Daphne opened her eyes and blinked into the pre-dawn gloom. Strange ceiling, strange walls, a strange weight around her waist and hard warmth pressed against her back. Her breath caught and panic rose as her mind took a moment to recall what had happened, where she was.

A motel room, with Nik Volkov.

Oh, God. In bed, with Nik.

Pulse racing and skin tingling with awareness she slowly looked over her shoulder to see him snoozing behind her, his face buried in her hair and his expression oddly sweet and more relaxed than she’d ever seen it before. He looked younger this way, less angry and burdened, softer and more approachable. More touchable, if she were honest.

Carefully, so as not to wake him, she rolled over onto her back and studied him more closely. Perhaps, if she hadn’t still been a bit groggy herself, she would’ve been alarmed to find the man who’d all but kidnapped her and kept her prisoner now sleeping by her side. But strangely enough, she found it comforting. And yes, she would’ve preferred to be back in her old apartment with her old friends and old life, but logically, she understood his position.

It was his friend who had died that night. He needed her to testify for the prosecution and she wanted to do it. She abhorred violence and wanted justice for that poor victim as much as he did. The fact the man currently holding her in his arms was also a violent criminal himself wasn’t lost on her, but somehow in this hazy twilight, Nik didn’t look violent or dangerous or scary. He looked… Well, he looked adorable and kind and infinitely touchable.

Unable to resist any longer, Daphne reached over to brush a lock of hair from his forehead. He stirred, murmuring in his sleep then pulling her tighter against him. Feeling bolder, she traced the pattern of his tattoo over his shoulder, tingles of attraction zinging up her arm from the point of contact. His skin was so smooth and soft, the muscle beneath rigid in contrast. Her touch moved down his arm to the elbow and he shivered.

“Are you done groping me yet?” he muttered, his voice half-smothered by his pillow as his hold on her loosened.

Daphne froze, her eyes widening. “I, uh, I was seeing if you were awake.”

One green eye squinted open to stare at her. “Why are you awake?”

“Not sure.” She took a deep breath and forced her rioting pulse to calm. “I think being locked in that safe house without windows has screwed with my internal clock.”

“Hmm.” He yawned then shifted slightly to glance at the clock on the nightstand before turning back to her. His arm around her waist remained in place as he flopped back onto his pillow again. “We’ve got several hours before we need to leave. Get some more sleep.”

Too bad she felt totally alert now. She laid there, staring up at the shadows drifting across the white ceiling from the passing headlights outside as she tapped her fingers against the comforter.

“What’s wrong?” Nik finally asked after a minute or two passed. He propped himself up on one elbow, his dark brown hair deliciously disheveled and the hint of stubble on his jaw making him look more handsome, if that were possible. “You are safe.”

“I know I’m safe.” She gave him a look. “Maybe I shouldn’t tell you, but I always feel safe whenever you’re around.”

“Why would you not tell me this?” His dark brows knit together.

“Because I shouldn’t get close to you, shouldn’t share things with you. You’re my guard until the trial, that’s it, right?” Daphne shook her head at the ridiculousness of this conversation. “Besides, I don’t want to end up with Stockholm Syndrome or something.”

“Stockholm Syndrome?” His nose scrunched. “Why would you get that? I did not abduct you or abuse you or do anything to you that was not in your best interest. I am not your kidnapper.”

She snorted. “Guess that’s up for interpretation.”

With a growl, he levered himself up and over her, effectively trapping her beneath him, his warm weight supported on his arm on either side of her head. “No interpretation,” he said, his voice low and still gruff from sleep. “My only goal is to protect you until the trial. I would never hurt you. Surely you must realize this.”

Doing her best to ignore the glorious feeling of all those delectable muscles and sinews pressing against her, Daphne swallowed and looked away. “All I know is that I’m forced to live in a place that’s not of my choosing, I’ve lost my freedom, lost my family, lost everything because of you.”

He sighed and sank farther against her, his expression both concerned and conciliatory. “I wish there was an easier way, baloven’.” Her legs parted and suddenly the head of his cock rested against the hot core of her, even though several layers of clothes separated them. Immediate warning bells went off in her head while molten heat and desire spread throughout her body. “But I need you to trust me. This will all be over soon and things will go back to normal. I swear.”

As if he just now realized their compromising position, his earnest expression slowly dissolved into passion. Even in the dim light, she could see his pupils dilate, all but obliterating the pale green of his irises. His hands, rough and calloused, gently cupped her cheeks, his thumbs stroking over her cheekbones. He seemed a blend of polar opposites—rough and smooth, dangerous killer and stalwart defender. Her very own knight in tarnished armor.

Normally Daphne would’ve rolled her eyes at such a silly description but at this moment, in this man’s arms, it felt anything but funny. It felt good and so, so right. Without thinking, she arched up into him, drawing a deep groan from his full lips. “Don’t,” he said.

“Don’t what?” she asked, moving against him again and delighting in the knowledge he was getting as turned on as she was, if his growing cock was any indication. She ground her heat against him, biting back a moan of her own. “Do this?”

“Jesus.” He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. “If you don’t stop that, I…”

“You’ll what?” She egged him on, knowing she was playing with fire. “You’ll fuck me?”

