Semper Mine (Sons of War #1)(72)

“You need to decide now if you’re going to trust me. Because if you don’t, this won’t work,” he says firmly.

What won’t work? I rarely think more than a day ahead. I know he’s the opposite. What I can’t figure out: if he’s only thinking two days ahead or much farther.

Or even if I care, if I can get his clothes off him right now. I don’t like there being anything between us, more so after last night, when I got to experience Sawyer without his Iceman face or guard.

He’s even more beautiful unguarded than he is now.

“I’m going to tell your brother about us then get us both coffee,” he says when I’m quiet.

“Petr?” I say, startled. “You’re going to tell Petr you slept with me?”

“No.” Sawyer gives a faint smile. “Mikael. He brought us together. I thought I would thank him.”

My god. I think I love this man.





Chapter Twenty Three: Sawyer


Katya’s entire expression changes, from the point where I’m about to have a shoe thrown at me to the vulnerable, emotional, sweet girl she is only for me. Her cheeks are rosy, her lips swollen from kisses. The bathrobe is cinched loosely enough for me to glimpse one smooth, round breast.

“If that’s okay,” I add. I’m not one hundred percent certain she’s comfortable with me bringing Mikael up. Her emotional reaction is always intense yet mixed, and I suspect she’s not sure yet either if she’s comfortable talking about him.

“I’d like to go with you,” she says, eyes wide and filled with emotion.

“We’ll go together.” I resist the urge to take her in my arms, knowing how it’ll end if I do.

She nods, gaze misting over.

“I figured we’d have coffee and talk this morning,” I tell her.

“If this is the part where you tell me I’m a one-night stand, then skip the coffee and leave.”

Already she’s stirring my blood with her fire. We were awake for hours last night, but I can’t get enough of her. I know she wants this as much as I do. I also know she likes to poke the fire to get a reaction out of me.

I have the sense this morning that she’s raw and uncertain what to do about it. Last night was beyond anything I expected: intense, sweet, tender, passionate. Any restraint I thought I’d show was burnt to a crisp the moment she said the words I can’t get out of my head.

I want to be yours.

She was vulnerable and open, her heart in her eyes. I’ll never forget that or the surge of protectiveness, of possessiveness, I experienced.

But I’m still going to enforce a few boundaries I think she needs.

“I’m serious,” I warn her again. Taking off my jacket, I toss it then work my shoes off. I approach her. “We’re not starting off like this. You need to decide now if you trust me.”

She cranes her neck back to look up at me, not backing down.

I love it. She’s so sexy when she’s pissy or about to throw a fit. Now that I know how to fix it properly – by making love to her until she’s too happy to speak – I’m eager to try it again.

Holding her gaze, I tug the tie of her bathrobe free. “I don’t do one-night stands.”

“You leave in two days. Is this a two-day stand?” she retorts.

Hearing the tiny note of distress in her voice, I kiss her and push the robe off her shoulders. I ache for her in a way that’s almost uncontrollable. Her scent is all over me, and her light flavor is such a turn on, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to kiss her again without dragging her to bed.

Her soft, firm body melts at my touch in a way that makes me want to learn new ways of making love, so I claim her every way possible. I glide my hands down her perfect curves and pull her against me.

Katya plants her palms on my chest and pushes me away, breaking the kiss. Her face is flushed, her eyes sparking with fire. Her body is pliant, her breathing off.

“Two days,” she repeats.

“It’s what I wanted to talk to you about over coffee,” I reply, nuzzling her. “Do you want me to stay longer?” I capture her lips once more. It’s not possible to have her naked body in my arms and not make love to her, not after everything we’ve been through and how deeply we plunged into each other’s hearts last night.

Her hands travel under my shirt and push it up. I lean back enough to take it off.

“Yes,” she says. “I do.”

The sensation of her breasts pressed to my chest adds to the fire racing through my blood.

“I can stay a couple of weeks,” I say as I strip out of my pants. Her cool hands roam down my hips to my straining erection.

“And then … what?” she asks.

“Trust me, Katya,” I grunt.

If last night was hot, this morning is like being a Crayon melted in the sun. Katya’s passion pushes past any restraint I can muster. I pick her up, taking her to the bed once more.

Settling on top of her, I enter her quickly this time, with urgency, my mouth devouring hers hungrily as her thighs clench my hips and fingernails rake down my back. She’s so hot and tight and slick, her kisses and passion consuming. I let her carry me away with her desire and hunger.

Two weeks … a lifetime isn’t long enough for me to be satisfied with her. I’m not possessive of women, but I could be with her from the sheer amount of need and emotion burning me up from the inside out.