“You’re dangerous to me. My only weakness.” The last part was so low I almost didn’t hear.

  We kissed harder, my hands smoothing over his big biceps, my pussy wet, my clit throbbing in time with my pulse. The sounds we made were incomprehensible, rough, and guttural. Never once had I felt so out of control. Never once did I need something so instantaneous and consuming as I did right now with Arlo.

  “Arlo, please.” I didn’t care that I was begging, pleading for anything.… for all he could give me.

  I felt his hands slide down my side, past the edge of my shirt, his fingertips skating over the bare flesh of my thighs. I felt goose bumps form along my skin as he gripped the T-shirt and pulled it up. I rose enough to help him take the shirt off, the cool air puckering my nipples instantly.

  He groaned deeply, flattening his tongue along one peak and dragging it up and around. Over and over again. I let my body fall back on the mattress, my hair no doubt a tangled knot on the light sheets.

  I gripped the comforter on either side of me, pulling at it as he worked on one nipple and then went to the other, back and forth, over and over again. He tugged and tweaked at the flesh with his teeth, the sting of pain heightening my desire even more.

  “I can’t think when I’m around you.”

  I felt the vibrations of his words grow inside me. I thrust my breasts out farther, whimpering when I felt him slide down my body. I missed his mouth on my nipples, but he cupped the mounds as if he knew where my thoughts had gone, massaging them, tweaking the tips with his fingers and thumbs.

  “Open for me.” It was a thinly veiled demand I complied with promptly.

  I parted my thighs, the cool air washing over me, my pussy so hot, so wet that my panties were stuck to my folds. I should’ve been embarrassed Arlo was the first man to see that part of me, that he’d see how worked up I was.

  I closed my eyes as I kept pulling on my bottom lip, the pain from that small cut and my constant tugging on the flesh heightening my pleasure further. He ran his hands up my calves, over my knees, and moved his fingers up my inner thighs until he framed my pussy. “Look at me.”

  I blinked my eyes open and stared at the ceiling for a second before I pushed my upper body up on my elbows and looked down at Arlo. My breath caught at the sight of him between my legs, the darkness in his eyes, and carnal need reflected back at me, making my heart skip a beat.

  He smoothed a finger along the edge of the material, so soft, so gently that it was maddeningly erotic. And when he pulled the material aside, exposing me, I bit my lip hard enough I tasted the copper flavor of my blood coating my tongue.

  “Oh fuck, Galina.” I could feel the soft puffs of his breath moving over my now bared flesh. He slowly lifted his gaze back to my face. “Are you going to let me touch you here, lick this sweet spot?” He slid a digit up and down the edge of my underwear. It was an almost innocent graze, but it seemed so dirty, so erotic.

  “Yes,” I breathed out instantly.

  He groaned and leaned in, the sound of him pressing his nose to the material making my lips part even more. And when he inhaled deeply, a gruff sound leaving him, a stab of desire tore through me so hard I actually lifted my hips and pressed myself against him.

  “You smell so good. The most addicting thing I’ve ever been around.” His fingers were tight on the skin of my inner thighs. “I wonder if this pussy is as fucking sweet as you smell.”

  I was all but hyperventilating at his dirty words. And while he kept his gaze latched onto my face, he leaned in that last inch, my panties still shoved aside, and flattened his tongue on my cleft, licking me in a drugging way.

  I made a sharp sound in my throat at the feel of all that hot, wet heat, at the way he kept licking me from entrance to clit. Over and over again until I felt something tingle at the surface of my body and consciousness, readying to explode outward.

  My belly was hollowing from the force of my breathing, and my arms shook from holding myself up. But I couldn’t stop. I had to watch.

  “Mmm,” he hummed and sucked my clit into his mouth, causing my back to really arch, nearly forcing my eyes to close as the pleasure slammed into me. “I was right. Your pussy is so much sweeter than I could have ever imagined.” He moved back down and circled my hole, pressing the thick muscle in slightly before retreating and going back to my clit. “Addicting. I'll never get enough.” He sucked at my opening, and I moaned. “I’ll need to have my face buried between these pretty pale thighs every fucking night just to get my fix.”

