Christmas Tsar (Blood and Thunder 1)

by Susan Stephens

  Her lips curved in a smile, and her green eyes danced with laughter. “If anything, I’m only more determined,” she told him.

  Dragging her close, he brought her beneath him. Driving his mouth down on hers, he kissed her, and kept on kissing her until she was completely in tune with him and completely ready for whatever came next.

  “What was it you said?” she asked him, mischief glinting in her eyes. “You’re going to make me come so hard, I won’t be able to stand?”

  “Well, could you?” he asked.

  “Earlier? That was cheating. You didn’t even touch me—and I was standing up.”

  “Until you fell down,” he reminded her.

  “Thanks to you,” she murmured, eyes shining.

  By now, he was frustrated to the point of pain, but his pleasure would have to wait. He removed what remained of Amber’s clothing: a small thong and her pajama jacket, but then he lost patience. The urge to be skin to hot skin consumed him.

  “I had thought about binding them,” she said, as he stared at her breasts with frank approval. “Especially when I was working at Hard News, where the men were like excitable puppies.”

  “And I’m not?”

  “You’re more of a wolf,” she said.

  “Which makes it okay?” he queried.

  “Which makes everything okay,” she told him with a sexy smile.

  She cried out with pleasure when he chafed her breasts by rubbing his chest against them. He could feel her nipples tightening beneath him and loved that feeling. Wanting more, he increased her arousal with teasing, brushing kisses and the rasp of his stubble against her neck.

  “I can’t stand this,” she complained in a voice that shook with tension when he paused.

  “And what are you going to do about it?” He laughed as he stroked her some more.

  “Try this…”

  Amber had the satisfaction of hearing Alexei groan when she took him in a firm grip with one hand and clutched his buttocks with the other.

  “Not yet,” he whispered when she moved her hand steadily up and down. His erection was magnificent. She marveled at its length and girth and at the deliciously smooth domed head that sprang so hungrily against her palm.

  “It’s perfect, and I need you in my mouth.”

  “Amber,” Alexei warned, but she ignored him. Her mouth was full. She couldn’t reply.

  He tasted so good. She laved him with her tongue and then sucked rhythmically for the pure pleasure of feeling him flex against the roof of her mouth. He was so clean and smooth, and so salty at the tip. He was big…huge. The practicalities of inserting this part of Alexei’s body into the hidden part of hers was a process yet to be explored, though her body was already clenching repeatedly in anticipation.

  Take it slowly was the best advice she could give herself, and so she cupped his balls, loving how smooth and cool they were. She nursed them as she took him deeper into her mouth. His groan of approval told her she’d gotten that right. And then he shifted position so they were top to toe. Parting her legs, he moved between them. His hands cupped her buttocks as he worked. Reciprocal pleasure was pleasure intensified, she discovered, though when he plunged his tongue deep, she almost lost control.

  “No,” Alexei instructed firmly, raising his head to stare fiercely at her. “You mustn’t—”

  She could. And she had. And the pleasure more than made up for her rebellion. It was so incredibly, excruciatingly good, with powerful pulses that raged on and on.

  “Bad,” Alexei scolded when she was ready to listen to him. “I should put you over my knee for disobedience—”

  She wriggled involuntarily.

  “Is that what you want?” he asked.

  He didn’t wait for her to reply. The next moment, her rump was high in the air and Alexei was holding her firmly in place as he delivered a flurry of light, titillating slaps. She came again without waiting for further instruction, and this time she was rewarded by another suggestion. “Would you like to come again?”

  His tone was so deliciously matter-of-fact. “Please,” she said politely, still with her bottom in the air. Resting over his knees, with her face positioned comfortably against the pillows, she writhed with pleasure as Alexei’s discipline turned to something more.

  “Come for me, baby,” he murmured, slipping his hand between her legs.

  She didn’t need telling twice.

  And then she heard a foil rip. “Let me. Guide my hand. I have to learn,” she reasoned.

  “You even want to do this?” he asked.

  “I even want to do everything,” she said, smiling.

  Just for a split second, Alexei looked at her with real understanding, almost affection, as if he was getting to know her and liked what he found, but then the look vanished as quickly as it had come. And, yes, she was asking to have her heart broken just thinking that way, but how was she supposed to stop feeling, and why couldn’t he start?

  “What’s so funny?” he asked when she huffed a rueful smile.

  “You,” she admitted. “You’re so big and hard and ruthless, and yet sometimes you let your caring side slip through.”

  “Thanks for warning me. I’ll have to be more careful in future.” But the way he lifted a brow and the way his eyes briefly burned with amusement gave her hope. And then he quickly made her forget everything. Nudging her thighs apart, he took his weight on his forearms and moved over her. He teased her with just the tip of his erection, and its weight alone was enough to alarm her. Breath shot out of her as he allowed the tip to catch just a little way inside her, but when he pulled back, the sense of loss she felt was intense. Which was surely what he’d intended, she suspected.

  “You’re so wet and so tight,” he murmured.

  “Are you surprised?”

  Alexei’s answer was to kiss her deeply and catch inside her again, and this time, he didn’t pull back.

