HOT ICE: Complete Sporting Romance Series

by Lily Harlem

  What the hell had Vadmir said to him?

  Probably what he’d told me he had.

  The journey back to Sokol was long and the car stuffed full of flat-packed furniture. One lengthy box was slotted between our seats and I had to hold it when we went ’round corners.

  “This will take a lot of time to make,” Vadmir said, turning the heater down. “Probably the rest of today.”

  “Well, I don’t think we’d go out again, not in this storm.”

  The wipers were on full and it was also getting dark.

  “I hope it stops before tomorrow,” I said, “before I go back to Moscow.”

  “It is okay. I will take you.”

  “No, you mustn’t. I’ll get a cab.”

  “No, Sammy. I brought you here. I will take you back.” He took his eyes from the road, briefly, to look at me. “To Moscow.”

  “But it’s wasting a whole day with your family. Please, you’ve let me stay with you, let me at least get myself back to the airport. I’d hate to take you away for all of those hours. It’s time you could be with your father.”

  He was quiet for a few moments, then. “But I—”

  “No,” I interrupted. “Please. If you could order me the cab, then I’d be very grateful. Or perhaps Darya will speak on the phone for me.”

  “I can do it.”

  “Thank you.”

  He pulled up at the apartment, right outside the front entrance and put his hazard lights on. We battled with the wind and the snow and grabbed a box each from the trunk. Mine was long and skinny, his heavy and wide. We were damp by the time we made it to the elevator but still bustled inside with our boxes. We’d have to make several trips to get all of the furniture up to the apartment.

  “Damn, it’s cold out there,” I said, leaning my box against the wall and hitting the top floor button. My cheeks were wind bitten just from a few seconds outside.

  The doors slid shut and the light dimmed to a soft golden glow.

  “It’s been colder,” Vadmir said, propping his box next to mine and then snuggling in behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in the curve of my neck. “Or maybe it just feels warmer when you’re here, Sammy.”

  I pressed one hand over his forearm and with the other reached up and touched his cap. “I’m glad you think so.”

  His breath was warm, seeping around the collar of my coat, yet his nose was cool, just touching my ear.

  “I have enjoyed you here.”

  “I’ve enjoyed it, too.” As I said it I realized just how much I had. It had been an unusual week, and certainly not what I’d planned. But being part of the Arefyev family had been fun. They were great hosts, plus spending time with Vadmir, even if it had been clothed time, was special.

  “We will see each other again, back in Orlando,” he said, “won’t we?”

  “I’d like that.” The thought of it all being over tomorrow between us was horrible. Something I couldn’t contemplate.

  “Good.” He pulled me closer, so that his groin lodged against my ass. As usual his body was firm and solid against mine. He made me feel safe and adored and I loved that about being in his presence.

  He released a small groan and squeezed us tighter together.

  “Russian boy,” I said quietly.

  He kissed my neck and I leaned my head sideways to give him better access. The soft touch of his lips was sending tingles over my skin that shimmied down my spine. It was another tease I was sure, but being close was satisfying in itself.

  “Mmm?” he asked. “What?”

  “I like you doing that,” I managed, because I’d forgotten what I was going to say.

  “I’d like to do so much more, Sammy. I would like to really show you how much I enjoy being with you.”

  “And I—”

  My sentence was cut off as the elevator doors swooshed open. Harsh light flooded in and the outline of another person filled my vision.

  Alena.

  She was staring at us. She wore the same pale brown coat and hat she’d had on at the rink yesterday, though this time she didn’t look angry, she looked shocked.

  Her eyes were wide and her mouth drooped open. Her arms hung at her sides with a purse loosely held in her right hand.

  “Alena,” Vadmir said, suddenly releasing me.

  Quickly I straightened my collar and reached for my box.

  Alena clamped her lips together and stepped aside. Her gaze flitted from me to Vadmir.

  I exited the elevator. I’d let Vadmir sort this one out. It wasn’t my problem.

