Page 45 of Saint

Whispering in someone else’s ear, “I know what it feels like…”

His words threw her. Knew what? She couldn’t think straight, much less remember what he was talking about. He was moving faster now, harder, but she had a feeling he was still holding back. The muscles in his neck were straining and his biceps were hard as rock. The idea that he was trying to be more careful than usual for her sake touched a deep part of her.

“Fuck, Mia, you feel so good.” His rough voice filled her ear and his index finger applied just the right amount of pressure on her swollen clit, making her whimper. “So wet and tight…just for me.”

A fluttering sensation filled her lower belly and she lifted her hips, trying to meet his strokes. He was driving her to the edge, his fingers and cock working magic, and all she could do was hang on and try not to scream as the friction became too much, as she was flung over the side of the precipice.

“Nik!” Everything seemed to tighten and intense pleasure rolled through her body. “Oh, Jesus…”

He eased off her poor clit, adjusted her hips and pumped harder, chasing after his own climax. Seconds later, he stiffened and shuddered above her. A harsh groan tore from his throat and she could almost imagine him breathing fire through his flared nostrils as he came.

???

Nik dropped down on top of Mia, mindful of his wrapped arm and her slender frame.Holy fuck.He couldn’t remember ever coming so hard. Maybe because it had been a while. Or, if he was being honest with himself, maybe because she had the sweetest, slickest pussy he’d ever sunk his cock into and his kitten had milked him hard.

He took a moment to catch his breath and breathed in deeply, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. Her soft vanilla scent made his cock twitch. Still lodged deep inside her, he didn’t want to move. Couldn’t move even if he wanted to. Her body fit him perfectly, so snug and warm, so damn soft, and he could still feel her inner muscles fluttering around his cock.

Pressing a soft kiss to the swell of her breast, he withdrew slowly. He’d taken her virginity and he had zero regrets. Maybe he was losing his touch—or his memory—but that was the best sex he’d ever had. His mind raced. If little inexperienced virgin Mia had knocked him flat on his ass, what would it be like with her after he had some time to teach her more about pleasure and all the things they could do to each other.

Unbelievably, his dick started getting hard again.

Rolling out of bed, Nik padded over to the bathroom, tossed the condom and grabbed a washcloth, trying not to think toohard about what just happened. Goddamn. He felt like he just got run over by a truck and the license plate read “Good Girl.”

He ran the washcloth under some warm water then returned to the bed, where Mia had already pulled the covers over her nakedness.

“Let me clean you,” he said, reaching for the blanket and pulling it back. His little kitten had blood between her pretty thighs because of him and he gently wiped it away. She stiffened at his ministrations, not initially comfortable, but as he soothed her aching parts with the warm cloth, her insecurity diminished until she relaxed against the pile of pillows.

After returning to the bathroom and tossing the washcloth in the sink, Nik crawled back into bed with Mia, pulling the covers over them. Laying his head on the pillow beside her, he tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear. He never cuddled after sex and he had no intentions of starting now. But, for some strange reason, the urge to talk filled him. It was definitely a first, but he wanted—no, needed—to know more about this woman who was casting some sort of strange spell over him.

“Who rejected you,kotyonok?” he asked quietly, his voice a low rumble.

“My father,” she answered. “I know you don’t believe me, and it kinda throws a monkey wrench in your plans, but after my mother died, it was just us. Or, more accurately, me and the current nanny.”

Poor, little rich girl.He wasn’t sure if he should be annoyed or open to the idea that they were more alike than he realized. She could still be downplaying their relationship because she was protecting him, but he doubted it.

“What about you?” she pressed.

He didn’t say anything, just felt his walls shooting up. Opening up wasn’t easy for him because he didn’t do it. Ever. Not when it was so much easier to keep his emotions bottled up and to ignore them.

“What did you mean when you said you know what it feels like?” she persisted.

When she asked him earlier if he knew what it felt like to grow up unloved, he couldn’t answer. Because, yeah, he knew better than anybody. His mother had abandoned him, he’d never known his father and the people at the orphanage who should’ve been caring for him had neglected and abused him.

“Growing up, I was on my own,” he stated brusquely.

“How so?”

“I certainly didn’t spend my time in a mansion with nannies taking care of me,” he couldn’t help but retort. Fighting with her would be so much easier than tearing open a scab on his heart.

“Where did you spend your time?” she asked softly, not taking the bait. When she reached out and laid a hand on his chest, tracing one of his tattoos, he squeezed his eyes shut.

Nik didn’t talk about his past. Not the orphanage, not the Bratva, not prison and certainly not about those fuckers at the FSS. None of them warranted a passing thought. Yet who was he kidding? They’d haunted his mind for decades.

“St. Petersburg,” he finally said, forcing the name of the city past his lips. Even though it was so long ago, practically another lifetime, he’d never forgotten going to bed on the frozen ground, huddled beneath a ratty blanket, and wishing for a hot dinner to fill his growling belly. He could still picture the hateful glancesfrom people who thought he was nothing more than a gutter rat, a stain on society.

Unwanted, unloved, unworthy.

The words were like splinters of wood that had wedged deeply into his heart and mind. He’d heard them so many times growing up that eventually he’d begun to believe it. And, like he’d told Mia earlier, his wishes never came true, so one day he stopped wishing and just accepted that life was a cruel, twisted joke and then you died. It was so much easier than having his hopes crushed over and over again.

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