Chapter 10
Several days later, Katia sat on the cool stone patio and poked a fork at the fruit in her bowl.
He was avoiding her.
She didn’t blame him. They’d been in Grand Cayman for almost a week now and during that time, she’d gotten to know the man. Sergei was a big, gruff man who, on the surface, didn’t show emotions. He pretended not to feel anything, but after spending almost every moment of their days together, she’d learned more about him.
When he was angry, his face became very still. His shoulders tensed up ever so slightly. Most people probably wouldn’t have noticed that about him, but Katia had been paying close attention.
Yes, that fascination had grown over the past several days. It was more intense now. With every small gift she found, her…caring…for the man had increased. It wasn’t the gifts that had shifted her fascination to…caring. It was the thought behind each of the gifts. The butterfly had a place of honor on her dressing table, peering up at her as she put on her makeup or brushed her hair. But beside that sweet, sparkling item was a stuffed animal that she’d laughed at – just a silly frog that she’d spotted on the table of one of the street vendors. Also a pair of beautiful diamond earrings that she wore every day. He laughed at her when she took them out to go swimming, telling her not to worry about them. And of course, Katia ignored him, placing them carefully in a special box she’d bought to keep them safe.
The day they’d visited a perfume factory? Wow! At each section of the process, someone had explained how they made the various perfumes and offered various scents for her to choose from. At the end of the tour, she was presented with her very own scent in a lovely crystal bottle.
Other small gifts were chocolate or a small bag of locally grown nuts, a box of strawberries, which he must have had flown in from some other place, because it was definitely too hot on Grand Cayman to grow strawberries! But she’d mentioned that her favorite fruit was strawberries. The following morning, a whole bowl of them was right there on the table, looking fresh and beautiful.
And the touches! Goodness, she loved the way he touched her. Getting into or out of the car, he held her hand, touched her shoulder, her back, her arm…it was crazy to feel so much from just a simple touch, but Katia shivered every time. What was worse, he knew what he was doing. When she reacted, Katia heard that soft, masculine chuckle. Most times, he would pull her closer, intensifying her reaction.
With a sigh, she pushed the bowl of fruit away and lifted her coffee. He wanted her. Katia knew that. And she also knew that he was waiting for her to make the first move. Unfortunately, her only role model for male and female interactions was her father. And he wasn’t a very positive role model.
Rationally, she knew that Sergei would never treat her the way her father had treated her mother. She knew that, but she couldn’t stop the irrational side of her brain from picturing it.
And then there was the issue of what would happen next. If they became more intimate, what would come next? As she thought about the possibilities, she shivered. But Katia couldn’t deny the excitement that hit her at the idea of making love…no, she corrected herself, having sex…with Sergei. She imagined that he would be the most incredible lover - kind, gentle, passionate, demanding. Another shiver hit her, this time stronger. She thought about the way he touched her. It was always sweet and gentle, but she could feel the power in his hands, the intent in his touch. Yes, he would be amazingly gentle, but…oh, my, so powerful and passionate.
Katia choked on a sip of coffee as she thought about his strong hands touching her breasts, her stomach…everywhere! Yes, she wanted that. She wanted to experience more intimacy with Sergei.
What would happen when all of this was over?
They would both go their separate ways.
What she also realized was that she would be living. Katia had escaped her father’s prison, but she hadn’t been living. Not really. Hayden, Natalie, and Arianna had broken her out of her normally cautious existence, but she’d still held most of herself back.
Katia had no idea how much longer they would be here in Grand Cayman. She and Sergei discussed the daily progress with her father, but not the future. Apparently, Sosta was furious at being kicked out of his homes, but his fury had become explosive when he discovered that he had no money other than his illegal sources. And even those were drying up, the business owners pulling away now that her father didn’t have the resources to intimidate anyone with paid goons.
So now, this moment here in the sunshine…this was it, she thought. This was her opportunity to experience life and…
With a sigh, she lowered her head. “Love,” she whispered. Yes, this was her chance to experience love.
