by L. Nicole
“What?” I ask, trying to remember to breathe.
“You said you thought that I was taking you back to my apartment. Would you have gone, Moya Krasota?” his gaze pierces through me. The intensity that rolls off him is thick between us.
“Shouldn’t we be going? You did say Steven needed us to head out.” I try to deflect him from his question. I’m not sure if I know the answer. I think deep down he knows that I would. I’d like to say I would have chickened out, but Victor makes me want to be bold…take chances…take a chance on him.
“Steven?” he asks, his face looking annoyed, his voice almost grumpy.
“Your pilot?” I remind him, feeling tickled with his annoyance.
“I know who Steven is,” he grumbles.
“Then, why—”
“I don’t like that you remembered his name so easily. It took you a month to use my first name.”
I blink, unable to believe that he just said that. He’s keeping score.
“It wasn’t a month,” I deny.
“It sure wasn’t three minutes,” he complains, and I swear it’s like he’s pouting.
“I wasn’t attracted to him,” I confess, for some reason finding him cute he’s upset about something so trivial. At my answer, his eyes twinkle, his face relaxes. Then, his head dips down, his lips brushing gently against my cheek, his warmth breath caressing me, as he whispers into my ear.
“Are you attracted to me, Moya Krasota?”
“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here,” I admit.
“Finally, he groans, his hand moving me where he wants me and his lips coming down in a kiss that takes my breath.
It’s different than any of the other kisses he’s given me. It’s soft, slow, but erotic in a way it never has been before. It’s demanding and full of such raw passion. He’s holding me tightly. One hand is at my neck and the other has dipped down to my hip and around to my ass. His touch feels warm, heating my skin as his fingers kneed into my skin, pulling me deeper into him. I can feel the hard, rigid outline of his cock through his slacks, it pushes against me as he pulls me closer. Feeling him so aroused, makes me feel desirable in a way I never have before. When we break apart, he keeps his eyes on me for a minute, and then kisses my forehead and tucks me in under his chin as if I was something precious. For some reason that affects me more than the kiss, just in a different way.
A more profound way.
“I thought we were in a hurry,” I murmur, confused and not sure how to process all of the emotions moving through me.
“We are, but give me a minute to celebrate my victory.”
“What victory?” I ask, my eyes closing as I let him hold me and soak in the pleasure I hear in his voice as well as the comfort I feel at being held so closely.
“You’re not only attracted to me, Grace. You want me.”
I blush. I can’t help it. I’m not used to this kind of thing. Plus, he’s not wrong. The dampness against my thighs and the way my heart is thundering in my chest is proof that I want him. I’ve never wanted a man before. I don’t want to confess that either. Victor is a bulldozer, even if he has the best of intentions. I really don’t think he needs to be any cockier than he is.
“Maybe,” I admit, and he grumbles in my ear, biting down on the lobe in retaliation.
“You do.”
“Okay, I do.”
He leans back to look at me, his grin instantly coming off self-assured and cocky. It looks good on him, too.
“You want me, and you were willing to go back to my apartment,” he says. “So, this is what it feels like to be a king,” he murmurs, his face taking on a lazy, satisfied look that even settles in his eyes, and that looks even better on him.
“Maybe I would have felt the same about Steven if I had seen him,” I mutter, thinking he needs to be brought down at least a peg or two. This man is something else.
Instantly, that annoyed look comes back on his face. He quickly grabs my hand and whisks me through the plane.
“Let’s go,” he grumbles.
“Victor,” I start, afraid I’ve teased him a little too much.
“I’m getting you out of here, Moya Krasota, before Steven makes an appearance and I have to fire him,” he mutters, shocking me. “And maybe punch him,” he adds, and I gasp, because I don’t think he’s kidding.
I think it’s very clear that Victor Serepova likes me. Which is good, I think. Especially since, I really like him, too.
14
Victor
“We’re at Lake Fontana,” she whispers for probably the tenth time. I have managed to get her in the house, but she’s staring out the window at the lake, and she just keeps repeating those four words. I’m starting to worry I messed something up. I was hoping to make her smile. I was hoping to get her to relax and let her shields drop down. Maybe I fucked up. Everything was last minute, but my assistant managed to secure a great home directly on the lake. Tomorrow morning, clothes for Grace should arrive, and I had clothes on the plane that have been transferred here. Grace and I will have to go into town tomorrow for food and supplies, but all things considered, I’ve managed wonders in the space of hours. All of that means crap though, if I’ve brought Grace somewhere that she had a great memory of but hurts her now.
What was I thinking?!?!
“Grace, are you okay?” I ask, coming to stand behind her and look out over the lake with her.
She jumps slightly in my hold, turning sideways to look at me.
“You’ve brought me to Lake Fontana,” she murmurs, and I can see the unshed tears in her eyes and they cut me. I screwed up. I should have known that this was the wrong move when she was already missing her father.
“Grace, I wanted to bring you someplace where you could remember good times with your father and relax. It was stupid,” I explain, upset with myself.
