Things are going much better than I expected. Letting go of Hailey’s hand, I rise to my feet. “I’m making beef stroganoff for lunch.”
“You can cook?” Hailey asks as she gets up as well.
I nod, then say, “You can sit and relax.”
She darts to my side and takes hold of my hand with both of hers. “I want to watch you cook.”
She’s uncomfortable with Alexei, which isn’t a surprise. It takes a while for people to warm up to him.
Tightening my grip around her hand, I turn my eyes to my brother. “Come sit by the island.”
Alexei gets up. “I’m just going to check on Demitri. I’ll join you soon.”
I pull Hailey to the kitchen and ask, “Are you okay?”
“Feels like I’m Red Riding hood, and your brother’s the big bad wolf,” she mutters.
I let go of her hand and lift both of mine to the sides of her neck. Locking eyes with her, I say, “Alexei will never hurt you.”
“That’s good to hear.” She pushes up on her toes and presses her mouth to mine. When she pulls back again, she asks, “I can’t cook for shit. Teach me how to make beef stroganoff.”
I lower my hands to her hips, and lifting her, I set her down on the stone slab in the middle of the kitchen.
I take the ingredients from the fridge and cupboards. While I rinse off the mushrooms, I keep glancing at Hailey.
I place a cutting board next to her, and after every mushroom I cut into thin slices, she presses a kiss to the scruff on my jaw.
When I’ve cut the last one, she leans in and whispers against my ear, “Is it weird that it’s a turn-on watching you handle a knife.”
She hasn’t seen me handle a knife yet.
I let out a chuckle, and wiping my hands on a cloth, I ask, “Do you like foreplay?”
There’s still a lot I have to learn about Hailey. Like what makes her burn up with desire. Where she likes to be touched and what will make her scream my name in ecstasy.
Slowly Hailey nods while she draws her bottom lip between her teeth.
Placing my hands on her thighs, I force her legs open and step between them. Leaning really close to her, my eyes lower to her mouth, and I drop my voice low as I say, “Unless you want me to fuck you right here, you’ll stop doing that.”
Hailey lets out a chuckle, and tilting her head, she presses a kiss to the side of my neck. “Yeah? Is it a turn-on for you?”
My hands move up to her sides, and my fingers curl into her shirt. “Everything you do makes me want to fuck you.”
Hailey’s lips part against my skin, and then her teeth sink into me. The sting is light, but it makes me instantly hard. I yank her pelvis against mine so she can feel my hard as fuck cock.
When she sucks on my neck, I growl, “You’re playing with fire.”
“Mmh… will you kiss the burns better?”
My hand darts to her jaw, and turning her face up, I take her mouth with all the hunger I feel. I fuck her with my tongue until her body trembles against mine, and she moans for more.
If Alexei and Demitri weren’t here… Christ, I’d fuck Hailey until she couldn’t walk. I’d drain every ounce of energy from her body, leaving her sated and spent on my bed.
Her hands find my hair, and her fingers tug at the strands, and I almost forget we’re not alone.
I move my other hand back down to her thigh and brush my thumb over the crease, barely touching her pussy. Her hips buck forward, searching for more friction.
“Carson,” she whimpers against my mouth.
I move my hand more until the pad of my thumb presses against the spot where her clit should be. Hailey’s hands begin to move, roving down my neck and over my shoulders and back up again.
The kiss spins out of control.
“Go back down,” I hear Demitri say, and it makes me pull back from Hailey.
She quickly slides off the island and begins to straighten her hair and shirt while trying to catch her breath.
I let out a chuckle then call to Alexei and Demitri. “It’s safe to come up.”
I hear Alexei’s laughter before he appears, a pleased smile around his lips.
“So much for cooking, eh?” he asks.
“I got distracted.” Taking hold of Hailey’s hips, I lift her back onto the stone slab and say, “This time sit still.”
“Yes, Sir,” she replies, her cheeks still flushed from the moment we just shared.
Taking a pan from a drawer, I set it on the stove, and when I begin to sauté the mushrooms and strips of steak, I glance at Alexei. “Isn’t it time for a drink?”
I sure as fuck need one.
Alexei chuckles. “Yes, let’s drink.” He turns his attention to Hailey. “What do you like?”
“I don’t suppose you have soda?” she asks.
Alexei opens the fridge then says, “Only water.”
“I’ll have that then.” When he hands her a bottle, she murmurs, “Thanks.”
Alexei pours three tumblers of vodka and sets one down next to the stove.
After he’s taken a sip of his drink, he asks Hailey, “Where have you traveled?”
“Switzerland is my first destination. I’m thinking of going to Croatia next.”
“Why Croatia?” he asks.
“I’ve seen pictures of the most amazing waterfalls there.”
“Plitvice Lakes National Park,” Alexei says. “That’s where you’ll find them.”
“You’ve been?” Hailey asks, visibly relaxing.
“Yes. It’s peaceful.”
“Where else have you traveled?” Hailey asks, and it’s good to see her and Alexei finding common ground.
