38
CORA
Heat pours out of him, soaking through the thin material of the worn t-shirt he dressed me in. I loosen my hold on his shirt and let my fingernails scratch over the hard planes of his body.
“No.” Ivan shakes his head and grabs my wrists. He puts distance between us. “Not tonight.”
I blink up at him. “Don’t you—? I thought you wanted—”
“You’re traumatized. I’m not going to take advantage of you after everything you’ve been through.” He bites his lip. “You have—God, you have no fucking idea how much I want… But I’m not going to fuck it up.”
His eyes are stormy as he studies me. Ivan wants this, too. I know he does.
“I know what I want,” I tell him. “But I also know what it’s like to be forced. I won’t do that to you. If you don’t want me, then—”
The words die in my throat as Ivan spins me back against the wall. He places a finger under my chin and forces my face up to his. His breath is hot and heavy against my skin.
For a moment, we’re back in the shadows of his office. It’s the night we first met, but this time I know it’s not just a fling. I can see everything waiting ahead for us.
I’d do it all over again just to end up here with him.
He lowers his face to mine, our foreheads pressed together. “Of course I want you, Cora,” he growls. “I have always wanted you.”
I curl my hand around his wrist. “You don’t scare me, Ivan. I’m not traumatized. Not with you. Not with this.”
I brush my lips over his jaw. Every part of him is clenched and straining.
“You don’t have to hold yourself back with me,” I whisper. “Whatever you want to give me, I can take.”
Ivan comes alive in an instant.
He grips my hips and wraps me around his waist. His hard erection presses against my belly. He squeezes my cheeks as he claims my mouth with his. It’s a hot flash at first, one burning second of need. Then he settles and slows. Gentle. Tender and thorough.
It’s luxurious, this kissing. There’s no rush, he’s telling me. I’m going to take my time with you.
He carries me over to the bed and lays me down on my back. “Stay put,” he says, dropping to his knees. “I have you exactly where I want you.”
He pushes his shirt up my thighs and trails kisses up the sensitive insides of my legs. The exhale is enough to send goosebumps racing across my skin.
I want to tell Ivan he doesn’t have to do this. The other day in the restaurant bathroom, that was enough. It’s his turn.
But the way he settles between my legs and sighs keeps me quiet. He wants this.
He wants me.
He starts slowly, flicking his tongue against my slit, teasing me open. But the restraint doesn’t last long. Part of it is my fault—I can’t stop myself from working my fingers into his hair and holding him fast against me.
I moan as he explores me. The flat of his tongue applies toe-curling pressure and his lips suction around my clit.
Embarrassingly fast, I clamp my legs around his ears and grind against his mouth. I chase and chase and chase until I flop back on the mattress and absolutely fall apart.
“Oh my god,” I gasp. “That was—”
“That was only a fraction of what I intend to do to you.”
He drags his tongue up the center of my stomach. I grab his face and try to bring him to my mouth, but Ivan wrangles me back onto the bed and pins me down with a strong arm.
He grabs my hips and fills me in one slow, steady thrust.
“Oh my…” I hook my legs behind his back while my body adjusts. “Ivan.”
A growl rumbles through his chest. “You feel so fucking good, solnishka.”
He lets his hands roam over my stomach and my chest. He palms my breasts and circles the pointed peaks of my nipples all while he thrusts into me again and again.
“I don’t want this to ever end. I want to stay here forever. I want you inside of me for the rest of my life.”
“You can’t talk to me like that, Cora.” His voice is strained.
His jaw clenches and something dangerous flashes in his eyes. Then he slowly, so slowly slides out of me… and slams back in.
I arch up the bed from the force, but Ivan brings me right back and does it again. And again.
I cling to him, wrapping my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck. I meet his thrusts halfway and whisper breathy nothings in his ear.
Unlike the first orgasm, this one crashes over me suddenly. There is no build—just a sudden drop into blissful oblivion.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” I kiss his neck and his face. I devour every inch of him I can reach until the pulsing in me slows. “Ivan, that was—”
Ivan flips me onto my stomach before I can finish the sentence and hauls my hips up. He fills me with one thrust.
He fills me again and again and I gladly take it. I lower onto my elbows and arch my hips higher.
There is no way I can possibly climax again, but I don’t care. I’m happy to be used by him. I’m more than content just to touch him.
Then Ivan slips a hand around my hip and finds my center. I was so sure I was finished for the night, but all of the sudden—
“I’m coming. I can’t believe I’m… Fuck, Ivan, I’m coming.”
He roars as my body squeezes around him and I know he’s close, too. But I can’t hold myself up long enough to help him finish. I collapse to the mattress and he smooths his hand up and down my spine.
I peek over my shoulder at him. He’s silhouetted by the bedside table, a golden halo ringing his dark hair. Then he rolls me onto my side. His body curls around me easily, like we were made for this. He settles behind me and slides back in tenderly, nestling so deeply inside that I can’t tell where he ends and I begin. I can feel his heart thundering, matching pace with mine.
Somehow, this is different from the sex before. It’s slow and sensual. It’s peaceful.
It’s home.
“Cora,” Ivan moans. His lips whisper my name against my shoulder blade again and again. Until his breath catches and he spills into me.