  “Chto ty delayesh' zdes'?” Vadmir said.

  “Ya prishel, chtoby uvidet' Darya,” she replied.

  He nodded, picked up his box and stepped past her. “Do svidaniya, Alena.”

  Alena didn’t reply. Her heels clacked noisily as she entered the elevator and stabbed at the button with a gloved finger.

  My heart was thumping. For some reason I felt guilty. She and Vadmir had been together for years. They’d been serious, very serious, yet here I was messing around with him in her hometown. But hell, he’d invited me here and there was nothing between them anymore. She’d made her choice and it wasn’t Vadmir. He was a free agent, the same as I was. We were doing nothing wrong. Quickly I squashed down my guilty emotion. I wouldn’t allow it room to hold my thoughts hostage.

  “I am sorry about that,” Vadmir said when the elevator door shut and the whirring of the mechanics hummed around the top floor lobby.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “She and Darya were good friends, they would have enjoyed being related by marriage.”

  I nodded.

  “But it wasn’t to be and it is crazy if they are still thinking it might happen.”

  “Do you think they are?” That thought did disturb me. It didn’t make me feel guilty, it made me feel possessive. The thought of Vadmir marrying Alena now twisted my guts. Not that I wanted to marry him, I just didn’t want him off the market, not until we’d explored whatever it was we had going on.

  “No. It’s old news.” He opened the apartment door and lugged in both his and my box. “You wait here, I’ll grab the rest of the stuff.”

  “No, I’ll help.”

  He smiled and touched his lips to my cheek. “You’ve done enough, and also, I don’t think I can trust myself in the elevator with you. It’s the only place I’ve had you alone all day.”

  As we’d predicted, the entire evening was spent assembling furniture. The sofa, bed and chair were being delivered after the weekend, but the dressing tables and cabinets were a job for Vadmir and I.

  Darya gave me a kiss and a hug when I’d gone into the kitchen. I couldn’t help but wonder if she felt awkward that Alena had been there. But the visit wasn’t mentioned and she’d gone back to making dumplings. We paused briefly to eat, then continued with our screwing and hammering, perusal of instructions—of which I could only go by the pictures—and then tightening and admiring.

  Ruslan was thrilled with his new cabinet for his hockey memorabilia and I polished all of his knickknacks as he watched a hockey game and chatted to me in Russian like I understood every word.

  I nodded and smiled and carefully lined up his collection of pucks and then buffed the trophies and set them inside the cabinet.

  “That looks cool,” Vadmir said, coming into his father’s bedroom to regard my finished work.

  “Yes,” Darya said, smiling and passing her father a hot drink. “You are very kind to my father, Samantha. I am very grateful.”

  I smiled at her. “It didn’t take long.” She caught my eye and I was thrilled to see affection there. Perhaps we, too, would be good friends, the same as her and Alena had been. “And yes, it is nice,” I said. “Vadmir chose it.”

  “I did have the help of an excellent assistant and expert shopper.” He winked at me.

  I grinned. “I’m glad you think so.” I stifled a yawn. “But that’s me all shopped out for one day. I’m g
oing to hit my bed.”

  Vadmir nodded and something passed over his eyes, I wasn’t sure what. Maybe, like me, he was sad that our last day together was over.

  After a flurry of goodnights to Ruslan and Darya, I headed toward my room. I’d gone from having fun, feeling high and part of something to having a long journey and then work stretching before me. A tug of sadness pulled at my heart.

  “Samantha,” Zoya bustled toward me. “Spokoynoy nochi.”

  “Spokoynoy nochi,” I said then repeated it in English. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” she said with a smile that revealed a missing side tooth. She then kissed me three times, on my cheeks, as she had every night I’d been in her home.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I felt dusty and sweaty from all the manual work of the evening, so I had a quick shower and then fell into bed smelling of geranium and camomile. Again I was grateful for the receptionist who’d had such great taste in toiletries and clothes.

