Lion of Midnight Read online

  “It’s beautiful here,” she whispered, the awe apparent.

  “Stay.” The word popped out of his mouth, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for her response.

  “What?” He opened his eyes to see Cleo looking at him over her shoulder.

  “Stay…as long as you like.” Stay with me.

  This time, she readjusted her body so he was her support instead of the pillar. “I’d love to stay here. I could spend so much time in the museum and, then, an equal amount in your house, just looking at the treasures you have.”

  Wrapping his arms around her, he covered her hands with his. The faint heat from the mug could still be felt in the cold night air. For the first time, Nik felt at peace. The garden in his mind was as green and lush as he could recall, even though, in reality, it was covered, unblemished by snow. He could envision spending the evenings out here with Cleo on summer nights, the smell of the flowers permeating the air.

  With his hands assisting, Cleo took a sip of the drink. When she was done, he took the mug completely from her. Her question was silenced by a kiss. Nik slowly covered her mouth with his, but the moment her seductive taste filled him, combined with the chocolate she’d drunk, he lost his calm.

  Jerking their mouths apart, he growled, “Don’t move.”

  In less than a second, he’d placed the mug on the ground and had positioned himself in front of her, gathering her in his arms. A soft whimper slid from her mouth to his, and when her arms slipped around his waist, Nik shuddered with longing. In and out, his tongue swept through her mouth. The heat in his body grew until he would have sworn it was summer around the Equator. A low rumble of primal lust rose from his belly. Mine! his soul screamed.

  Cleo arched her lithe body, pressing her delectable curves more firmly against him. He could feel her fingers gripping the sides of his shirt. It was the purring that rose up from her that made his already rock hard cock even harder. Slipping his hands down to cup her firm ass, he squeezed her through the denim. Her hips flexed against him as she tugged at his waist.

  Without further thought, Nik lifted her up and pulled back from her mouth enough to rasp, “Wrap your legs around me, sweetheart.” When she did, he began kissing her, again. Their tongues danced with one another as he strode to the door and walked inside the warm home. Barely ensuring the door closed securely behind him, Nikolas headed straight for the stairs.

  A bed. I said a bed. He kept repeating it in his mind, so he didn’t stop until he got to his room. At his door, he pressed her up against the smooth wood. Wrapping one hand in her hair, he tugged until her head was tilted at the angle he desired. Pure liquid heat flowed through his veins as he plundered her mouth. Demanding her complete surrender.

  “Nikolas,” she moaned around his assault.

  The husky timbre of her voice plucked on his nerves like a taut string. With his free hand, he reached around her and opened the door. As he moved farther into the room, he lessened the pressure of his kiss, until it was just light strokes swimming throughout her addicting taste.

  Reluctantly, he placed her on her feet. Their movements became frenzied, then, as they shoved at each other’s clothing. Nik quickly disposed of his coat over her before he reached for her sweater and slipped his hands under it, groaning in pleasure as he felt her skin. Soft and satiny.

  Cleo was still in a state of near delirium. The world around her was shielded by a slight haze. It had happened the second he’d placed his mouth on hers, again. Her entire world honed in on him. Dragging away, she settled a hand on the chiseled musculature of his chest. His eyes met hers, and if brown eyes could be smoky with desire, then his were just that. Her skin burned under the intensity of his stare.

  “Nikolas,” she murmured, averting her gaze from his intoxicating one.

  Callused fingertips dragged across her sides before she felt a few on her chin, moving her face back toward him. She bit back a whimper of longing as his thumb gently stroked her bottom lip. Meeting his eyes, Cleo witnessed his passion being restrained, but it was still blatantly obvious.

  “Cleo.” He spoke her name in such a velvety seductive way it nearly made her legs give out. “If you don’t want this…” he trailed off.

  Oh, I want. “That’s not it. I do…want this…” she put a second hand on his torso, “…want you.” Every cell in her body was on the verge of a mutiny; it was as if she could feel them propel her toward him. “I just…I’m not…”

  Nikolas used both hands to cup her face. Leaning close, he brushed his lips against hers with a feather-like touch. “I know you aren’t. And, for the record, I never thought you were.”