And yes, she was going to take it. She was going to take control of her life and, for once, do what she wanted to do.
At that very moment, every muscle in her body froze as she watched Sergei step out of the ocean. She vaguely remembered a James Bond movie where the guy currently playing Bond rose out of the surf, his arms, shoulders, and ab muscles glistening in the sunshine. That scene had been the main reason she’d gone to see that movie.
Sergei was better!
“Oh my,” she whispered. She couldn’t pull her eyes away. He grabbed a towel that had been dropped onto a beach chair, drying himself off and Katia realized that she was actually jealous of the towel. An insane urge to shred the towel to pieces hit her mind and she had to pull back. Just because she wanted to lick off every drop of salt water on his body was no reason for violence towards terrycloth. That was just silly.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked as he stopped right beside the stairs to the patio where an outdoor shower had been set up. With a twist of his wrist, water burst out of a shower head set down low, obviously strategically installed at that place so that guests coming in from the beach could rinse the sand off of their feet before walking across the patio.
The added benefit? She got to watch the muscles on his back ripple as he bent over. Bonus!
When his eyes lifted once again to her, she blinked. He’d asked a question. What had he said? Darn it, this was embarrassing. “Oh! Yes. Sleeping,” she mumbled, hiding her pink cheeks behind the coffee cup. “Yes. I slept very well, thank you.”
“Good,” he replied and shut off the water. “You looked pretty wiped out last night.”
That reminded her that he’d carried her up to her bed last night after falling asleep on the couch reading. Again! He’d done it that first night but last night, she’d fallen asleep reading. She hadn’t even woken up for that little episode, darn it!
“Thank you for getting me up to a bed.”
He smiled and slid his sunglasses on. “It was my pleasure. I guess yesterday, and the past few days, were pretty stressful.”
“Yes. All of the adventures over the past several days…it has been good, but a bit exhausting.”
He looked down at the food on the table. “And yet, you haven’t eaten anything this morning. Are you sure you’re okay?”
She cringed and pulled the fruit back towards her. “I’m fine,” she told him. And now that he was sitting across from her, she was famished. Not for food, but at this point, she didn’t care. She just needed something to do with her hands other than embarrass herself by reaching across the table and touching every delectable-looking muscle on his impressive body! Now that her decision had been made, she wasn’t exactly sure how to tell him or subtly indicate that she’d like to experience his touches in a different way. A more intimate way.
She stabbed a piece of pineapple and stuck it in her mouth, but at that precise moment, he reached over and lifted the pot of coffee. The pineapple turned to dust in her mouth as she watched the muscles in his arms flex. Then he leaned back against the chair, flexing all of those abdominal muscles…
Katia didn’t have good abs, wasn’t one to spend a great deal of time working out, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate excellent stomach muscles on another person. Sitting here, watching him as he sipped coffee and opened up the newspaper was a perfect example of how good she was at appreciating abs. They were mighty fine. Extremely fine!
“If you continue to look at me like that, I’m going to pull you over to my lap so you can explore more easily.”
Katia forced her eyes higher than those magnificent arm muscles and…she couldn’t see his eyes through the sunglasses, but she knew that he was laughing at her. The slight upturn of his lips and a lifted eyebrow told her everything she needed to know.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, hiding behind her steaming coffee.
“No need to apologize,” he pushed the cream closer to her.
Now how did he know that she didn’t have enough cream in her coffee? Looking over at him, it seemed as if he were daring her to ignore her need for more cream. Was he laughing at her for that as well?
Katia was getting sick of his amusement at her expense. Deciding that she was going to switch things around, become braver and step out of her comfort zone, she stood up and walked inside. Changing into another bathing suit, this one a red one, she grabbed a towel and headed out of her room. At the last moment, she slipped on sunglasses, needing that subtle protection as she stepped back out onto the stone patio.