  Taking Amber was a feeling like no other. He was surprised he could feel anything beyond the purely physical, but possessing her was primal and made him feel all sorts of things, chief amongst which was the desire to pleasure her. And to fuck like a madman. It took everything he had to hold back. She was so hot and tight and wet, and so hungry for him. She was clinging to him with fingers turned to steel, begging in words he doubted she ever used, to fuck her harder and faster as she worked her body frantically with his. When he was practically out of his mind with the need for release, she demanded more, turning him on like no woman ever had. They might not have known each other for long, but had fit heaven and hell into that time.

  “You’re insatiable,” he commented against her lips.

  “Says you,” she teased him, sounding as pleased as he felt.

  “That deserves a reprimand, at the very least,” he commented.

  “I certainly hope so,” she agreed.

  He brought her on top of him, and when she raised her hips for him, he took the greatest pleasure in rendering her plump buttocks pink, while she writhed against his other hand until she came twice more.

  “How many times is that?” she asked him.

  He was tempted to say he’d lost count, but it was easier to start moving again.

  Arranging her to suit them both, he took her deep and slow, rotating his hips until she forgot the question. Moments later, she was frantic for release. He gave it to her and made sure she enjoyed every second, to the last pulse of pleasure.

  “What do you think about? To hold on, I mean,” she asked him later.

  “Seriously? Polo matches mostly—match tactics, and which ponies to use for which chukka.”

  “Oh.”

  “You seem disappointed?”

  “Not at all. It’s just that I need it again,” she admitted.

  “Polo turns you on?”

  “Does that please you?” Her eyes were wide and sincere.

  “That is where we’re heading next,” he reminded her. “The public part of my life is all about polo.”

&nb
sp; “I’d almost forgotten,” she admitted. Turning in his arms, she stared into his eyes. “Do you like that part of your life best?”

  “Like it? I love it,” he freely admitted.

  “You sound very passionate?”

  “And you can’t stop asking questions, can you? So I’d better distract you,” he teased, stroking her. “Again?” he suggested.

  “If you’ve got time?”

  He had all the time in the world for Amber, tonight, at least.

  Taking hold of him, she settled him inside her and worked him hard. After a while, he changed position, bringing her beneath him so they could both watch. It turned him on to see how aroused that made her.

  They came together noisily with a huge amount of relief for both of them, but especially for him. “Any longer and I would have fucked you into next week and back,” he admitted as he collapsed on the bed alongside her.

  Amber pulled a comic face of misery. “Are you trying to say there’s no chance of that now?”

  He turned his head. “Are you disappointed?”

  “What do you think?” she said.

  Reaching out, he traced her cheek with his forefinger. “I think you’re a bad influence on me.”

  “I’m a bad influence on you?” She laughed softly, contentedly. “It’s you who’s the bad influence. I’m very happy to have to inform you that you’re an extremely bad man.”

  ~o0o~

  When Amber woke the next morning, the first thing on her mind was more of the same.

  “Can’t you pause long enough for me to say good morning?” Alexei reprimanded when she reached for him.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  He laughed, and, pressing her knees back, sank deep. They eventually made it to the shower, where they fucked like rabbits. Shaking his head in mock disapproval when she stopped him getting out, he took her again, buffeting her repeatedly against the cool marble wall until she screamed her release. It was like the first time all over again, judging by her body’s responses.

  “Better now?” he murmured when she sucked in some much-needed air.

  “That should get me through the next five minutes.”

  He laughed and made no objection when she nestled her face against his chest. Fighting off feelings where Alexei was concerned was getting harder all the time.

  “Do you want to sleep some more?” he asked as he carried her back to bed.

  “Certainly not,” she said with feeling. “By my watch, it’s exactly seven o’ clock. Amber Smith. Reporting for duty. Sir!”

  Chapter Six

  Alexei had a video conference with his colleagues in the Blood and Thunder polo team booked for noon, so Amber and Alexei reluctantly, lingeringly, and loath to stop touching each other, parted company at ten.

  So now she would shower and change into her crew uniform. And possibly—probably—definitely, think about Alexei all day. Once you’d tasted ice, there was no turning back. Amber swung around to glance one last time through the door as it closed behind her. And breathe. Complete with hard, tanned muscles glistening in the suds, and what looked like a day’s worth of stubble, Alexei was still lolling in his billionaire-sized bath in his billionaire-sized facilities “Plutocrat,” she flung over her shoulder as she let the door swing shut on his marble temple to everything that was way beyond her reach.

  “Mouth,” he drawled contentedly as the door closed, sinking lower into the water.

  “Yeah, and don’t you love it,” Amber murmured, smiling as she turned to go.

  Pausing, she rested back against the door for a few moments to relive some incredible times from some utterly amazing hours. She hadn’t realized she could feel so close to someone or that sex could be so good. She had never dreamed she could experience such a wealth of feeling for anyone.

  And that was dangerous, she thought as she straightened up. It was so easy to daydream when Alexei was in the frame. He might be amazing in every way, but she had to think of him as a one-off treat, a Christmas bonus. It was just too bad that her heart wanted so much more.

