“You forget our rigorous workout regime we have together, Samantha. And our running, too,” he said. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he waved her out of the vehicle when they stopped seconds later. He climbed out and collected her boxes before directing her toward an elegant building that was done in warm, earthy tones with splashes of color in the form of greenery and flowering shrubbery.
“This is true. With you I will never have to worry about gaining weight.” She loved their workout routine and counted the minutes down between sessions. “And yes, I do also like running.”
Petr led her to a lift and, stepping inside, pressed his thumb to a scanner before leaning in to let it scan his eye. “I’ll have to put you in the system so you can get in and out of the building even if I’m not with you.”
She looked over the outside of the building and was stunned. “This place is incredible. These are the apartments we will live in?” Not the whole building, but they would live inside of that work of art? She lifted a hand to touch one of the shrubs lightly. “Beautiful,” she whispered. “I love the art that your people put into creating homes and facilities.”
“We have an apartment at the top.” Leaning against the wall, he watched her. “You should also know that I have rarely been here, so unlike the house out in the countryside, the apartment is less pretty. Functional, but not overly warm.”
“I don’t mind that the place is not fully done up. It’s something we’ll be able to do together, creating a home for us here in the city as well as the one we have in the country.” She hadn’t seen that home yet, but she knew that they would eventually. Right now this was their home and she was fine with that.
“True,” he agreed. The lift slowed, then gave a discrete series of bell sounds before the doors slid open straight into an entryway through which Samantha could see a sunken sitting area, and beyond that, mountains.
Samantha walked to the windows and knew that her eyes were as wide open as they could get. “Petr.” Her fingertips touched the glass that went from floor to ceiling. “This is incredible.” Her voice was filled with awe. She turned to him and smiled. “The insides aren’t nearly as important with having this as our view outside.”
“Likely why I could never decide what to do with the spaces. The view is impressive and quite distracting.” His hand settled on her back. Then he took her hand in his. “I want to show you something even more impressive.” He led her to an open staircase that she could see through to a kitchen space. Climbing the wooden treads, she peered around, trying to see more of the space before it was lost to sight by the second floor. Petr led her down the hall and through a wide set of doors that stood open to reveal a massive, raised bed on a platform. There was even a stool sitting on one side all ready for her to use. But he didn’t stop. Instead, he led her to another set of floor-to-ceiling windows. There he touched a slightly opaque panel and the glass slid open to allow them to step out onto a large, private balcony.
She laughed when the balcony was revealed. “Freaking amazeballs.” She was in complete awe. “This is, I don’t have words.” She leaned back against him when he put his hands on either side of her body. “You are a very, very lucky man to have this as your home, and I’m even luckier because I have you.”
“The view is lovelier because you are here now,” he said against her ear. Pressing a kiss to her neck, he nuzzled at her skin. A tiny nip and he scraped his teeth to her skin. “We have time before we need to leave for our dinner reservation. What would you like to do while we wait?”
“Get naked and try out that massive bed that I walked right past?”
She had her answer when he turned her and threw her over his shoulder. A few long strides later and Sam was flying through the air to bounce off the surface of the bed. When she righted herself, she found Petr stripping down with an intent look on his face while watching her.
Grinning, she leaned back and tugged off her clothes. She tossed them somewhere on the floor. Once they were both naked, she reached out her hand and touched his cheek.
Dropping a kiss to her lips, he nibbled along the line of her jaw, then worked his way down her throat. With a hand resting on the bed, he used the one under her to arch her back and lift her breasts to meet his descending mouth.
Her hands moved over his shoulders and chest. Leaning into him, she lightly bit his chest. “God I love how you taste.” Everything about him, she wanted anything and everything that he would give her.
Rolling them over, Petr had her on top of him soon enough, and his lips curved into a smile. “Then you should taste more of me.” He pulled her in for a hard kiss with a hand at her nape. Releasing her, he skimmed his fingertips down her spine until he landed a slap on her ass.
Samantha moved down his body. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to. Not when he was looking at her like he was. She kissed and nibbled her way down his chest. She hesitated at his nipple, nipping it lightly with her teeth and grinning when he growled at her. “You like that?” she asked and wiggled down just a little bit more. “Because I do.” Her hand was on his cock now, stroking him. Slowly she worked her way to his shaft to take him into her mouth and suck him until he came. He pushed a hand into her hair, holding it off her face while she contemplated the hard flesh she held in her grip.
She leaned into him and, after giving him a wink, put her mouth on him. She began to move so that she was between his legs finally. Giving him one more look, she began to suck his cock, determined to give him the pleasure that he gave her all the time.
Samantha was bobbing her head up and down on his cock. She licked as she moved and sucked when she got to the head of his cock.
The words that broke free from him were rough and were ones the translator obviously had nothing for. They were raw, heartfelt, and made her even wetter between her legs. She’d done this to him, pushing him beyond limits to a point where he didn’t take care with his every word. His hand tightened in her hair when his hips jolted under her.