Alexei chuckles. “It would be better for you to ask where I haven’t been.”
“Seriously? Okay, where haven’t you been?”
Alexei actually has to think about the answer while he drinks more of the vodka. Then he mutters, “Fuck, I can’t think of any places.”
“You have not seen the whole world,” Hailey argues. “It’s impossible.”
A genuine smile spreads over my brother’s face, which is rare to see. “I like you, little one.”
Hailey grins, and then she winks at me. “I just got the stamp of approval.”
Shaking my head, I turn off the heat, a contented smile tugging at my mouth.
HAILEY
One thing’s for sure, my man can cook.
Leaning into Carson, I press a kiss to his cheek. “That was delicious. I’ll clean up.”
I get up from the couch and gathering all the plates, I carry them to the kitchen.
“We’re heading out,” I hear Alexei say, and it makes my eyebrows pop up.
“Keep me up to date with how it goes,” Carson replies.
It doesn’t take me long to clean the kitchen, and after hanging the cloth back in its place, I walk to the living room.
Alexei gets up, and I notice how Demitri moves at the exact same time.
Alexei comes to hug me, and I stiffen in his embrace.
“Keep my brother out of trouble,” he says.
“I can’t make any promises,” I joke.
I follow the men to the door and watch as they say goodbye. When Alexei and Demitri walk to an SUV that looks similar to the one Carson drives, I ask, “What does Alexei do for a living?”
“He’s a contractor, like me,” Carson answers as he shuts the door.
We stare at each other for a moment. A spark explodes in the air between us, and the predatory look Carson gives me makes my heartbeat speed up until it’s wildly hammering in my chest.
Moving at the same time, our bodies crash together, and our mouths latch on to each other.
The sexual tension that’s been building since Carson kissed me on Wednesday night has been driving me wild.
Actually, it’s been building since we met.
Carson yanks my shirt over my head, and grabbing hold of my hips, he pushes me back until I slam into the door.
The heat in his eyes makes my abdomen clench with need, and then his mouth burns a hot path down my neck. When he reaches my breast, his teeth clamp down on the sensitive flesh beneath the lacy bra.
Carson keeps going lower until he’s kneeling in front of me. His eyes lock on mine as he undoes my jeans and drags them down my legs.
Holy hotness.
I step out of my sneakers and then kick the jeans to the side.
Carson’s hands move up my legs, from my calves to my hips, and then he tugs my panties down and buries his face between my legs.
“Oh, yes,” I gasp as my hands find his hair.
He lifts my leg over his shoulder, and the moment his breath fans over my clit, my head falls back against the door. Using his tongue and teeth, he assaults me in a way I’ve never been assaulted before. I tighten my grip on his hair as sounds begin to escape from me, everything from moans to whimpers to sighs of ecstasy.
My climax builds quickly, and my body curls forward as my mouth opens on a pleasure-filled cry. The orgasm spasms through me, ripping shudders from my body until it feels like I’m having a seizure.
My legs go numb, and I sink down in front of Carson, slumping against his chest.
I can’t form words.
I can’t move.
I can only feel.
Carson’s hands frame my face, and lifting my mouth to his, he makes me taste myself on his lips and tongue as he kisses whatever air I have left from my lungs.
I’m a gasping mess of numb limbs when his arms slip beneath me, and he stands, lifting me to his chest. He carries me to his bedroom and drops me in the middle of the bed.
I only take in a dark gray bedspread, and then Carson is all I see as he braces himself over me.
“I’m going to fuck you,” he says, his voice low and almost sounding deadly.
I nod quickly.
“Hard,” he grinds the word out through clenched teeth.
I nod again.
True to his word, Carson’s hands move hard over my abdomen and up toward my breasts. His touch is biting as he squeezes both my breasts in his palms, and then the lace is torn in half.
His teeth latch onto my nipple, and my back arches. He removes my hands from his shoulders and pins them against the mattress on either side of my head, and then he stares at my bare torso.
“Fucking perfect.” Letting go of my hands, he orders, “Keep your arms there.”
The command makes heat flare through my veins. “Okay.”
When he grabs hold of the hem of his shirt and yanks it off, I can only stare.
There are tattoos everywhere. Tears cover his right shoulder, and as they spiral down his arm, they become smaller until they end with a tiny one on the back of his wrist.
There’s a double-headed eagle tattooed over his chest and an eight-pointed star on each of his collarbones.
Carson’s abs look like they’re carved from solid rock, and I end up counting eight before my attention is stolen by the fact that he’s stepping out of his pants.
I’ve never seen anything hotter, and it makes me squirm with need.
Yep, my wildest fantasies have nothing on Carson.
“I’m going to enjoy your body,” I say, not hiding the fact that I’m impressed with his cock.
“Not before I’ve had my fill of yours,” he says as he takes hold of my thighs and spreads me wide open. “I’m going to take you bare.”
“You clean?” I ask.
He nods.
“Then we’re good.”