  ~o0o~

  The friends she was starting to make on board were already busy in the galley. There was a lot to prepare when a billionaire yacht owner decided to give his staff the day off.

  This would all be rich fodder for her article, Amber thought as she gazed around at what appeared to be organized chaos, though everyone seemed to be moving on prepared tracks and at the speed of light. She had already decided that her first article would concentrate on shipboard life, and the next, whatever she could find out about the famous polo team when they reached Isla Celeste. She would never kiss and tell—not that she could say much about Alexei’s private life, because, in spite of how close they’d become, he had very successfully kept her locked out of that part of his life, and what she had discovered would stay between them. Trust was like a green shoot and easily trampled, and she had no intention of doing that.

  She watched the head chef for a while, wielding his knife like a ninja warrior, and found herself wondering if he was yet another soldier in Alexei’s army. Every man in the galley, now she looked around, could easily be warrior material. Whatever else they were, Alexei’s team was highly professional and hugely loyal to Alexei. It was soon clear how much they respected him, but they liked him and trusted him too.

  “I can’t believe I’m supposed to be taking over from you for Christmas,” she told the chef, blanching at the sight of the insignia on his jacket that marked him out as a member of the elite Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. “What are you like at speed training a novice, whose specialty is hot pot and cheese on toast?”

  He reassured her with a grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave everything ready for you, with instructions as to how things work around here. And if you get stuck, I know caterers in every port.”

  “I can’t thank you enough,” she said with a sigh of relief. “How long will it take to reach Isla Celeste once we set sail?”

  “Are you eager to get there?”

  Recognizing the voice, she spun around to see Alexei looking stunning in nothing more than a fresh pair of jeans and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was leaning back against the door watching her with a faintly amused look in his eyes.

  “We’ll leave most of the crew in the Canary Islands,” he explained, pulling away from the wall. “A skeleton crew will take us the rest of the way to Isla Celeste, our home port.” Alexei paused before adding, “I’m here because I need you on deck right away, Ms. Smith.”

  Everyone in the kitchen was suddenly too busy to look up.

  “Of course, sir,” Amber said.

  “Keep that up,” Alexei murmured as he held the door for her and she walked past him. “You can call me sir, and I might even ask you to salute me next time.”

  “Don’t push it,” she warned.

  “You look great in uniform, by the way.”

  She gave him a look as Alexei stood back at the elevator, allowing her to enter before him. They stood facing each other in silence as the small cabin rose. The tension rose too. It was only when the doors finally opened that Amber realized how on edge she had become.

  Alexei steered her in front of him onto the deck. “What do you think?” he asked as he turned her to face the view.

  “Wow,” Amber breathed. The cliffs looming out of the sea as they sailed past were ivory, while the land beyond was emerald green. The sea was a tranquil aquamarine speckled with diamond light, and the sky was a cloudless cobalt blue.

  “Beautiful, huh?’ Alexei murmured.

  “You are a master of understatement.”

  “Late lunch?” he suggested

  “In my uniform?”

  “You must be hungry. I know I am.”

  She loved him even more for the dismissive gesture and the way his lips pressed down, as if whatever she wore was fine by him so long as they were together.

  I love him?

  Fantasies were one thing, but believing they were true was a sho
rt road to disaster.

  The beautifully dressed dining table, glittering with silver and crystal, took her mind elsewhere for a while, if only because it reminded her how hungry she was. She hadn’t eaten for hours—and not properly for days. “I’m starving,” she admitted, her mouth watering as she looked at the food.

  “I’m glad you agree it’s time to eat,” Alexei told her as he held her chair. “It’s important for you to keep your strength up.”

  The look in his eyes was wicked, and she had to rejig her thoughts quickly when the waiter asked if she would like a glass of water as well as champagne.

  “Are you comfortable on board?” Alexei asked, confining his questions to the mundane while there was crew about, she thought.

  “My cabin’s got everything I need,” she confirmed. “It’s very comfortable, thank you.”

  “I’m pleased to hear it, but you won’t be needing it for the rest of the trip.”

  A sliver of ice coursed through her. It was time to forget romance and remember she was seated at a table with a ruthless man.

  Seeing the alarm in her eyes, Alexei laughed and settled back in his chair. “You mustn’t believe everything you read about me.”

  “I’ve seen you in action, remember?”

  “You won’t be needing your cabin,” Alexei explained, “because this is now your suite. I hope you like it. This entire deck is your private preserve.”

  “My…? That’s quite an upgrade from stewardess and occasional chef,” Amber observed, frowning.

  Alexei shrugged. “Just accept that you passed the audition.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  Ignoring her outrage, he continued smoothly, “The swimming pool over there is yours, and all the staterooms on this part of the deck are yours too. You might want to go and rifle through your dressing room to find something suitable to wear to eat for lunch with a billionaire.”

  “A chastity belt?” Amber suggested acidly.

  “I’d only have to waste time unlocking it. And whatever you choose to wear, put on a bikini underneath. I’ve ordered the captain to heave to after lunch so we can go swimming offshore.”