Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Galina

I 'd seen the blood on Arlo's hands and clothes, smelled it filling the car interior as he said nothing and drove us back to his apartment. I didn't need to ask what had happened… what he'd done. I knew.

He'd killed Leonid. He'd made it safe for me.

Arlo hadn't said one word the entire drive back, and not a single syllable once we were inside his penthouse. He headed straight to his room, and a moment later I heard the shower kick on. I'd wanted to go to him, to touch him, hold him—even if he probably didn't want that—and show Arlo I was here for him.

But instead I went to my room and showered. I had been able to still feel Leonid's oily gaze on my body, and wanted to scrub my skin clean until there was no memory of tonight left.

Now here I was, sitting on my bed with my hands clasped in my lap, my legs bare, and the only article of clothing I wore was a shirt that fell to midthigh.

I stared at the partially opened door, having heard the shower in Arlo's room turn off so long ago I'd been frozen in this spot, afraid to leave and talk to him, confront him… comfort him. But then I found myself pushing off the bed and standing, making my way out into the hall and to his room. The door was open, but he wasn't there, the bed made, the room void of life.

I heard a soft sound come from down the hall and walked on bare feet toward the kitchen. I stopped when I saw Arlo's huge form standing against the granite breakfast counter, wearing only a pair of dark sweatpants, his chest bare and so wide and big, so muscular and powerful.

He'd killed a man tonight with that body, with those hands.

I felt my heart flutter in my chest and was walking toward him before I realized I was doing it. He didn't look at me, although I knew he was fully aware I was moving forward. He brought a bottle of liquor to his mouth and took a long pull from it before setting it on the counter, the glass hitting the granite making a hard clank .

I was a few feet from him and held my breath as he turned his head, and our gazes crashed together, held so strongly I felt it in the pit of my stomach.

"Come closer," he said so low it felt like an intimate caress against my body. There was no doubt in his tone I was not to disobey. But I didn't move. I couldn't. Something held me back, maybe fear of these feelings inside me, maybe the unknown of what happened next. "Come here."

I was obeying him instantly after those two words spilled from his mouth, an anchor wrapping around me and tethering me to Arlo in a way that ensured I wouldn't drift again.

His hand shot out so fast that I had no time to react, to gasp… to run.

He curled his hand around my waist and jerked me toward him, then spun me around and pressed me against the counter, my chest flush with the unforgiving, cold granite. The feeling of his body moving close to mine, his heat searing me from the inside out, was euphoric.

The sound of his palms slapping the counter on either side of me was loud, causing my ears to ring, my body to tremble. His warm breath tickled my ear, and I shivered and closed my eyes.

"You should have run," he growled. "You should have run so far and fast from me that you thought there would be no chance for me to find you." He used his foot to kick my legs apart, and I teetered against the counter to steady myself. I did make a sound then, one of shock and arousal at his forcefulness, at the fact that he was so clearly unhinged.

"You would have found me." The words were so thin, like a blade of grass in the wind, one you're barely able to grasp as it slips through your fingers.

He pressed his body flush with mine, and I snapped my eyes open at the feel of how hard he was, the thick rod nestled right between my ass cheeks, my shirt molded to my body and a barrier to what I really wanted.

"That's fucking right, Galina. I would have found you." He pressed against my ass slowly, steadily, showing me what he was working with. "There isn't any place on this fucking planet you could hide from me." He slammed so hard against my ass that I was pushed forward slightly on the granite, my palms sweaty, slipping against the smooth top.

I couldn't catch my breath. My pussy was soaked. This forcefulness coming from Arlo, the dominance and the way he spoke like he owned me and no one would ever have me but him was a fire between my legs that spread outward and threatened to burn the entire apartment down.

"I wonder how wet you are right now. I wonder if I slipped my hands between your legs, if you'd soak my fingers."

I didn't speak, couldn't, so instead I lifted my ass and ground the cheeks against his erection. The material of his sweatpants and my cotton shirt, and the fact that I wore no panties, left little to my imagination on what he was sporting between his legs, not when I could feel every hard inch, every defined ridge.

