Page 36 of Wicked Embers

Chapter 14

LEIGH

“I’m not nervous.” I try to shrug it off, but the faint waver in my voice betrays me, undermining the effort. “It’s your pool,” I add, a half-hearted attempt at humor that falls flat against the tension crackling in the humid air.

The water ripples around him, mirroring the unease tightening in my chest. Instinct screams at me to retreat, to create space, but his deliberate approach is as steady as the pull he exerts over me.

“You’re not planning to leave me here all alone, are you?” His voice is low, textured, humming with a dark promise that sends a shiver down my spine.

I swallow against the sudden dryness in my throat. “I just thought you’d want to enjoy your spa,” I reply, aiming for nonchalance, though the words feel hollow.

His gaze locks on mine, and I feel every defense I’ve built start to crumble under the weight of his intensity. “I want to enjoy it with you, ptichka,” Radomir murmurs. His eyes travelover me, lingering on my bikini-clad form, the heat in his stare seers my skin. “You are the perfect picture—fire, defiance, innocence, and just a trace of vulnerability. Exquisite. Rare. A true masterpiece, crafted for my eyes alone.” He steps closer.

My stomach twists, an unsettling knot of anger and longing coiling tighter at his words. His possessiveness, arrogance, and sheer audacity—claiming me as if I were nothing more than a prized painting tucked away in his private gallery—ignite a spark of rebellion.

Yet beneath the fury, a yearning begins to stir. Something that I’ve secretly craved in the quiet corners of my soul—safety, belonging, and the certainty of being wanted.

It leaves me frozen, torn between the woman I’ve fought to become and the fragile, pathetic longing born of insecurities I’ve always kept buried. I try to pull away, but his hand catches my wrist like a band of steel.

“Where are you going?” His brow lifts, his gaze sharpening with unmistakable desire.

“I need to finish some work,” I say, my voice faltering as I cling to the remnants of control slipping away like water over my skin. “A song I started.”

“Mm, sounds interesting.” He draws me closer. The slickness of the water heightens every sensation where our bodies meet. His voice dips lower, a whisper against my ear that feels like molten silk. “What’s it about?”

My determination falters as his fingers glide along my collarbone, tracing a burning path to my chin, tilting my face upward to meet his. The proximity makes it impossible to think, coherence slipping away under the onslaught of sensations—his touch, his heat, the dark pull of his gaze.

“It’s about life’s cruel twists and turns,” I finally murmur, though my voice is barely more than a breath.

Radomir’s lips ghost over my jaw, trailing to the sensitive spot behind my ear. “Ah,” he murmurs, his tone laced with dark amusement. “So, it’s like a lyrical memoir of your life?”

“I guess,” I croak, as he kisses along my neck, his hands slipping around my waist. I feel his arousal pulse against me, and my body responds, a tantalizing warmth spreading through me.

Where his touch goes, my resolve falters, and I feel the bitter sting of self-betrayal—not just of my will but of something deeper. My body, my heart, even fragments of my soul seem intent on surrendering to him, and I’m powerless to stop it.

His lips claim mine in a slow, deliberate kiss, igniting a fire that consumes my resolve. The walls I’ve fought so hard to maintain crumble as his touch sears through every defense. An involuntary shudder courses through me as his hands grip my waist, pulling me flush against him.

My body betrays me completely, my pussy clenching with need as the hard press of his arousal against me teases through the fragile barrier of my swimsuit.

His hand slides to the back of my neck, the other grazing over my breast, sending a jolt of electricity through me as my nipples harden under his touch. His fingers pinch and knead with deliberate skill, drawing a gasp from me as I arch into him, the need simmering inside me boiling over.

I barely notice the knot at the base of my neck loosen until the top of my bikini falls away, exposing me to him. In one swiftmove, Radomir undoes the remaining knot, discarding the top with a possessive ease that leaves me breathless.

He deepens the kiss, and an involuntary moan escapes me when the hand down south slips into my wet swimsuit bottom. His fingers trace along my soft slit before parting them to swirl around my clit, then dipping inside me to find how wet I am for him already.

“Ah, my beautiful Leigh,” Radomir murmurs, pulling his lips from mine to hold my eyes. “You can try to run all you want to, ptichka, but your body defies you.”

He starts to move his fingers within me, driving me into a mindless, desire-induced haze. My hand slides up his muscular back, trailing over the warm skin until it reaches his neck. I sink my nails lightly into him, feeling him shudder beneath me, and my hips move to the rhythm of his hand.

“That’s it, ptichka,” Radomir encourages, his other hand kneading my breast. “Give yourself over to the pleasure.” His head ducks, his tongue swirls around my nipple.

“Uhhhhh,” I start to pant, and my body starts to build to that delicious peak of release as his mouth and fingers strum my desire. “Oh, oh, oh.” My hips grind onto his fingers, and my hands pull his mouth closer to my breast. “That feels so, so gooood.”

“Yes, my little one, let go.” He moves his mouth over to my other breast.

His finger moves faster inside me, inserting two more that pump to the gyration of my hips. It’s not long until my head is thrown back, and my scream echoes through the pool room. Radomir keeps thrusting his fingers into me as I ride downthe wave. The shattering orgasm leaves my knees weak, and I collapse against him.

With a growl, he picks me up effortlessly and sits me on the side of the pool. His hands grip the sides of my bikini bottom, yanking them off impatiently, throwing them to one side.

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