The Marriage Ultimatum (City of Dreams Series) (20 page)

Sabrina was soft. Just because she clearly loved her son, just because she spent every afternoon with Alex even though she lived in his penthouse, and had every luxury she could possibly desire. They were always together. He knew because Mrs. Field confirmed it. Just because she hadn’t abandoned her child, he had no reason to think anything positive about his parents’ motivations.

She was just soft. And that was what he loved, no, not…loved. That was what attracted him to her still when most of the women in his life had bored him within days.

“You are a cream puff,” he declared with a wicked glint in his eye.

“No way. I’m a tough New York City girl.”

His gaze was riveted to the hectic rise and fall of her breasts. He knew after all of the travel and the hoopla of the past twenty-four hours that she had to be tired, exhausted even. He lifted his gaze up to the sexy feline slit of her eyes, and she didn’t look away from the explicit message in his.

He stood and pulled her to her feet. By the flickering light of the hurricane lanterns, they made their way to the main stateroom. Sabrina had unpacked into the adjacent room and Alex’s room was across from hers.

Vlad kept hold of her hand and eased her into the master bedroom with its breathtaking panoramic views of the Tyrrhenian Sea from every window. He pushed the door closed and switched on the low lights in the cabin.

“It’s light enough to see. Do we really need those?” Sabrina’s hand fluttered in a self-conscious way toward the low compact blubs casting a dim shadow over her body. Luminous streaks of moonlight poured through the line of windows set into the perimeter of the room. That same light dappled the cream linens on the bed.

“
Da
, yes,” he replied. In that dress—and he knew she was braless—she looked literally good enough to eat in just the moonlight, but the habit of long years prevailed. He never slept without a light on if he could help it. He knew the total darkness on the night of the hurricane had no doubt precipitated his nightmare. No matter how many years passed, he felt as timid as a lamb in the darkness. He had conquered many things in his life, but that foolish fear kept him in its grip still. She didn’t need to know that. But the light would remain on.

There was a small stretch of polished mahogany at the base of the enormous bed in the center of the room. Otherwise, the cabin was all glass and metal save for the capacious warmth of the deep mattress. The gentle hum of the engine and the faint swish of the waves against the vessel were the only sounds he could hear over the roar of blood in his veins.

He told himself to go slowly.

Vlad released her hand to unbutton his shirt and saw her shiver. Her gaze was trained on him. He just looked back at her, enjoying the way her breasts swelled and peaked inside her dress, and then he reached over to release the single button at the halter’s neck. The thin top of the lemon linen fell, revealing her glorious breasts, unbound and even more abundant than he remembered.

He moved closer until he was a breath away from her. He dropped his head and unable to resist, he ran his tongue over her bottom lip before sitting on the ottoman at the foot of the bed and settling her on his lap.

She fit there perfectly; her bottom covering his raging hard on and he wanted to savor this moment because having Sabrina in his arms was what he’d been dreaming about for three long weeks. Again, he smoothed his tongue over her bottom lip, and this time her mouth dropped open just like in his fantasy. Now he was distracted by the ripe fullness of her breasts and he couldn’t stop himself from bending his head to them and just for a heartbeat, saluting them with his tongue as he inhaled her familiar scent. When the jasmine filled his head, his arms tightened around her, and the need overwhelmed him. He ground his mouth into hers with barely controlled urgency.

Her mouth opened to him like the petals of a flower, and she gave him complete access.

He knew her mouth had never tasted sweeter. He placed his hands at either side of her head to hold her in place as his tongue drove her lips wider and suddenly he was certain he couldn’t get enough.

All of his great plans for restraint, for a measured lovemaking, went out the window. At this moment, he couldn’t even recall those careful plans, how he had strategically arranged for Alex to join them on this trip because Vlad knew he needed an extra layer of protection against Sabrina. With Alex and the crew running interference, he’d reasoned, it was unlikely his encounters with Sabrina would get too far out of hand. He and Sabrina would be together, be intimate, but in a restrained fashion and he would not lose control. He would have her on his terms.

