Where the Snow Falls (Seasons of Betrayal #2)(63)

But as the night waned on, he was ready for everyone else to disappear.

All it had taken was her sitting forward beside him, offering a tantalizing view down the length of her back, the dress stopping just above the swell of her ass. It was just a glimpse, enough to prevent his thoughts from going anywhere beyond how quickly he would get that dress off her.

The ballroom had its own bathroom, separate from the rest in the hotel, and if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a room across from it. And with the thought of that room in mind, his gaze shifted over the crowd, spotting Violet sharing a dance with his brother.

She looked happy.

Carefree.

He wanted to see that look on her face for the rest of his life.

Abandoning the table, he crossed the floor to her. Rus caught sight of him first, murmuring something in Violet’s ear before he stepped away—probably in search of his date.

Drawing her closer, he captured her hand in his, wrapping his other arm around her and contenting himself, if only momentarily, with the feel of her skin beneath his hand.

Looking down at her, he smiled. “Are you happy?”

“Absolutely.”

Though this was a celebration for them, many of the guests were talking amongst each other, networking. Kaz didn’t mind, not for what he was trying to do.

“How much longer will this go on?”

She laughed lightly. “We haven’t even eaten dinner yet.”

For f*ck’s sake. “When is that?”

“Not for another thirty minutes, but—”

It wasn’t a lot of time, that thirty minutes, but it would do.

Interlocking their fingers, he led her through the throng of people toward the back of the room where the office was. It was used mostly as storage for extra glassware and whatever else the hotel needed for this space.

“Why are we in here?” Violet asked the minute he got both of them in the room with the door shut.

He intended to answer her question, but first, he made quick work of removing the jacket to his tux and tossing it across the back of a chair. She knew his intentions; he could tell from her sharp intake of breath and the way her gaze shot down to his trousers.

“I’m in my wedding dress,” she said, though it sounded like a poor excuse to him. “And I want to keep it.”

Already working on the buttons of his shirt, he merely gave a nod of his head and said, “Then take it off.”

But she didn’t. She just stared at him, or rather at his chest, as though she had never seen his tattoos before. Captivated, he always thought. But he rather liked that look on her.

“Do you want to know what these stars mean?” he asked, remembering that he had never explained the significance of the ink that marked his skin.

Crossing the floor before she could even answer, Kaz put his hands on her hips, spinning her slowly as he searched for the hidden zipper. With such delicate straps, he knew something had to hold that thing in place.

Crouching down, he found the tab and gave it a sharp tug as he dragged it down, revealing the delicate lace beneath. Where most women would wear white for their wedding night, Violet didn’t—she wore red.

“Take it off.”

She did as he commanded, the dress pooling at her feet as she slipped it off her shoulders. Knowing that she would still need to be back in it shortly, he put it off to the side.

When he turned back to her, she was now facing him, every bit his f*cking weakness as she stood there in nothing more than a scrap of lace and heels. A sight that had his cock hardening further.

Violet offered him a cunning smile. She knew the effect she was having on him. “Your stars, tell me about them.”

“I got them when I was twenty-one,” he said as he backed her up against the wall, enjoying the way her lips parted as she drew in a breath.

Cradling her face, he kissed her once, twice, waiting for that moment when she started seeking him out, wanting more, and when it came, he allowed it just long enough for him to get his hand wrapped in the silky fall of her hair.

Making a fist, he pulled, drawing her lips off his as she gasped in shock, her back arching.

“I had to learn how to take orders,” he whispered as he drifted his other hand down her heated skin, feeling the body tremor rolling through her.

But stopping at the edge of her panties, he didn’t delve inside, even knowing he would find her hot and slippery. Instead, he ran his fingers over it, feeling her through the material. And f*ck if he couldn’t feel her arousal against his fingers soaking through.

“It took a while—I had no patience for that shit.” Rubbing languid circles on her clit, he asked, “And how patient can you be, krasivaya? Will you wait to come until I give you permission? Are you going to be good for me?”

The shuddering moan that left her lips made his heart kick up a bit. She’d always been so f*cking responsive, and he loved it.

But she knew he needed more than that—she knew he needed her words. “Come now. Tell me what I want to hear.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

Her hips bucked into his touch. Her eyes squeezed shut. Getting her off was like a f*cking drug, a need that rode him desperately, but he wasn’t finished with her yet.

“Yes, I can be patient.”

“And once I finally learned to be patient,” he said moving right along with his story, as though he hadn’t had to drag an answer out of her. “I was rewarded.”