Zane made a gurgling sound in his throat.
Grigori’s voice sounded not too far away. “What’s wrong with the elevator?” He paused, and then asked quickly, “Is Papa in there?”
I sucked in a harsh breath.
Daniil jerked us across the elevator, pressing me against another wall.
Swatting Ugly Duckling’s hand from the door, he then hit the button for my floor.
I hissed, “My award bag!”
Least Ugly had it in his hand. Ugly Duckling had Daniil’s bag.
It would be obvious if they had two. Plus, I wanted it, dammit.
“Shit!” Daniil arched back, with me clinging to him, and snatched it.
Hopefully, no one noticed out there.
Zane was outright laughing now. Stash was still standing dumbstruck, his jaw hanging.
Daniil pressed me back against the wall and started pounding on the button to close the door. Daniil zeroed in on Zane, hissing, “Cut him off!” The doors weren’t closing very fast after being held open so long.
Zane was not going to be of any help though, because he was almost doubled over, but Stash blinked and moved to the right. Immediately, I heard Stash start speaking to Grigori, which meant he had almost been on us.
Daniil whispered to his bodyguards, “Her room.” The doors shut.
Both of us stared at the closed doors. Breathless.
I started giggling.
Even though that had been embarrassing as hell, it was also funnier than shit.
Daniil turned his head to face me. “That was not funny.” His lips twitched.
I gurgled. “Stash looked like he was going to faint.”
Slowly, he lowered me to the ground. He started chuckling. “I haven’t had to sneak around with a woman since I was a teenager. It appears I’m a little rusty.”
I laughed harder, holding up a hand. “I don’t need the reminder of how long ago that was for you.”
He growled, grabbing the back of my neck. “Enough with the old man jokes. I’m minutes away from showing you just how old I’m not.”
I wiped my eyes. “Then don’t use words like ‘rusty’.” I snorted.
Instantly, I was being twirled. He slammed my back against his chest...and he bit down over the hickie on my neck. I stilled, and my breath caught as he held me immobile. Shivering from the intimate dominance, I slowly whispered, “Fine. You haven’t called me little girl or teased me about my age since that first day. I won’t do it to you either.”
He nodded slightly, his teeth still gripping my skin, and then he leisurely licked over his mark. “I think our time together will go a lot smoother without any added problems. We have enough as it is.” He stood upright when the elevator dinged and the doors opened.
Walking down the hallway to my room, I asked, “So are we just doing this while we’re here, or are we going to extend this after we get back to New York?”
Staring down at me, his eyes heating as they roamed over my body, and again his nose crinkled. “I don’t know.”
I lifted a hand and rubbed a finger over the top of his straight, perfect nose. “Quit doing that. You’re going to give me a complex.”
“What?”
I crinkled my nose. “This.”
He stared. “I didn’t even realize I was.”
“I get that you don’t understand why you’re attracted to me, but,” I waved my widespread hand in front of his face, stopping in front of my door, “quit showing it so much.”
He chuckled and grabbed my keycard from my hand. Wrapping me in his other arm, he pressed me against his chest so quickly his chuckle ebbed away. Staring down at me, his eyes fired with desire. His voice was a low timber as he rumbled, “I think I can manage that.”
Chapter 6
Yanking him down to my mouth, I pressed my lips to his. I nipped his luscious bottom lip, and a rumble sounded inside his chest as he opened the door behind my back, banging my goody-bag against the wood as he kissed me back. I stumbled backward into my room, pulling him with me. Standing in the entry, he pressed his tongue inside my mouth and ate at my lips, slamming the door shut and dropping my goody-bag.
Gripping his shirt, I pulled it up his chest and ripped it over his head. I left the lights on in my room so I could see all his beautiful muscular flesh. I slapped my hands down on his pecs, and he lifted me, my legs draping around his waist immediately.
“Where’s the bed?” he asked quickly, his voice deep, and then took my mouth in a carnal kiss even as he tugged my shirt up, only breaking away to yank it off me.
“Regular room. Just around the corner,” I mumbled, licking over his lips as my hands ran over his heated skin that was smudged with dirt from our first place win.
He growled and wrapped his arms around me, crushing me against him and pressing his mouth hard against mine as he walked, bumping into the closet area and bathroom. I groaned, quickly becoming addicted to him sliding his tongue over mine, rubbing it like his cock was going to do to my core. Flicking my bra, he unclipped it and yanked it off me, never separating from my mouth. I was panting and groaning, and felt him bump against my bed. On his knees, he climbed onto it blindly, his hands running down my back. He let us fall the rest of the way, catching some of his weight on his elbows, his face moving to my neck.
That was when I felt the bed shake.
Not from us.
A scream worthy of a thousand deaths sounded in my ear.
My heart stopped for the barest second, and then I was screaming and gripping Daniil.
Daniil instantly rolled us straight off the bed…with a gun in his hand.
He landed on his back—with me on top of him.
My own shout cut off with a grunt from the impact while he pointed his gun up.
I stared down at him; my fingernails imbedded into his shoulders.
Ever so calmly, he puckered his lips…and blew.
A stray curl of my hair lifted and caught in the rest of its inhuman mess.
Apparently, it had been in his line of vision as he stared up at the bed.
Time ticked for a few moments.
I trembled as he held me with his free hand, wondering who the hell was in my room.
Daniil blinked slowly. His lips twitched. “Ember? Is that you?”
My breath caught in the silence.
A feminine reply from up on my bed, “Mm-hm.”
Ember was in my room?
“I would know that scream anywhere.” Daniil lowered his gun. “Anyone else here?”
Silence, then… “No.”
“What are you doing in here?” he asked as his hand rubbed up and down my bare back.