At her use of the harsh word, he opened his eyes and stared down at her, all masculine heat and pure desire. “I will fuck you so good, baloven’, you will never want me to stop.”

As if to prove his point, he thrust his confined length against the damp need between her legs, hitting her already swollen clit through the fabric and sending a shower of erotic sparks through her bloodstream. Her breath caught on a sigh and she bucked. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispered, even though she was the one who had stoked their passion, even though she wanted nothing more.

“No,” he said, his head dropping to nuzzle her neck as he continued to rock his hips against hers. “We shouldn’t. This is madness.”

“Yes,” she hissed, grinding against him, her fingers tangling in his hair to keep him close. “This is wrong.”

“So, so wrong.” He reached between them to lift her T-shirt up and took her stiff nipple into his warm, wet mouth, sucking and nipping it before letting it go with an audible “pop.” “This is a mistake.”

She cried out and sat up to whip her shirt off over her head then twined her arms around his neck and pulled him back down atop her. “This is so happening.”

With that she kissed him long and slow and deep, effectively severing any reply he would’ve made. Nik pulled her into a tight embrace, quickly taking control of the kiss, one hand twining into the curls at the back of her head while his other hand continued to toy with her sensitive nipples.

“God, that feels amazing,” she said, tearing her mouth from his at last to nibble on his ear lobe. “I want you so bad.”

“Me too, baloven’.” He slid his fingers down her stomach to the waistband of her sweat pants. “So damned bad.”

Daphne couldn’t hide her shudder as he slipped inside her pants and undies to cup her heated core. Gently he stroked her wet folds, stoking her need to new, higher levels. Whether it was danger of getting involved with a forbidden man or the illicitness of their love making, she wasn’t sure, but she’d never, ever felt this wanton or needful of another man in her life. His every touch, every kiss, every lick seemed to push her higher on a never-ending wave of passion.

It was almost too much. It would never be enough.

He slipped first one, then two fingers inside her, pumping them just right as his mouth returned to worship her breasts and Daphne nearly came from that alone. “Please…”

“Please what, my pet,” Nik asked, the growl in his voice growing stronger with his need. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want you to fuck me. Hard. Fast. Right now.” She was normally not a talker in bed, but damn if he didn’t make her into a craven hussy. “I want you inside me. Every inch of you.”

To prove her point, she reached down to stroke his impressive length through his sweatpants. He groaned and stiffened in her hands, his back arching slightly as he pressed his length against her palm, his head thrown back and his eyes closed. “Yes. I want to fuck you so good and so long that you will forget every other man but me, moye sokrovishche.”

“Yes!” she cried out as he quickly removed her pants and underwear before tugging off his own. He dug through the pockets of his suit trousers from earlier and pulled out a tiny foil packet which he ripped open with his teeth. She ignored the tiny niggle of doubt in the back of her mind that he’d either prepared to have sex with her tonight or he was always prepared to have sex. Didn’t matter now, they were doing this. In the end, she was glad he’d been prepared.

She watched as he put the condom on over his beautiful cock then climbed back onto the bed. He positioned himself between her legs, spreading them and lifting them high as he lay between them. “Before I enter you, I must taste you first.”

At the first lick of his tongue over her fold, Daphne’s head fell back against the pillow, her eyes closed in ecstasy. At his second lick, she bit her lips so hard she tasted blood. When he sucked her sensitive clit between his lips, she thought she’d died and gone to heaven. Through her sex-fueled haze she heard faint cries and whimpers, not realizing they were hers until she opened her eyes and saw him watching her from between her parted thighs.

“You must be quiet, moye sokrovishche,” he said, the glint in his green eyes downright wicked. “The walls of this place are paper thin and we wouldn’t want my brother or my men rushing in to disturb us. Hang on to me and save your cries for my ears only.”

Nik returned to nuzzle the heat between her thighs and Daphne gripped his shoulders tight, doing her best to stay silent even as her pleasure soared to unimaginable heights. Soon, the pressure inside her built to the point she could take no more. “I’m close,” she whispered.

“Good,” he said, inserting a third finger into her slick channel and thrusting harder inside her as he used his tongue to toy with her swollen clit. “Let go for me, baloven’. Come for me.”

She’d never believed in the orgasm-on-demand, believing it was just some romance-novel myth, but damn if her body didn’t clench at his command, her world shattering into a million bright sparks as she climaxed hard against his lips and tongue.

Wave after glorious wave washed over her until she felt boneless, weightless, drifting in a sea of tranquility where nothing else mattered but this man, this moment, this night between them. Nik kissed his way up her body to her lips as he positioned his hard tip against her wet entrance. She was so relaxed he had no problem sinking into her hilt-deep, despite his impressive size. To accommodate him better, she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him back as he drove hard into her.

His beautiful face hovered over her as he thrust deeply inside her body, his expression flickering between wonder and desire and fierce possessiveness.  At last, his movements grew less smooth and his jaw clenched. He reached between them to stroke her clit and she held him closer.

“Are you close again, moye sokrovishche?” he whispered against her ear, nipping her lobe with his teeth, making her arch against him with the mix of pleasure and pain.

