He stood at the end of it, his gaze rapt on her as though she were a prize that he had finally won. With the way he was looking at her, she felt terribly self-conscious since her robe had flown open and she was more than likely revealing more than she’d intended. There was no point in trying to cover back up. He would just get her naked again.
Fisting the bottom of his shirt, he dragged it up, pulling it over his head, exposing ink and muscles that took her breath away. She drank him in, every inch of him, but it was when he started for his jeans, undoing the button, tugging the zipper down, revealing more toned flesh and colorful flesh that she couldn’t catch her breath…
Apparently, Luka didn’t believe in briefs.
One minute, he had been fully clothed, and the next, he was completely naked.
Was there anyone who could hold a candle to him?
He wasn’t perfect physically. He had the scars to prove it, even if they were mostly kept hidden, but he radiated a confidence that said he didn’t care about the scars, nor did he care about anyone else’s opinion of them. That was why she liked him all the same.
Standing at the end of the bed, he stood proudly, and why wouldn’t he? There was nothing about him that she didn’t like.
Wrapping his fingers around her ankle, he pulled her down to the end of the bed. Then he had her hands and she was standing, so close that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.
When his mouth came down on hers, she melted. This was happening, actually happening, and more than that, it wasn’t a drunken encounter. She would remember this. For a moment, she was overwhelmed at the thought of what all was happening.
“It’s okay,” he whispered against her lips, sliding the robe off her shoulders, his lips drifting down her jaw to the feverish skin at her neck, her pulse working overtime. “We have all night.”
When he kissed her again, she turned herself over to it, lost in the sensations that he inspired in her. His hand drifting down the front of her body, she felt wound tight as she waited with bated breath until finally, finally, he touched her where she needed him most.
She was already wet and aching for him, almost too sensitive as his fingers slipped through her folds, knowing just the right places to touch. The moment he pushed a finger into her, stretching her, filling her, they both groaned, the sound impossibly loud in the silence of the room.
Restless beneath him, she tilted her hips, wanting more, too eager for something she had fantasized about for years, but Luka was determined to draw it out and make her wait. He drew back far enough that he could drink her in, his eyes drifting over the flush that had spread across her chest, down the flat plane of her stomach, to where he was working a finger in and out of her.
Alex was too aware of everything happening between them, even as she was lost in what he was doing to her. His eyes on her only made it worse, her legs coming together.
He shook his head, a ghost a smile appearing. “Now that just won’t do.”
With irresistible strength, he used his free hand to push her leg back, exposing her to him once more, but this time he shifted until he was practically on top of her. Kissing down her body, he spared not a single inch, making her come alive beneath him. She was becomingly achingly aware of just how far beneath her navel he was going, but the anticipation was something worse.
He didn’t go where she wanted immediately. No, he kissed where her thigh met her pelvic bone, lips and teeth dragging over her inner thighs before he sucked delicately at the flesh there. His name came out in a whisper, desperate and pleading.
Her hands had a mind of their own as they sifted through his hair, tugging on the silky strands, a silent command for him to stop teasing her. The moment they did, his mouth was at her opening, his tongue pushing in.
All the air rushed from her lungs the moment he made contact, and it took everything in her just to remember how to breathe. His hands curled around her thighs, holding them open.
It felt like he was everywhere all at once, taking her higher than she had ever been before. She couldn’t even find any words to say because everything he was doing was perfection.
And as he sucked and she reflexively pulled at his hair, she could practically feel the shudder race through him, his hands tightening on her skin, and if anything, that only seemed to make him hungrier.
Feeling that little spark spread through her, she squeezed her eyes shut, crying his name over and over again as she tipped over the edge.
Luka surged up, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm, his eyes wild but focused entirely on her. He fisted his cock, the muscles in his arms standing out in stark relief. He swept his tongue over his lips, his eyes closing like her essence was the best thing he had ever tasted.
Reaching for him, she tugged him down, kissing him with everything in her, tasting herself on him. It had been slow and languid at first, a buildup to this very moment because something snapped inside of him.
Positioning himself at her entrance, she only had a moment before he was pushing inside of her, almost too big to fit. Her thighs squeezed, trying desperately to hold him in place, needing to adjust.
He groaned, a soft broken sound that made her throb around him.
“Too much?” he asked in her ear.
She had never heard him sound like that, his voice deeper and darker than usual, his accent the thickest she had ever heard it.
He’d stilled, careful to keep his weight from crushing her. She had forgotten just how big Luka was, but as he eased out of her, slowly, inch by inch, and pushed back in, it no longer mattered.
He pushed inside her again. And again, until she’d practically become putty. She could feel his smile against the side of her neck.
“Better?”
She held onto him as if he was her lifeline, nodding her head vigorously.
“No, I need to hear you say it. Tell me.”
It wasn’t like he stopped thrusting into her, like his hand hadn’t come up to curl around her chin and force her gaze up to his, and yet he wanted her to formulate an actual response to that?