He hissed against my ear, pushing the long fall of my hair over one shoulder and wrapping the strands around his fist, jerking my head farther to the side, keeping me stationed. He leaned down to lick my neck like some kind of creature tasting his meal. "You must like playing with wild animals, baby. You must like the risk of getting bitten."

I closed my eyes and moaned, a nonverbal affirmation that I wanted anything he had to give me.

"So tell me… tell me how fucking wet your cunt is for my cock. Tell me how much your body weeps for me to fuck it."

"Why don't you find out?" God, I really did want to get bitten as I taunted Arlo, as I lifted my ass and moved it back down, over and over again, grinding myself against him as if I had any clue what the hell I was doing. I had no idea how to seduce a man, but the lack of control and restraint I could feel coming from Arlo told me my lack of experience didn't matter. He wanted me fiercely.

He was still and tense behind me, as if my words had shocked him, maybe even pissed him off because I was going against him. I had no doubt not many people did, not if they valued their life. But when a deep sound of pure lust came from him, I knew I'd won. I knew he wouldn't deny me, because whatever thoughts he'd been lost in before I'd come into the kitchen, before my presence dragged him out of the blood that covered his vision and mind, I was more powerful in this moment to have that wrought-iron will vanishing.

He pushed that turmoil down so the man who was behind me was one who would fuck me to let me know we were both here and alive and nothing could change that. Because even if we both had some part of evil in our lives that festered, right here and now, Arlo was mine just as much as I'd always be his.

And as he slid his hands over my arms and down my waist to grip my hips in a bruising hold, I knew without fault I'd never wanted to be broken more than I did right now.

For a long moment he did nothing but hold me, his hands like vises around me. I wondered if he was trying to talk himself out of it, tell himself this was a bad idea, that crossing this line would end up changing everything. I wanted to yell and scream, look him in the eye and tell him things were already changed. I was already changed. And it was because of him .

He growled. "I've always prided myself on being a man with control, that nothing could bring me to my knees—figuratively and literally. But where you're concerned…" He ran the tip of his nose over the side of my neck, and I tilted my head to give him better access. "Where you're concerned, I've never been more irrational or fucking crazed in my fucking life."

I felt him push my shirt up and didn't stop him. I wouldn't stop him for the life of me. The cool air moved over my bare ass, and when he leaned back and moaned at the fact that I wore no panties, I felt a gush of wetness slip between my thighs. Could he see how soaked my pussy was?

" Jesus Christ , Galina." More long seconds passed where he didn't move, but I could feel his gaze on me, could feel him tracing the lines and curves of my ass with his eyes as if he was memorizing them.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw his gaze slide to the small hummingbird tattoo I had on my hip, a tiny thing with its wings spread out and its back arched. Arlo reached out to smooth a thick, calloused finger along the ink.

"Hummingbirds can flash their colors but hide them as well," I said softly, this hitch in my throat. I didn't know why I felt the need to tell Arlo that, but the words spilled from me before I'd had time to stop them.

I connected with the small bird that had a pulse of twelve hundred beats a minute, a tiny thing that was still mighty, that could hide but be seen… fast and smart. I liked to compare myself to such a creature, one complex even if on the outside it appeared fragile.

My body shook as Arlo slid his finger along my skin before dropping his hand back to his side. His gaze, so dark and penetrating, had all thoughts leaving me aside from the wicked things I wanted him to do to me.

"More," he said in a voice so low it was almost menacingly.

I took in a shuddering breath and did what he said, spreading my legs an inch more, wanting him to look at my inner thighs, to see how they were glossy because I was drenched.

He let out a low hum of approval that sounded almost evil. It made me hotter. "Do you like taunting me, teasing me?"

I knew it wasn't a real question, not the way he phrased it. He curled a hand against one bare ass cheek, his blunt nails scraping over the flesh until I gasped from the sensation.

I reached out farther to the edge of the counter, curling my fingers around the hard stone, bracing, giving myself leverage and purchase. I rose up on my toes to offer myself more to him, my entire chest flush with the counter, my toes barely on the floor now. I gave him a silent invitation.

