Page 77 of Viktor

Why had she only now noticed it? Closing her eyes, she tried to pull it away, but he held on.

“Uh uh, Sara Jane.” He turned her hand over, and her eyes snapped open when she felt his kiss in her palm. A spark of electricity ran along the length of her arm. That pressure on her chest? It came roaring back, heavier and tighter than ever.

“Why did you do that?”

His ornery smile was back. “Because I wanted to.”

“What if I don’t want you to?”

“You do.” So arrogant.

“No, I don’t.” She tugged her hand again, but this time he was ready for her. He tugged her right back, and she landed against his very naked chest. Dammit. Before she could scramble back, his arm came around her to keep her from running.

“What you do to me,moye sokrovishche.” His let go of her hand and tipped her head up. “I’m going to kiss you. I can’t wait anymore.”

She started to shake her head, but he swooped in, and his lips found her jawline. Her lungs ceased to work with the touch of his lips against her skin. They burned. Her fingernails bit into his shoulders when he trailed butterfly kisses along her jaw up to her ear, and when his teeth sank into the fleshy lobe, her eyes rolled back.

If he felt half of what she did just now, she almost felt sorry for him. His tongue traced the shell of her ear, and she groaned. He hadn’t even kissed her yet, and she was falling to pieces right here, right now, with simply a touch of his mouth.

“Breathe, baby. I got you.”

She shivered. His voice. It made her clench her thighs together. His voice was lethal to women. One husky word, and they were goners.

He picked her up and settled her on top of him, her knees coming to rest beside his hips. “That hurt, baby?”

She shook her head. The lust in his eyes was apparent, and he still thought to make sure she wasn’t in pain. He cared.

A tear slipped free, and he swiped it with the pad of his thumb. “What’s wrong, Sara?”

“I…” She ducked her head and laid it against the space between his shoulder and his neck. “No one’s ever cared for me like you do. You take care of me and constantly think about my comfort.”

“That’s what your man’s supposed to do.” His hand started to stroke her back, his touch so soft, she barely felt it. “You’re mine, and I take care of what’s mine. You and Delia will always come first for me.”

And there he went and endeared himself even more. He thought of her daughter as his too.

“You like her too, huh?”

“I love her,” he said, and she heard the laughter in his voice. “Who couldn’t love her, though? Her and her tea parties. Think I would let just anyone put a tiara on my head and pretend I’m the Queen of Summer attending high tea?”

“She adores you and Mason. She doesn’t normally like new people.”

“We’re not new people, though, baby. We’re her family, and she knows that. She understands it because she doesn’t overthink it.”

“And I’m overthinking it?”

His chest shook with his grunt. “I’m a patient man, Sara Jane. You deserve to overthink things.”

“Patient, huh? What if I said I’m not ready to kiss you yet?”

“Then we’ll turn Sam and Dean back on while I grump about damn cliffhangers and hold you all night.”

She sat up and saw the sincerity reflected in those pools of black liquid. He really would do that for her. Again, he put her first.

She needed to stop questioning himandherself. One of the quotes on her Pinterest was “We don’t meet people by accident; they are put into our path for a reason.” It was something she truly believed. Roger, as abusive as he’d been, gave her Delia. And now here was Viktor, his complete opposite.

Maybe she’d had to endure Roger for her baby, but God gave her this second chance at happiness, and all she had to do was reach out and take it.

She pushed down her fear, her insecurity, and her hesitation. Sitting up, she took his head in her hands. He stared back at her, his eyes unblinking. Ball was in her court, and it was high time she stopped sitting on the sidelines.

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