Ilana’s fingers tightened gently around mine, as if she did not want to leave me alone in the memory that burned through me right now.
“What happened to her, Avgust?” she asked.
“They took her,” I finally said after a pause. “They were enemies of the family and were trying to get back at me for someone I had killed. So in order to make a point, they took her. And I was too late in saving her.”
My throat burned, but I continued.
“She died because she trusted me to protect her, and I couldn’t. I had promised her I would keep her safe from the darkness of this world, but the darkness took her, and I was nowhere near her when it happened. It eats me alive every day.”
Silence filled the car, thick and suffocating.
“When I saw you at the auction,” he said quietly, “I didn’t just see you standing there, looking at me with those eyes of yours. I saw her. Helpless and terrified. And I just knew I couldn’t watch it happen again. I couldn’t just stand there and not help you get out of there unless someone as innocent as you was also consumed by the darkness of it all.”
Ilana shifted closer, pressing her forehead against my shoulder.
“You saved me that day, Avgust. You really did,” she whispered. “And then you saved me again and again and again until we are finally here.”
I shook my head. “I saved myself, Ilana.”
“No,” she said softly. “You saved me, and I am here right beside you. You got me out of claws that could have killed me and gave me a new life and the protection of your name. You gave me warmth and care and love, and now you have given me a family to call my own. You have given me everything I could have asked for and more, Avgust.”
Her arms slid around me, holding without asking, without pity or shyness. And I let her. I needed it more than I could explain. We reached the safe house, and I pulled the car inside, killing the engine in the driveway as the two of us sat there in the darkness of the night. I finally turned to look at her, realizing her gaze was directed at me already.
“I will not promise I will keep you safe forever, Ilana, because I have come to see that promises can get broken. But I will die before letting anything happen to you.”
“I trust you,” she whispered, coming even closer to me, until she pulled herself onto my lap.
“You do?”
“You have kept me safe until now, Avgust. Of course, I trust you.” Her breath was warm against my cheek as I held her close, my hands slipping around her waist.
Without another word, she pulled in closer and kissed me, her lips needy against mine. I kissed her back in exactly the same way, hungry and needy for her. I would not be lying if I said I was quickly becoming addicted to how she tasted and wanted her all the time. Her hands roamed over my arms and neck until she was holding my face between her palms as I continued to kiss her like a horny teenager. That was exactly how she made me feel.
“Avgust,” she whispered my name, her voice breathy.
Before I could touch her, she hopped back to the passenger seat, pulling her hair into a ponytail before my eyes. The sight of her bending down towards me with that expression of need on her face made my dick pulse. I could sense her intentions and had no desire to stop her. I unbuttoned my pants, and my cock sprung out, already hard for her. Ilana went to work without a second’s delay, her hungry mouth slurping around my pulsing organ.
“Oh fuck,” I moaned softly as she continued to suck me off.
I took control of her hair and pushed her face down, making her choke on my cock while she continued to gag,everything around us growing messier by the minute. But neither of us cared. I rubbed my hands along her body, staring at her ass, which was raised in the air as if she had been born to do exactly this. The sight of her sucking me off in my car was only making me harder.
She pulled away completely and looked at me, her beautiful face turning into a complete mess. Before I could say anything, she took me in her mouth again.
“I am about to come,” I told her, and she only increased her pace, not moving for even a single second, until I came directly inside her mouth and she greedily drank every last drop. Once she had licked me clean, she looked at me with a smile on her face, and I smiled back.
“You are a very good girl, Ilana.”
“Your girl?” she asked, her eyes shining.
“I would break anyone’s fingers if they even so much as think about touching you.”
I got out of the car after unbuttoning my pants and took her in my arms as I carried her back towards our bedroom. I could not wait to fall asleep with her in my arms. She rested her head against my chest, already beginning to doze off. It had been a long day for both of us, but I had never felt closer to Ilana than I did today.
It felt as if I had completely unraveled before her. I placed her on the bed as soon as we entered the bedroom and got in beside her after taking my shoes off. She curled into me while I held her close. That was all I had ever wanted.
Chapter 17 - Ilana
The paintings were good. Too good.