“Don’t stop,” she said just loud enough for him to hear. “Please, don’t stop.”
He gave her everything, more than she could have ever wanted. By the end, there was no doubt in her mind that he was it for her.
29
____
Brought to an End
Her pillow was bunched under his blond head, his face turned in the opposite direction of her. There was something all too great about having him there, and as she slid closer, her leg brushing his, it was even better that he’d shed his clothes.
She took a moment to appreciate the sight of him there, feeling lucky for once in her life. He was always so secretive, not so much with her, but while he slept, she wanted to take a better look at the colorful ink that adorned his back. The first time she had seen it, the vivid imagery tattooed there had been too distracting. Most guys she knew only had a handful of tattoos at most, but there was hardly, if any, skin left showing.
The jungle scene was shockingly realistic despite how long ago he had to have gotten it done.
Carefully, so as not to wake him, she followed the length of a vine with her fingertips, lingering in places as she got a better visual now that she was up close, but hesitated when she felt the differences in the way his skin felt in places.
Last night, she had been in a cloud of lust, too focused on what he was doing to her body to fully concentrate on anything else, but now that she was clear of it, it was hard not to notice the smooth skin to the multitude of scar tissue that covered him. Scars were not uncommon in this world, but as she traced one long scar from just below his shoulder to where the sheet was crumpled at his waist, this wasn’t like anything she had encountered before. And worse, it was only one of many.
Her careful and innocent exploration now made her afraid as her thoughts spun with varying possibilities of how they had ended up on him. With each jagged line she felt, it became less of a doubt that this
wasn’t a hazard of a job. They were too precise, the lines too clean, and from the sheer amount covering him, they had to have been done over an extended period of time.
At one point in his life, before he had gotten this tattoo, Luka had been tortured.
Alex’s hand shook at this realization, sorrow filling her as she imagined the pain he must have suffered. This could explain his darker moods, but that didn’t explain how he could be so happy all of the time. She couldn’t imagine being under this level of torture and coming out of it the same person. But then again, she didn’t know if Luka was the same person he had once been.
“It was a long time ago,” Luka’s voice resonated in the room, rough from sleep.
Lost in her own thoughts, she hadn’t noticed as he’d come awake, his body going taut while she’d been aimlessly tracing his scars.
Pulling her hand away, she asked, “What happened to you?”
He was quiet for some time, and she didn’t have to wonder whether he wanted to discuss this. He didn’t. His body language spoke volumes.
But instead of ignoring her question or deflecting, as he was prone to do, he rolled over so that they were facing each other, his usually vibrant blue eyes dead at the moment.
“A small disagreement between me and a few old friends.”
Alex frowned, not understanding. “A disagreement, and they did this to you? What kind of friends were these?” The idea of someone torturing him turned her stomach.
A ghost of a smile had crossed his face before it was gone. “Ones that I no longer have.”
“How did you…” She didn’t know how to finish that question, wasn’t even sure what exactly she was asking.
But Luka did. “Survive? I learned to adapt.”
I get off on pain…
Those words he’d told her once whispered through her mind, answering her own question. Had he learned to channel the torture inflicted on him by other means?
That only made her wonder whether last night had been enough for him. Would she be enough? Alex couldn’t imagine inflicting any pain on him.
“What are you thinking about?”
She chewed on her lip, glancing away. “At the Christmas party, you told me you got off on pain…”
Now, he did smile, shifting in the bed to get more comfortable. “I do, but not in the way you’re thinking. Back in the Pit—”
“The Pit?”
His jaw tensed, and she knew he had let something slip that he wasn’t ready to tell her about yet. Despite her curiosity, she would rather he keep telling her more than shut down because of this.
“Never mind, just go on.”
He looked more than a little grateful. “Before New York, before…this, I fought in a place called the Pit. Think dog fighting but with humans. It was bloody and fucking terrible, but it was what I had to do. I was only thirteen or so at the time and couldn’t fight for shit. Gjarper was instructed to make me better the only way he knew how. For days, he kicked my ass until I could barely stand.”
Alex didn’t dare interrupt again, not when he’d looked past her, seeming to remember a time that only he knew about. She couldn’t tell if this was a fond memory or a bad one.
“Dhimpje ju bën të mprehtë—Pain makes you sharper. That’s what he always told me after. At the time, I hated him for it. I didn’t understand, but if I wanted to survive in that place, I had to learn. So, I did. Pain shaped me, molded me I guess. I took a weapon they used against me and made it work for myself. They could no longer control me, and what a person can’t control, they fear.” He blinked, seemingly coming back to the present. “Now, to answer your original question. I acted without approval, and because of that, this was my punishment. Did it hurt? Yes, but not in the way you think. And to answer your question, no, I don’t want you to slap me while I’m fucking you.”
A startled laugh escaped her at his comment, and she felt more relaxed when the tension left him.
Picking up her hand, he kissed her palm. “I’m fine, really.”