  Snuggling under the duvet, I picked up my Kindle. The wind was still howling outside and sweeping around the wall my bed was against. Occasionally it gusted extra hard and the window rattled as though the wind was knocking against it, trying to come in. But I was warm and cozy so it didn’t disturb me too much.

  I was reading a good book and I kept on going, chapter after chapter, even though my eyes grew heavy. The apartment went quiet and I guessed everyone had retired for the night. I’d just read this last bit, one more scene.

  Eventually I finished the entire novel and, glancing at the time, saw I’d read for nearly two hours. I yawned, flicked off my light and tucked the duvet in around my shoulders, ready for my last sleep in Sokol.

  A small click caught my attention.

  The bedroom door was opening. The weak light from the corridor highlighting a hand, an arm and then a huge silhouette.

  Vadmir.

  Silently he stepped in and shut the door.

  “What are you doing?” I whispered.

  “Shh,” he said as he came toward me.

  With the help of the green-tinged light of the small digital clock I could see he wore only tight black boxers.

  He flicked back the duvet, letting in a waft of cool air and then the bed dipped as he climbed in beside me.

  “What are you doing?” I asked again.

  “I need to be with you,” he said, gathering me close and winding his legs with mine. The hairs on his shins tickled mine. “Is that okay?”

  “But your mother, she’ll—”

  “She won’t find out.” He curled his arm beneath me so he was holding me against his bare chest. “Not if we’re quiet.”

  “Are you sure she doesn’t have CCTV out there? Every time we’ve so much as kissed she’s appeared.”

  “She’s asleep, it’s past midnight. Nothing wakes her between midnight and six.”

  “I hope you’re right.” I wound my arms around him. His skin was warm and smooth and smelled of his usual woodsy shower gel. “I’d hate her to think I was taking advantage of her son.”

  “Are you?” he asked against my lips.

  “I guess I might, now that you’re here.” All the earlier feelings of lust came swarming back into my body. I’d wanted him for days, more than a kiss and a cuddle I’d wanted him naked, at my side. I’d wanted him inside me, I’d wanted to give him pleasure, hear him come.

  “At the forest,” he said, kissing over my cheek and then speaking quietly into my ear. “You made me feel amazing but you, you didn’t come.”

  “I enjoyed it, though.” I caressed his back, drawing small circles with my fingertips that explored every dip and rise of his spine. “Very much.”

  “Mmm, but now it is your turn to feel pleasure. But you’ll have to be silent. No banging against the wall, no screaming like you usually do.”

  “I don’t scream.” I tried to be indignant but it was hard, because it was true, I was very vocal about my pleasure.

  “Oh, you do and you know it. You scream, you shout, you wail, but I’m not complaining,” he said. “Then I know I’m getting it right. But tonight, you need to hold that in no matter how right I get it.”

  “Okay.” My heart was racing at the thought of finally getting some relief from the sexual tension that had been dancing between us for days.

  He shifted and then tugged at the soft nightdress I was wearing. “Lose this.”

  I assisted him in its removal and then shoved at my panties.

  “These have to go,” I said, plucking at the elastic waistband of his boxers.

  “No, I’m going to give you pleasure, taste you, lick you.”

  “But Vadmir I want you. This is our last night…”

  “It’s not our last night together.”

  “I hope not.” I stroked over his short hair, a feeling of possession gripping me again. I wanted him for more than just tonight. I wanted more plans in the future with him. More time with him.

  “We have Miami,” he said. “We will go together and I will do all of those things I promised to do.” He paused and I sensed him smiling as he kissed down my neck to my collarbone. “Dirty, bad things that will make you scream so loud I may have to gag you.”

  A gag was both scary and thrilling. As was the thought of the black silk he’d threatened to tie me up with earlier. I liked the whole image, the entire scene he’d built in my mind. It made me wet just thinking about lying sacrificial before Vadmir and allowing him to do with me as he wished. It wasn’t a feeling I’d had before with a man but he’d brought that fantasy to life within me by describing it so vividly. “Are you a man who keeps his promise?”

