He exhaled through his nose. “Of course I’ll go with you.” He brought my hand up to his mouth and pressed a whisper-soft kiss to my knuckles.
I grinned. “So, we’re dating, right?”
He nodded. “Yes, I think so.”
“And I can call you my boyfriend?” A goofy smile spread across my face.
His brow rose, but his eyes smiled. “I’m hardly a boy.”
Oh, baby, don’t I know it.
“And I don’t have to wear my jammies to bed anymore?” I asked innocently.
He stilled, feigning disinterest. “Not if you don’t want to.”
I sighed in relief. “Thank God.” I went over to the dresser, brought out a white tank top, slid it over my head, and then went about removing my bra, pulling it through my armhole. How great did it feel to take off your bra? “Ugh. Freedom.”
Lev locked the bedroom door and we slid into bed, leaving the lamp by my side of the bed on. I turned to look at him, resting my head on my hand. “How’s your head?”
He sat up in bed, his broad back against the headboard. “Better. The massage took the bite out of it. Thank you.”
“My mom used to do that for me whenever I had a headache. It always worked.” I smiled, moving to kneel on the bed, shuffling closer to him. “And now that you’re better…” I lifted my leg and maneuvered myself to straddle his thighs. His hands gripped my hips tightly. “I would like another shot at that first kiss, if you please,” I requested, my hands resting on his wide shoulders as I lowered my face to his.
He kissed my smile until it melted away and all that was left was raw hunger. I moaned low in my throat when the hands at my hips coaxed me down to sit on his thick erection. His stubble scratched lightly while his full lips soothed the burn with kisses that rocked the foundation of my world.
Unconsciously, my hips began a dance on their own, grinding my panty-covered sex over his rigid length. He groaned into my mouth, and I panted into his. It wasn’t long before he used his hands to guide me in a slow rhythm that had my panties in a knot.
I wanted to play.
I breathed into his mouth. “Take off your boxers.”
The hands at my hips stilled and he pulled back to look at me. “Wait.”
“No!” I was sexually frustrated. I needed his cock inside me now! “No, I’m tired of waiting. I’ve wanted this for weeks.” I kissed him, pushing my chest into his. “I’m not waiting anymore, Lev. Now.”
He kissed me back with all he had then pecked my lips. “I’m sorry to put a kink in your plans, but…” His brow rose. “Don’t you have your period?”
“Oh.” Well that freaking sucked. I buried my face into the space where shoulder meets neck and I mock sobbed. “No.”
He ran his hands down my back tenderly. “We can wait.”
I lifted my face and shot him a look of disbelief. “For a week? A whole week?”
He kissed my nose. “I would wait ten years if you asked me, Mina.” His eyes softened. “I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for you. A week is nothing in comparison.”
Shit.
I was going to cry. For real.
My throat thick, I whispered, “Shit.”
His expression turned panicked at the sight of my wet lashes. “I’m sorry. I told you I’m not good with words.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pressed my lips to his and spoke against them, “You are perfect, Lev. Your words are honest and colored beautifully. You make me feel things I thought were lost to me. And I’m in danger of losing my heart to you.”
I didn’t add ‘and that scares the bejeezus out of me’.
He squeezed my hips with his big hands. “One day at a time.”
I nodded. He was right. One day at a time.
Reaching across the bed, I turned off the lamp and lay in the center of the bed, waiting for Lev to take his place behind me. He fitted my body to his, spooning me sweetly, but the erection in the center of my back was hot and bothered. I could feel its anger.
In the dark, I whispered, “Want me to take care of that bad boy for you?”
The arm he had around me tightened and he repeated his previous words, “One week, Mina.”
One week, indeed. One week of hell.
“Okay,” I spoke quietly. “Night, Lev.”
He moved my hair and kissed the base of my neck. “Goodnight, mouse.”
I needed a glass of water. My mouth was drier than the Sahara.
On nights like this, I could walk all the way down to the kitchen in the middle of the night, or I could go into the en suite, run the faucet, and stick my mouth under it.
