“I won’t let them touch you,” I promise. “Not now, not ever.”
She looks to meet my gaze, her brown eyes now shining with mild curiosity. “Why do the Zakharovs hate you so much anyway?”
I sigh and move to sit beside her on the couch. “It’s complicated and goes back generations to a time when our grandfather outwitted theirs. We got powerful, and the Zakharovs got jealous. But it got worse recently. Last year, they tried to form an alliance with Yulia's family when they didn’t know she was married to Trifon.”
“Yulia? As in your sister-in-law?” she gasps.
“Her family has connections all over Eastern Europe. The Zakharovs thought an alliance through marriage would expand their reach. They had their eye on Yulia for Anton Zakharov.”
“But she chose Trifon instead?”
“She did. And the Zakharovs took it personally.” I laugh at the memory. “They always take everything personally, to be honest. After that, the old grudges just got worse.”
“My god.” She buries her head in her hands. “And they obviously hate me. They’re not going to stop coming after me, are they?”
I reach out and place a gentle hand on her back, and she looks up. I lower my head until I’m certain she’s looking me right in the eye, until I’m certain she registers every darned word I say.
“They can come for you all they like, but you’re one of us, Gela Jones. They lay a finger on you, and the entire Yuri clanwill make sure they can never use the name Zakharov in this city again. You hear me? You’re mine.”
She takes a deep breath, her eyes flickering between mine. I see the tears well in her eyes, but before I know it, she’s smiling.
“Thank you,” she whispers, sitting up straight and taking my hands in her own, all the while the tears roll down her face. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Valentin. I know you didn’t have to…”
“Shh…” I murmur, reaching over to wipe away the tears. But on the first touch, her breath hitches. My hands cup her cheeks, and in that moment, time stands still.
It’s just Gela and me, her eyes fixed on mine, her lips now parted, my hands caressing her cheeks. And the next thing I know, she’s slowly moving toward me.
My heart crosses any damn roadblocks, any damn logic, and I meet her halfway, closing my eyes just as her lips brush up against mine.
Her soft, sweet, juicy lips.
My entire body turns to flames. I sprinkle kisses on her lips, over and over again, gripping her cheeks as she might just fly away. She clutches at my shirt, pulling closer, like any distance between us is a sin.
I pull her closer and tangle one hand in her hair, the other at the small of her back where the dress leaves her skin bare.
She moans into my mouth, and god, I’ve missed that sound. I begin to kiss her like I want to lap her up, and when she parts her lips, I slide right in like my tongue’s been missing home.
My body thrums like it’s drunk off her.
Our hands are everywhere. Hers are in my hair, sliding down to my neck, tugging at my tie. Mine are reaching down, trailing a line down her collarbone in that low-cut, gorgeous as hell gown, the other tilting her neck for more.
More. I need more.
I shrug off my coat, never once breaking off the kiss, and she drags down my tie. Her hands work on my buttons next, loosening them one by one. When she’s all done, I shrug off the shirt, and she traces down the edges of my torso.
I reach for the tie at the back of her neck, the one holding up that sinful green dress, and loosen the knot, letting the silk fall forward. The dress pools at her waist, revealing her bare breasts, perfect and flushed pink.
“You're not wearing a bra,” I say stupidly, stunned by the perfection of her.
She laughs. “Not with that dress, silly.”
Fuck. She wasn’t wearing a bra beneath that dress. My cock begins to throb.
“God, you're beautiful,” I murmur, bending to take one nipple in my mouth. She arches into me, her fingers tangling in my hair.
I trail kisses down her body, over the soft plane of her stomach, to the edge of the dress still bunched at her waist. Sliding to my knees on the ground in front of her, I push the dress up her thighs, revealing lacy black panties that make my mouth water.
I look up at her, and she lifts her hips to help me slide the panties down her legs.