Now she was here, and she was with him all the way. Her hands had climbed up to his shoulders, and she held on even as her head fell back to give him what he demanded.

When he finally lifted his head and their ragged breaths filled the air, she rested her face in the hollow of his neck and said, “Vlad,” softly against his skin, before she lifted her head and looked him in the eye. “Make love to me,” she whispered.

He stood up then, and her dress fell completely away as he lifted her in his arms, leaving her in a lacey thong. He lowered her gently down on the bed and then just looked at her pale, gorgeous curves.

Her face flushed at his scrutiny, but she held his gaze even as her entire body grew rosy and her breathing became even more labored.

Swiftly, he shed his remaining clothes, his eyes never leaving hers. Anticipation was a torment, and he knelt between her knees on the king bed, his erection jutting powerfully.

He leaned down and she reached up to grasp his shoulders. “Ooh, I found your tattoo,” she whispered, her finger tracing the crescent moon stamped on his right shoulder.

“And I found yours,
moyo solnyshko
,” he rumbled, “the moon to your sun.” Reaching down he grasped her right foot, the one with the sun gleaming above her anklebone, effectively splaying her legs even wider.

He was in no mood for talking, and Sabrina gasped as his hands closed over both of her ankles and he tugged her into position for him. Eyes still intent on hers; he ripped away the scrap of lace that separated him from her. Then with jaw clenched, he covered himself quickly and entered her in one powerful thrust. After that moment, he stopped briefly, trying without success to slow the hell down. His arms corded and shook with the effort, but it was no use. With a groan, he let go and surged into her again, and then again.

In moments, orgasms ripped through them both, and Sabrina’s ragged cry was smothered under Vlad’s mouth as he covered her lips in a rough kiss.

****

He returned from the bathroom to see Sabrina still sprawled, but now, short minutes later, her eyes were closed and her breathing was regular. He was transfixed by the picture she made with her pale limbs relaxed and her hair tangling wildly on the pillow. He was in the act of pulling the sheet over her sleeping form when she stirred and his gaze fell to the rise and fall of her breasts with their pink-tipped nipples; so round and full in comparison to the rest of her. In the weeks leading up to the wedding she had lost weight, her sultry curves were much less pronounced of late.

Unable to stop himself he put his mouth to those rosy peaks and watched her eyes blink fully open.

“I was too rough, too fast with you earlier.” He paused in the act of suckling her, looking intently into her face.

“I, no,” she responded, her breath hitching. “I liked it.” Her body already glowing from their lovemaking, flushed anew.

“I should have gone slower. A woman needs—”

“I have no complaints,” she interrupted, looking at him from under her eyelashes, and he was fascinated by the knowing gleam of her green eyes. “I know what I need.”

“Really?” His lifted his head from her breast, amused at the return of her sassy tone.

“Yes, I do. You.”

She reached up and pulled him down to her, murmuring that she wanted him again, now.

At her words, in that sexy little whisper, the muscles of his arms bunched once more with the effort it took not to react by pulling her under him and plowing into her as he had just done.

This time, he thought, he would exhibit a little more control, show her some finesse. He never had trouble finding it with any other woman. So he made her wait. He made them both wait. He tormented both of them with foreplay seeking to prove to himself that he could pace and plan his lovemaking with Sabrina, and thereby fit their relationship into the neat compartment he had chosen.

He suckled at her breasts, deaf to her keening cries until her nipples were damp points of dark pink, before he moved on. He inched his way down past her quivering ribcage to her taut belly, laving her creamy flesh along the way. When he reached the feathery curls between her legs, her legs fell open at the first foray of his tongue into that sensitive place, and he chuckled in a low, sexy rumble that said his measured pace was working.

Sabrina was teetering at the edge but then again so was he. Her head thrashed back and forth against the pillow as he continued his ministrations, and she moaned as his fingers worked their way in. For long minutes, he tasted her honeyed flesh. Her hands found his shoulders and squeezed tight.

“Please, Vlad, please, now, I can’t—” she panted.