She knew that she’d scored a point. The newspaper dropped slightly as Sergei lifted his gaze to watch her walk by. She couldn’t fully see him since his eyes were hidden by his own sunglasses, but she knew that he was watching her. His jaw slackened slightly as she walked back over to the table. It took every ounce of courage to grab her coffee cup and take a long sip.
“You’re playing with fire, Katia,” he warned softly. And she could feel his eyes moving over her body. Slowly. Heating up her skin better than the morning sunshine ever could.
Her intention was to sit down and eat breakfast, enjoy having him squirm as he watched her. But she wasn’t quite up to that level of taunting. So instead, she walked around the table and down the steps, walking steadily towards the beach and the water.
She could feel his eyes on her back, on her skin, heating her up hotter than the morning sunshine. It was only ten o’clock in the morning, but already the temperature was in the nineties. But Sergei’s eyes made her body feel like it was closer to two hundred degrees!
With a glance over her shoulder to make sure he was still watching, she stepped into the cool surf. The waves rushed over her feet, but the water temperature wasn’t cold enough to ease the heat hitting her as she locked eyes with Sergei. The newspaper was obviously forgotten as he watched her.
Deeper she went, glancing back at the patio. When the waves were crashing against her thighs, she turned around so they would be hitting her back. That’s when she saw him.
With the fluid grace of a panther, he stood up, the newspaper dropping absently to the stones of the patio. Katia went deeper still until the waves no longer crashed over her but, instead, lifted her up with the swells before crashing into the surf closer to the shoreline.
Closer, he walked into the water, oblivious to the waves. They were nothing against the power of his body as he dove into the water. And still she watched him, her heart pounding so hard against her chest that she worried it might break her ribs.
She lost track of him for a long moment when he dove down under the surf, gasping when he surfaced right next to her. Strong arms lifted her out of the water, then his hands relaxed as he lowered her body, letting it slide down his own.
“Am I correctly interpreting your invitation, Katia?” he growled as he held her so that they could see eye to eye. Her feet dangled in the surf and it didn’t feel right, so she wrapped her legs around his waist, breathless at the outrageous gesture.
“Yes. You understood perfectly,” she told him, her voice breathless since her lungs weren’t working properly.
And yet, he continued to just look at her. “Are you sure?”
Was she sure? “I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure about anything in my life,” she admitted honestly.
Still, he hesitated, staring at her. Katia could feel his arousal, knew with certainty that he wanted her. Why wasn’t he taking advantage of what she was offering?
Sergei watched Katia, wanting her so intensely that he could barely breathe. They should have left here days ago when he’d heard about Sosta’s fury. He needed to be close by, ready to counter any move that the evil man tried. Sergei should be there in person, in London or Paris, whichever made the most sense, but also be ready to shift to another city when needed in order to stop the man’s progression.
But he hadn’t left. He’d been enjoying his time with Katia too much. Way too much. He’d jeopardized the takedown of his lifelong enemy simply because he loved being here with her. After years of planning, the time had finally arrived and Sergei was missing everything because…
Because being here with her was more important.
There was no way to explain it. He didn’t understand his feelings, couldn’t rationalize them away. If this plan with Sosta failed, the man would come back more vengeful than before.
But this week, the time spent with Katia, getting to know her, laughing with her, talking with her…it had been the most innocent and the most erotic time of his entire life. She was innocently sensuous, outrageously challenging, and sweetly beautiful.
Now she was offering him everything, her whole self. Why was he hesitating?
Because he wanted her to be sure.
His hands moved lower despite his mind’s warning to keep his hands on her back. That was an impossible order to follow and his hands curved around her bottom, feeling the softness, pressing her more intimately against his erection and groaning as she shifted against him. It was just a tiny movement, but he felt it right down to his toes.
Then she did something even more amazing. She leaned in and kissed him. After spending a week with Katia, he knew with absolute certainty that she’d spent her teenage years focusing on surviving. She’d never been with a man, didn’t know the first thing about seduction. And yet, when her soft, trembling lips touched his, he felt seduced in ways he didn’t understand.
“Katia!” he groaned, and took over their kiss.