"Do you want me to lose control, moy svet ? Do you want a gentleman or a monster fucking you for the first time?" His words were gasoline on the inferno inside me. I wanted it, however he gave it to me.

"I want the real you." I glanced over my shoulder so I could look into his eyes. I knew what I wanted. I knew how he wanted to give it to me. I didn't care about the pain. I wanted it. "I want the monster."

His eyes became hooded, his lips peeling back from his teeth in a feral display of alpha aggression and pure lust. Without taking his gaze off me, he smoothed a big palm over my ass, his hand so large I felt tiny beneath him, a little doll for this Russian beast.

"Spread wider. Let me see this little cunt so wet and ready to take my cock." He gripped the other side of my ass, spreading my cheeks at the same time I widened my stance. I could feel the cold air along my heated pussy and had no doubt he could see my slit.

"So fucking juicy, pink, and swollen." His words were low, and I could tell they were spoken to himself. "Tell me who this belongs to." He emphasized what he meant by slapping my ass, not hard enough to hurt but firm enough there was a dark promise of what was to come. "Fucking tell me."

"You," I said breathlessly, far too softly for him to hear clearly, I knew.

"Fucking say it louder." He gave my ass a harder swat this time, and I moaned through the sting.

"You, Arlo."

He hummed in approval and soothed the sting away by running his palm in slow circles over my ass. "That's right. I fucking own this ass." He moved his hand closer and closer to the part of my body that ached the most. My clit throbbed in time with my pulse, my inner muscles clenched for something substantial only Arlo could give me, and my legs were shaking from the adrenaline moving through my veins.

The need to feel his big, callused fingers sliding between my lips, teasing the bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs, to cup my cunt in his masculine hand, was so strong, so fierce I nearly begged him with tears streaming down my cheeks.

"And this?" he taunted as he finally slipped his fingers down my cleft, purring like a content feline. "So fucking wet. You're drenching my hand, baby, your pussy juices sliding down my fingers all the way to my wrist. Isn't that fucking filthy ?" I moaned and shivered. He leaned in so his mouth was by my ear again and said harshly, "What a dirty little girl you are, hiding this sweet pussy from me."

Oh God, I thought as I bit my lip, my teeth digging into my bottom one so hard that I felt the skin break and tasted the tangy, coppery flavor of blood along my tongue.

"Who does this sweet cunt belong to, Galina?" His fingers skated over my lips, massaging the tender flesh, sending shock waves through my core. He moved those big digits to my clit, rubbing slow, steady motions around it until I shuddered, so close to orgasming I could taste it. "Tell me who owns this, who you belong to, Galina, and I'll give you what you want." He added more pressure to my clit, and a low, threadbare sound left me. "I'll give you the world, every single fucking thing I am, baby."

"Arlo, oh God. You, Arlo. Everything I am belongs to you." I'd never been so free with my words and body, never meant anything as much as I did saying the words that spilled from my lips. But with Arlo, it was as if this dam had broken inside me, this rush of free falling emotions and feelings, sensations and desires. There was no stopping the torrent of carnal lust that exploded from me.

"So you're saying this virgin pussy is all mine? Mine to lick, to suck… to fuck as hard as I want?"

I tossed my head back and moaned loudly again, nodding before I moved my tongue along the wound on my bottom lip, continuously tasting that metallic flavor.

"Because this is my little virgin pussy, isn't it?

"Yes," I cried out as he rubbed my clit harder. "It's your virgin pussy." On any other occasion, I would've felt humiliated for saying such things, but I felt liberated as the words spilled from my mouth and as Arlo gave me an answering growl of approval.

" Khristos ." His voice was low, that one word harsh. "I'll never be the same because of you."

I didn't have time to think of what he meant by that, because a second later his body was off mine, and the feeling of his warm breath moving along my exposed pussy had my eyes snapping open.

I looked over my shoulder to see him kneeling behind me, his big hands covering each of my ass cheeks, spreading them wide, his gaze latched onto the private place he'd revealed.

"No other fucker will look at you here but me." It was a warning, as if he thought I'd tell him otherwise, as if I wanted anyone else.

I shook my head because I couldn't find my voice all of a sudden.