How many times had she said those very words to him yet not really meant them?
“Do you know why I got these tattoos? Not because I was ashamed of the scars, but because I wanted a reminder that I was more than they were. They, and the story behind them, aren’t who I am anymore. So, no worries, yeah?”
She nodded, letting it go for now. “I’m sorry that it happened.”
“I wouldn’t be half the crazy bastard I am without them. Now, as much as I would love to stay here with you, I have something I need to handle.”
Alex looked over at his jeans on the floor where she knew his phone was. She hadn’t remembered hearing it ring.
“Not for your brother. For you.”
Now, she looked at him in confusion.
“Can’t have Natasha showing up at family functions again, right?” He didn’t wait for a response from her, just threw the covers off and grabbed his jeans from the floor. “Besides, I think Klaus may actually try and kill me if she did.”
She smiled at that. “Somehow I wormed my way into his good graces.”
“Exactly.”
Leaning over, he kissed her forehead, and then kissed her as though he would never see her again. By the time he let up, she was breathless and reaching for him.
“I’ll call you later.”
It wasn’t until much later that she realized Luka never actually said bye when he was leaving, only ‘later,’ like he was promising that he was coming back.
____
Luka knocked twice on Natasha’s door, waiting there with his hands in his pockets. The shit that had gone down at the Christmas party…he wanted to avoid that in the future, and the only way to do that was to cut her off in person. While he might not have visited her in weeks, hadn’t even answered her calls, she hadn’t gotten the message. He couldn’t even be annoyed by this fact because he was enjoying himself too much with Alex, but if he wanted to keep this little piece of happiness that he had found for himself, then he had to do it the right way.
The door swung open, Natasha standing on the other side in a robe and little else. He didn’t realize why she was smiling at him until he thought of what day it was.
She believed he was back on schedule.
That was the furthest thing from the truth.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered, nuzzling his throat, smoothing her hands over his chest. “It feels like you haven’t touched me in weeks.”
That was because he hadn’t touched her in weeks, possibly longer. Everything had been normal between them for a while. He would see her on Tuesdays, but those visits went from being solely about sex—at least on his side—to just enjoying her company. Despite what others thought of her, she was nice to be around, but since everything that had happened with Alex, he couldn’t even bring himself to see her.
In part, it was because he knew Alex wouldn’t want him to see her—for good reason, since the pair had carried on a relationship over a couple of years now—but more than that, it was because he didn’t want any more confusion as to who he wanted.
Though, he still wasn’t sure how that was going to work either way.
The only thing he knew for sure was that Alex held precedence.
Pulling her arms from around his neck, he gestured back at her apartment with a tilt of his head. “We need to talk.”
“Sure, come on in.”
Her new place was tastefully done, not that he had expected anything less from her.
“Can I get you anything?”
Of course, she knew something was off. Never in the years that they had been seeing each other had she offered him something to eat or drink—that didn’t mean she hadn’t wanted him to take her out.
“I won’t be staying long.”
Her smile faltered, but she kept it up, resting her hand on the island to her left, as if she needed the support.
“What can I do for you, Luka?”
“Our arrangement, it’s done.” There wa
s no point in beating around the bush.
To her credit, she looked confused, as if she hadn’t expected that from him. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not going to come see you anymore. This’ll probably be the last time.”
“But…Luka, we have something.”
He didn’t mean to be cold, but she didn’t seem to be grasping what he was saying…or maybe she just didn’t want to, but before he left, he was going to make sure he was clear.
“I told you what I wanted, and I paid for it. Even when you no longer wanted me to give it to you. We’re cool, but you showing up where you’re not wanted, that ends.”
“Lauren invited me to that party.”
“You should have declined. I don’t give a shit if the Pakhan invites you personally. Say fucking no, and move on.”
A vase, one he hadn’t noticed until she picked it up, came flying at him and he only narrowly missed being hit in the head as he ducked, water and flowers falling to the floor as the glass broke. Not even when she came for him, trying to hit him did Luka raise a hand against her, but he did grab hold of her wrists and force her arms to her side, preventing her from doing any further damage.
“This is about her, isn’t it? Now that she gave you some pussy, you’re leaving me? What would Mishca think if he knew you were fucking his little sister?”
His grip on her wrists grew tighter to the point that she winced, but he reined in his temper, releasing her.
“I told you what I was offering, nothing more. You agreed. If your feelings are hurt, then I’m sorry. And maybe I should have ended it long before we got here because I wanted to avoid this very fucking thing. But I would be very careful how you speak. I’ve slit somebody’s throat for less.” She paled, backing away, but he didn’t let her get far. “Don’t ever fucking threaten me. You won’t like how I answer.”
“So what? I was just your whore?” The hurt was apparent in her eyes, but he was out of sympathy at the moment.
“When I was with you, I never treated you like one.”
And that was the only answer he would give to that question as he headed out the door without looking back.
Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva Book 4) Page 22
