Page 26 of Rise of the Queen

I pushed my hips into her harder, enjoying her response to me. Watching her get lost in her own euphoria made me forget about everything but her. I would never tire of it. I pulled out of her slowly before slamming back into her roughly. I stilled as she moaned loudly. I pulled out slowly again. This time, she knew what I was going to do. She opened her eyes, smiling at me as she waited for it. Her eyes were the deepest depth of the ocean blue, which had become my favorite out of all the changes they’d come up with. I watched her as her eyes rolled back in her head, another moan escaping as I slammed into her roughly again. Her pussy clenched around me as she was climbing toward an orgasm. I teased her a few more times before increasing the rhythm. I felt her fingernails dig into my shoulders as she couldn’t do anything but hang on as I pushed her to orgasm. Her moans were loud, her breaths quick. If I wouldn’t be able to hear her scream for a few days while we weren’t the only ones in my penthouse, then I was going to enjoy it as much as I could tonight.

I felt her legs start to shake as she started to push her pleasure onto me. She’d learned that she could essentially share her orgasm with me, and I was completely addicted to it. It was so different from what I felt and lasted much longer. She was breathing heavy, her moans making it difficult to catch her breath. She breathlessly said my name and I knew I was donefor. I thrust hard into her a few more times before I couldn’t hold on any longer and found my own release.

I kept her pressed against the wall for a few minutes as we both worked to catch our breath. I still worried about her lung, as it still wasn’t 100 percent, but she was continuously getting better. She seemed to manage through sex okay, but she hadn’t been brave enough to go for a run yet. I still worried about pushing her too hard. I’d never been so scared as I was watching her struggle to breathe the few times it happened. It didn’t help that I could feel her fear in that moment.

“Are you okay, love? Did I go too hard?” I asked when she still hadn’t completely caught her breath.

She nodded. “It’s calming down,” she said, still trying to catch her breath. “I should run from you more often.” She grinned at me, her fingers running lightly through my hair.

God, I love her.

Once Viktor and Ivan returned, I brought up the subject of my father’s men with Aleksei. Sephie had Vitaliy’s attention, along with most of the guys’ attention, in her usual entertaining way.

“The two new guys. What kind of training do they have?” I asked Aleksei.

“Not quite the same as what I’d like, but it’s difficult to find someone with that kind of training these days. People are getting soft,” he said, half-disgusted. “I’ve been trying to work on their training to get them up to speed, but they complain. Never in front of Vitaliy, though. They’re at least that smart.”

I thought for a few minutes. It might be a good idea to have Misha and Andrei put them in their places, after all. I explained the situation to Aleksei. “They’re disrespectful of my men. I would like to remind them of their place. If Sephie were completely healed, I would consider letting her loose on them. She’s arguably more pissed about this than I am,” I said.

Aleksei laughed. “She’s just as protective of your men as they are of her, then?”

I nodded. “You should see her go from zero to rage in a split second if someone takes the wrong tone with one of us.”

“I would actually like to see that, now that you mention it,” he said, thoughtfully. “What do you propose for the little flowers?”

“I’d like for Misha and Andrei to teach them a lesson, since they seem to want to target those two. They’re both lethal, Andrei even more so since he started training Sephie. It’s seemed to sharpen him up considerably,” I said.

“Teaching is always a good tool. It forces you to stay ahead of the student. I saw her at your father’s house. He’s working hard to stay ahead of her.”

“That was nothing. She’s still at maybe 60 percent of what she was before she was taken. Armando really did a number on her. The only reason I didn’t kill him right then was because her lung collapsed and she couldn’t breathe,” I said.

“They were able to pull you off him?” he asked, surprised.

“They didn’t have to. She did. She put her hand on my back and told me she needed me. The bloodlust stopped instantly and I was only concerned with her.”

Aleksei cursed under his breath. “I’ve never seen you stop. That’s impressive.”

“It’s her. I don’t know how she does it, but I can’t live without it now,” I said.

He was quiet for a moment. “Are you training in the morning?” he asked. I nodded my head. “We will train with you. Is good to spar with new partners. We haven’t had anyone new in a while. I’m guessing your guys haven’t either. Misha and Andrei will get their chance then.”

Sephie had noticed me deep in discussion with Aleksei. She found a moment to step away from everyone else and walked to us. Aleksei’s face softened when she smiled at him as she tucked herself into my side. “You two are scheming without me, aren’t you?” she said, grinning at both of us.

“The Wonder Twins will get their chance for a much-needed attitude adjustment in the morning,” I said.

“I’ll be grateful if they get their asses beat. Serves them right for not wanting to further their training,” Aleksei said.

Sephie smiled at both of us, but I could feel her mood shift quickly. She smiled through it, but said, “Let’s hope it turns out better than the last time.” She said it quietly enough that Aleksei didn’t hear her, but I did. I pulled her in front of me, wrapping both my arms around her shoulders as she hid her face in my chest. I knew she was okay with what happened with Mike, for the most part, but she still had days where she struggled with it. Even though she did the right thing, even though we knew he was working for Anthony, she still struggled to accept it some days.

I caught Ivan’s eye as he felt her mood shift as well. Surprisingly, both Misha and Andrei also turned to check on her at almost the same time that Ivan did.That’s new.She held onto me tightly for a few moments, then sighed. She lifted her head from my chest, asking, “Do they know this yet?”

“Not yet. Vitaliy isn’t completely aware of what’s going on with his men.” I looked at Aleksei. “Do you want to keep him in the dark or let him know?”

“He’ll enjoy knowing. He’s not fond of those two. They have big shoes to fill, granted,” he said, then didn’t finish his thought.

I looked down at Sephie. “Then we can tell them now,” I said, smiling at her.

“Good. The Wonder Twins are worried that something is wrong already. Ivan, too,” she said. She hadn’t taken her eyes off me since she lifted her head from my chest. She hadn’t seen them checking on her.