"Ask me for it." His voice was gruff, and I swore I felt the vibrations straight to my clit. I also didn't need to ask what he meant. I knew the dirty thoughts going through his mind. They're the same ones running through mine.

"I—" God, could I actually say the words? A resounding smack followed by searing pain in my ass cheek as he spanked me had me arching my back involuntarily. "Lick my pussy." The words whimpered out, pulled from me as if I knew what to give Arlo to have him give me more. But that didn't stop my face from heating hotter than the sun as the dirty words spilled from me.

His fingers were tight on my bottom, relaxing and flexing, as if he was just taking his time looking at what was nestled between them.

"I'm going to drown in you," he said a second before his mouth was between my legs and his tongue pushed through my swollen folds.

I gasped and moaned, my fingers painfully tight around the counter as I gave myself up to Arlo, as he drove me closer to the edge.

"Never enough." His words were muffled against my slick pussy. "So hot and sweet. You'll be so fucking tight gripping my cock as I fuck you, as I put my claim on this untouched cunt." He slapped my ass, and I curled my toes, my eyes rolling back, my body not my own right now.

He wasn't human. He couldn't be by the sounds he made as he ate me out, the gruff snarls, the way he pulled my pussy lips between his lips, sucking them, gently biting the flesh before letting it snap back into place as he went to the other side and repeated the action.

And when he flattened his tongue and moved from my clit all the way through my cleft, licking me slowly, savoring me all the way to my asshole, I felt the familiar tendril of my orgasm rush forward.

"I want to see you so unhinged that you fly so high I'm the only fucking thing that can keep you grounded." He moved a finger around my pussy hole before gently pushing it in. My body gave way, accepting the thick digit, weeping for more. I heard the sloppy sounds as my body latched on to that finger, feeling my inner muscles tighten around it.

He pumped inside me once, twice, then slipped another finger in on the third thrust, scissoring until the stretch and burn gave way to more pleasure. And while he started pumping in and out of my pussy, he rubbed my clit with his thumb, sending me high into the stars until I was consumed by light and heat and knew I'd never be sane again.

"I need…" I didn't know how to say what I wanted, yet it should have been so simple. I thrust back on him, sliding my pussy on his fingers, fucking myself in a wanton, uninhibited way. I'd always been so in control of myself and my surroundings, but just letting go was freeing, and doing it with Arlo was liberating. "I need to come, Arlo." My voice was a husky purr, thick and drugged sounding.

"Does my girl want to come?"

"Yes," I cry-moaned. "God, yes." At the moment I'd never needed anything more. I'd die without it, I told myself.

Lazy thrusting in and out of me. Slow circles against my clit. He was torturing me, prolonging this, when all I wanted was to explode and give Arlo—the only man ever—my pleasure.

"Then come for me," he growled at the same time he sank his teeth into the flesh of my ass cheek and started finger-fucking me faster, rubbing my clit harder.

The pain and pleasure cracked through me like lightning hitting a tree, an explosion of light and heat encompassing all of me. I came, my back bowing, my tits shaking as my entire body shuddered with an orgasm that had my knees buckling. My nipples hurt because they were so tight, the blood rushing below my skin, no doubt pinkening it up, making it ultrasensitive.

I came so long that I could only pant through it all. And when I sagged against the counter, when the sensitivity was too much, I mewled my protest. Arlo slid his fingers from me, and I heard him sucking. Looking over my shoulder with what I knew was a sleepy, satiated look, I watched as he licked my wetness from his hand while he stared into my eyes.

"I could live off your fucking orgasms."

My eyes flared as he kept licking my juices off. God, his hand was soaked from fingertips to wrist. That should have embarrassed me, but… it didn't. I rested my forehead on the counter, my eyes closed, breathing through the aftereffects of my climax. But in the next instant, Arlo had me pulled up, my back to his chest, one of his thickly corded arms tight around my waist.

"We've just started." He spun me around and all but ripped the shirt from my body until I stood before him totally naked, breasts heavy, nipples tight, and pussy still so wet. He didn't try to hide how he raked his gaze up and down my body, his focus lingering on the junction between my legs for so long I grew self-conscious.

