Page 30 of Deadly Knight

Maya set a steady pace, using her hand to stroke his length where her mouth couldn’t reach. With her other hand, she cupped his balls, the heat warming her as she squeezed and tugged, mindful of his body’s responses and adjusting as she went. His stomach rippled as he tightened his abs in time to her mouth and his fingers tangled in her hair, holding her head steady without controlling her movements.

Her desires became focused on giving him as much pleasure as possible even as her mouth began to fatigue. She was definitely out of practice and made a mental note to give him more blowjobs. She couldn’t help smiling around his cock at that thought.

With each tremor and groan she pulled from him, she felt her own power growing, but she was losing steam and she desperately wanted to make him lose control. Tightening her grip, she increased the pressure on both his shaft and balls, sucking harder and swirling her tongue around him with each downward thrust. Kostya tried to stop her, but she just quickened her pace.

Suddenly, Kostya shouted, his hips snapping up. He held her head, filling her mouth, as his climax overtook him. She couldn’t get enough—the fatigue disappeared, and she worked him faster, harder, deeper. She gazed up at him, and the intensity of the look he gave her sent shivers down her spine. Her own body pulsed in time to his orgasm. When she had sucked him dry, he shivered, finally pushing at her head to get her to stop. She pulled her mouth off his cock with a pop, grinning up at him.

He collapsed back on the bed, panting as if he’d just finished a marathon. She climbed up on the bed and lay there next to him while they both caught their breaths.

Finally, he spoke. “I don’t want to know why you’re so good at that because I might have to kill whoever taught you.”

Maya laughed at that, not bothering to say anything to appease him.Let him wonder.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she felt his hand stroke down the side of her body. Opening her eyes to see him smiling down at her, she leaned up to kiss him. He reached out to grab her thigh, lifting her leg to hitch it over his hip. They kissed as his hands roved over her body causing those familiar pleasure tendrils to grow and spiral out from her core.

Maya tried to sit up so she could straddle his hips, but he held her in place. She nipped at his lip in annoyance, and he chuckled, the rumble of it making the butterflies in her stomach flap around. Pushing her onto her back, he rose up over her and got her pants down and off. Once she was naked from the waist down, he shifted until he was stretched out between her legs.

Kissing the inside of her thighs, he rubbed his bearded chin against her mound, making her gasp. Giving her a devilish look, he licked her slit from top to bottom before telling her, “My turn.”

CHAPTER25

Kostya

All it took was an investigation, a little money, and three months. When he looked back at the time and effort invested into the cause, Kostya didn’t regret a thing. Since returning to London with Maya, he’d made it his mission to make sure that whatever Maya wanted, she received.

For a woman like Maya, that meant professional fulfillment, and Kostya saw no better way to help her than to convince the council that they’d made a mistake.

He hadn’t hurt anyone—Maya wouldn’t have stood for that—and he’d only resorted to intimidation once, when Niko had discovered that the council member who’d shut Maya’s paperwork down on a technicality had been paid off by the Svodnik to do so. It looked like Popov wasn’t only out to hurt the Sokolovs—he’d been shutting down his own daughter’s dreams like it was his personal mission to do so. Kostya didn’t know what to think of that, and he didn’t let it get to him. All he cared about was the delight on Maya’s face when she heard the news that her newly submitted proposal had been approved without further complications.

And now, with the warehouse cleaned up and renovated at lightning speed, thanks to the additional monies promised to the construction company, Maya’s dream was finally coming true.

It was noon on a Saturday. The sun had decided to cooperate despite the forecast, and its heat warmed their shoulders and soaked into their hair. Kostya stood only a few paces behind Maya as she beamed from ear to ear, facing the yet-to-be-opened shelter that her hard work had made operational. All that was left was to cut the ribbon.

A small crowd had gathered, some attracted by the sight of something out of the ordinary going on, and others directly connected with the shelter. Over the last few months, Kostya had come to know their faces. Nervous about backlash from some of the Popovs’ most loyal men, Kostya had been glued to Maya’s side, keeping a careful eye on her. So far, he hadn’t needed to come to her aid, but he’d rather be overly cautious than risk letting harm come to her.

A speech had already been given, and all that was left to do was cut the ribbon and announce the shelter’s opening. One of Maya’s coworkers from New Beginnings handed her a novelty-sized pair of scissors, the blades elegant and stylized. Maya looked over her shoulder at Kostya, beamed anew, and then stepped forward to where the ribbon had been tied.

“It is with tremendous pleasure and gratitude to the city council,” Maya began, her voice gaining in excitement the longer her sentence went on, “that I hereby declare this New Horizons Shelter open!”

With a flourish, she sliced the ribbon. There was polite applause from the audience, followed soon after by conversation as those who had gathered started to chat among themselves. Kostya left them to their dialogue and went to join his lover on the stoop of the new building.

“You did it,” he said, laying a hand on the small of her back. “After everything, you still had the composure to put together new paperwork, resubmit the proposal, and have the building tidied up and renovated. Do you have any idea how impressive that is?”

Maya’s smile grew. “It’s not like I didn’t have help.”

“The money my family donated to the project only helped matters move more smoothly. It was your hard work that put this all together. Without you, this never would have happened.”

“On a normal day, I’d fight you and say that it was a team effort, but…thank you.” Maya leaned back against him. “Today, I’m going to accept the praise. Itwasa lot of hard work that started long before I met you. And I’m beyond grateful for your help. I know you’ll tell me that you barely did anything until you’re blue in the face, but I really do appreciate what you’ve done. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

Kostya kissed the top of her head, hiding his smile. Since he’d met Maya, he’d been smiling much more regularly. He couldn’t help it. Not even the Mad Dog was impervious to love.

“There’s still work to do, though.” Maya snapped back into action, one goal conquered and now, another set. “This is a large space, and we haven’t maximized its potential just yet. Right now, we have fifty beds, but I can double, maybe triple that with some planning and a little more money. I’m going to have my hands full getting everything in order.”

“Triple the beds?” Kostya asked. “One hundred and fifty?”

“I don’t think it’s impossible, do you?” Maya turned to face him, her eyes bright with potential. “We’ve got the space for it. I’ve got the eye for detail. With the right know-how, I’m sure that I can see this shelter expanded further. I can make a real difference with this place—it’s why I fought so hard for this particular property. Now that it’s been repurposed, where I can take it is only up to the limits of my funding. Given time, this shelter is going to be the best London has to offer. I’m sure of it.”

The enthusiasm and inspiration in her voice spoke to a part of Kostya that often went unacknowledged. With a few simple words and some big dreams, Maya had pulled on his heartstrings to create a symphony. No matter where he went, and no matter what he did, his mood was always lifted if Maya was there with him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so happy.

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