“Touch me,please,”Anastasia whined, the desperation returning to her voice as she relaxed entirely around him. Mikhail’s hands began to move up and down her sides ever so slowly.
When his hands reached her back, she tensed on instinct until his thumbs gently kneaded little circles into each muscle, feeling the ridge of each scar as she became putty in his hands. Her whole body shuddered underneath him as he trailed kisses up her chest and neck.
Mikhail’s hands moved down her legs, bringing them up and hooking them over his broad shoulders in one swift moment.
Anastasia moaned, his cock poised at her entrance. Mikhail could feel her heat radiating, and it took everything in him not to bury himself in her.
“Mikhail,” Anastasia said again, staring up at him under heavily lidded, lust-filled eyes. “I love you.”
That was all it took to snap the last of his control. He pushed into her, Anastasia’s back arching off the bed in pleasure.
The feel of him made her eyes roll back into her head — glorious and hard, enough to make her forget entirely how only his fingers had felt. He was thick andperfect.Anastasia felt like she could die at that moment as she adjusted to the breadth of him.
Mikhail began to slowly thrust, letting out an animalistic sound at the fullness and warmth of them together — the feel of them finally joined so closely.
Their eyes met, and the low thrum of Anastasia’s magic began filling the room with every move, drenching them in soft, golden light.
Mikhail picked up speed until Anastasia’s hands were fisted in the sheets as she cried out, the sound making him lean down and begin tracing slow circles over her clit.
“Anya,” he cursed under his breath, uttering the closest thing that he had ever said to a prayer. “Fuck,you feel incredible.”
“More, please, please, just more —“ Anastasia’s voice kept breaking off as she gasped for air. Mikhail gave her a devious smile as he lowered her legs and pulled out of her, causing Anastasia to cry out in frustration at the sudden loss of him. He was back on her in a moment, crawling up her until he was on top of her, covering her with his body from head to toe.
Mikhail cupped her face and kissed her again, a messy embrace that was all tongue and biting. Anastasia threw her leg around his waist and pulled him towards her, indicating exactly where she wanted him. Mikhail chuckled, his hand gently cupping her breast until his fingers were pinching at her nipple.
“Mikhail —” Anastasia was cut off as Mikhail sheathed himself in her in one quick moment, making her moan out at the sudden feeling of him again. He began rocking against her, her hips rising to meet his thrusts as his hand slid down from her breast to her clit, circling it and adding just enough pressure to make Anastasia writhe.
Anastasia’s hands tangled themselves in his hair, feeling for the cord that held it in its knot. She tugged at it, eliciting a groan from Mikhail before it snapped.
She sighed her approval, running her hands through the lengths as she used her grip on his hair to direct his mouth back to her breasts. He obliged, sucking her nipple into his mouth before giving it a bite and switching to the other one.
Her orgasm snuck up on her, building from the moment that he touched her, and then suddenly releasing all at once. It was his name on her lips as she came, arching almost entirely off the bed.
Mikhail swore, feeling her clench all around him and hurtling him towards the edge. His cock throbbed, spilling himself inside of her as she finished. Sparks exploded from the lights around them as Anastasia’s magic swelled, showering them in golden flecks that disappeared as they hit the floor.
His head fell to the crook of her neck, both gasping and reeling from the aftershocks. Their bodies were soaked in sweat, hot, and pressed up against one another.
Mikhail stayed inside of her, with half a mind to linger there forever. He bit at the skin of her neck gently before running his tongue over it. Anastasia let out a small gasp of air, a pleasant buzz settling into her limbs.
Mikhail chuckled before pulling out of Anastasia as she hissed lightly at the absence. He laid down next to her and tugged her to him, arranging them, so his chest was to her back. His arms cuddled her body tight, neither of them bothered with the sweat and heat evaporating around them.
“Not bad… for a priest,” Anastasia grinned, turning over her shoulder to look up at Mikhail. He let out a laugh — a loud, genuine, carefree sound — before leaning down and kissing her once more.
“You can help me repent later… a few times more tonight, actually.” Anastasia smiled into the kiss, her hand going up to stroke his jaw.
“I love you,” she said softly, her eyes fluttering as she began to slip into a doze.
“I know,” Mikhail nodded, pressing kisses over her face, “I love you, too.” The two of them drifted off, the embers of Anastasia’s magic still glowing around the room.
19
Tsar Nicholas II paced in his office, a position he found himself in more often than he would like and one that he was very much hoping to strategize himself out of.
His threedvorysvastowere once again sitting around him; they had been at his side for the past twenty-some years, and it was now the only troupe that he trusted.
These three honestly had no opinions of their own but knew that their best interest was to act as an echo chamber for the Tsar.
Over the years, they had approved everything from black magic rituals to political hangings, and whenever something went wrong, the Tsar blamed his council. When something went right, he took the credit for himself. It was too tumultuous of a time to pry themselves from the favor of the Tsar.