They stood like that for a long time, just kissing as the water swirled around them. The waves lifted her up, pressing her body gently against his and causing his mind to spin with that delicate friction. It was so subtle, he hadn’t even realized what was going on until she’d pulled away, her eyes glazed over with desire.
“I need you,” he growled, carrying her out of the surf. He’d planned to carry her up the beach and into the house, wanting a bed and privacy from the servants. That was his plan, but reality had other ideas because she just felt too good. They only made it to the beach chairs before he couldn’t wait any longer. Thankfully, the chairs were shaded by the canvas cabana, so they were hidden from the house and the servants.
Laying her down, he looked at her, taking in all of her lush curves and pink skin. The pink wasn’t from the sun this time. She had a soft tan after a week in the sunshine, but he’d made sure she put on heavy sunscreen every time she ventured out. Now she looked healthy and happy. And filled with almost as much lust as he was.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her. Then something hit him. “Protection!” he snapped. A moment later, he stood up, then bent down and lifted her into his arms.
“I’m sorry?” she asked, startled as he carried her into the house and up the stairs. That wasn’t a short distance and she wasn’t a twig. But when he set her down in his bedroom, he wasn’t even breathing hard.
“Protection, honey. I’m not putting you in danger by risking a pregnancy.”
Katia stared up at him for a heartbeat, then smiled brilliantly. “Thank you,” she leaned in and kissed the center of his chest. “I hadn’t even thought about that. But you did and I appreciate that.”
She heard his sharp intake of breath and smiled again. “You taste good,” she told him, then leaned over and kissed him again. This time, she let her tongue slip out slightly, amazed at how much she liked this. Letting her hands drift higher, she skimmed her fingertips along his muscles, doing what her mind had dreamed of doing so many times over the past several days. But touching him, feeling the rough hair and amazing skin under her palms was even better than she’d anticipated. It was nothing like in her dreams. It was so much better!
“Katia!” he growled, then took her hands and pulled her back. “Not right now, honey,” he told her in a gravelly voice. “Later,” he said as he pushed her backwards. She felt the side of the bed on her legs and tumbled backwards. “Much later!”
A moment later, he joined her. Katia had thought that he would immediately dispense with their bathing suits, but he didn’t. In fact, he did nothing more than kiss her and touch her with his hands. For a long time, they simply kissed on the bed - discovering, enjoying the increasing tension.
In the end, she had to take his hand and move it to her breast, irritated that he wouldn’t take the initiative and do it himself. But as soon as she did that, he laughed softly and took control once again. She realized that he’d been waiting for that kind of signal. But any other thought was gone as his fingers caressed her breast, skimming over her nipple. He even moved his mouth from her neck to the top of her breast, but the stupid bathing suit material was in the way. Impatiently, she tugged at the knot behind her neck and pulled the still-damp material out of the way. Then grabbed his head and guided him back to that place.
She thought he might have smiled, but didn’t care. Not anymore. Not when his mouth closed over her hardened nipple. The heat! The intense heat was too much and she pushed his head away. Or tried to, at least. He might have waited for her on each step of the way, but once she conceded that path, he took control. Katia screamed when he brought his teeth into the mix, nipping ever so slightly at her nipple. The sensation went right to her groin, causing her whole body to jerk in reaction. He must have anticipated that move because he barely budged, and he didn’t release her nipple, continuing with the intense torment.
“Please!” she gasped. “No more!”
With that, he moved to her other breast, but she’d only pulled the material away from one breast. When his mouth suckled the nipple through the material, she sighed in relief. But very soon, it wasn’t enough and she whipped that triangle out of the way, only to receive the same mind-blowing treatment on that throbbing peak. She felt his hand slip under her back and, a moment later, the bathing suit top was gone, tossed onto the floor somewhere. With that, she felt more free somehow and arched into his mouth, whimpering as his other hand teased her first breast, his fingers drifting over the peak lightly, then coming back to pinch ever so slightly. She loved it! His hot mouth on one breast, his fingers tormenting her other…she was in heaven.
