“Isn’t it beautiful?”
He nodded, and then took her hand, moving away from the people waiting in line for the telescopes positioned along the railing. They walked around to the opposite side, past the glassed-in apartment where Gustave Eiffel had entertained guests high above the city. To the west, the sun was sinking low in the sky.
Daniil stood beside her, his gaze intent on her face. “What you said, about how every minute passes too fast. That’s how I feel too. I want to remember everything, so I can go back to it once it’s over.”
Over?She didn’t like hearing that word, especially now. But she’d had the same thought. He was obviously talking about next week when he was back in Russia and she was back in LA. Since they were alone, she leaned back against him. His cheek brushed her neck, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. His whisper tickled her ear. “The only thing more beautiful than you in that dress would be you out of it.”
She drew in a breath. His possessive hold tightened. He stroked his other hand over her bare arm. Her skin tingled and her pulse raced. He’d said it. Now, she had to choose.
Sex would change everything. There would be no turning back. But she didn’t want to weigh the pros and cons, the rights or wrongs. All she knew was that she’d fallen in love with Daniil Andreev, and she couldn’t deny it any longer.
Nor did she want to, even if it ended in a devastating fall.
She turned, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his. Her stomach fluttered, and desire stirred in her core. She broke the kiss and gazed into his eyes. “I want you to take it off me. Tonight, when we make love.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE CAB RIDE BACK FROMthe Tower was sheer torment, especially since they’d had to make a stop at a nearbypharmacie. They’d slipped into the busy hotel unobserved through a side door, though the threat of discovery had stoked Tabitha’s fevered excitement to an almost unbearable level.
Once they were behind closed doors, she couldn’t undress him fast enough.
She pushed the jacket from his broad shoulders, and tore at the knot of his tie, all while devouring him with ravenous kisses.
Daniil’s throat reverberated with a low-timbered laugh. “Why such hurry? I thought you wanted me to undress you.”
He caught her wrists and pressed kisses into each of her palms. The tip of his tongue swirled against her skin, and a delicious tickle skipped along her nerves. “You’ll enjoy it more if we take it slow. We have all night.”
All night. Tabitha sank into the sensation of his hands caressing her arms and shoulders. He released the delicate clasp at the back of her dress. The cool silk brushed her body as it slid down to pool at her feet. His strong hands followed, stroking her sides. He bracketed her hips, and admired her, clothed in just a demi-bra, filmy panties and red high heels. “Beautiful,” he whispered. “Beautiful.”
Then he brought his hand to her face and brushed her lip with his fingertip. Feather light, he traced down over her chin and neck, across her breasts, circling each nipple. The muscles deep within her core quivered and clenched, as his finger traveled lower, across her belly to the sensitive place between her legs. When she sucked in a breath, he grinned and slipped his finger inside her panties. “I can’t wait to be inside you.”
She couldn’t wait for him to be inside her.
He reached around to unfasten her bra. She pushed back her shoulders when her breasts bounced free. They weren’t large, but as he cupped and squeezed, her small mounds fit perfectly in his hands. Her nipples stood erect as he fondled them.
He eased her down onto the bed, on her back and gently parted her legs. Her panties were drenched by the hot desire that gushed from her body. She hooked her fingers beneath the fabric, ready to rip them to shreds if that was what it took. But Daniil, still clothed, chuckled and pushed her hands away. “All in good time,” he said, planting a kiss in the middle of her stomach. “All in my time.”
With one hand, he captured her wrists above her head, pinning them. With luxurious slowness, he kissed her lips, nuzzled her neck, and teased her nipples. She writhed as his tongue and mouth laved the delicate skin of her belly. He rubbed his thumb over the tiny nub of her clit, with just enough pressure to send shivers up her spine. When he eased one long finger deep into her vagina, Tabitha released an ecstatic moan. Her muscles clenched around him, responding to the intimate strokes that pushed her closer to the edge.
Through fluttering eyelids, she caught his slanted smile as he toyed with the lacy waistband of her panties. “Should I? Or should I not?”
“Oh God, yes,” she said through gritted teeth. “Right. This. Minute.”
Chuckling, he pulled them off, and then positioned himself between her legs, and planted kisses along the inside of her thighs. He probed her hot folds again, this time with his tongue. Every inch of her body was alive with sensation, unlike any she’d ever known.
“You’re so wet, so hot.” He murmured. “But still not ready.”
Like hell!
She gave a little cry of protest and grabbed the fabric of his shirt. Devouring his mouth with insistent kisses, she undid his silk tie, and then went to work on his shirt. She touched and kissed the colorful gallery on his arms, shoulders and torso. There was a storm cloud with a lightning bolt above his right pectoral. A Russian phrase inked beneath his rib cage. She wondered what all of it meant, and would definitely ask.
Later.
When she’d stripped away his shirt and dress pants, she pulled him down, digging her nails into his skin. Hot, drenched and ready, she moaned. “Now! Please!”
“Are you begging for me?” He teased, and then peeled away his boxers, to free his large stiff cock. Tabitha’s eyes widened as she imagined it inside her. Daniil fished a condom from the package on the nightstand and sheathed himself. Then his face turned serious, and he cupped her cheek. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” In truth she didn’t know, but anticipated pain was almost always worse than the real thing. All she cared about was having his body joined to hers. She pushed her heels into the bed and lifted her hips, inviting him in.