Page 88 of The Bratva's Christmas Bump
“I said I would protect you and I failed,” he says quietly. “But I won’t fail at taking care of you. And I promise, no one will hurt you ever again.”
For such a large, intimidating man with miles of ink covering his muscles, he speaks with such tenderness. Like a teddy bear coming to life. I can’t take his promise to heart. Being around him has taught me how unpredictable his world can be, but if this care is the care I’m destined to, regardless, then I’ll take it.
I open my eyes and turn away from the spray. Squinting up at Maxim, he’s focused on keeping the shampoo out of my eyes while cradling my head back so the water washes back. He’s frowning slightly and his lower lip is curling faintly under his upper.
That glimpse and the warmth radiating from me because of his care births a new revelation that makes my heart skip a beat.
Shit.
I think I’ve fallen for him.
32
MAXIM
Hollie’s hair spreads across the pillow like a spiderweb, her breathing soft and shallow but finally peaceful. After our shower together last night, I feared she wouldn’t find peace after what she went through but luckily, sleep came swiftly and I spent my last hours awake doubling our security, putting a permanent car on her parents, and having Rex dig up every piece of info on Mr. Havershire.
The man’s a ghost, deepening my suspicions.
Suspicions that rest on the back burner as I study Hollie’s sleeping face and gently brush a few red strands away from her face. Her dark roots are peeking out now, but I like the contrast between the brown and red. Reminds me of a cinnamon candy cane at this time of year.
She turns her face toward my fingertips as if some deep part of her is aware that I’m there with her. Her lips part, and I sweep down to lightly touch her lower lip. She’s become so important to me in such a short time, and I failed her when she needed me the most.
Never again.
Hollie stirs a little more and her eyelashes flutter against her cheek, then she rolls onto her back with a soft sigh. Drawing her out of slumber as gently as I can is fun, but I’m running out of time and I need to talk to her before I leave. She murmurs softly in the back of her throat and her lips part a little further, taunting me enough that I lean in and kiss her very softly.
A part of her responds with just a flicker of pressure. She’s on the cusp of wakefulness, dancing that blurry line between the comfort of sleep and the lure of waking, so I continue my path. I kiss her jaw, then down to her neck and all the way down to her soft shoulder where the strap of her sleepwear rests in the crook of her neck.
Down her arm I kiss while my body gradually pushes the sheets away from her body. From her forearm to her abdomen exposed by her sleepwear rising up during her sleep, I lavish warm, gentle attention as I go until I reach the hem of her sleep shorts. She shifts under me and one leg lifts to the side, cocked at the knee. Warmth blooms through me as I pull her shorts down inch by inch until the silk rests around her knees and she’s exposed to me.
Her mound makes my mouth water. I discard her shorts completely, shift under one of her legs, and very slowly press my mouth against the outer lips of her pussy. She doesn’t react other than a soft, sharp intake of breath. Pressing my tongue flat against her, I press in between her folds until my tongue is against her searing heat, with her clit hardening against my tongue in seconds.
Her sweetness becomes the only thing I care about. Licking through her slowly from hole to clit, I savor her silkiness,lavishing equal attention on each of her inner lips and then focusing my pointed tongue on her clit.
That’s when she wakes up, alerting me to it as her thighs suddenly tighten around my head and a louder, clearer moan rises from her throat.
I pause briefly, awaiting her decision whether to continue or pull back, and my answer comes in her legs draping over my back and fully locking me in between her soft thighs.
Message received.
Now she’s awake, there’s no need for me to hold back, and I surge forward voraciously, eating her out with my usual passion. Strong flicks of my tongue, hard suction of her clit and deep delves licking inside her until her juices soak my beard and every breath from her above is tinged with a moan and a whimper. I press my face as close as I can, smothering all my senses in her, and I don’t stop until she comes around my fingers, quivering and moaning as if she’s about to fall apart right in front of me.
“Good morning.” I grin at her, my chin resting on her thigh once her last shakes of pleasure have passed.
With flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, she gazes down at me with a cloud of pleasure drifting in her eyes. “Morning.”
“I have to go out,” I say softly. “I need you to stay here. And this isn’t a request. You need to stay here.”
She squints at me and lifts onto one elbow as if my words aren’t quite making it through her sleep- and orgasm-addled mind. “Are youtellingme I can’t leave?”
“Yes.”
“But… I have lunch with my mom today. She invited me yesterday at the party because Christmas is on Saturday and she still has so much to do.”
“Until I know it’s safe, I don’t want you going anywhere.” Her brows furrow so I add, “Your parents are being protected too.”
Her eyes widen. “You think he would go after my parents?”
