I smiled a little. “You have your secrets. I have mine.” I paused, and decided to be a bit honest. “I don’t have it out for Grigori and Ember. They’re just a means to an end.”
He stiffened, growling, “They’re no one’s means to an end. I won’t allow them to be.”
I was quiet for a few moments, and then shook my head, saying softly, “And we were doing so well, too.” I pointed at myself. “I’m a reporter and I’m being honest. Everyone is a means to an end to some story.” I sighed and kept up with the truth. “Daniil, from what I can remember, the sex was great between us, but this,” I pointed at him, then me, “isn’t going to happen again. You’re not exactly the type to sit back and let me do my job if it’s not what you want to run in the papers. I don’t let anyone get in the way of the truth. If I had actual proof that Ember had poisoned Zoya, I wouldn’t have done the article myself because you scared the shit out of me. But I would have sent it on to someone else to run, if he or she wished. No one should have the right to stop the truth from being printed.”
I paused. “Well, unless it’s a matter of national security. That, I understand. But you…you would try to stop me on everyday stories, and probably, in a scary as hell way.” He had taken a few steps forward, closing the distance between us. I stood still. I did not think he was going to hurt me for what I had just said, but his size was an intimidating factor. “There’s also the problem that you don’t want your kids knowing you’re having sex. And truthfully, no offense, I’m not sure how comfortable I am having sex with someone who’s a helluva lot closer to my father’s age than my own.” Staring up at him this close in the dark, he looked even more like death’s angel.
He bent his head, and whispered, “All of what you said is true. I would try to stop you from writing an article that’s not conducive to the plan. I’m not positive I would frighten you again. I would probably just bribe someone, or scare that person from printing it. And no, I definitely don’t want my kids knowing I’m having sex because they seem skittish by the fact that I have a sex drive after their mother’s passing. And truthfully, no offense, I’m not sure either if I’m entirely comfortable having sex with someone your age. I’ve always kept my lovers above my children’s ages.” His head tilted farther, and his hair brushed the side of my face.
He watched as my breath caught. “We were both drunk before. It couldn’t possibly have been as good as we both remember. Perhaps we should let a kiss decide. If it’s as good as we remember, maybe we can work around those other details.” His voice was a low purr, his accent deepening. “If not, there’s no harm in trying.”
Embarrassingly, I was panting. My heart pounded because I did remember how good it had been to kiss him. I licked my lips, staring at his. “I guess one kiss wouldn’t hurt.”
“Exactly,” he murmured and slowly lowered his head even further.
I dropped my goody-bag and placed my hands on his shoulders, running my palms around his neck to hold him just as his hands landed softly on my hips, pulling me against his warm body.
That’s when our lips touched.
And…I learned…being drunk had dulled the senses.
His lips were the fireworks and mine were the fuse. It was as if an explosion rocked us as we pressed our lips harder against one another’s. I gasped and altered my hands, gripping his hair as hard as his arms were that slid around me, crushing me against his body. We groaned at the same time, and his full, soft lips opened and his warm tongue instantly met mine. The explosions rocked us again for an unknown amount of time, and we went a little crazy as our tongues tangled and caressed one another’s with a carnal hunger I had never felt before.
I could not breathe. I really did not care. But I started to get dizzy and yanked my head back…and it slammed against something hard. “Oomph!” Blinking blurrily, I stared at Daniil’s face.
His eyes snapped open wide, glancing left and right. “Shit.”
I wiggled, realizing I had something against my back. One of my legs was lifted over one of Daniil’s hips as he held my thigh; his other hand fisted in my inhuman curls. I gently extracted my fingernails from his rock-hard biceps and peered at our surroundings with him. We had somehow moved, at least, ten feet from where my goody-bag lay in the grass. My backside was currently pressed against a palm tree.
Holy shit.
Slowly, I turned my head to face Daniil.
He was staring at me. Like a shark. A death angel with shark eyes.
He wanted to take me down under in the most sinful, carnal way.
Somewhere, Dad was screaming a prayer, because I was drowning. More than willing.
“Ignore them,” Daniil muttered, breathless, his tongue sliding back across mine.
I went dizzy with it, but I jerked my head back. “I can’t. They’re just…there.” His bodyguards were a wall in front of the elevator doors as we went up to his room. Their backs were to us, but they were in the damn elevator as we made out behind them.
He growled, pushing my back against the wall, taking my mouth again.
And holy hell, it was like the ambrosia of fireworks.
I groaned and yanked on his hair, pulling him closer.
He rumbled again into my mouth, lifting me off the ground.
Wrapping my legs around his waist, I ground against his erection.
He moaned deep and pressed against me, pushing his cock harder against my core.
I whimpered. I wanted him in me now. Like…right now.
“Sir?” Ugly Duckling said loudly.
We both jerked at the sound.
Yeah, it was easy to ignore them with his lips on mine, and his cock against my clit.
I tilted my head, looking behind Daniil, even as he turned to glance over his shoulder.
We both stared for a second.
I squeaked.
Daniil cursed.
His three guards, Least Ugly back on duty with his boss man, were standing outside the elevator with Ugly Duckling holding the door open. The elevator was making a vulgar buzzing sound, which meant he had been holding it open for a while. The worst part was that Zane and Stash were standing right next to them ogling us. Over the buzzing sound, I could hear others of Lion Security out in the hallway, talking about whose room was biggest to play cards in.
My jaw was gaping, but I stared at Zane’s hand and pointed. “Is that a Coors Light?”
It was a brown, long neck bottle with a silver label.