“I mentioned Lake Fontana and my dad to you,” she says, and I frown, realizing she’s upset with me again. “Then, mere hours later, you bring me here.”
“Fine, let’s go.”
My voice is resigned. I want Grace. I want her in ways I don’t even understand, but I can’t push this anymore. She either wants me or she doesn’t and apparently… she doesn’t.
“Who does that?” she asks, her voice is different, so different that I can’t determine what it means.
“Grace—”
“You’re just too much, Victor,” she says, turning to face me.
“I’m just trying to make you happy, Grace,” I tell her with a frank honesty that I hope she can pick up on, if nothing else.
She reaches out and puts her hands on my chest, her fingers wrapping into my shirt.
“I can’t figure out if you’re the prince in a fairytale, swooping in to try and rescue me, because you don’t realize I’m not the princess, or if you’re just crazy,” she says, her voice quiet, but so full of emotion that it feels painful. There are tears in her eyes and pain on her face.
I brush her hair from her face, letting the pad of my thumb soothe the tortured wrinkle in her forehead as I stare into her eyes.
“Why do I have to be crazy to care about you Grace? Why do I have to be crazy to take you somewhere?” I ask, wanting understand. Just when I think I have her figured out I realize I don’t.
“You didn’t just take me somewhere, Victor. While I slept, you carried me onto your plane—your private plane—and you took me to a lake I mentioned in a conversation. You did all of this on what amounted to our very first date. That’s not remotely sane.”
“I’m not crazy, Grace, at least not clinically. I’m also not a prince, or even a hero in a fairytale.”
“Victor—”
I move my thumb to cap against her lush lips. I need to make her understand. If I accomplish nothing else, I need to do that.
“I’m a man who likes a girl. A man who really likes a girl for the first time in his life. I’m a man who has more money than I could ever hope to spend, and I want to spend it on the
girl who has not only caught my eye, but intrigues me and keeps me guessing.”
“But, I—”
“No buts, Grace. We have this house for a week. I had my brothers take over my duties for the week and anything you need done we will do from here. I’ll call whoever I need to call, I’ll fix whatever I need to fix. All I want is this week with you. I want to get to know you better. I want you to get to know me, and most of all I want to see if this attraction between us can lead to more.”
“You really are crazy,” she whispers when I move my thumb.
I brush it back and forth, against her chin and watch her closely.
“Can you give me this week, Grace? You can’t tell me you’re not attracted to me. You can’t tell me that you aren’t the slightest bit interested in exploring this connection we have. If you tried, we both know you’d be lying.”
“One week?” she asks, and the tightness that had begun to grab hold of my heart seems to lighten.
“One week.”
“That seems like a big commitment for a first date.” Her voice soft but cautious.
“Live dangerously with me,” I suggest.
“How about we try it for three days and see where it goes?” she counters.
“I’ll take it,” I tell her, and I’m rewarded with her smile.
“Can we go sit out on the dock and watch the boat lights?” she asks, relaxing against me.
“We can do anything you want, Moya Krasota.”
She takes my hand and leads me toward the glass doors. I follow. I’d follow Grace through the fires of hell, as long as her hand was in mine. She’s all I need.
All I want…
15
Grace
I like him.
I’m probably insane, but I like him.
We stayed outside watching the boats, their lights twinkling on the water. We each sat in a lounger and we did nothing but talk. The talk wasn’t about anything, but instead about everything. Where we went school, what our favorite sports were—mine basketball, his baseball, the type of music we listened to—mine is pretty much everything, but he listens to country. I would have guessed, jazz or something more highbrow than a song talking about who was more redneck-er. It doesn’t fit who he is, but something about it makes me laugh and yeah…
It makes me like him more.
He talked about his three brothers, Nikolai who recently met the love of his life, Mikal and Andrey who are twins and confirmed bachelors. He laughed as he spoke about them and there was a look of contentment on his face that I envied. For so long, all I had was my father and even then, he stayed so busy…
I spent so much time on my own or at school feeling like an outsider, who never really found her place in the world…I shake those thoughts off as I curl into Victor. We’re sleeping—well Victor is, I woke up about fifteen minutes ago—in the master bedroom.
I’m wearing his shirt and Victor has loose pajama bottoms on. I made it clear that despite how quickly everything seems to be moving, that I wasn’t having sex with a man I barely knew. I thought he might balk or try to sway me. Instead, he kissed me on the forehead again and hugged me close. Then, he whispered words against my skin that I’ll never forget.
“This isn’t about rushing you for a quick fuck, Grace. I’m in this for the long haul. Lying in bed with you in my arms will be more special than anything I’ve ever experienced before, Moya Krasota.”
It should have felt like a line, but it didn’t. Something feels entirely genuine and real about everything Victor does.
I trust him.
That realization hits me hard, because I’ve never let myself be vulnerable to anyone. Victor’s arm tightens around me and I look up to see if he’s awake. He doesn’t seem to be, his breathing is even, and his eyes are closed. I start to pull away from him, but again his hold tightens. It’s not painful, it’s actually really nice. My shirt has ridden up and his arm is pressed against my skin. It’s warm and having his coarser skin against my much softer feels right. It makes me feel…desirable. I don’t think I’ve ever felt desirable, unless I count the times that Victor has made me feel that way.
