Oceans of Fire (50 page)

“You’ll get your strength back. I know it’s difficult for you to be patient. Libby says you’re gaining ground every day.”

“What about you?” He pushed her tank top up to examine the raw scars on her stomach. “What does she say about you?”

Abigail leaned over to brush a kiss over his lips. “I’m fine. I told you I was perfectly fine. The stab wounds were shallow. I can have all the babies you want us to have. All two of them.”

“At least seven. Elle’s little girls have to have someone to play with.” His hands caught at her waist and drew her forward so he could press small kisses against each shiny purplish mark marring her skin. “When I saw him going for you, I swear, Abbey, I never thought I could feel such rage or such fear.” It had given him the necessary strength to slam his mortally wounded body so hard into Ignatev’s, allowing him to kill the man. “I still don’t know how you managed to get me out of the ocean.”

“I wasn’t going to lose you again.” She said it matter-of-factly, cradling his head in her arms while he pressed another kiss into her intriguing belly button.

His grip tightened on her and he shifted her until she was standing wedged between his thighs. “Did Prakenskii really save my life?”

“You’ve asked me that three times. Without his help, you would have died right there. He shot the second man to keep him off of me and then he worked on you. He has all the gifts, no doubt about it, just as Elle does. He carries all the genetic code necessary to pass on each of the gifts to another generation. I wish we knew more about his background.” She stepped closer to him, leaning into him because his tongue was doing a little dance along her belly button, teasing at the small gemstone there and making a foray lower.

Aleksandr unzipped her slacks, sliding them over the curve of her hip, down her thighs to her calves. She obligingly stepped out of her shoes and kicked the slacks aside. “Take off your top.”

Abigail didn’t hesitate, drawing the clingy material over her head and letting it drop to the deck.

“Let your hair down.”

“You’re definitely feeling stronger. You’re turning bossy on me.” She dragged the clip from her hair, allowing the mass of red hair to tumble free to her waist.

“I don’t have much to do but think about you while I’m here all alone.”

Abigail glanced at the tray beside the chair. “Aunt Carol was here.”

“With her Reginald. They stayed a couple of hours. He’s an interesting man.”

She eyed the basket of fruit beside his chair. “Hannah stopped by, too, didn’t she? And the magazines are from Joley. Kate must have brought the collection of books. I know Libby checked on you.”

He smiled as his hands slid over her bare skin, shaping her hips. “Sarah and Damon stopped in as well. And Jonas.” His smile widened to a boyish grin. “Inez and the Red Hat ladies came by and they left dinner in the fridge. They said just to heat it.”

“When did you have time to think about me?” She shook back her hair, knowing he loved the feel and look of it.

“Every damn minute. And it was hell hiding my hard-on from everyone. I had to have a lap blanket. I dreamt of you, just like this, standing in front of me with your hair glowing like a halo in the sun. You are so damn beautiful.”

“I think you’re delirious. Maybe too much sun.” But she couldn’t help the lick of excitement and pleasure curling through her.

“You don’t see yourself at all the way I see you.” He leaned back in his chair and feasted his gaze on her. With the sun behind her, she looked more beautiful than ever. “I love you more than I can ever express, Abbey. Why is it I’m always feeling like you’re slipping through my fingers and I can’t quite catch you?”

“I have no idea.” She perched on the edge of the hot tub in her black thong and bra, her skin pale looking rose petal soft. “You might remove the lap blanket so I can see what I’m getting myself into.” Her shapely leg swung back and forth. “I dragged you out of the ocean and made a bargain with the devil to save your life. What more do you need me to do to show you I’m not going anywhere?”

“I’m not certain Prakenskii actually qualifies as a devil.” Aleksandr threw off the blanket, revealing his nudity without a hint of modesty. “Jonas was very suspicious that you helped Ilya escape. He told me the footprints led into the sea, but it looked more like a setup than reality. Jonas questioned me again about it. Fortunately I was unconscious when Prakenskii was there, so I didn’t have to lie.”

“I didn’t lie to Jonas,” Abigail said, her gaze growing hotter as it dropped from his bandaged torso to his full groin. “I hope you kept that blanket over you when all your visitors were fussing over you.”

