you’re so…hard…so hot. Love this. Love it so much.”

“Because what’s between us is real.”

“Yes. Yes, it is.” She got her arms above her head in a feline-like stretch, displaying her firm breasts in such an inviting way that he gave each of them one long, slow lick across her nipples. “Fuck me,” she begged in a hoarse whisper. “Make me come again. That’s only ever happened when I’ve been alone in bed, and I need more. It’s different with you inside me. Stronger. Better.”

That’s because they were made for each other. Their bodies created to mesh perfectly right down to basic chemistry.

“Come on, Mr. Murdery,” she encouraged with a sultry little wink that he felt right at the base of his cock. “I can take it.” Her smile was a mixture of sweet and naughty. When he saw the dimple, he slipped a hand beneath her lush ass and delivered a hard and steady thrust that had her sinking into the leather at her back.

It didn’t take long for her inner muscles to clamp down, and he wasn’t sure if it was the way her voice broke when she screamed, or the steady suction on his length, or it could have been the power of her climax that showed in the way the tendons in her neck strained, but Lukas was sent into the abyss with her.

He’d never been more conscious of his body whacking out, and when he felt his release flow from his body into hers, emotion actually caused a burn beneath his lids. Condoms had always been a necessity for him. That had to be why this was so fucking spectacular. Why he just couldn’t take the pleasure for any length of time. Skin on skin. So hot. Wet. No protection against the incredible feeling of her body kneading his, gently coaxing from him what was necessary to create their first child.

He buried his face in his woman’s neck and shoved hard once more, as deep as he could go. His climax stretched on for-fucking-ever.