  Another pass of his lips and the warmth in her belly erupted into flames. This time, she followed his mouth when he went to pull back. She needed him. Needed the feeling he could give her. He remained still under her forward assault for a mere second before he reacted. Cleo lost control of the kiss and willingly surrendered it to the powerful man holding her.

  His deep, rumbling growl flowed up from his chest and into her, sending goose bumps across her body. “If you don’t want to lose your sweater, Cleo, get out of it. Now!” he dictated into her mouth between kisses.

  Lust rocketed through her at his command. Stepping back from him, she whipped her sweater off over her head and let it fall to the thick carpeting beneath her feet. A pained expression crossed his face as he looked at her. Her lashes lowered as he reached out for her bared skin. A pulsing between her legs made her long to squeeze them together. She shivered as his touch skimmed across her skin. Her belly tightened as his fingers moved up toward her bra and the aching breasts contained within.

  “Nikolas—” she gasped as his thumbs bushed across her pebbled nipples.

  “Krasivyj.” The word was issued in a low guttural tone.

  She had no idea what he said, but the passion and possessiveness in that one word made her toes curl. Licking her lips, Cleo held still as he reached around behind her and unhooked her dusky-blue bra. As if the earlier urgency had been put on hold, his movements were excruciatingly slow as he pulled the satin straps off her shoulders. Her belly heaved and rolled with wanton desire as she did her best to remain motionless and let him do as he wished.

  He leaned in close, and his tongue traced along her collarbone before dipping into the hollow of her throat. “You taste as good as you smell, better perhaps.” His hands cupped her breasts, and she didn’t even try to stop the moan that slipped past her lips.

  She shuddered as his teeth nipped the skin of her shoulder. Cleo brought her hand around the back of his head, pressing him closer to her heated flesh, while the other wrapped around one rock-hard bicep, well, not fully around, which wasn’t a shock considering how powerful he appeared. Amazing how a man who was so strong could hold her and touch her with such tenderness.

  Those thoughts fled as he continued to nibble his way across her upper body. Her skin prickled as he took his time in tasting her bared flesh. His hands didn’t move, just held her breasts, and yet, she ached for more. More of his fingers moving along the sensitive skin. More of the tension it created in the pit of her stomach.

  Back and forth along her shoulder, he skimmed with his mouth and tongue. She shivered beneath his touch. In between the strokes he tantalized her with, he murmured words she couldn’t understand but still made her heat up even more if possible. When his tongue moved up the side of her neck, Cleo tightened the hold her fingers had on his silky hair.

  His warm breath fanned across her ear and cheek before she wrenched her eyes open to find his heated gaze waiting for hers. He singed her skin with the flames in his penetrating look. When he dropped to his knees before her, she trembled as his breath spread out along her bared belly. Her knees wobbled as he made short work of her boots and, then, turned his attention to the button of her jeans.

  The crackling of the fire was the only sound in the room aside from their breathing. Deep and heavy with the promise of upcoming pleasure. As his fingertips tra
iled across her taut belly, her breath hitched. After the button was undone, the zipper seemed to echo through the room as he lowered it slowly. Cleo sucked her bottom lip into her mouth as she peered down at the top of his head while he drew her jeans down over her hips. With careful but deliberate movement, he lifted each leg out then tossed her pants to the side.

  “Cleo,” he muttered in a deeper voice than she remembered him having.

  She threaded one hand into the thick hair on his head and tugged it so he’d look up at her. When their eyes met, she blinked once before saying softly, “Please, Nik.”

  He loved she called him Nik instead of Nikolas. With one fluid motion, he stood tall and gathered her against his chiseled torso, the material of his shirt abrading her nipples. Never before had she felt so cherished. It may not make any sense how he could give her such a feeling, but that’s the only way she could describe it. He held her closer and murmured something to her she couldn’t understand. It didn’t matter; nothing did except the man holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. As the stubble on his face slid across her cheek, he swept her up in his arms and carried her to his large bed.