“Yes, you can,” he soothed, pulling her legs wider to continue his sensual assault before covering her mouth with his as her orgasm ripped violently through her. Then, knowing neither of them could bear another moment, he moved up to enter her still convulsing body, guiding her legs round his back as he found his own release and Sabrina climaxed once more.

****

When she awakened, it was almost midday. She crept into her own stateroom to bathe and change clothes, loath to run into any of the staff or crew. The heavy lethargy of jetlag clung to her even after her quick shower. Added to that, her body felt well used and beautifully sated like a concert instrument played by a master. Her milky skin bore not one mark of Vlad’s hands; nevertheless, she felt his touch all over. It was strange, but she felt less like herself without Vlad’s hands or body on hers.

Stop it, Sabrina,
what was left of her brain demanded. She was sinking fast into the kind of jumbled state where she didn’t know where she ended and he began, and in the act of scolding herself, she stopped.

It was sex. And they were on their honeymoon.

Everything else about their life might be an illusion, but the sex was very real. With that earthy conclusion she tried to think more like Vlad was obviously thinking. They should be enjoying each other without messy emotions confusing their obvious physical compatibility.

When she emerged onto the main deck, Vlad and Alex were romping in the onboard pool; the little boy’s tentativeness about the water finally eased under Vlad’s patient guidance.

“Rina, watch this, look at me!” As soon as he spotted her, Alex had called out, eager to show off his newly learned prowess. He was progressing rapidly, his sturdy body naturally well-coordinated. She sat at the edge of the pool, letting her shorts-clad legs dangle in the water.

“You can lie out over there,” Vlad nodded toward an umbrella-covered lounger, “and have a rest.”

“I’ve only just awakened,” Sabrina countered indignantly. Were they trying to get rid of her?

“Your eyes are still heavy,” came the honest response.

“I wonder why that might be?” she parried.

Vlad gave a shout of laughter and Sabrina’s eyes immediately went to that tanned throat and those straight white teeth. He was just so gorgeous. Her eyes examined every inch of his tanned physique, remembering the sensuous scrape of the fuzzy black body hair that covered his chest, thighs and legs against her softer skin. She was vaguely shocked at her own body’s flood of warmth; they’d just spent hours in each other’s arms, but the pull of his attraction was just as strong as the first time together, stronger even.

Vlad chuckled again, this time at Alex’s antics, and Sabrina had to smile. His laughter was a rare thing and beautiful to her eyes and ears. She found herself wondering how much he had laughed in his childhood years. From the little he said, she knew his experiences had been grim. To a boy of his obvious intelligence, he must have put two and two together rather quickly, both about his situation and the necessity to get out of it. She flashed back to the night of the hurricane when he laid thrashing through that dream. Was it his childhood he saw in that nightmare?

Alex responded to Vlad’s good humor by jumping back into the pool and fearlessly paddling into Vlad’s arms.

“Excellent, Alex. Very impressive.”

Alex beamed at his words. Vlad treated him to another smile, and then Alex and Vlad were busy high fiving each other and splashing around. Sabrina took the hint and settled into the lounger, opening her book. She only pretended to read, because she couldn’t get into it when all she could see in her mind’s eye was Vlad, the scared little kid in a living nightmare and then Vlad, tanned sex on legs in his swim trunks.

Chapter 15

Be Careful What You Ask For

It really was true that the less you did, the less you felt like doing. Sabrina was living like a sybarite in paradise, but she could barely remember a time when she had less energy. Yes, Vlad kept her awake into the wee hours every night. Her lower body clenched then flooded with remembered sensation, and she felt her breasts tighten with just the thought of the night before. Even lying on a lounger out of the sun with Vlad nowhere in sight, she could feel his warmth and craved more of what only he could give her.

What did that make her? She had ceased wondering, had resolved to live in the moment because the end of this time together was fast approaching. She didn’t truly know how she would cope when Vlad went back full time to his empire and she became an accessory to his existence. Because when she allowed herself to think about it, she panicked.

In her mind’s eye, she could see a return to endless days of late work nights or worse—more weeks when Vlad simply absented himself from the penthouse and stayed at his club.