“More!” she pleaded, her hands moving over his shoulders, his back and down his arms again, feeling all of the muscles there, moving over his skin and testing every area for sensitivity. Nothing she touched on his body seemed to have the same effect on him as his mouth on her breasts had on her. She didn’t like that, but nor could she figure out how to deal with it at this point.
“Much more,” he promised and moved lower on her body. He stood up and dispensed with his bathing suit and Katia lifted her head, wanting to see everything that was finally revealed. When he was fully naked, she held her breath, thinking he was perfectly formed. The large erection jutting out from his groin should be horrifying, but in her mind, he looked magnificent!
“Can I…?” she started to ask, but he reached over to the bedside table and pulled out a box of condoms. An unopened box of condoms. Katia had no idea why, but the fact that it wasn’t opened seemed significant somehow.
“Not now. Later, I’ll enjoy it, but right now, I need you too much,” he told her and put a hand on each of her knees. “I want to see you, Katia,” he told her, his fingers sliding up and down her legs. “Will you let me?”
Katia took a deep breath, then nodded, allowing him to press her knees wider. As soon as he did, his hands slid from her knees all the way to her hips, then back up again. Lowering his head, he pressed a kiss right to the center of her stomach. But because his broad shoulders were between her legs, she had to shift her legs wider, gasping when she felt his chest against her body in such an intimate way.
And then he moved lower, his mouth teasing, tasting, kissing his way lower. When he reached the edge of her bathing suit, his fingers tugged at the strings on the outside of her hips. “Are you ready?”
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded her head. “Please,” she whispered. For years, she’d wondered what it would be like for a man to see her like this. Bare. Exposed. She’d always assumed it would be either nothing at all, or embarrassing.
The reality – it was hot. She loved the way Sergei pulled on the bows outside of her hips, then tugged the material out of the way. His eyes never left her body as he tossed the rest of her bathing suit behind him. She could feel the liquid heat of her body as he stared, obviously transfixed. But then he reached out a fingers, sliding it down her core and she gasped. Frozen for a moment, but then shifting her hips, wanting him to do that again. “Please?” she asked, holding her breath as her eyes begged him to touch her again.
When he fulfilled her plea, she dropped her head back against the mattress, arching her back and her body into his touch. “Again,” she said, but this time, it was more of an order.
And once again, he complied. But this time, his fingers slid up and down, spreading the moisture along her pink folds. When she started to pull away, he laughed softly. “Here, this might help,” he told her and took her hand. She had to shift against the mattress slightly, but when he wrapped her fingers around his shaft, she was shocked by the feel of him. He was hard and yet, still soft. But then his fingers moved back to her, sliding one finger inside her heat and she unconsciously squeezed her fingers, causing him to hiss.
Instantly, her fingers loosened but he shook his head. “Don’t stop,” he told her. “Just react.” He took her hand and wrapped her fingers around him again. “When your fingers tighten, I know that I’m doing something right,” he explained. “You tell me what you want me to do by doing it to me, okay?”
She nodded her head, sort of understanding. But then he slid his finger against that nubbin and she gasped, her fingers tightening once again. “Sergei!” she yelled out, only to receive a soft laugh for her honesty. When he pulled away, she rubbed her thumb against the area just underneath the top of his erection. Then smiled when she heard his sharp hiss again, his eyes closing as he leaned over her. He opened them again, and now his eyes were even hotter than before. “You’re a fast learner,” he murmured with a smile, which made her heart stutter slightly.
Then he slid two fingers into her core and she gasped, trying to wiggle away. Especially when his thumb came into play, teasing that nubbin. She grasped his erection, trying to both get closer to his touch, and find a way to stop the incredible torture. But within only moments, her body had decided for her and was splintering apart, reacting to his touch in ways she’d never experienced before.
Sergei watched, using every ounce of his self-control to keep himself from spilling into her hand. She was so hot, so beautiful as she climaxed with just his fingers, he wanted to slam himself into her.
