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She swallows and nods, then says in a little voice, as if trying to convince herself more than me, “He wasn’t always that way. There was a time when he was my protector. There was a time when we were allies, Ollie.”
She runs her thumb along my lower abdomen, her touch stirring an awareness in me. I can’t believe that she’ll be mine. I hardly know what to do with myself.
I shake my head. “I don’t care that he used to be good to you. What matters is how he treats you now. You know I’ll—if he were alive, I’d have to kill him.”
Her eyes flash at me in the darkness. “If I didn’t get to him first.”
When she turns from me, a shadow of pain crosses her face. “Does your arm hurt?”
“Like a son of a bitch,” she says. “But that’s not it. I just hate what has to happen with my brother.”
There are a lot of things that fucking suck about what’s happened to both of us, what has to happen still. If it were me, I’d want to shoot myself before I killed one of my brothers, no matter how badly they betrayed me.
I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision.
I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“What makes you happy, Renata?”
She thinks for a moment before replying, thoughtful as if she’s sifting through thoughts and memories to get to something happy. I expect it will take her a while to respond, but she has a ready answer.
“Puppies,” she says, her voice lightening. “Farmers’ markets, especially if they have food. And I don’t just mean vegetables and fruit, but hot food that you can eat, like Mexican street corn, walking tacos and those fried things on sticks. Ocean views. Sleeping in.” Her voice lowers, becoming husky and sensual. “Sex.”
I smile, my heart warming at her honesty. I will give her all of that, though sex seems like the best place to start.
I roll her gently onto her back, leaning over her. “I don’t have puppies, farmers’ markets aren’t open yet, and we’re wide awake. Sex it is, then,” I whisper, my lips brushing against hers.
She smiles—a genuine smile that reaches her eyes and pulls me closer. I marvel at how our bodies fit together perfectly, her warmth enveloping me. Her nipples peak, and her eyes go half-lidded with desire. She wasn’t lying—her body responds like we were made for each other. She rolls her hips and lifts her face to kiss me. I kiss her softly, savoring every moment, every taste. I wonder if she remembers what I do—those stolen moments together before we were enemies. Back when we were just doing all we’d ever known.
Her hands roam over my shoulders, her touch sending shivers down my spine. When she bends to kiss my jaw, I press myself down on her.
She kisses down my neck, her breathing heavy with each kiss. She arches beneath me, her body responding to my touch. I take my time, wanting this moment to be sweet and perfect, just like her. My movements are slow and deliberate, sensations heightened by the intimacy of the moonlight on us. We’re only human, but the first cast of moonlight will turn us into wolves. I know this by now.
I hold my breath as I slide inside her. I exhale when I fill her. Connected. Fused. Finding solace in each other against the chaos of our lives. In this moment, nothing else matters. Just us, our shared breath, the quiet of two people who will become one. She shudders beneath me when I thrust, her hips meeting mine. I savor her moans. I build a rhythm that’s slow, wanting to take my time, but my need for her escalates. I thrust harder. She takes me.
I bend down and take her lips with mine as I come inside her. She cries into my mouth. I bite her lip and relish all of it—the taste of her, the way she shudders beneath me, the way my hot seed spills into her, pleasure ricocheting through every inch of me. I feel the echo of her ecstasy thrum through my veins.
I collapse beside her, my fingers trailing languidly through the silken waves of her hair. The warmth of her breath mingles with mine as I cradle the back of her head, guiding her to rest on my shoulder.
It's happening. I can feel it, gravity pulling me closer to her with each heartbeat.
I'm falling for her, just like my brothers did for their wives.
Hell, it’s nothappening. I’m already there. I can’t imagine a world without Renata at the absolute center of my universe.
A small part of me wants to hold onto control, to hold onto everything I’ve painstakingly built. I have to stay in control.
Someone has to protect us.
CHAPTER TEN
Renata
I really shouldn't be fallingin love with Ollie Romanov, or, more accurately…falling in love with him all over again.
But I guess, in a certain way, this is probably for the best. Deep down, I always knew it was inevitable.
We're going to be married, so we might as well like each other.