"Even though it's dark in here," he said in a growly voice and looked up at me, "I can see that sweet little slit, can see your glossy arousal coating your thighs." He leaned in an inch and braced his hands on the counter on either side of me, caging me in once more. "And it's because of me ." He hummed. "That does something wicked to a man, Galina, something primal and possessive." When he leaned in so our lips were a hairbreadth away, I wanted his kiss, needed it. "You know what I'd do to any man who touched you or so much as looked at you?"

I nodded slowly, feeling my pulse kick into overdrive.

"Say it. Say the words out loud so you can hear the truth."

My chest heaved up and down from the force of my breathing. "You'll kill them."

His smile was slow, self-satisfied. "I'd tear them limb from limb until there was nothing left." He stepped back so suddenly I exhaled fast enough that I grew dizzy.

And then I couldn't help but look down at the heavy length of his erection tenting his sweats.

"You want more?"

I snapped my gaze up and licked my lips. I didn't need to respond because he saw my answer in my eyes. He hooked his thumbs in the waist of his pants and pushed them down, his cock springing out from the confines of his pants, his dick bobbing twice before settling and pointing right at me. His length and girth had my eyes widening, because although I'd felt how large he was, seeing it brought it into a whole new level of reality.

His cock had to be the length of my forearm and just as thick, too wide for my fingers to wrap fully around. I clenched my thighs as wetness spilled from me, and despite my earlier—very powerful—orgasm, I wanted so much more.

He reached out and touched my hip. At first it was gentle, but then he added pressure, his fingers digging into my flesh, pushing me down until I sank to my knees. With my head tipped back and my gaze on his face, I couldn't breathe because of his startling beauty, not the kind that was classic and soft, but more of Lucifer… a fallen angel.

"Look at it."

I lowered my gaze to his cock, so thick and long as he held it in his palm right in front of my face. The head was bigger than the shaft, wider and flared, the slit teasing me. My throat tightened, and my mouth watered at the sheer size of him.

He gripped the base of his cock hard and started to slowly bring his palm toward me, his fist tight around the girth. His hand was huge, and his cock matched that of the man who held it.

Once at the tip, he lazily stroked himself back down to the base. He did this twice more, my breathing becoming even harsher with every passing moment he erotically teased me. And then he slid his palm back up to the tip, pushing free a pearlescent drop of pre-cum from the slit.

"Go on," he coaxed. "Lick it off like a good girl."

I braced my hands on my thighs and leaned forward, my eyes locked on Arlo the entire time as I dragged my tongue over the slit. His salty, very male flavor exploded on my tongue, and I couldn't help but moan. And aside from the tightening of his jaw and the way his pectoral muscles twitched, he stayed still, his expression like stone.

"I've never done this," I whispered, worried I couldn't pleasure him. And God, I wanted to so badly, just as much as he pleasured me.

"You know how fucking hot it is knowing I'll be your first?" He ran the crown of his cock over my lips, using it like a tube of lipstick, coating my flesh with his pre-cum. Painting me. "You know how possessive it makes me, knowing I'll be the only fucking man to ever see you like this?"

I might not have known what I was doing, but that didn't stop me from staring into his eyes and parting my lips to take his thick crown into my mouth. The muscles in his neck stood out, he gritted his teeth, and then he slid in slowly, inch by inch, until I was forced to brace my hands on his thighs to keep him from thrusting in too fast.

"Hollow out your cheeks," he gritted. "Move your tongue around." I was grateful for his direction. "Yeah… fuck yes. That's it… oh Christ , yes, Galina, that's it."

His encouragement fueled me on, and I moved my mouth over his cock, running my tongue along the flared tip, dipping it into the slit and lapping up the silky pre-cum that formed. I was starved for Arlo, it seemed, because I couldn't get enough. I was so lost on how good it made me feel to blow him that I didn't hear his low growl or how he told me to stop.

One second, I was sucking him off and enjoying the salty flavor of him, and the next, I was sitting bare-assed on the counter, my legs spread wide enough that Arlo could fit between them. He was still making those deep, growly noises, and I felt it all the way to my clit.