  Oh God. I was going to explode just from his words.

  “Who’s licking this little pussy?”

  My mind was in a haze as I let his words filter in.

  “Who’s the only one who will ever kiss you here?” He emphasized that single word by doing just that, a soft, almost sweet kiss against my clit. “Who’s the only man who will ever know how sweet your cunt is?”

  My hands ached at how tightly I tugged at the bedspread. I couldn’t form words as I watched him tongue me, over and over again until I was lost in the sight of him doing these carnal things to my body. This was the best kind of torment.

  “Tell me, moy svet.” Those four words were a demand right before he sucked my clit into his mouth and gave a hard pull that sent me over the edge.

  “You, Arlo. Only you,” I cried out as I came.

  “Fuck yes.” His words were muffled against my flesh as he sucked and licked, nipped and stroked. I moaned when I felt him tease a finger along my pussy hole, my body tightening when he gently slid it inside me. “So fucking tight.” He sounded like he gritted those words out through clenched teeth.

  He sucked my clit again as he did a slow thrust of his finger in and out of me. And when he added a second, the stretch and burn, the discomfort of having something inside me for the first time heightened my lust.

  I bowed my back, my breasts thrusting out, my nipples tight and aching. I buried my hands in his short dark hair and tugged at the strands as hard as he’d pulled at mine. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him this was my first time… for anything, but I was so lost in the moment that all conscious thought was gone. Pulled out of my head as if it never had a place in there.

  I came again, my arms giving out as I fell back on the bed, my hands slipping from his hair, my breath stuttering out of me. I let the pleasure wash through me until I was too exhausted to move, let alone ask Arlo to hold me.

  “Look at me,” he said low, deeply.

  I forced my eyes open and lifted my head to watch as he pulled his fingers out of me, my arousal glistening off his digits. He spread them along my inner thighs, the warmth of my pussy juices cooling almost instantly along my flesh. He leaned in and dragged his tongue along all that cream, lapping it up like he was starved for it.

  He pulled back, made sure my panties were in place, adjusted my shirt down so I was covered, and then he was pulling me into his arms. My chest was right on his, and the sound of his frantically beating heart had me smiling. He might act outwardly like he was fine, controlled, but he couldn’t hide this.

  I shifted closer, and I felt how hard he was. I pulled back and tipped my head in his direction. “What about you?” He cupped the side of my face, his thumb stroking over my cheek. Arlo didn’t say anything for long seconds, and when he leaned down and kissed me slowly and gently, I melted into him, tasting myself on his lips and tongue.

  “This isn’t about me. I didn’t do this for you to reciprocate.” He kissed my forehead and whispered, “Besides, eating that sweet pussy brings me more pleasure than you’ll ever know.”

  I shivered, and he tightened his grip and pulled me closer to him.

  “You’re mine, Galina.” His words sounded final. “Ya ub'yu lyubogo, kto popytayetsya zabrat' tebya u menya.”

  “You’ve said that before. What does it mean?”

  He was silent for long moments, and I could imagine he was trying to think of a lie, but what he uttered told me it was the absolute truth.

  “It means… I'll kill anyone who tries to take you from me.”

  Chapter

  Eighteen

  Galina

  The next morning I found myself alone in bed, the covers over me, the other side of the bed cold, telling me Arlo probably left as soon as I'd fallen asleep. I didn’t want to let that bother me as much as it did, but what we’d shared last night, what he’d done to me and what he’d said, made me feel even more connected to Arlo than ever before.

  I got ready for the day. Our morning routine was the same with a danish and cup of coffee, but I noticed Arlo’s gaze on me was even more intense than before. I couldn’t stop thinking about his hands and lips on me… what he’d done between my legs, his mouth sucking and licking at me like he was so hungry for me he’d never get enough. I wondered if he’d thought the same thing.

