I took a sip, then watched as he drank from the same spot my lips had touched. Such a simple intimacy, yet it sent shivers down my spine.
“Where’s Mira?” I asked, breaking off a piece of pastry and feeding it to him.
“I sent Roman and Mila to get her.” His thumb traced circles on my ass as he spoke. “Needed at least a few hours with you alone.”
The heat in his gaze made my breath catch. “That was very strategic of you.”
“I’m a man with priorities.” He took another sip of coffee. “Gabe mentioned you’re designing a new security system for the Falcones.”
This was our rhythm now—passion interwoven with work, danger with domesticity. I filled him in on my latest projects while he updated me on his meeting with the Paraskia Council. His hands never stopped moving overme, relearning my body while we talked as if he couldn’t bear even this much separation.
“How’s Gabe and Sophie, and did you see Cara and Cristo?”
“No.” He pressed his finger to my lips. “We’re not talking about anything else but you and me today.”
I nodded, accepting his request graciously.
His hands slid up my sides, beneath my thin sundress. “As you wish,” I murmured, a deliberate reference to our favorite movie that made him smile.
“Don’t quoteThe Princess Bridewhen I’m trying to seduce you.”
I laughed, but my body was already responding to his touch.
“Seems to be working.” His fingers found the edge of my panties, tracing the lace with maddening restraint. “Three weeks is too long, Shorty.”
The familiar nickname sent warmth spreading through me. I shifted in his lap, feeling his hardness beneath me. “Far too long,” I agreed, rolling my hips deliberately against him.
His eyes darkened. “The bedroom’s too far.”
I glanced at the sparkling infinity pool, then back at him with raised eyebrows. “Feeling nostalgic?”
Sex in the pool had become something of a tradition for us, ever since that night on the island when he’d caught me swimming naked. Only now, we had privacy, luxury, and no reason to hide our desire.
In answer, Ivan stood with me still wrapped around him and carried me to the pool’s edge. He set me down gently on my feet, then reached for the buttons of his shirt.
I watched him undress with hungry eyes, admiring the play of muscles beneath scarred skin, each mark a story I now knew by heart. When he stood naked before me, I reached for my panties and slipped them down, then for the hem of my sundress, and I slowly pulled it over my head.
His breath caught as he took in the sight of me, butt naked, my body bathed in sunlight. “God, you’re beautiful,” he said, the words simple but filled with such reverence that my heart squeezed in my chest.
I backed slowly toward the pool steps, crooking my finger at him. “Come get me, Zotov.”
His predatory smile sent delicious shivers down my spine as he stalked toward me. I slipped into the cool water and gasped slightly at the contrast with the warm air.
Ivan followed, his powerful body cutting through the water until he reached me.
His hands found my waist, and he pulled me against him and walked toward the shallow end. Water lapped around our bodies as his mouth descended on mine, hot and demanding. My arms wound around his neck, my fingers threading through his damp hair as I opened to him.
“I love you,” I whispered against his lips, the words still new enough to feel miraculous each time.
His answer was a growl as he backed me against the pool wall, pushed the button there, then lifted me onto the shallowest part and positioned me directly onto one of the massage jets that had come to life.
I shot up as the stream of air hit my pussy. “Holy shit.”
His grin was nothing short of diabolical. He placed his hand on my chest and forced me to lean back but made sure the jet hit me right at the apex between my thighs.
“You like that, don’t you?” he whispered, leaned over me, pulled my ass cheeks apart, and repositioned me until the jet hit me right there.
I wasn’t a stranger to anal sex…not anymore, but this sensation was out of this world.