“You told him Prakenskii was long gone, that he saved your life and then mine.”

“Which was the absolute truth.” She dropped to her knees in front of him. “I love the way you miss me, Sasha.” She cupped his aching sac in her palm, fingers caressing the base of his shaft. “You always make me feel beautiful.”

“You are beautiful.”

“And that you need me desperately.”

“I do need you desperately.” He closed his eyes at the sheer pleasure coursing through his body at her touch. She had magic fingers. A magic mouth and body. And when she was touching him the way she was now, she made him feel as if she loved him more than anything in the world.

“I want to make love to you properly,” he said, looking down at the top of her head. Her hair shone, a vibrant red that never failed to make him want to touch the silky strands. He wrapped his fist in the mass. “I want to be inside you, Abigail.”

“You’re so impatient.” Her tongue flicked out, her warm breath engulfing him.

Aleksandr trailed his fingers over her breast. He smiled when she shivered in reaction. “When are you going to marry me?”

“I thought we agreed we wouldn’t talk about marriage when we were making love.” She teased him with a gentle scrape of her teeth, another slow lick of her tongue. “We agreed it was unfair to cheat like that.”

“No, we didn’t. I want to get married immediately.” He nearly came out of the chair as her hot mouth closed over him and she sucked, flicking her tongue back and forth. “
Immediately
.”

Abigail laughed, the sound vibrating right through his heavy erection and sending waves of pleasure rolling through his belly. “I couldn’t possibly marry you until my parents come home. They’d never forgive me.”

“You’re enjoying the fact that I’m supposed to let you do anything you want to me and I can’t retaliate, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” she said, lifting her head, eyes dancing, her grin wide. “I love this.”

“I have news for you,
baushki-bau
, I am feeling quite strong again.”

She laughed again and flicked her tongue back and forth, hot little licks that sent electricity sizzling through his veins. “I don’t think so.”

“I do. Come here.” He gripped her waist in strong hands and tugged.

Abigail made a face at him. “You’re spoiling all my fun.”

“Not all.” His hand cupped her fiery curls over the black satin. His fingers dipped into soft, moist folds. “I don’t think we need this.” He dragged the thong from her body and tossed it somewhere behind him. “Straddle me, Abbey. I have to be inside you right now. I can’t wait another day. Not another minute.”

Abigail circled his neck with her arms, careful not to lean against his bandages as she widened her stance to straddle his thighs and with deliberate slow motion, settled her body over his.

Aleksandr threw back his head as the pleasure poured over him. She sank down so slow, her sheath, a tight hot fist, her folds velvet soft, gripping him as he pushed his way deeper and deeper inside of her. His breath left his lungs in a gasp of pleasure. Joining with Abigail was unlike anything else. The sweet, hot rush, the addiction of her body, the way she moved in perfect rhythm, no matter how hard, how fast, or how slow he went. He always felt as if he’d crawled inside her skin and found paradise.

“I love how you always want me, Abbey. Do you have any idea what a gift that is to a man?”

Her fingers caressed the hair on his neck. “Do you have any idea what a gift it is to have a man look at me the way you do?” She rode his body with a slow, easy glide, covering him inch by slow, excruciating inch, heightening his pleasure, ever careful of his wounds. She rose away from him, gripping with her muscles, creating friction that robbed him of breath.

“I know what I feel every time you touch me,
rebyonak
, each time you walk through the door and your eyes light up when you see me.” His hands pinned her hips with unexpected strength, fingers digging into her, holding her still as he thrust hard and deep and fast.

Abigail cried out, unable to stop herself, the pleasure bone deep, tightening every muscle in her body. It was always the same with Aleksandr. She started out in control and he took it away with his body filling hers and bringing her such ecstasy she thought she might shatter into a million pieces. He held her still while he began to surge into her with sure hard strokes, her body pulsing around his, melting into intense heat and with mind-numbing, clawing desire ripping through her until she was chanting his name.

She wanted release. She needed release. She was right there, right on the edge, so close she could feel every muscle tighten in anticipation. In need. But it never quite came. She knew he shouldn’t be exerting so much energy but she found herself pleading with him anyway. He was killing her, forcing her to wait. Holding her right on the edge of the precipice.

