As soon as he saw me, he gave me a wide smile.

“Hi there,” I greeted him, eyeing him greedily behind my sunglasses. “You are early.”

“I couldn’t wait to see you again,” he murmured softly, then pulled me into an embrace. Our bodies flushed together; he nuzzled my neck and placed a soft kiss. I liked his affection and openness very much. It reminded me of my parents. “Ready?”

“Yes.” He opened the door for me, and I eyed the car, as I climbed in. “New car?”

He chuckled. “No, not exactly. But safer for longer distance drives.”

I raised my eyebrow. I didn’t realize there would be rough terrain where we were going.

“Do I need to grab my tennis shoes?”

“No, you are perfect.” He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. It sent a delightful shiver up my body.

“Sergei, if you keep doing this,” I told him in a husky voice, “we won’t make it to the beach.”

“Oh no, we’ll make it to the beach and have plenty of alone time on my boat,” he murmured softly. He reluctantly let go of my hand and shut the door. I was so smitten with this man.

* * *

Two hours later, we were both laid out on his boat. Yeah, it wasn’t a boat. It was a damn luxury yacht. According to him, we were on the most southern side of the Gulf of Finland. The weather was beautiful, the sun rays reflecting against the surface of the sea. The beach looked a bit crowded but swimming off the yacht was perfect. It was like our own private beach.

“C’mon, let’s jump into the sea and cool off.” I grabbed Sergei by his hand, pulling him along as I stood up. He smiled, happy and carefree. I freaking loved everything about this man so far. We jumped off the back of the yacht’s deck several times. I felt light and happy, the worries about the future wiped out of my mind. The only one that mattered to me right now was Sergei.

“You better watch out, Sergei,” I shouted off the deck. I couldn’t spot his form in the water from this spot. “Otherwise, I might land on top of you and dunk you.”

His baritone laugh sounded around me, and I took several steps back so I could have a longer runway for my jump. I ran fast and once in the air, pulled my knees to my chest and I splashed into the sea.

I came up to the surface for air, his laugh still around me. I chuckled too as I scrambled with my top bathing suit piece. Unfortunately, I had the wrong kind of bathing suit for cannon balls. Two-piece bathing suit was not safe when jumping into the water. I almost lost my top piece… for the third time today.

“Just take your top piece off,” Sergei suggested, laughing.

I gave him a wide look. “No freaking chance. Someone might see me.”

“I told the crew to go to the front of the boat,” he spoke through laughter as his hands reached for my waist and pulled me against him. I wrapped my hands around his nape, loving his hard body pressed against mine. I just loved having him close.

“Someone might have binoculars on the beach, watching us jump in,” I justified myself. He threw his head back and laughed hard. During our summer trip, Anastasia, Olivia, and I ran into several beaches where women casually took their tops off. It just wasn’t for me.

I felt his hands roamed my body, his fingers hooking under my top piece. My nerves vibrated deep down, in anticipation of his mouth and touch.

“Sergei,” I warned him but my body pressed harder against him. My mouth and my body didn’t work in sync here.

“I won’t let anyone see you naked,” he murmured against my lips. “Wrap your legs around my waist.”

Before I could even ponder on it, my body did as told. Not that I would resist it. I wanted to feel him against me, inside me, all over me. His palms ran up my legs, his rough hands felt right against my soft skin. My breathing was erratic, every fiber of me anticipating his next move.

“You are so hot,” he growled in my ear.

My core opened to his heat, and I rubbed myself shamelessly against him. He took my lips in a hard kiss, his tongue invading my mouth. I returned the kiss, holding on tight against him.

“If someone catches us,” I broke the kiss, and my voice was unrecognizable to my own ears, “I’ll have to kill you. And them.”

“Don’t worry, solnce,” his own voice was breathless, “I’ll kill them myself if they so much as peek at you.”

“Awww, you’re so sweet,” I teased him. His hand pushed my bathing suit to the side, his finger brushing against my clit and a moan escaped me. His finger rubbed my clit in lazy circles, and I thrust my hips into his touch. I was so hot everywhere, needing more of him as my body reached for heights he promised with his touch. With Sergei, I knew my body would reach the peaks I never reached before. And not only because I was still a virgin.

“Only for you,” he murmured softly, nibbling my neck. Something touched me in the chest hearing the reverence in his voice.