Sam shivered and moved so that she had a knee on each side of his knees. She began to rub herself against his leg, her clit being stimulated by his knee while she sucked him harder and harder.
She didn’t get a lot of warning. Petr let out a low growl, and suddenly she found herself on her back. He pressed her hands up over her head while his mouth locked with hers.
She kissed him back with equal fervor, needing him every bit as much as he needed her. Their tongues dueled and their teeth clashed once from the intensity of the kiss. She wanted to touch him but with her hands up and over her head she couldn’t. She moaned into his mouth and lifted a leg to wrap around his ass to pull him close.
The move had one serious upside to it. It had him settling with his cock rubbing against her clit. He let out another of those feral growls before he tore his mouth from hers. Hot, open-mouthed kisses were pressed down her body while his hands stroked and squeezed her flesh. Then he had his mouth on her pussy, and both hands at her breasts, pinching and twisting her nipples.
She shuddered, her hands moving to his head to hold him where she wanted him to be. She shouted his name when his tongue twirled around her clit. “Oh fuck.” She sobbed when she felt her body letting go and her orgasm coming. “There, God yes.” She shouted again while she rode out her orgasm.
Petr didn’t let up like he normally did. He had her body rising for another orgasm even before the first wave had fully swept through her. Only when she’d screamed her way through the second one did he draw back. Then he proceeded to flip her onto her stomach, grip her hips firmly, and yank her ass up into her air. She felt the hard edge of his teeth when he bit one cheek just hard enough to have her body clench in need again.
She loved every single dominating and rough thing he did to her. “Again,” she begged. “Please,” was all that she could say, because it was perfect. She loved when they made love slow and easy, but this… This primal and rough domination was everything she could ever have hoped for. “Harder. It feels
so good.” When he took control, complete and total control of her, she was in absolute heaven.
He was obviously in a playful mood, because he gave her what she wanted. Not immediately, it wasn’t exactly his style, after all. No, he rubbed his nose lightly to the small of her back, the warm moisture of his breath teasing her flesh while he slowly worked over to the other ass cheek. A flick of his tongue to her flesh raised gooseflesh everywhere. And right when she thought she might very well expire, he sank his teeth in a second time.
“Son of a bitch.” She whimpered those four words as if they were one single word. “You feel so freaking good.” She clenched her hands on the bedding and pushed back against him.
His hand landed sharply on her right buttock. Then she received another slap to her left cheek. Petr brushed his lips over her lower back while he rubbed at the heat spreading out from the two spots on her flesh. He didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need words. He was there, with her in the moment, and that was all that mattered. Even if he was playing with her.
The teasing was what they both needed and wanted. He was driving her insane and she loved it. She pushed back again and shuddered. “Again.”
Two more hard slaps to her ass, some more rubbing, and he gave her a series of slaps. A few were hard, others barely taps, but she never knew what she would get from him and it added to the anticipation. Occasionally he would pause to rub her flesh or to stroke a hand between her legs to tease her clit or dip into her sheath.
“You know just what to do to make me ache.” She moaned, moving slightly under him. “You are so good to me.” For her, he was so good for her that it made her whole being shudder and ache.
Another two slaps to her ass. Then his body blanketed hers. His cock was hot and hard against her warmed flesh. Petr pressed kisses to her shoulders and along her neck. “Are you ready for me, Samantha?” He used his teeth to tug on her earlobe, shifting his hips around at the same time so the head of his cock rubbed to her pussy. “You are very wet, little one. But are you ready for me to give you more?”
“Yes, God yes I am.” She sobbed his name as she pushed back against him. “I need you to give me everything. Fuck me, Petr. Fuck me hard, please,” she begged. “Don’t hold back. I need everything.” She was pushing hard back against him time and time again.
It must have been what he’d wanted to hear because, finally, he didn’t make her wait a second longer. A single thrust had his cock sliding through her slick and swollen folds to bury deep inside of her body. He pressed one hand to the bed, near her own, and the other flexed on her belly before sliding lower to cup her mound. They both took a breath. Then he began to move. Gone was the patience he normally exuded. Gone was any finesse he might have. His flesh slapped to hers in an ever-building rhythm, quickly drawing her body taut like a wire ready to snap.
She moved with him, her body just as desperate as his was. Her fingers tightened on the bedding and she knew that she would never have enough of him. “More,” she pleaded. Her movements were slightly erratic, but she moved with him eagerly.
A brush of his finger over her clit was her only warning before he pinched the tight, sensitive nub. He squeezed it while rolling it between his fingers. At her throat, she felt the heat of his rapid breath followed up by the scrape of his teeth. When she didn’t think she could take anything else, he bit down on the sweet spot between shoulder and neck, tugging on her clit at the same time and thrusting harder. Her pussy clenched his cock, and she shuddered.
“Let go, little one,” he said against her damp flesh. Another tug to her clit and everything splintered apart. Petr thrust faster, pushing her further. Then, for a moment, they stilled. His seed splashed into her body right when he let out a bellow.