  “Yeah, I always keep my promise.” He moved upward and looked down at my face. “Always.”

  “Good.” Again I shoved at his boxers, this time he didn’t stop me and soon they were off. “I’ll hold you to it.”

  I cuddled nearer to him. His cock was rigid, butting into my thigh, and his flesh was hot against mine. I found his mouth and kissed him. He kissed me back, exploring my body as he did so, massaging my breasts gently and then tracing a line down my belly and between my legs.

  I parted my thighs and he delved between my folds, searching out my entrance. When he pushed in, his fingers stretching me, I gasped and broke our kiss. “Vadmir.”

  “Shh,” he said, covering my mouth with his again.

  “Mmm.” I spread my legs wider and he added another finger, hooked them forward and found my G-spot. Oh God, how was I going to keep quiet? He was such an accurate aim when it came to finding the places that got me going.

  He set up a slow, languid rhythm, fucking me with his hand. He was building up the pressure over my clit and within me. He kissed me as though savoring the shape of my mouth and the taste of my tongue.

  I arched into him and gripped his arms, feeling the solid muscle beneath.

  Eventually I ended the kiss. It was getting hard to catch my breath. “Please, Vadmir, I want to come with you in me. I’ll be quiet, I swear.”

  “I don’t know if I can trust myself,” he said, also a little breathless. “To not get carried away and fuck you hard.”

  “You can, please, I know you can.” I knew I was begging but I didn’t care. The cock nudging at my hip needed to be inside my pussy…now.

  I wriggled and dislodged his fingers.

  He kind of growled and gripped my waist, pulling me closer.

  “My purse,” I said, “next to the lamp. There’s a condom in the side pocket.”

  He stilled.

  For a moment I didn’t think he was going to get it. I thought he might leave. But then he reached for my purse and found the condom.

  “Sammy, I…” he said.

  “What?”

  He sat back, rolled the condom on and then loomed over me.

  I pulled the duvet up his back to his shoulders, keeping us both cocooned within its warmth.

  “What, Vadmir?” I asked again.

  He supported his weight on his elbows and his
face hovered above mine. I stretched my legs apart, preparing to take him in.

  “You are one of the most beautiful people I have ever met,” he said. “You have been so kind with my family and me. I will never forget this, ever.”

  Our mouths connected and his cock found my entrance.

  I gripped his outer thighs with my knees and grasped his tense buttocks as he slid to full depth.

  I wanted to moan and gasp and tell him how great he felt, but as he’d asked me to I held it in. My chest tightened with the effort of reining in that groan of delight.

  He buried to the hilt and we both stilled. I could feel his balls pressing up against my ass cheeks, his wide cock stretching my internal muscles and his pecs pressing against my breasts.

  I squirmed, allowing a little fizz of pleasure to hum through my clit. He was so dense above me. He’d become my world, for that moment in time there was only him; me and him.

  He withdrew almost out and then eased back in. It had felt great the first time he’d plunged in, but now it was amazing. He’d rubbed my clit with his hard body and all the tension that was looking for release had bubbled up to the surface.

  “Vadmir, oh, yes,” I gasped, tearing my lips from his. “Yes.”

  “Shh.” He did it again. Pulled out and then slowly rode back in.

  “Ah, yeah, fuck, just like that I—”

  He clamped his hand over my mouth.

  I stared up at him. A whimper caught in my throat.

  “You cannot be trusted,” he said.

  He was right. I couldn’t. I wanted to wail and shout, demand more, faster, harder. It was probably best that he silenced me this way.

  He continued to fuck me in a slow, languid ride. He was in no rush, but that was fine because neither was I. Trouble was my body had other ideas and before I knew it my orgasm was there. The point of no return was reached and I bucked and shook, driving my hips down onto him to maximize the depth of his cock and then clawing at his back.

  “Fuck you feel amazing when you hug my cock with your pussy,” he said, stretching his head to the ceiling and the tendons in his neck elongating. “I love it when you come like this.”