"When I come, it's going to be with my cock inside you and you taking every single last drop."

I looked down to watch him stroke himself, his dick wet-looking from my mouth, the tip having so much pre-cum that it started to drip onto the floor, a string of clear fluid hanging on to the crown before landing on the tile at his feet.

"If you aren't ready for this, you should tell me now."

I shook my head and braced my hands behind me on the counter, leaning back and thrusting my breasts out. I gave him that silent approval.

He hummed in pleasure and stepped closer to me, his body heat mixing with mine, the spicy, dark scent of him invading my senses. "I don't think I could have stopped anyway, moy svet ." His tip was notched at my hole, his eyes locked on mine. I held my breath as he started pushing in, breaking through my virginity, tearing at my innocence, sliding deep inside me and stretching me until the pain and pleasure were so intense I felt a single tear slide down my cheek.

He leaned forward, one hand on the counter beside my ass, his other resting on my inner thigh to keep me spread. And when he flattened his tongue and licked up my cheek, taking that tear into him, I closed my eyes and moaned.

"Even your tears are the sweetest thing I've ever fucking tasted." He pushed in another inch. "Give me more. Let me lick them up, take a piece of you in me."

My head was thrown back, my hair hanging over the edge of the counter, and my eyes closed as I gave him what he asked for. The pain was front and center, the stretch so monumental I felt like I was splitting in two. But he was relentless as he pushed his way into me, burrowing himself into my body and into my heart inch by inch.

"Fuck yeah." He licked along my cheek again, getting every tear that slid from my eyes. And when he was fully inside me, we both exhaled harshly. "So tight. So fucking hot and tight for me. You're strangling my cock, baby."

I lifted my head and forced my eyes open. He rested his forehead against mine and started to pull out. I gasped right up against his mouth, and he kissed me, swallowing the sound, letting his cockhead stay notched right at my entrance before he pushed back in. We both shook from the force, groaning from the sensations.

"You deserve slow and easy for your first time?—"

"I want you and how you want to be with me, Arlo." There was conviction in my voice as he pulled back, and we stared into each other's eyes. "I don't want some idea of how my first time is supposed to be." He was still for a second, only a twitch of his fingers on my hip before he growled and slammed back into me so hard my eyes widened and I cried out. He pulled out and looked down at his cock. I followed his gaze and saw his length covered in my arousal and streaked with my blood.

"Fuck," he seethed. "Look at how I broke you, took your innocence… made it fucking mine." He gripped my other hip and slammed home, my ass sliding up the counter, my skin squeaking along the surface. I could only hold on and watch as he fucked me with abandon, so fierce and untamed… exactly how I wanted it to be with him. The sounds of his cock tunneling into my pussy were so loud, my wetness making it dirty and obscene, but it had even more cream dripping from me, a slippery mess under my ass and making his thrusting so seamless all that discomfort morphed into a deliciously dark tendril.

"Look how good you take me, your little pussy sucking at my cock, tightening around me, milking me for my cum." His words were almost indiscernible, and with each one, I was soaring higher. "Touch yourself; play with your clit."

I slipped a shaky hand down my belly and ran my fingers along my bundle of nerves. I was wet, so drenched that when I lifted my fingers slightly, a string of wetness clung to the tip of my finger and connected with my pussy.

"Shit, that's hot."

I snapped my eyes up to his face and saw he watched where my hand was. I moved my fingers back to my clit and started rubbing it back and forth, a broken sound leaving me at the pleasure that coursed through me.

"Baby, I'm so fucking close already." His body was covered in sweat, glistening under the backdrop of city lights, his muscles flexing and relaxing as he pounded into me. "I'm going to come so fucking hard, and you're going to take every single drop I have to give you and ask for fucking more." He pulled my lower body closer to the edge of the counter and really started fucking me then.

"Yes." I worked my fingers over my clit while I let my head drop back on my neck and closed my eyes as I gave in to everything.

"Come for me."

