~ Mishka ~
I lay sprawled across the cold marble of Nicolai's kitchen island, his massive body half-covering mine like the world's sexiest, most lethal security blanket.
My breath was still coming in ragged pants, my skin slick with sweat and other things I wasn't going to think too hard about.
Around us, the kitchen looked like it had been hit by a very localized, very electronic-focused hurricane. I'd done that. With my orgasm. If that wasn't a superpower worth being kidnapped for, I didn't know what was.
"Are you always this...?" Nicolai gestured vaguely at the chaos surrounding us, his voice a low rumble against my chest.
"Explosive?" I offered, unable to contain the smug smile spreading across my face. "Only with the right motivation."
His answering growl sent vibrations through my entire body, making my toes curl despite the fact that I should have been completely spent. The bear was pleased.
Very pleased.
I'd just opened my mouth to make another quip about his animal magnetism—because puns are how I cope with life-altering sexual encounters—when the unmistakable sound of a door being violently thrown open shattered our post-coital bubble.
"Boss!" A deep voice bellowed from the entryway. "Security breach! All systems—"
The voice cut off abruptly as its owner, followed by three men with guns drawn, burst into the kitchen.
In the space of a heartbeat, Nicolai's body shifted completely over mine, shielding every inch of my naked form from view. A sound emerged from his chest that was decidedly not human—arumbling growl that raised the hair on the back of my neck and made the armed men freeze mid-step.
"Perfect timing as always, Yuri," Nicolai said, his voice calm despite the animalistic warning still vibrating beneath it.
A hysterical giggle bubbled up from my chest before I could stop it. I pressed my face against Nicolai's shoulder, trying to muffle the sound.
Of all the ways to meet the in-laws.
"Sir, we detected multiple system failures throughout the building," the one called Yuri explained, his voice carefully professional despite the tableau before him. "The security protocols indicated a possible attack."
I peeked around Nicolai's shoulder, catching sight of Yuri—a broad-shouldered man with a face that seemed permanently set to "disapproving"—deliberately averting his eyes from the kitchen island. The other security team members were suddenly fascinated by various points on the ceiling.
"As you can see," Nicolai replied dryly, "the situation is under control."
Understatement of the century.
I glanced around the kitchen, seeing it through the security team's eyes. Glass from the shattered overhead lights glittered across the floor like diamond dust.
The refrigerator was making a noise that sounded suspiciously like a death rattle. The microwave display flashed random symbols that might have been summoning a demon for all I knew. The oven timer counted backward from 666—okay, that was definitely demonic. Even the fancy coffee maker was dribbling hot water in sporadic, accusatory spurts.
It looked like a poltergeist had a temper tantrum during a cooking show.
"Sir," Yuri pressed, his gaze now fixed firmly on a spot just over Nicolai's left shoulder. "The entire building's electricalsystem went haywire. The emergency generators kicked in for the security doors, but the surveillance cameras, alarms—everything electronic started malfunctioning simultaneously."
I felt a flush creep up my neck that had nothing to do with the exertion of the past hour.
Oops. My bad.
"We thought you were under attack," Yuri continued, his composure admirably intact given the circumstances.
"The only thing under attack," Nicolai replied smoothly, "was my kitchen."
Another giggle threatened to escape and I bit down on my lip hard enough to taste blood. Nicolai's massive body shifted slightly, adjusting to keep me completely covered while allowing himself a more dignified conversational position.
"Your team's response time is commendable," he said, voice dropping into what I was beginning to recognize as his 'boss tone.' "But unnecessary. As you can see, there is no threat."
Just a guy with electronic abilities having the orgasm of his life.