“Yes,” she said, against his shoulder. “Make me come again, baby. Please.”

“Yes.” He gritted his teeth and rubbed the rough pad of his thumb over her slick flesh, making her tense against him as another climax rode her hard. Her inner muscles clenched around him, milking him and it wasn’t long before he gave one final hard thrust within her and then joined her, coming hard inside her as his back bowed and his head fell back in a silent roar of pleasure.

At last, Nik collapsed atop her, breathless and sweaty and so beautiful, it almost hurt her to look at him. She stroked the hair off his damp forehead and murmured endearments against his temple, keeping him close as they both fell back into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

The next time Nik blinked his eyes open, bright early morning sunshine streamed through the gauzy curtains on the motel window. Outside, the shadows of his men were silhouetted against the brightness. Fuck. He slowly disentangled his limbs from a still snoozing Daphne’s and sat up, hoping he didn’t wake her. After a yawn and a stretch, he got up and walked to the bathroom, closing the door before switching on the lights and leaning toward the vanity.

He stared at himself in the mirror, still not quite believing they’d had sex the night before. Of course, her love bites scattered over his chest and shoulder were proof it had happened, as was the warmth zinging through his blood whenever he thought of her. His body still carried her scent and the spicy taste of her arousal lingered on his lips. His heightened senses to everything Daphne both delighted and unsettled him.

To distract himself, he jammed on the shower and brushed his teeth. Much as he’d enjoyed last night with her, today he needed to get his head back into work mode. His job was to protect her until the trial. A duty he took very seriously. He couldn’t allow himself to falter, not because of his growing feelings for her. Not only would the Bratva kill his ass for his mistake, he’d never forgive himself if anything happened to Daphne under his watch.

After scrubbing down and toweling off, he padded out into the bedroom again to grab his clothes. Daphne was awake now, and blinking at him with wide, sleepy eyes. She looked so damned adorable first thing in the morning that he was tempted to crawl back into bed with her and make love to her all over again.

He turned his back on her and sat on the edge of the mattress to pull on his boxers and pants instead. Keep work and play separate. That was his motto and his life philosophy. He couldn’t change that now. To do so could mean death for both of them. There was a time and a place for tenderness and now wasn’t it. Much as it pained him to do so, he barely glanced back at her over his shoulder and kept his voice low and gruff. “Get dressed.”

Her sunny smile fell into a hurt frown and she grumbled at him as she rolled from bed, a sheet tightly wrapped around all her delicious curves, hiding herself from him. Part of him wanted to rip that material away and hold her close, tell her how great last night had been and how he hoped they’d have many more such nights in their future. The other part of him, the part that remembered the problems his parents had had because his dad hadn’t been able to separate his work from his personal life, kept him locked in place.

Nik didn’t exhale until the bathroom door shut behind her and the lock clicked into place. Jagged pain stabbed his chest, but he shoved it ruthlessly aside. Better to have her alive and hating him than the alternative, no matter how it might break his heart now. After he finished dressing, he slicked his damp hair back off his face, then slipped outside the room to check in with his men and Kaz.

“Anything suspicious last night?” he asked his brother.

“No.” Kaz leaned against the second-floor balcony railing, his back to the gorgeous sunrise streaking the sky with pinks and golds. A cool breeze ruffled his shaggy brown hair. If the guy had heard any incriminating noises coming from Nik’s room last night, he was wise enough not to mention it, as were all his men. “Nothing happened. What’s the plan for today? The safe house is no longer safe, per Rezan. So, we’ll need a new place to hide the girl.”

“Fuck.” Nik ran a hand through his still-damp hair. “If they’ve found the safe house, then we need to get out of Chicago for now. Maybe head to that lake house in Wisconsin for a few days to throw Hornbull off our trail,” Nik said, checking his weapon before holstering it. “Sound good?”

“Sounds great,” Kaz said. “Except the cops have set up a road block about two miles down the expressway. The only way you’re getting that girl to Wisconsin is to fly her there and I’m sure Hornbull has his spies at the airport too.”

“Shit.” Nik leaned his hand against the brick wall beside him. “Wisconsin’s out then. Unless you know some back way to get there.”

“Nah.” Kaz pulled out his phone and held it out to Nik. “I’ve got a better idea.”

Nik stared down at the screen, a picture of their mother Regina’s smiling face filling the screen. “No. I don’t want to put our family at any more risk than they already are.”

“Don’t you think Mama will be the first soft target Hornbull goes after when he can’t get to you and Daphne?” Kaz asked, making too much damned sense.

Cursing, Nik snatched the phone from him and hit the call button. “I swear to God, if anything happens to either woman, I will skin you alive.”

“I’d expect nothing less, brother.” Kaz grinned as if completely unaffected by Nik’s dire threat. “And you can thank me later for my brilliant idea.”

In response, Nik flipped him off.

His mother answered on the second ring, sending Nik’s spirits soaring that she was alive and well, then plummeting as he realized the danger he was about to bring to her doorstep. “Dobroye utro, Mama,” he said. Good morning, Mama. “I need to ask you a favor…”