All the Lies We Tell (Quarry Road #1)(61)

She disconnected before he could say anything else. He stretched in the darkness, the light on his phone going out, but in the last few seconds before it went black, he glimpsed a shadow at the top of the attic stairs. Startled, Niko dropped his phone onto the bed and sat up, running his hands over the blankets to find it.

“Shit, Ilya?”

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I came to see if I could borrow that solar phone charger you showed me.” Ilya moved closer.

Niko’s eyes had adjusted enough so he could see. “Yeah, it’s on top of the dresser. You getting ready to head out soon?”

“Couple of hours. I’ll sleep on the bus. Can’t usually the night before a trip. Can I turn on the light?”

“Yeah, sure.”

The soft glow of the old dog-shaped lamp illuminated the top of the dresser. Ilya found the charger right away and held it up. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Hey, I wish I was heading off to Jamaica,” Niko joked.

Ilya turned. “Sounds like you have enough going on to keep you busy here, bro.”

Niko didn’t say anything. He hadn’t used Allie’s name . . . had he? Ilya held up the charger again and turned off the lamp.

“Have fun fixing our mother’s messes,” Ilya said.





CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE


It wasn’t what Alicia had expected. She hadn’t really known what to expect, actually, but a room in the hotel on the far edge of town that catered to business travelers had not been on her list. It was good, though, she thought as she dropped her purse on the sofa. More than good. It was perfect.

“We don’t have to worry,” Nikolai said. “Not about your nosy neighbor or Galina or anyone else seeing us. Just you and me and this big old bed.”

She’d noticed that as soon as she’d come into the room, no doubt about it. But now she feigned innocence. “That one? There? That one?”

She’d been with guys who didn’t get her sense of humor, but even though she and Nikolai had surely had their share of conflicts over the years, there was never any question that he totally understood her jokes.

“Oh, yeah. That one.” He tipped his chin toward it. “You know. If you wanted to try it out.”

She burst into laughter, covering her face with her hand before peeking through her fingers at him. “So . . . are we really going to do this?”

“God, I hope so.” He moved to take her in his arms. “I really, really hope so.”

She should’ve felt more shy. Nervous? Guilt should certainly have poked its greasy head in there somewhere, too.

He didn’t kiss her, not at first. Instead, Nikolai stroked a hand over her hair. It was a familiar gesture, one he’d done many times, but even so, Alicia shivered at the touch and turned her face so she could touch her lips against his palm. They stayed that way for a moment, in silence. When he drew her closer so her cheek pressed to his chest, she closed her eyes and breathed him in as the beating of their hearts aligned.

“It’s always a little awkward,” Nikolai said after a minute. “The first time.”

Alicia laughed softly and pulled away to tip her face to his. “It’s not the first time.”

He stroked his thumb along her lower lip, urging her to open for him. He kissed her. Hot and wet, a slanting pressure on her mouth that echoed an electric thrill through every part of her. His hands moved down her body to slide beneath her ass, lifting her so that she let out a startled yelp, muffled inside his mouth. They both laughed, and Nikolai walked them back toward the bed, where they fell in a tangle of arms and legs and open, kissing mouths.

She moved, or he rolled, but somehow Alicia ended up on top of him. Straddling, she pressed her knees to his hips and pushed his shirt up, revealing the taut strip of belly and curly dark hair leading from his belly button into the waistband of his jeans. She bent her head to nuzzle him there, and Nikolai arched at the pressure of her lips on his skin. She pressed her teeth there for a few seconds, grinning at the sound of his gasp.

She looked up at him through the fall of her hair. “You like it when I bite.”

“Girl . . .” Nikolai breathed out with a small groan. “Yeah. I like it when you bite.”

She crawled up his body to settle herself against his crotch. She’d dressed carefully for tonight. Soft leggings, and a sheer tunic top over a clingy tank. No bra. Silky thong panties. Everything soft and flowing and easy to get off. Now she tugged the tunic over her head and let it fall in a flutter of fabric off the side of the bed. Sitting up straight, she took Nikolai’s hands and slid them up her body to cup her breasts.

He thumbed her nipples, teasing them into tight points. “This body. Mmm, mmmm, mmm.”

“I like it when you touch me.” She rocked against him, loving the pressure of his hardening cock on her. She tugged the neckline of the tank down, exposing more cleavage but not yet exposing her nipples.

Nikolai dragged his fingertips over the new expanse of flesh. Then over her nipples again, first one, then the other, tweaking each gently so it was her turn to gasp. His gaze burned into her as he licked his lips.

She wanted his mouth on her. All over her. Alicia leaned forward. When he buried his face against her flesh, she shook. Eyes closed, mouth open. Hair hanging all over the both of them. She gripped the headboard with one hand and used the other to cup his chin, urging him to feast on her.