This man is doing things to me that I can’t explain and still am trying to understand. The way I feel when he looks at me…cherished and special. I’ve never had that before. Sure my father treated me like a princess as far as providing me a life of luxury but this is different.
“Grace,” he whispers, his voice soft and full asleep. His breathing is still soft and regular.
He’s asleep.
Asleep whispering my name.
Something about that hits me straight in my stomach and the minute it makes contact it blossoms and spreads through me completely.
I don’t know Victor like I want to, but I definitely know him. I’ve been a virgin for a lot of years and there’s not a particular reason I am hanging onto my V card, beside the fact that I never met a man that I wanted to kiss, let alone spread my legs for. I’m beginning to think I was just one of those people who didn’t want sex, never thought about it and therefore, never missed it. Until now…until Victor.
“What are you thinking about so hard, Moya Krasota?”
My gaze jerks to Victor’s face who is now awake, although you can tell he just woke up, because his eyes are still heavy with slumber.
“I was wondering if it would make me crazy, or give you the wrong impression if…”
“If ?” he prompts, his dark eyes becoming more focused.
“If I touch you,” I whisper guiltily, giving him the truth, but not all of it because I wanted to do more than touch him…
“Grace, Sweetheart, you are touching me,” he says, his voice deep and throaty, gentle and dripping with sex appeal—which in turns leaves me dripping. Maybe all those long-suppressed hormones are coming to life at the same time and making up for lost time? That could be true, but I think it has more to do with the man in question being Victor.
“That’s…” I stop, taking a breath and trying to get through this without choking on the words. “That’s not what I meant. You have clothes on.”
“Do you want me to take them off?”
“Can I keep mine on?” I ask, suddenly worried. I’m not sure how far I am ready to take this.
“You can do anything you want, Grace.”
“Then could you…”
“Absolutely,” he says, sitting up on the bed.
“Uh… just your shirt,” I mumble, feeling heat move through my body, making me feel flushed. “At least for now,” I add, afraid he’ll be upset.
He puts a finger under my chin and looks at me.
“Anything you want, Grace. Any way you want it. You understand, Moya Krasota?” I love it when he calls me that. It makes me crave his touch. His kiss.
“I think so,” I respond nodding. “You’re saying I’m in charge of whatever happens between us.”
“Definitely. I’m not going anywhere, Grace. There’s no rush. You have me.”
I bite my lip, as I take his words in and as nervous as I am, I fight the urge to smile.
I’m not going anywhere, Grace….
I definitely like Victor.
16
Victor
She’s so fucking sweet. This is new to me, I can read the hunger in her eyes, but I also see the skittishness, not exactly fear—at least not yet. I don’t want to make the wrong step and turn that into fear. I keep eye contact with her, as I unbutton my pajama top. Her gaze is on mine too, but soon she looks at my chest, her eyes slightly dilating, as she bites down on her lip.
“Can I?” she asks, tentatively reaching out.
I put my hand gently over hers and bring her palm against my chest.
“I’ve been dying for you to touch me, Grace. So much so that it seems like it’s been years.”
My pulse pounds in my ears, as her dainty fingers trace the lines of my muscled chest. The innocence behind her touch tells me I was right. My Grace has never been intimate with a man. My chest
swells with pride at the thought. We can take this as slow as she wants. She’s going to give me a great gift when the time comes, and she gives herself to me fully. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this…for her. I’ll go at her pace for however long it takes, because I can see it. In her eyes, there is acceptance that she’s mine.
I hold still, allowing her to be in charge, even though not touching her is driving me crazy mad with desire. Self-control is hard to come by right now. Every fiber in my body screams for me to claim Grace and show her just how good I can make her feel. Slow and methodical she touches the pads of her fingers to my skin, teasing me, yet bringing me great satisfaction with her attention.
Curiosity shines in her eyes as she continues to explore my upper half but skirting dangerously close to my happy trail that begins at my navel and disappears under the cloak of my pants. My nostrils flare and my pulse spikes when she toys with the strip of hair, running those tortuous fingers through it, almost as if she is petting me. I can only imagine how those slender fingers would feel wrapped around my cock.
I lay back and grin, enjoying the attention. On her knees, Grace looms over me, the tips of her hair dusting my chest, as she brings that sweet mouth down on mine. I can sense that she’s nervous, but I keep my impulses in check and let her navigate. She’s in control. I know it’s important to let her lead. But soon…I’ll be in charge.
Soft and sure the intensity of the kiss deepens, and I slide my hands up and down her sides at a leisurely pace eager to grab her hips and bring her closer, but I refrain.
Her breathing grows heavier with every touch that passes between us. But I don’t push for more than she’s ready to give. This is about Grace learning what her boundaries are and earning her trust. I always want her to feel absolute safety in my arms and presence. I could lay here forever enjoying her sweet kisses and light touches, but my cock might explode.