  And as I stood a few feet from him in the boxing ring, my heart thundering and sweat lining my temple, my physical reaction had nothing to do with what we were about to do and everything to do with where my mind had gone.

  I was so aroused, and he hadn’t even touched me today.

  “You're not focused this morning,” he rumbled low, his expression that same stoic mask that made it impossible to see what he could be thinking about.

  “I’m fine.” Lie. Such a lie.

  He smirked and took a step closer, and my heart jackknifed in my throat. “That so?” I nodded but didn’t trust my voice. His smile faded. “I don’t like lies, Galina. And grown men know to only give me the truth.”

  I took a step back as he advanced. “Yeah?” That lone word was a squeak out of me. “And if they do lie?” Why was I playing with fire? I was going to get so damn burned. The ropes stopped my retreat, and I reached behind me to grip them, curling my fingers over their thickness, praying it kept me from crumpling to the ground.

  He stopped a foot from me, his eyes raking up and down my body. My breath caught because I for sure could read his expression now. Arlo stepped even closer until I felt his body heat seep into me. I thrust my breasts out, and his gaze dropped to look at my chest. He lifted a hand and ran it over his mouth, the sound of his palm scraping over his stubble turning me on.

  “You want the truth?” There was a challenge in his words, and I nodded. “If you want the truth from me, I expect the same from you.” He moved closer like a predator, and the ropes dug into my back even harder. That pain heightened my pleasure and reminded me of last night and how good the orgasm had felt when that agony and ecstasy slammed into me.

  He reached out and curled his big fingers around the ropes right next to mine, our skin brushing dangerously close. I clenched my thighs together as a pulsing ache settled deep within. “What I say might scare you.” His focus was on my mouth, and I wanted to kiss him so desperately.

  “I’ve been scared enough times in my life, and none of them were when I was with you.”

  I swore I saw a flicker of surprise on his face before it was gone. He leaned in and rested his forehead against mine, and for just a second we both breathed the same air.

  “I kill, Galina.” His words were low. “I kill men who lie to me.” He took a step back, maybe assuming after he spoke the words, I’d shut him out. I’d erect a wall between us from fear and hatred.

  “Are they bad men?” I whispered.

  “Yes. They are the same as me.”

  I swallowed, again having a feeling Arlo said these things to make himself out to be a villain, and although I’d never see him as a hero, the knight who rides in on a white steed and saves the day, I also knew the man standing in front of me saved me simply because he didn’t want me to be hurt. And he was still protecting me.

  I took a step toward him and placed my hands on his chest. I stared at where I touched him, wanting to be honest for the first time in my life, wanting to confide in someone I trusted. And although I hadn’t known Arlo for long at all, a fleeting passage of time if I was being realistic, I could honestly say I’d never felt so safe with anyone else.

  “I used to live in Vegas,” I finally said, not meeting his gaze, just staring at my hands, because I knew if I looked at his face, I'd lose the courage to tell him any of this. “I never had a stable household. My father had a drug and gambling problem, one so bad he got in trouble with some pretty dangerous men.” I internally snorted at that thought. Henry seemed so harmless compared to Arlo. “A couple of months ago,” I said, softer this time, and I felt Arlo tense beneath my hands, “I was dragged out of bed in the middle of the night and taken to this man who my father owed.” I licked my lips, hating that any kind of weakness or fear came through my voice, but it pulled me back to that night.

  Arlo lifted his hands and placed them over mine, not pulling them away from his chest, just holding me. He was giving me silent support to continue, I realized.

  “My father, the piece of shit that he was, offered me to this man in exchange to clear his debt.” The dark sound that came from Arlo had me squeezing my eyes shut tight. I didn’t want his pity or anger. I just wanted to start over. I wanted to escape that. “My father offered up my virginity to wipe his slate clean.”

