Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
“Did I hurt you?”
She slumped forward, arms sprawling across his chest, the action sending streaks of electricity arcing through his groin. He felt every aftershock in her body. Every ripple. She lay over him like a rag doll, too weak to move.
“Not hurt.” She pressed a kiss over his heart. “I can’t breathe.”
He could see that. “You aren’t trying. Slow your breathing down. I think you deliberately forget how.”
“It’s highly overrated,” she murmured.
He lifted her off him and laid her gently on her back. “Give me a minute, and I’ll get a washcloth and then run us a bath.”
She waved a finger in the air and then dropped her hand back to the sheets as if her arm was too heavy to hold up. “It’s okay. I’ll just lie here and bask in the beauty of all things you.”
Gorya found himself smiling up at the ceiling fan. “I’d be fine with that, but you’ll be sore, and since I like step one hundred quite a bit and want to practice, I think soaking in a bathtub is necessary.”
She gave a little frown to the ceiling. “And there it is. Your bossy is coming out. Although practicing step one hundred is a good idea.” She turned her head to look at him. “I’m still not ready for leopard sex.”
He swept his palm over her thigh. “The leopards can handle their sex, baby, just as they did before. They aren’t worried, and neither should we be. We’re all in this together.”
Maya stretched her arms over her head languidly. “Who knew sex could be so good? I had no idea it would feel like that.”
A dark, malevolent shadow slithered through Gorya. He rolled over, partially covering her body, still careful not to pin her down. Catching her chin between his thumb and finger, he tipped her face up so she was forced to look up at him.
“I’d kill any man who dared to touch you.” He made that an absolute decree.
Her wide blue eyes searched his for a minute, and then her slow smile curved her lips, the one that always got him in the gut. “Are you acting like a jealous lover? Seriously? As if I’d ever let any man put his hands on me other than you. You aren’t really jealous, are you?”
Shit. He was acting worse than a teenager with his first crush. What the hell was wrong with him?
Rogue. I’m blaming this on you.
She won’t believe you. The cat sounded just as amused as his woman did.
Gorya knew she wouldn’t. No, but she’ll let me off the hook. She’s sweet that way.
She’s going to spoil you. Timur said you were going to be whipped. I think he’s right.
“I’m not jealous, baby. I know you wouldn’t take on another lover. It’s that ridiculous cat of mine. He can’t stand the thought of any man getting close to you. His mood riles me up, and I find myself blurting out outrageous things.”
Maya leaned into him to brush a kiss across his mouth. “No worries, honey. Rogue will settle once Wraith is through her heat and emerges fully for him to claim.”
Gorya sighed. He’d promised her he’d be honest with her, even if he had to sacrifice his pride and admit to being a jackass. “I’m lying my ass off.”
She rewarded his confession with a girlish giggle. “I know. Fortunately for you, I love you even when you’re being a jackass.”
16
San Antonio, Texas, wasn’t nearly as sultry as the swamp he now called home. Gorya tightened his hand around Maya’s, pulling her closer and tucking her under his shoulder protectively. She didn’t like crowds. There would be a crowd at his cousin’s estate—a large crowd. He was looking forward to introducing her to his cousins. She wanted to hide in the house they were staying in. It wasn’t just the fact that there were going to be so many people, it was that they were all Amurovs.
Fyodor’s wife, Evangeline, owned a little jewel of a house in town hidden on a cul-de-sac. At one time Gorya knew Timur and Ashe had thought to purchase it from her and make it their home, but they lived on the same property as Fyodor and Evangeline. Timur was head of Fyodor’s security, and the estate was immense. Timur and Ashe had decided to add to an existing house there they’d fallen in love with. Evangeline had offered the house in town to Gorya and Maya to stay for the night should they need a place. That gave Maya comfort, knowing they would have a place of their own, apart from others, to go to at the end of the day.
Time was short and they would only have one day for San Antonio. Jaoa Escabar Velentez wouldn’t be happy with the lack of communication from his son. And Artur Krylov, the current pakhan of the lair that had belonged to the Amurov family, would be anxious to hear from his brother. This was only the first visit of several they had to carry out quickly in order to ferret out and eradicate traitors and spies.