I chose the easy option, obviously.
Flinging back the covers, I slid out of bed, shuffled over to the en suite, and noticed a little too late that the light inside was already on.
I opened the door carelessly, unaware that I was about to walk in on something private. Very private.
My sleepy eyes widened and my lips parted as I took in Lev, leaning against the vanity, boxers off, his head thrown back in bliss as he tugged on his thick cock with a firm hand.
And what a cock it was.
A small squeak escaped me.
Lev’s eyes snapped to me, but I couldn’t take my eyes off his furious erection. It was long, and thick, and it looked as though Lev had manscaped. I was petite. I stood there a moment wondering how on earth it was going to fit inside me. Clearly, we’d have to take it slow.
“That looks painful,” I mumbled sleepily, my hand still on the handle. It took a moment before I realized this was not a dream, regardless of how hot it was. I gasped, covering my face with a hand. “Shoot, I’m sorry! I didn’t know anyone was in here. I’ll…” I slipped back out and closed the door behind me. “I’ll leave you to it.”
I rushed back into bed, but my body was hot and bothered. I couldn’t cover myself.
Five or so minutes passed, and finally, Lev came out of the bathroom. He slid into bed and we lay in a long silence.
My cheeks flamed. It couldn’t be avoided. We needed to talk about it or it would become ‘that awkward incident that shall never be named’. “I’m sorry.”
He reached out and took my hand in his. “It’s okay.”
“Did…” Don’t ask. Don’t ask. Don’t ask! “Did you finish?”
He ran his thumb over my palm, hesitation clear. “Uh, no.”
My stomach coiled in distress.
He didn’t finish, and it was all my fault. I gave him stage fright. I was the reason he couldn’t take care of business.
I sat up and scooched over to him. Feeling around, I found his jaw and cupped his face between my hands, lowering my face to press slow, wet kisses onto his mouth.
He growled. “Mina, that’s not really helping, baby.”
Baby.
My heart sighed dreamily.
He called me baby.
I shushed him and kissed him deeper. “Let me help you.” Without waiting for his opinion on the matter, I turned to face his feet and straddled him, sitting on his stomach, my legs open and out on either side of his.
His voice hoarse, he croaked, “You don’t need to. It’s okay”
God, he wanted it so bad. I could hear it in his tone. He was just playing it cool. I understood need. I spoke huskily, “I’ve been dying to touch you, Lev, and now that I’ve seen it, I don’t think I can keep my hands off you.”
That was the truth.
Running my hands down his thighs, I brought them back up slowly in a light massage. I did this over and over again until I heard Lev sigh in pleasure. I slid my hands up to either side of his length and held them there. With delicate care, my fingertips grazed the elastic of his boxers before slipping leisurely inside. The moment I came into contact with his hot, hard tool, Lev let out a long groan, and I wrapped the fingers of both my hands around it. It didn’t surprise me that the fingers of both hands weren’t able to meet. My hands were small, and he was big.
I let go of him a s
econd to slide my thumbs under the waistband of his boxers and, thankfully, he took the hint, lifting his hips, allowing me to push them down to his knees. I quickly took him in my hands once more, worked him slowly in an up-down motion, and asked, “Lotion?”
“Don’t have any,” he rasped.
I slid back so that my rump was in the center of his chest and bent at the waist, stroking him all the way. I wanted to put my mouth on him. I tested the waters by gently licking around the head of his shaft and was rewarded when Lev convulsed in a way that almost threw me off.
Panting, he gripped my hips and thrust up into my hands. “Yeah, baby. That’s good. So good.”
I had to agree. He tasted clean with a tinge of saltiness, and every time my tongue passed over his slit, I was pleased to hear the sounds of his pleasure.
Opening my mouth, I held him straight and gradually took the head of him into my mouth, sucking lightly, feeling bolder and braver with every second.
