Page 25 of Rise of the Queen

“If I haven’t told you lately, you’re extra adorable when your hackles go up,” he said, turning me to face him.

“I don’t have hackles,” I said, matter-of-factly.

“Oh, you do. They go up even when you don’t like someone’s tone with one of us. It’s very endearing,” he said. “I sometimes want to make it worse and then turn you loose, just to see what will happen.”

“You’re a little bit evil,” I said, laughing at him.

“That’s a lie. I’m a lot evil,” he said, pressing his lips to mine.

Chapter Eleven

Adrik

Viktor, Ivan, and Stephen walkedinto the penthouse with Vitaliy, Aleksei, and the rest of my father’s men. Viktor was especially happy to be back, as Sephie told him she would make his favorite meal since it was easy to make enough to feed the small army we had present.

“Sephie, that smells like I love you even more than the last time you made this,” Viktor said. She quickly freed up her hands, walking to him and hugging his neck. It never mattered how long they were gone or what they were gone for, she was always incredibly happy to see them again. It made them want to come back to her as soon as possible.

“Papa Bear!” she said as he picked her up off the floor, his giant frame completely dwarfing her. He kissed her cheek, setting her back down. She walked to Ivan, hugging his neck as well. She said something quietly to him, which clearly surprised him, but she moved quickly to Stephen. While Stephen had always been shy about any kind of affection from her for the longest time, he now loved it as much as the rest of them. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up just like Viktor did, telling her how happy his stomach was going to be in a matter of minutes.

Once Stephen released her, she caught Vitaliy watching her interact with them. She gave him her best smile. I watched him completely melt in front of her. She walked to him and huggedhim. “Is it weird that I missed you, old man?” she asked as she hugged his neck.

He laughed. “Maybe it’s you who needs to get out more this time,” he said.

“Fair. Completely fair,” she said. She grabbed his hand and led him toward the kitchen. It was hard to tell, but I think he was almost embarrassed that I caught his silly grin as he dutifully followed her.

“Battista called yesterday. He has information. He’ll be here in a few days,” Vitaliy said, breaking the silence as everyone did more eating than talking.

“Did he give any indications on what he found or he preferred to remain frustratingly mysterious?” Sephie asked.

“Net. He won’t discuss anything over the phone,” Vitaliy said.

“I mean, I understand why. Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Sephie said. I was finding that she was starting to dislike surprises almost as much as I did.

Vitaliy winked at her. “Patience was always difficult for me as well, malishka.”

After dinner, Viktor and Ivan got my father’s men set up in apartments on the lower floors. Aleksei stayed behind with Vitaliy in the penthouse. I actually had plenty of room in thepenthouse for all of them to stay there, but I preferred that no one came to the penthouse. I was torn about whether to allow my father and Aleksei to stay there, but Sephie practically insisted.

“I know you’re not terribly close with him, but he is your father. And Alyosha is practically an uncle. He’s known you your entire life. I don’t want those two assholes staying here, but it’s a nice gesture for Vitaliy and Aleksei to do so,” she had said when we discussed it the day before. She was always right about new people, even when she just referred to them in passing.

She had enjoyed teasing me when she found out I didn’t want them in the penthouse because it drastically cut down on the options of where we could have sex while they were here. It also meant she would have to be quieter while they were here, which I hated, and she was not very good at. Given that we were both addicted to each other, it was going to, well, suck.

She laughed once she searched my eyes to find the reason for my grumpiness on the subject. She reached up, kissing my cheek. Then she put her lips next to my ear, whispering, “Face down, ass up it is.” She took one step back from me to see my reaction, her wide smile across her face. As soon as she saw me lose complete control thinking about what she’d just said, she ran to the bedroom. Her laughter only serving to make me run faster to catch her.

I caught up to her just as she made it to the bedroom door. I grabbed her waist, picking her up off the floor and spinning her around just so I could hear her squeal. “You can’t say things like that and expect to get away from me, solnishko,” I said.

“Who said I wanted to get away? I just wanted to get to the bedroom very quickly. Mission accomplished,” she said as I set her down. She turned to face me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“I approve of this life choice,” I said, pulling her shirt off and throwing it on the floor. I had the rest of her clothes off in under a minute. My lips found hers, then moved down to her neck. I could hear her breaths starting to come quicker as she felt my teeth grazing the soft skin of her neck.

“You’re very overdressed,” she said. Her voice was breathy with desire. I felt her hands working to get rid of my pants. As I stepped out of them, she got two more buttons undone on my shirt. I quickly pulled it off over my head, immediately pulling her back to me. She moaned quietly as my hands roamed over her back, down to her ass. I grabbed her ass, pushing my hips into her, wanting her to feel exactly what she could do to me.

Her hands slid around my waist into the waistband of my boxer briefs, pushing them down to free my hard cock. She knelt down in front of me, sliding them off all the way. Instead of standing back up, she grabbed my cock with one hand. I exhaled, knowing what she was going to do. It never failed to make me cum quickly when she went down on me if she did it for very long.

Her cool hand wrapped around my shaft lightly. I felt her warm breath on the tip as she licked it. She loved to make me twitch as she teased me. I could feel her desire coming on strongly as she wrapped her lips around it, taking me fully into her mouth. My hands went to her hair as I closed my eyes, my head falling backward as I was lost completely to the feeling of her mouth on me.

She kept her rhythm slow, knowing I would be completely incapable of lasting very long if she went any faster. Just when she felt me starting to struggle to control myself, she stood up, a devious grin on her face. I wrapped one arm around her hips, pulling her legs around me as I picked her up. We were still just inside the door to the bedroom. I pushed her up against the wallas my lips crashed into hers. It never mattered what she did. I could never get enough of her.

I could feel the heat from her pussy and feel how wet she was. She reached down between us and positioned me so I could slide inside her. She leaned her head back against the wall, her eyes closed as she felt my full length inside her. It was my favorite sight. Every single time. She moaned quietly as she adjusted to my size.