«Yes, it was.»
Vikirnoff was standing just below the fallen tree trunk she was balancing on. Natalya leapt off and he caught her, just as she'd known he would. Happiness burst through her. Of course he would catch her, he was always there in her mind, loving her, wanting her, feeling it was such a miracle to have her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. «Yes, it was. and you remember that next time you get all He-Man on me.»
Natalya bent her head to his, her hair falling like silky rain on his skin. It was the most
sensual thing in the world and she'd barely touched him. He felt a series of small butterfly licks over his pulse and immediately his blood began to pound in response.
«You always smell so good. Even in the heat of battle, you smell good,» she murmured, her body rubbing much like a cat's along his. Her tongue did another flickering dance over his pulse and down his throat. Once her teeth scraped, featherlight, but her touch seemed to burn right through his shirt to brand his skin.
«Sometimes, Natalya, I do not think I can survive without touching you.» His hands cupped her rounded bottom, giving her support. At the same time he applied enough pressure to press the heat of her core tightly against his suddenly hard erection.
«I never imagined being this happy,» she confided, resting her head on his shoulder, her teeth tugging at his ear. «Even when I thought we might not make it through that battle, I looked at you fighting and you were breathtaking. I was proud that you were mine.»
Her tongue did a little foray over his pulse again and his erection thickened, jumped in response, his blood catching fire. «I do love you for yourself, Natalya, never doubt that. I may have a difficult time accepting you in a dangerous situation, but who you are is exactly what I want.»
Her soft laughter teased his senses, gave him another heady rush. A strange roaring started in his ears. Vikirnoff sank down onto the fallen log urging her to straddle him. She cuddled close, fitting snugly in his lap, just the way he loved. «I'm what you need. If it wasn't for me, Vik, you'd be a bossy, snarling grump.» Her teeth tugged at his bottom lip. «Don't get me wrong, it's a little thrilling to have you get all masterful and try to be the dictator.» Her tongue fluttered along the seam of his lips, sent a flame burning through his body.
Her touch was so light, barely felt, yet it shook him, tightening every muscle until the blood rushed to his groin to center there, but more than that, he felt the shift in his heart that left his eyes burning with unshed tears. She tasted his skin, her tongue a delicate velvet rasp traversing along his collarbone. He had never thought that might be an erotic spot, but his entire body was strung as tight as bow.
«You have too many clothes on, Natalya.» His husky declaration was somewhere between a plea and a command. He discarded his own clothes when the material of his trousers became too painful to bear over his bulging erection. If he got any larger he was afraid he might split his skin open.
«Do I?» She nibbled her way down his chest, sounding slightly distracted. «If I take off my clothes, I won't get to play anymore. You'll get all serious on me.»
His fingers bit into her waist. «I am getting very serious here. Feel how serious I am.» He grounded his body against hers, feeling the answering heat of her right through her clothes. The friction made him groan with need.
«I love it when you're wild and crazy and can't take me fast enough,» Natalya admitted, her fingernails scraping along his chest with a small bite. «But this is so perfect. Lazy and slow. Eating you up. I love this muscle right here.» Her tongue teased and flicked as she kissed her way over his chest.
«I would not mind eating you up,» he said. The sight of her, eyes going dark with hunger, the sensual look on her face, the slow torture of her hands and mouth were all going to kill him. He'd just had her two hours earlier and yet he was burning from the inside out, so hot, he feared he might go up in flames. She was so soft, so delicate, yet steel ran through her and that excited him nearly as much as her wandering mouth.
«The idea has possibilities.» She sat up, deliberately moved her hips restlessly, her mound in direct contact with his groin. Her fingers slipped the first button free and his breath caught in his throat.
Her blouse gaped open slowly, the unwrapping of a present. He moistened his lips with his tongue. She was driving him out of his skull. His body was pulsing, throbbing, his heart pounding blood through his body, gathering every sensation into one point in his body.
The blouse fell away to reveal her breasts rising and falling with each breath she drew into her lungs. «I ache for you.» She tunneled her fingers through his hair and drew his head to her breast, arching back when he latched on with a growl of pleasure, suckling strongly, his tongue and teeth tormenting her.
He opened his eyes to look into hers. The dark hunger in his gaze robbed her of breath and spread heat through her body. «Get rid of the pants the Carpathian way,» he commanded.
There was such a husky need in his voice everything feminine rose up to respond. She closed her eyes and wished herself out of the confines of her jeans. She wanted nothing but bare skin between them. His mouth was so hot she thought she might not survive the pleasure. «I'm not very good at this,» she said with a sigh when nothing happened. «How long did it take the others to get this?»
«You are great at this. Perfect. I distracted you.» He sounded unreasonably pleased.
«That must be it. I'm usually a very fast learner.»
Vikirnoff threw his head back and laughed. She sounded so peeved right in the middle of their lovemaking that he couldn't help it. «You are so competitive.»
«I am not. I just ought to be able to do this, that's all.» Her eyes glittered green-blue, at him. «It can't be that hard. I picture it, right? That's all I need to do.»
«Visualizing is not the same as thinking it. If you are thinking, 'Make it go away' it will not happen. You have to visualize the pants gone.» He massaged her bottom. «I can remove them for you.»
Her gaze narrowed and temper flitted across her face. «Don't you dare. I'll do it. I just gained a little weight and the stupid things are extra tight.»
His eyebrow shot up. «That's the problem? Weight gain?» His hand shaped the soft curves. «Could be. Maybe a few pounds.»
She shoved at his chest. «You're really asking for trouble now.»
His palm slid around to her belly. «I love this little hoop, but when you have our child growing in you, and you really gain weight, are you going to leave this in for me to play with?»
Natalya sobered completely at the thought of children. She swallowed hard, her gaze suddenly avoiding his. «You know that Xavier is always going to be a shadow in our lives. As long as he is alive, he will always be a threat to us and to any children we have.»
«I have no doubt that is true.» His hand slid a caress through her hair, more comfort than sexual.
«You don't seem very disturbed by it.»
«Xavier is his own worst enemy. He has been trying to stamp out our species for centuries, yet he lives in isolation, in fear. I do not see the point of living such a life. We are free to live out lives the way we are intended. We have the ability to be happy and he does not. I do not fear Xavier. He fears us.»
Her teeth bit at her lower lip. Vikirnoff frowned. «What is it, ainaak sivamet jutta? Tell me. I will not take it from your mind if you do not wish to share it with me.»