Dinner is over too soon, though we linger over tiny cups of espresso and chocolate mousse brightened with fresh summer raspberries.
“Come.” Viktor's voice is as smooth as the Port that arrived with our last course, coating my insides like velvet. “Iliya will drive us back to your apartment.”
I'm grateful Viktor isn't telling Iliya to drive me home alone. However, I'm not sure if a car ride together is a good idea. I'm almost certain I'm not the only one feeling the electricity between us, the dance of attraction over my skin swirling in my chest, hot and cold and exciting, the feeling growing until my breath is shallow.
And I swear I see Viktor glance my way more than a few times as the city lights drift across his features, his angular cheekbones, a jaw that looks chiseled from marble, the salt and pepper of his perfectly tousled, wavy hair.
It's all I can do not to immediately jump on him as soon as he helps me out of the car. The sultry summer night, humid and airless, have nothing on the heat inside me.
“Do you—” I catch my breath, then push forward, because what have I got to lose? Certainly not my dignity—I’ve lost that multiple times today. “Do you want to come up to my apartment? It's probably a lot smaller than you're used to, and it's not super clean because it's summer break and we're kind of lax during the summer?—”
“I would love to.” Viktor’s reply is a purr and a growl all in one that sets my blood blazing. “Is your daughter not home?”
“No.” I look over my shoulder as I let us into the building, and can't quite believe Viktor is following me, his enormous shadow taking up the entire doorway behind me. “I got a text about an hour ago asking if she could have a sleepover at the babysitter’s because they're having a Disney marathon.”
Something flares deep in Viktor’s eyes, something that ignites an answer deep inside me, something primal and forceful.
We’re both quiet as we climb the stairs, but my heart is hammering in my chest. I’m intensely aware of the man following closely behind me, of his strength, of his enormous presence, of his cologne, of the way he stirs a part of me I thought dead and buried, and long turned to dust.
The key slides in the lock, loud in the quiet hallway, and I twist it, hoping Viktor doesn’t mind a little bit of a mess.
The apartment is dark, save for the ambient light from the windows facing the street coming in through the curtains, and I don’t turn on any of the lights. I don’t have time to, because as soon as I step into the apartment, Viktor engulfs me from behind, his lips at my neck.
“You look incredible tonight.” His breath is a whisper against my skin, and I shiver, but not from the cold. “I haven’t been able to keep my eyes off you all evening.”
He palms my curves at the same time I hear the door slam behind us and lock—I’m not sure how he manages with one hand and without looking, but he does.
And then I’m past caring as he kisses me, starting at my ear and moving down my neck to my shoulder. Both his hands are now sliding down my body, caressing every curve. My heart is already aflutter in my chest, my body made entirely of the summer heat baking the pavement, even at night, and I’m very quickly becoming a tight ball of need.
I can’t remember the last time I felt this way, the last time my entire body was bent toward a single feeling of heat pooling in my stomach and swirling lower, lower, to become liquid. A softmoan, more breath than sound, leaves my lips, and Viktor smiles against my shoulder.
“Just the sound I was hoping for.”
His voice rumbles through me, and I close my eyes to savor the sensation. He’s pressed against me, steel, strength, and power against my back, every inch of him hard. The idea that he wants me as badly as I want him drives me wild, and I don’t protest as he pushes me up against the wall beside the door.
Viktor traps me in the cage of his arms and by the weight of his body, but all I want is more. My desire surges as he again runs his hand down my side to curve around my ass.
“These curves have been driving me mad since I saw them this morning,” he rumbles, and I can’t help but moan again.
The sound turns into a gasp when he moves his hands down, around, and up my skirt, stroking the wetness there. My hips buck automatically before I push against his palm, my body desperate for more.
“Were you waiting for just this moment?” he asks, kissing my neck, then nipping the spot, the sensation sending sparks through me.
“Yes.” I’m panting and not even trying to hide it. What’s the use when Viktor can feel how much I’ve been waiting?
“How badly do you want it?”
The question is silk against my senses, velvet and darkness and smoke, and all I can do is moan in response.His fingers move slowly across the lace of my underwear, each fraction of an inch pure heaven and torture all at once.
“Please.” The words are another breath as I push back against him, strain against his hand, desperate for more. I don’t know whether it’s the length of time it’s been since I’ve felt anything like this or if Viktor has some kind of magic fingers, but I’m about to come undone. “Oh, fuck, please.”
“I like it when you beg.”
Those same fingers pull back the fabric of my panties, and one thick digit slips inside my folds. I cry out, and he adds a second and moves them in and out and around, stroking me with a feather’s touch. I don’t want to know how many women he’s done this to, but fuck, he’s good. So good. Better than I’ve had before, and he’s only using his fingers.
The way he finds all the points that drive me wild is like magic, and the way he drags a fingertip across them, rubs them, moves around them has me clawing at the wall, biting my lower lip so hard I’m afraid I’ll taste blood.
Without warning, Viktor hikes my dress over my hips. I stare up at him, at this man towering over me, all muscle and sex, his eyes burning with lust and desire.