And I did. I cried out long and loud, not caring who heard in the other apartments, not caring if I sounded like a wounded animal. I felt how hard my contractions were, how my pussy sucked and latched on to his cock. He was grunting and moving harder, his thrusting getting more erratic. I knew he was close, and when he slammed in deep and stilled, roaring out when he came, I felt his cock kick inside of me as he bathed every inch of me with his seed.

His cum was hot and thick and set off another orgasm that stole my breath and had my arms giving out under me. But before my back slammed onto the counter, Arlo's hand was pressed in the center of my back, his strong arm keeping me up.

Finally he stilled, resting his forehead on my chest, his warm breath washing along my breasts as we both panted and gasped for air. I lifted a hand and tunneled my fingers in his short hair, the strands damp at the temple. He kissed one of my breasts, then moved over and gave the other a gentle press of his lips. It seemed so intimate, maybe even more so than what we'd just shared.

I didn't know how long we stayed like that, with Arlo still semihard inside me, but my ass had since gone numb and I didn't care one bit. I'd never felt so alive and content before.

He lifted for me and pulled out, and instantly I felt our combined fluids start to come out of me on a warm trickle. Arlo was looking between my thighs, and I went to close them with embarrassment, knowing he could see his cum slipping from me, but he stilled me with his hands on my knees.

"No," he whispered gruffly and leaned in to press a kiss to my clit, pulling a sharp gasp from me. I felt his finger move along my entrance as he said, "How sore are you?"

I swallowed and took a few breaths before I answered. "Just a little."

"I bet." He kept gently rubbing along my entrance, gave my clit another kiss, and then I felt him push his cum back into my body. "I fucked you hard." I tried to stifle my moan, but it came out regardless. "I belong right in here." He lifted just his eyes to my face as he stayed between my thighs. "Always."

I found myself nodding before I could take in his words fully.

He stood, and I didn't fight him or complain when he lifted me into his embrace, my legs over his arm, my side to his chest, and my head on his shoulder. He held me gently, as if he cherished me. I closed my eyes and settled my weight against him, aching and sore between my thighs, the chill in the air and the experience we'd just shared causing goose bumps to skate along my arms and legs.

Arlo laid me on the bed and adjusted me so he could pull the blanket over my nude body. And then he was slipping in beside me and pulling me close, the warmth of his bare skin on mine pushing away all the coldness I'd felt and any worry or uncertainty that would have made itself known until there was only euphoria.

For long minutes we didn't speak, but I didn't know what we could have said. We spoke with our bodies and said so much during that time that I felt like I knew all I needed to about Arlo without him having to ever say a single syllable. I reached out for his hand that rested on his abdomen. I twined my fingers through his, staring at the contrast, how his hand was so much bigger than mine, his fingers so much longer.

His skin was a dark, golden hue compared to my pale complexion. He was strong where I'd always been weak. He was fearless where I'd always been afraid of what was lurking over my shoulder.

"I'm going after them, Galina," he said, his voice deep and wrapping around me like another blanket of protection.

I closed my eyes because I knew who he was talking about. He'd already killed Leonid, even if he hadn't said the words. I knew he was trying to protect me further. I'd never told him Henry's full name, never told him where he could be found, but I also knew if Arlo wanted to find someone, he didn't need me to accomplish that. He had resources I could never comprehend at his fingertips.

I thought about this man who held me so closely, who ran his fingers along my spine, always touching me, as if it centered him like it did me.

Arlo promised he'd make it safe for me, and that meant he was going to Vegas and after Henry. I knew without a doubt Arlo would kill him.

"I don't want any vengeance, Arlo." I rested my head on his chest and trailed my fingers over one of his many tattoos. I could see scars littering his flesh under that dark ink.

He stayed silent for long seconds before finally saying, "I'm going to make it safe for you, even if I have to kill everyone to make that reality." His arm around me tightened as if he needed to know I was still here.

"You don't have to ask for or need or want my vengeance, Galina. You have that from me without fail. You had it from the very beginning."

I should've been afraid of him, but I wasn't, and I knew I would never have cause to be. Talking him out of anything, especially something like this that caused the man who was clearly born out of blood and violence to latch on to like a starving beast, would have been like trying to break up two fighting dogs.

I'd only get hurt in the end, even if inadvertently.