Lowering onto him, I managed to take half of his length into my mouth before deeming myself at risk of gagging. My lips around him, I started an up-down motion again and sucked him deep as I could. His low groans and panting drove me.
He tasted so good that I moaned with him. I wanted to tell him that I was enjoying this as much as he was. “You taste so good, baby.”
That seemed to drive him over the edge. His hips began to thrust fitfully, driving him farther into my mouth. A growl escaped his throat and he pulled my mouth away from him. I knew what was coming, pun intended.
My hands worked him in long, hard strokes until finally, his stomach clenched, his body went rigid under me, and he shouted his release. I felt it all. His cock throbbed furiously, sending warm spurts of cum shooting out onto my hands.
I held onto his softening dick, waiting for his body to catch up with the bliss his mind was experiencing. I was horny as hell, and although I could very well rub myself into an identical ecstasy, I chose not to. I felt powerful from what I had just done. I was high on the feeling. That was enough for me.
The moment I felt Lev’s body melt into the bed, I moved off him and made my way to the bathroom to wash my hands and face. Before I washed it off, I examined the sticky white goop on my hands. I touched a finger to it and rubbed it between my thumb and finger. Just as Lev walked into the en suite—buck-naked—I touched that finger to my tongue, meeting his eye in the mirror.
It didn’t taste bad. It was different. A little bitter and salty, but it wasn’t something I would hate to have in my mouth.
He watched me carefully, and it forced a smile from me as I washed my hands and mouth. “It doesn’t taste so bad, you know.” I told him, “Maybe next time you won’t have to pull out.”
And still, he watched me, his soft cock larger than any I’d ever seen. I stepped toward him, reached up, and cupped his cheeks. “Better?”
He blinked sleepily. “Much. Thank you.”
He was so polite, even in situations that didn’t call for it. He was so silly. It made me smile. I pulled his face down to mine so I could kiss his lips. “You’re welcome, sweetie. The pleasure was all mine.” His brow rose. I rolled my eyes. “Okay, well, maybe not all mine, but it sure was fun.”
After Lev washed up, he came to bed naked as the day he was born and pulled me into his side, sighing contentedly.
One dinner date, and so many things had changed. I should have been freaked out, but I wasn’t. It felt like a natural progression. It might have seemed it, but it didn’t feel rushed. It felt expected.
I fell asleep telling myself that things would only get better from here.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mina
It was obvious to anyone with eyes and half a mind that Lev and I were official. If the open displays of affection hadn’t clued them in, the way Lev would growl at any man who touched me would have.
It was nice to be wanted, nice to be the object of a man’s affection. Of course, it was different with Lev. When he gave his attention, he gave it all. When he listened to you speak, he listened intently, no matter how mundane the subject. When he spoke, he thought carefully about what he should say, as though his words were a precious gift that he only gave to few. And I was one of the lucky ones.
When he held me, I felt as though the world could just float away, leaving the two of us locked in an embrace that would bypass anything and everything.
I loved him more than I thought possible.
And so, five days passed rather easily. Lev and I had gone to the bank to set up a savings account for me. I asked that I no longer be paid in cash, and Lev agreed that it was important that I have record of where I was getting my income.
Five nights of work ended in five nights of passionate make-out sessions before bedtime, with only one of those nights concluding with Lev getting a happy ending. During the course of those sessions, I discovered how erotic it was to undress a man, how much I loved running my hands over Lev’s naked body, and how serious this thing was between us. This was not a one-night, get-it-out-of-your-system type of passion. This was more, so much more.
Although light petting had been the main theme, I’d never lost my clothing before, not completely anyway, until last night. My tank was pulled over my head in a lust-fueled frenzy. My small breasts were squeezed by large hands. My nipples were rolled between deft fingers. And when his warm mouth closed over one stiff peak and sucked, my back had bowed in a way that might have looked like I was being electrocuted, and it sort of felt like I was, in a way.
Lev was always the one to stop the fun, knowing I was much too irresponsible to be trusted to the task.
