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I melted into him. The fear, the storm, the noise—they all cracked and fell away. All that was left was him, and the way he kissed me like I was a precious treasure he’d almost lost.

I was already growing wet between my legs, and my nipples peaked beneath my nightdress.

Shit.

I wanted him, and I wanted him so badly, my heart felt like it would burst.

I arched my neck backward, secretly granting him permission I knew he didn’t need to take full control. To ravage me, eat me out, destroy me, until I lay bare in his arms, completely spent but satisfied.

My need for this man grew quickly into an unhealthy obsession with every flick of his tongue on my nape and down my collarbone.

My skin sang for him, and the rest of me couldn’t wait to feel his hardness buried deep between my thighs.

I pressed into him, our lips parting as the kiss deepened for just a heartbeat.

His hands slid along my sides, gathering me closer, and I felt his breath hitch sharply.

Then he pulled back, his chest heaving. I caught the edge of frustration in the set of his jaw and the fierce tension in his gaze.

“What?” I searched his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t say anything.

My hand went to my belly, reacting instinctively as I noticed his eyes flicker down to the curve hidden beneath my nightdress.

Unashamedly, I puckered my lips, feeling the cold set back in. “Matvey, I don’t want to stop. I want you.”

His lips twitched, as though he was trying to curse or plead, or maybe both. “You have no idea what you do to me,” he rasped, voice jagged with raw emotion.

Silently, he drew me back against him again, pressing his forehead to mine.

I could feel the heat through his shirt and hear the rapid beat of his heart pounding in his chest.

He trembled against me, and I knew he was torn between wanting me, yet holding himself in check. Somehow, his restraint and show of concern for our baby made my heart soar.

I closed my eyes, feeling the world narrow to the press of his body and the storm crackling between both outside and between us.

I turned my face into his shoulder. There was a burden pressing heavily in my heart that needed to be offloaded, and I made the decision to spill before I changed my mind.

“Don’t let go. I don’t want you to let go, Matvey. Not now or ever. I’m glad you’re here, and I don’t think I can pretend anymore that I don’t care. I feel something real when I think about you. I…I’ve been trying to fight it, but it’s you. It’s always been you.”

I looked up at him, surprised to find his eyes wide and shining, as if he was seeing me for the first time and finally understanding.

“I feel it too,” he breathed and kissed my forehead. There was a pause before he started speaking again and—

“I love you.”

Oh, okay—whoa!

He loves me?

Matvey loves…?

Is that it?

But it is, isn’t it?

All this time, I’d been in love with Matvey Yezhov too, and didn’t even know it.