“Rest, my love,” he bade, stroking her hair. “I will be here when you awaken.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Maggie fell asleep feeling more satisfied than she ever had before. She was safe in Anatoly’s arms, and when she stirred awake several hours later, she found that she was deliciously sore in all the right places. She swiped at the sleep in her eyes and adjusted position slightly to relieve her hip, but otherwise she remained happily next to her lover.
“Did you rest well?” Anatoly asked in his syrupy accent.
She nodded, nuzzling his shoulder in the process. “Like a baby,” she answered and smirked. “I hope you didn’t get bored laying there while I slept, though. You could have gotten up…”
“Nyet, I was quite comfortable,” came his answer. “Took it as opportunity for reflection and prayer.”
Her eyebrow quirked at that, but she wasn’t going to judge. “How do you feel?” she asked, worried that perhaps the mind-blowing experience had been one-sided.
Anatoly didn’t answer right away. He toyed with a strand of her hair for several long moments before finally saying what was on his mind. “I feel… whole.” He sounded pleasantly surprised. “Is strange sensation. I did not know before that part was missing. Not until you came into unlife.”
Maggie smiled at that, knowing exactly what he meant. It’s also how she was feeling. “It’s more than just sexual gratification, which was amazing, by the way, but I see what you’re saying.” She had never connected emotionally with someone the way she just had with Anatoly. It was a good feeling despite being new and a little scary.
They laid there together in comfortable silence a little longer, until the sound of Maggie’s stomach growling interrupted the quietude.
She laughed, feeling lighter and freer than she had in what felt like a lifetime. “I should make something to eat,” she announced.
“Da,” Anatoly agreed. “Do you mind if I use shower?”
“Go for it,” Maggie replied and kissed him before grudgingly extracting herself from his arms.
As Anatoly slipped into the bathroom, Maggie grabbed the first article of clothing she came across, which happened to be his shirt. With a shrug she slipped it on, fastened a couple buttons, and wandered into the kitchen to find something to satisfy her grumbling stomach.
The cat was sitting by his bowl, staring up at her when she arrived in the kitchen. It seemed she wasn’t the only hungry one.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll feed you first,” she told Gremlin, even though she knew he couldn’t understand. It only took a moment to refill his dish and then she was in the fridge pulling out ingredients for her own meal.
A quick glance at the clock told her she’d slept through most of the night and into the next day, which had not been her intention when she drifted off. Between the sex and being Anatoly’s juice box, not to mention the dancing and confronting Markov, Maggie had been pretty exhausted.
These were the thoughts running through her mind as she fixed a quick breakfast of eggs, bacon, and sourdough toast with a little cream cheese on top. In that time, she heard the shower go on and run for about ten minutes before going quiet again.
She was just sopping up the last bit of egg yolk with her toast when Anatoly joined her in the kitchen. He was shirtless for obvious reasons, but was wearing his pants and his hair was still wet from the shower. She had to try not to stare at him; he looked good enough to eat for dessert.
“Hey, you,” she greeted before popping the bread into her mouth.
“I was going to ask if you had seen shirt, but I can see with own eyes where it wandered off to.” His tone was light and playful, but his gaze roamed her body with seductive intent.
She gave him a sheepish grin around chewing and then swallowed. “You want it back?”
“Eventually,” he answered and a little chill went down Maggie’s spine at the way he said it.
A second later, he was behind her, his arms sliding around her waist and his mouth kissing her neck. He rumbled a groan, pulling her into his bare chest and she felt his firm erection in the small of her back.
Maggie didn’t know what had gotten into him, but she was just as turned on by his forwardness as he was by the sight of her in his shirt. At least, that was the most obvious deduction.
“I do not have much time,” he lamented, his breath tickling her ear a second before he nibbled the outer edge. “I have meeting with bishop once sun goes down.”
That got Maggie’s attention. “Oh?” She tried not to sound too eager for information but failed.
He only chuckled, turning her to face him and then leaning in to capture her lips in a demanding kiss. Heat blossomed to life in Maggie’s core, making her need for him strong enough that she let the curious matter drop for the time being. His touch was intoxicating, and now that she was rested and fed, the thought of being taken by him again was quite appealing.
Anatoly surprised her a second later, lifting her up so that her rump was sat on the counter. Then his hands went under the shirt, exploring the naked flesh of her hips as he continued to kiss her insistently.
While on one hand she was momentarily taken off guard, Maggie wasn’t going to question the very welcome affection either. She wrapped her legs around his waist and played in his damp hair, mussing it further.