Sex had never felt like this as an adolescent. It was clumsy and awkward and inelegant. Even non-sex with Lev was fluid and flowing and graceful. If this was how mild petting went, I could hardly wait for the main event.
Things could not have been going better…until that night.
The club’s crowd had not gotten all that much better, but some of our loyal customers returned after they had their fill of Aphrodite’s Kiss. We were grateful. How could we not be? We treated those customers as if they were kings among men, flashing them smiles, showering them with attention, and flirting at a safe distance.
I wasn’t sure what time it was when Anika came up behind me, leaned forward, and spoke into my ear, but the night was coming to an end. “Sasha wants you in his office. I’ll take over for you.”
Since Lev and I had made it known we were a couple, Anika had been surprisingly pleasing to be around. I thanked her and walked down the hall to the office. I placed my hand on the doorknob, turned it, and let myself in. “You wanted to see m—”
My words were cut off when I spotted the scene playing out before my eyes.
Sasha sat behind his desk, looking angrier than a bull in heat with no lady cows to funk his junk. Vik stood by the antique bookcase, leaning his hip against it, glaring down at the guest chair. The man sitting there was moaning low in his throat, bordering unconsciousness, his face bloody and swollen, hands tied behind his back, while Lev…
He held his fist up, a brass knuckleduster fitted across his fingers, his face screwed up, chest heaving. I gasped lightly, my hand flying to my mouth. That was when he spotted me.
The blood left my face, leaving me feeling cold and confused. My lips parted in shock, and my heart began to race.
The streets were not kind to me. I’d seen things that would make the regular person lose their lunch and this was nothing compared to that. What shocked me was that this was Lev.
Safe, protective, wouldn’t-hurt-a-fly Lev.
Then all three men were looking at me.
Lev’s brow furrowed and, lowering his balled fist, he moved to step toward me. “Mina—”
I couldn’t look at him. Lowering my gaze to the floor, I uttered, “I’m sorry,” and I saw myself out, shutting the door with a light slam. I turned to walk away, but jumped when I saw Anika standing there, her fac
e emotionless. I licked my dry lips. “Sasha didn’t want to see me, did he?” She lifted her nose in defiance and crossed her arms over her chest. My mind was a chaotic mess of puzzlement. “Why? Why did you do that?”
“You want a life with Lev? This is life with Lev.” She looked smug and I hated her right then. “You want in. You needed to know.” Her tall frame straightened and she spoke down on me, judging me for judging them. “This life isn’t so pretty now, is it, Mina?”
My heart squeezed. “Why do you hate me?”
Her face softened then, but only marginally. “I don’t hate you. I just don’t think you can be there for Lev in the way that I can.” Lifting her hand, she threw it out to Sasha’s office door. “Can you handle that?” I honestly didn’t know if I could. She stated confidently, “Because I can. And it doesn’t change the way I feel about him.”
I rushed past her, throwing my shoulder into her arm, and as I did, she called out, “You’ll thank me for this one day!”
No. No, I wouldn’t.
Lev attempted to approach me approximately a half-hour later, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer his call. I ignored him till he physically walked behind the bar, took me by the hand, and pulled me into the dark, empty corner of the bar. “Mina?” And still, I avoided his gaze. “Mina, talk to me.” His hands came up to cup my cheeks and he spoke a hair’s breadth away from my lips. “Please.”
My voice hoarse, I responded, “Can we talk about it later?”
He ran his thumbs lightly across the apples of my cheeks. “Okay.” Then he brought his lips to mine and kissed me in what I believed was an attempt to make me forget about what I had just seen, but the memory played on a loop. I turned my head to the side, disconnecting our lips, heartbroken.
Who was that version of Lev in Sasha’s office?
Certainly not the man I fell in love with.
I didn’t know that man, and it petrified me that our relationship may have been built on assumptions and lies. I asked myself if I knew Lev at all.
I would find out later that night.
We drove home in silence. Lev pulled my arm across the center console and held my hand, but my hold remained loose.