  It was a beautiful and still very masculine colored bedding. The mattress was extremely comfortable as he laid her back on it, but as his large body covered hers, the material she lay upon ceased to matter. All her focus was back on the man above her.

  She didn’t know when but his shirt had disappeared, and she was met by warm skin as he pressed her deeper into the comforter, one leg wedged between hers. Along her jaw line, he nibbled, stirring her body into more of a heated frenzy. Her panties were damp, and her body arched against him, trying to increase the feeling of his powerful leg between her thighs. Cleo didn’t fully register the whimpers that were escaping her mouth as he feasted upon her body.

  His erection rested against her, and her body pulsed at the thought of him sliding into her. She trailed her hands over the muscled expanse of his back, holding him tighter to her, digging her nails into his skin.

  “Cleo,” he growled into the small of her throat.

  “Nikolas,” she returned with the same passion in her tone.

  A moan of disappointment escaped as he drew away from her body, which felt chilled despite the warmth in the room. A sound that stopped the second his fingers fell to the fastener on his cargo pants. With silent awe and anticipation, she lay there watching avidly as he removed the remainder of his clothing. The pants gave way to a pair of dark green boxers that contained a hard ridge. She licked her lips as her eyes ran over the straining muscle.

  Cleo’s breath caught as his thumbs slipped beneath the elastic band and moved the boxers down his legs. He stood before her and stepped out of the material at his feet before remaining still, allowing her to look her fill. She couldn’t pull her gaze away from the full erection that rose from a thatch of darker blond hair. The large head glistened with drops of precum. Her mouth grew dry, and she longed to taste him. All of him.

  Chapter Eight

  “I want you, Cleo,” he admitted as he stepped back up to her prone body. “More than I ever wanted anyone.”

  “Nikolas,” she said on a sigh.

  He moved his gaze over the woman who rested upon his bedspread…waiting for him. Cleopatra Laurens lay there wearing nothing but her snowflake necklace and a pair of lacy bikini panties, the same color as her discarded bra. The material between her toned legs was darker, showing him proof of her desire.

  Mine!

  He swallowed as he stepped flush with the bed. Inhaling deeply, he groaned as his nose filled with the rich spicy scent of her arousal. His cock throbbed, as if approving the direction of his thoughts. Staring down at her, he nearly drowned in the depths of her brown gaze.

  Crawling over her, Nik moaned as his erection touched the material that covered her wet channel. As if doing a pushup, he lowered his body over her smaller one, pressing feather-light kisses along her jaw line. “You are my salvation,” he whispered in Russian in her ear. “I’ve waited centuries for you, and I’m never letting you go.”

  Reaching between them, he pulled at her underwear. “Lift up, baby.” She did, and he removed them quickly before pressing their naked bodies together. It was amazing to feel her silken skin along his. He bit the inside of his cheek as she spread her legs farther apart, allowing his cock to brush against the damp hair protecting her pussy.

  “Please,” she said with a soft, begging quality to her voice.

  He moved his hand over the patch of hair between her legs. A roar of possession wanted to erupt from him. Moving with a patience he really didn’t have, Nik trailed one finger between the swollen lips. As his lone digit entered heat, she gasped. A sweet sound that traveled from her lips straight to his throbbing groin.

  His cock leapt and pulsed as her wet warmth closed around his finger. Sweat popped up along his brow. The way her body cradled his single finger made him long to feel her wrapped around his hard shaft. Biting his lip, he slid another finger into her slickness.

  Their eyes never left one another, and he easily read the desire in hers. Her gaze grew smoky, full lips were shiny and slightly parted. He moved his fingers inside her—a slow, steady motion. Her eyes widened slightly before a moan escaped. Her muscles gripped him as he stroked in and out, welcoming as he drove in and desperate to stop his retreat.