“Promise me.”

“Promise you what?” She could hardly think with her body wound so tight, crying out for release. “Sasha! What do you want?” She moved her hips urgently, trying to force him to give her relief.

“Promise you’ll marry me as soon as your parents return.”

She was nearly sobbing with pleasure. “You’re
killing
me. I can’t take any more. I thought you were at death’s door.”

“You thought wrong.” He moved again, a long slow glide driving deep into her, and pulled back, holding her hips so she couldn’t follow him down. “When your parents come back you will marry me. Say it.”

“Fine. Anything. I promise. You are such a dictator.” She wasn’t about to tell him her parents wouldn’t be home until her sisters’ double wedding and that was several months away. Her body was shuddering with the need for release and she deliberately tightened her muscles around him as he surged into her again, desperate for relief.

He thrust again, this time almost brutally slamming into her body. The breath left her body, the fiery sensations engulfed her. “More!” she commanded, feeling his powerful thighs bunch under her. She could actually feel him filling her, pushing through the soft muscles of her vaginal wall, while she gripped him tightly, holding him close to her, holding him in her.

Abigail looked into his eyes, was caught and held by the intensity of the emotions swirling in the dark depths. She could see his love of her, the need and desire that washed through him with the same strength of passion it did her. She’d been so afraid to feel this way again, the tearing, gut-wrenching love that filled her and refused to let her go. It was there in his eyes.

He drove hard, seeking to be as deep inside her as possible. She felt him moving through her, thick and hard and oh so hot, driving all the way to her very womb. She felt his body jerk as her muscles tightened like a vise, refusing to give him up. As her muscles rippled and convulsed, hard mind-numbing spasms that left her breathless, tears glittered in her eyes. His hot release poured deep into her and she pressed her forehead against his good shoulder, savoring the small aftershocks that kept her body shuddering with pleasure.

“I do love you, Sasha. More than anything. It scares me how much I love you.”

“You aren’t alone, Abbey. I couldn’t live without you. You managed without me. You were able to shut me out so completely. That terrifies me.”

“It’s the only form of self-preservation I have.”

“Look at me, Abigail.” He pried her fingers from around his neck and shifted her back. The action sent another ripple through her body and around his.

She stared into his eyes and felt her heart jerk wildly. He always seemed to affect her that way.

“I love you. I’m not leaving you.
Ever
. Read my letters. You’ll know I desperately need you in my life and you won’t have to be afraid again.”

Abigail kissed him. She’d already read the letters. She’d read them again and again during all those long hours and days when he was fighting for his life. She treasured every one of them and had cried more than she ever had over the way he poured out his heart to her. “I love you, Sasha. I do.”

The wind rushed off the ocean surface to the deck, bringing sea spray, salt, and the muted sound of feminine voices. Distant. Musical. Laughing.

Abigail stiffened, pulled away from Aleksandr in alarm, her eyes enormous. “Oh, no.” She looked around frantically. “My clothes. Where are my clothes?”

Aleksandr snagged her shirt and watched as she jerked it over her head. She leapt off of his lap, throwing the blanket over him. “Quick, you have to get in the house and get dressed. Come on,
hurry
.”

The wind retreated, then returned, throwing leaves and twigs into several whirling mini tornadoes. From several corners of the house the wind rocked the musical chimes into a strange melody.

“What is it, Abbey?” He pulled a gun from under the tea towel on the tray beside him. His gaze shifted in all directions, looking for danger, assessing their options.

She caught up her slacks and dragged them up her legs. “It’s my
mother
. And my father! I can’t believe this. They’ve come back home. This is awful. Where are your clothes? They’ll be here any minute. And
don’t
say anything outrageous.”

He smiled at her and reached for her hand, visibly relaxing. “This is wonderful. I’ve wanted to meet your parents. You’re blushing.“

She swiped at her face as if she could remove the stain of color. “I’m not. I cannot believe those rotten sisters of mine didn’t warn me
immediately
. Of course they’d come home. Aunt Carol must have told them Ignatev stabbed me.” She reached down to help him to his feet. “She said she was going to, but I told her not to breathe a word of it to them. She probably told the entire family. We’ll be lucky if all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins don’t show up as well.”