I keep the knife at her throat, but I’m careful to not break skin. If she had any idea how sharp I keep my knives, she’d be pissing herself again.
“I thought about you,” she whispers.
“I already know that,kiska,” I say, making her glare at me. “I want details. How did you imagine me fucking you?”
She hesitates for a moment before saying, “I thought about you taking me outside, when I was wet and under the shower.”
“Are you wet for me now?”
I drag my nose along her skin, breathing her in before hovering my lips above hers again.
“Yes,” she pants, and, fuck, it would be so easy to shove her pants down and bury myself inside her. Something tells me Maddie isn’t a one-fuck girl, and that knowledge is enough to have me gaining some control back. The feel of her pussy wrapped around my cock is something that I know I’d want more of, and that can’t happen.
With a groan, I pull the knife back, running my thumb over her unmarked skin. Sitting up, I run my eyes over her, noticing the way her nipples are straining against her pajama top, the flush to her cheeks, and the sight of her wet tongue running over her bottom lip as she watches me.
“Go to bed, Maddie” I tell her, ignoring the flash of pain that runs through her eyes.
“What?”
“You heard me.” I put the knife back in the sheath that rests against my lower back. I have another on my ankle, and I usually carry at least two more, but I’d packed light today. When she keeps lying there, I growl, “Better run fast, littlekiska, before I decide to chase after you again. Trust me when I say you won’t like it if I do. I’m tired and using the last of my willpower right now. It won’t be gentle.”
She hears the truth in my words, and her self-preservation finally kicks into gear. Scurrying up, she takes one last look at me, debating whether or not she wants a painfully hard fuck in the hallway. She sees the predatory look on my face, the way my lips curl up in a snarl and my hands clench into fists before turning on her heels and bolting out the door.
Wise choice, kiska.
I fall back against the couch and take several deep breaths. It takes a long time to get myself under control, but when I do, I stand and grab our plates before going to the kitchen. I clean up and spend a few minutes with the dogs. I’m exhausted and frustrated and more than ready to just go to sleep. When I do finally manage to drift off, it’s not the reprieve I’d been hoping for. Maddie haunts my dreams, not giving me a moment’s peace, and when I wake up the next morning, I’m just as irritated as when I first laid down.
Forcing myself to get out of bed, I decide a workout is the only thing that’s going to make me feel better. I spend the next ninety minutes punching the bag and running on the treadmill. By the time I finish, every part of my body is humming with energy. My muscles are burning, I’m covered in sweat, and my brain feels more alert than it has in days. I toss my shirt over my shoulder and leave the room.
Maddie’s in the kitchen when I go to grab a bottle of water. She takes one look at me and turns beet red. Her eyes run over the large bear tattoo on my chest before taking in all the others that cover my upper body. When she finally finds my eyes, I give her a wink and get my water.
“Um,” she stutters, and seeing her so flushed has me realizing that I need to get my ass into a cold shower as quickly as possible. “I’ll get started on breakfast while you, um, get cleaned up.”
She’s chewing on her bottom lip and looking like she wants to eat me for breakfast, but I turn and head back to my room instead of giving us what we both want. I don’t subject myself to a cold shower. I take a nice hot one and jerk off harder than I ever have in my life, painting the fucking tiled wall with my seed as I hiss her name into the steam.
Jesus fucking Christ.
I will not have some little grey-eyed woman come into my life and tear down all the rules I’ve set for myself. I’m all set to walk into the kitchen and not let her have the slightest effect on me, but then I hear my younger brother’s voice and I know this isn’t going to go how I want it.
“There you are,” Valeri says with a big shit-eating grin that puts his dimple on full display. “I was just getting to know your newest employee. Vasya told me he met her the other day.” He gives me a smirk, and I’m two seconds away from punching his smug ass. “He told me I should get over here and meet her for myself.”
“Who’s Vasya?” Maddie asks, shooting me a quick smile before turning her attention back to the blueberry pancakes she’s whipping up.
“Our older brother, Vasily,” Valeri tells her.
“Russian is complicated,” she says, turning the sausage that’s sizzling on the stove.
I grab a mug and say, “Explain to me how you get Dick from Richard.”
She lets out a soft laugh. “Fair point.”
“Vasya is short for Vasily, and Volodya is short for Vladimir,” I tell her. “Not so difficult,kiska.”
Valeri laughs and asks in Russian, “What did you tell her that word means?”
“Pussycat,” I say, fighting a grin.
“Did you also tell her it just means pussy?”