Holding back, he teased her body slowly until her shivers eased up. He knew she was finished when her hand released his erection. But he wasn’t done. Not by a long shot!
Tearing open the condom wrapper, he watched her breathing slow as he rolled the condom down his length. Giving her time, he bent over her, kissing her stomach and hips, enjoying her fingers in his hair. When her lips curled up into a satisfied grin, he knew that she was back with him. “You liked that, huh?” he asked. Sliding his fingers along her thighs.
“Yes. Thank you!” she replied, then giggled when he tickled her side.
“It’s not over,” he told her.
She sighed and lifted her legs, rubbing her inner thigh against his waist. “I know. I’m ready.”
He looked up into her eyes, sensing that something wasn’t exactly right. “Oh, you think the next part is all for me?” Her eyes widened slightly and he laughed. “What have you heard?”
She shook her head, licking her lips when his hands moved up her waist, cupping her breasts. “Oh, well, I haven’t spoken with anyone about it, but I read a lot of articles online. I know that only about fifteen percent of women can…well…” she blushed, unable to finish that statement.
Sergei understood exactly what she was not saying. “And you think that you’re in the eighty-five percent who can’t climax through intercourse?”
He moved into position between her legs, lowering his head to nibble at her neck. He loved the way she shivered when he did that, especially when his teeth gently scraped against that spot right at the base of her neck.
“Well, I just…I didn’t really think about it.”
He lifted his head and saw the truth in her eyes. “Liar,” he teased. But he moved again, poised right at the entrance to her core and smiled. “How about if we find out?”
She licked her lips and he just about groaned. “Okay,” she finally replied.
He moved slightly into her, then pulled back out, watching her eyes for any response. As he pressed deeper into her tight heat, her mouth fell open and she wiggled her hips, trying to take him deeper. But he only pulled out, savoring the moment as she arched her back. He almost laughed when her fingers moved to his hips, trying to pull him in, guiding him, but her fingers felt too good and he couldn’t hold back this time. He pressed deeper, almost all the way, but the barrier was there and he didn’t want to hurt her.
“I can’t,” he said, sweat beading his forehead. “I won’t hurt you, Katia.”
She was breathing heavily now, but she wasn’t giving in. “You’re not going to hurt me, Sergei,” she promised, and lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist. “Just…” she took another breath, her fingers pulling at his hips. “Just help me.”
He couldn’t hold back this time and pressed deeper. All the way inside of her until he was fully embedded. He felt the pop and held very still, but the smile on her beautiful features told him that she was okay. “I didn’t hurt you?” he asked.
She shook her head, her fingernails digging into his back as she urged him to move. Sergei threw back his head as he thrust into her tight, incredibly hot sheath, loving the way she felt, the way she tightened around his shaft. But he wasn’t going to let her down. No way! She’d convinced herself that she couldn’t achieve a climax in this way and he was determined to prove her wrong.
Even if it killed him.
Pulling back slightly, he pressed his thumb against that nub, watching her eyes widen as the additional friction added to his thrusting. He felt more liquid surround him and noticed her eyes widen in shock. But she didn’t pull back. In fact, he moved faster and he watched as her mouth fell open, her eyes glazed over. And in that same moment, he felt her inner muscles tighten even more. She felt so incredibly good, it took everything inside of him to hold back on his own release.
Thankfully, a split second later, she screamed his name, her fingernails digging into his skin and that sensation only added to the moment. As he watched her experience her first orgasm with a man, he couldn’t hold back any longer. His body simply let go and he pounded into her, hoping like hell that he wasn’t hurting her.
When the storm was all over, he collapsed down on top of her, then quickly rolled to his side, taking her with him, still intimately connected because he just didn’t want to pull out just yet. He knew that he’d have to, not wanting the condom to leak. But chert, she felt incredibly good!
Her fingers fluttered over his chest. “Is it always that good?” she asked, still more than a little breathless.
His arms tightened around her as he shook his head. “No. It’s never been that good,” he answered honestly.