  The air shifted around us, tensed as Arlo let those words really sink in. I did look up at him then, and the stormy, violent expression on his face almost had me taking a step back. But I knew he’d never hurt me. I knew that by the way he still kept my hands pressed to his chest, his thumbs stroking over them in a gentle, reassuring manner. I wasn’t about to go into all the disgusting things Leo would have done to me before selling me off to other sick fucks.

  “But I was able to escape when we got back to my apartment. And so I ran… I ran to Desolation and became someone new.” I exhaled. “I don't know if I’ll ever be safe, not when I can’t see my father or his debtor letting me go.” I looked into Arlo’s eyes. “And that’s one of the reasons I’m telling you, because I want you to understand that my life comes with a lot of baggage, and the last thing I want is for you to deal with even more shit than what’s already happening.”

  Arlo cupped my cheek and just stared at me for long seconds. He leaned in and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes and sank into his embrace. “I’m sorry.”

  I felt my brows pull low. “Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong.”

  He kissed me again before pulling me into the hardness of his chest. I rested my cheek against his heart and listened to the steady beat as he ran his hand up and down my back. “I’m sorry you had to experience the darkness of what this world offers. I wish you never had to be part of that.” There was so much sincerity in his words that I felt the prickling of unshed tears in my eyes. “No one will ever hurt you. I’d never allow it, moy svet.”

  I believed him. God help me but I believed him. That’s why I’d said anything about my past at all.

  “What does that mean? I’ve heard you call me that a few times. Please don’t tell me it means I’m too much trouble.” I tried a teasing approach after such a heavy topic because I didn’t want to speak about the shitty past anymore. I wished I could rip all of it from my world and never have to worry about anything but enjoying this one life I had.

  Arlo was silent for so long I wondered if he’d ever answer. But then he cupped my face and leaned in to kiss me almost sweetly against my lips. “It means ‘my light.’ That’s what you are to me, Galina. You’re my light in all the darkness that surrounds me.”

  Chapter

  Nineteen

  Galina

  After confiding in Arlo this morning, the rest of the day had been filled with this weird energy. We worked out with more self-defense training, but the energy had just been off. Arlo seemed tense, a little distant, and it was clear he had something big on his mind. I didn't want to think it was about what I’d told him. I didn’t want to obsess and worry that I’d pushed him away with what was following me, no matter what he said or what endearments he called me.

  He’d taken me back to his apartment after we finished training, where he told me to relax until dinner but that he had business to take care of and would be back later. He left with another kiss to my forehead before leaving me standing in the foyer, staring at a closed door and having the horrible feeling that I’d pushed away the first man I’d fallen for.

  And I had… fallen for him.

  I now stared out the window of his Mercedes, the night having fallen an hour ago, my worry still at the forefront of my mind. I glanced over at him, but he was once again hard to read. He’d closed off from me, put that wall up so it was too solid for me to get through. A part of me just wanted to cancel tonight, because whatever bond I felt we’d started to share, the intimacy that I craved, was slipping through my fingers.

  The restaurant Arlo was taking me to was a short drive from his apartment and still within the heart of the wealthy district of the city. I was glad he hadn’t taken me back into my side of Desolation. He pulled to the curb, where a young man dressed in valet attire helped me out of the passenger side, and another man in the same uniform took the driver seat before pulling from the curb to park the car. Arlo placed a firm, warm hand on the small of my back and led me inside. I felt that touch through my entire body and glanced down to make sure my arousal wasn’t betraying me through my clothing in the form of hard nipples.

  Fortunately I was safe for the time being.

  Arlo had told me to wear something more formal for tonight, so I’d picked one of the dresses he’d gotten for me. It was a black, thick, ribbed-knit, long-sleeve dress that fell to my knees. The gray wool jacket that had been among the clothing he’d splurged on for me, and the dark tights covering my legs protected me from the chilly, nearly winter air of New York.

  Vasyli’s looked like one of the many skyscrapers in this part of the city, but the brickwork and artistic flair were very much Russian. The cathedral depiction etched into the massive red double doors was so detailed you could tell whoever created it had put their heart and soul into it.