  “So fucking tight and hot. Jesus, Cleo, I want to be buried deep within you. So fucking deep you won’t know where I end and you begin.” Her body clasped around his unrelenting fingers as her mouth began emitting gasps and mewls. Sounds that got louder as he increased the speed of his fingers. “That’s it, baby, let it go.”

  His body clamored for release, but he ignored it, focusing on her instead. Her pleasure was top priority. Nik watched her eyes roll back as her orgasm rushed over her. Hands fisted at her sides, and her amaretto skin took on a delightful flush. He used his body to keep her legs from closing and watched avidly as her breasts moved with his thrusts and her shuddering breaths.

  She was beautiful when she exploded with orgasm. Her internal muscles gripped him tighter than anything he could recall. Straight white teeth sank into her lower lip as a deep-throated moan filled the room. Her thick cream coated his fingers, and he slowly withdrew them from the haven they were cocooned in and brought them to his mouth. He licked her essence off his fingers, the spicy taste embedded into his tongue and more. His cock throbbed harder, demanding release. Her eyes were unfocused as they met his before they dropped to his dick.

  An arrogant smirk flitted along one corner of his mouth. Wrapping his hand around his swollen cock, he slowly fisted it. “Cleo,” he said softly. When her eyes left his erection and met his gaze, he continued, “Protection?” Nik knew he was clean, and gods knew he wanted to experience her luscious body with nothing between them, but he would respect her decision.

  “I’m clean and on the pill,” she answered, holding his gaze.

  “I’m clean, as well, but the choice is yours.”

  He nearly died in pleasure when her smaller hand joined his along the length of his shaft.

  “Don’t wanna wait.” A blush tinged her darker skin. “I want to feel you…all of you.”

  Nik hadn’t ever felt more of a man than at that moment. Thrusting his hips forward, he moaned in pleasure as her warm hand stroked him. He could stay like that for hours. But he wanted more.

  Backing off a tiny bit, he placed the head of his shaft against the entrance of her silt. Dipping his head to hers, Nik teased her lips with the tip of his tongue. Then, he slid it into her mouth as his hips flexed forward sheathing him inside her waiting body.

  He released a moan as his member was encased by her velvet heat. Home. There was no other way to describe it. She separated their mouths, and the sexiest purr he’d ever heard in all his years slipped past her lips.

  “Shit,” she drew out as she bit down on her lower lip.

  Nik remained silent as he took in the
feeling of being fully embedded within her. He couldn’t say anything. It took all his control not to unload at that first moment. Slowly, he pulled back, her muscles grabbing at him, trying to keep him inside of her. Shockwaves of pleasure rocketed through him, only to double as he pushed forward, again.

  He covered her mouth with his as he found a slow and steady rhythm. With his tongue, he matched the thrusts of his hips. It was a struggle to remain in relative control. Nik longed to plow into her, brand her, leave his mark on her so there’d never be another she’d want to touch her.

  Her legs spread wider and wrapped high around his waist, allowing him deeper penetration. Her pebbled nipples moved against his chest, heightening his pleasure. Driving forward until he could go no farther, Nik swept through her mouth and ended the kiss, pulling her lower lip out as their mouths parted. He sat up a bit more and moved his hands to her hips.

  Raking his eyes over her form, he swallowed at the image of his pale cock slipping from her dark nether lips, covered with her cream. With a low groan, he powered forward again, loving the way her body accepted him.

  “Please,” she panted as her body writhed beneath his.

  “Slow,” he muttered.

  “No,” she snapped. “Faster.”

  Tightening his fingers on her hips, he did as she’d ordered. She gasped aloud as her hands gripped the garnet bedding. Gritting his teeth, Nik did his best to hold on as Cleo erupted with another orgasm.

  Cleo shuddered as lights exploded around her. A scream ripped up from the bottom of her belly as she arched her hips to take in more of his cock. Her body felt like it was on fire. Not even on their best day together had her ex been able to make her feel like this.