She shook from the orgasm, her body in perfect harmony with his. She was gasping for air, body covered in sweat, and a smile on her face when she collapsed against the bedding. “So good.”
Slowly he extracted himself from her and shifted to lie on his back at her side. When Sam gathered up a small burst of energy, she moved closer, and Petr pulled her the rest of the way until she was draped over his chest. Both of them were hot, sweaty, and sticky, but it didn’t matter. With his hand on her back, his heart thundering under her cheek, and their bodies close they were all that really mattered.
Chapter Eleven
Pulling more books from the shelving, Petr carried them to the table he and Samantha had appropriated for their day in the archives. They were alone down there. Unusual, yet not surprising. When he’d put in the request for access, an old, dear friend had made sure they would not be disturbed the best way he could. He had put the entire archive into lockdown for a special guest. No mention of their names would ever be found, and the moment they left Petr’s friend would erase anything that might lead their way.
Like himself, Petr’s contact was of the mind that the war only served one purpose. To keep the ruling body and their extensions on the other planets and moon bases in business. If Samantha really did have a lead on what had started the war, then there was a chance the ruling body would not look favorably upon any who exposed their scheme.
Once he reached the table, Petr set the tomes down next to Samantha and retook his seat. At her look, he tapped the short pile. “These are the oldest records in the archives. They’re also ones you likely will not be able to read. Do you have a better idea of when I should be looking for our marriage that did not happen?” She had been diligently working on narrowing down exactly when everything had occurred. Since dating anything in the archaic manner of writing in books was nearly unheard of he knew he would still have quite a search on his hands. But if he knew approximately when everything happened, he could figure it out with what he already knew of the history from school, and with a little added assistance his friend had provided in the way of how everything in the archives was encoded.
“Thank you for these.” Her hand was on the books and her eyes on his, something she did that he loved. “I’m glad you know how to read them, because I’m not so sure that I’d be able to get through all of this without you.” She pushed a bottle of water his way. “Okay, so what I’m looking for is a mention of a talk between the then rulers of the nations. When there was a ruling family for each race instead of the council that you guys have now. Ready to help me out here?” He saw the excitement on her face, the thrill of looking for what she called a needle in a haystack, whatever that was.
“I’ll start with the first of these books, then. I doubt there will be much to it until, or if, there is any mention of journals written by each of the families. Some did, others did not. We can only hope that they all held to the tradition of writing important moments.” Digging through the pile, he handed her one slim volume. “This is from the time after the languages began to change into our more common speech. There may be a few words you’ll need help with, but I think you should be fine for the most part. I only wish I had some way of speeding this process up for us. I don’t like having such a mystery weighing on me, Samantha.”
“Thank you.” He knew she wanted to help and it killed her that she couldn’t read the old writing as well. She was making him teach her, but it was slow going. “If we’re going to find something we’ll have to be very careful with the knowledge. We can’t let the proof get misplaced or destroyed.” Something he had already been thinking of as well. “Let’s just hope that Adira is able to find something with Fintan, too.”
“I know she’s working hard in every spare moment she can find. The Craegin archives are apparently much like ours. The oldest, and likely most damning, of the records are kept only in dusty hard copies out of reach of the public, and accessible only to those of a certain rank. I do know that since their marshal’s office is now behind them to discover what is happening between our worlds they are able to get to so much more. Given my lack of trust for the ruling body, I doubt they would be so willing to let us in here should they figure out our motives.” Petr was deeply concerned about
what might happen if the ruling body ever figured out they had been in the archives and ever discovered what he and Samantha were looking for. He had the extremely bad feeling that it was the Imara ruling body keeping the war alive, given what he had learned from Fintan in regards to the marshal.
“We can only hope that we find what we need. Hopefully, the ruling body of your world hasn’t taken the books and destroyed them.” Which was a fear of his as well. “Whatever we find out, we’ll figure out a way of using it. Somehow we will make sure the truth is known and this senseless war ends.”
“Yes, we will.” Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to her lips when she lifted her chin expectantly. He took an extra moment to deepen the kiss before, reluctantly, drawing away from her. “We need to finish this up. This is our one and only chance to be in here undisturbed. Get to work, little one.”
Samantha grabbed the last book and he watched her as she read intently. He gave her the words she pointed out from time to time and he noticed that she kept a running log of the words and meanings on a tablet that she had on the table with her. He was lost in watching her but because of that he was able to see her brows draw together. “Wait.” She turned the pages back, then re-read the passages. “Now this is interesting.” She looked up at him and for a moment he forgot what they were doing. “According to this, there was a monarchy for both the Craegin and Imarian peoples. Evidently the heirs to the thrones for both worlds met anonymously at a party and fell for each other. They were to be married, but there is nothing after that. Nothing showing that they were married, and the next latest entry is a year later with no more mention of the monarchies. That’s very odd, wouldn’t you say?”
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