The Emperor (The Tarot Club 2)

"You dance pretty well for a Pakhan." My teasing was ruined by the breathing of my tone because as the music shifted, so Dimitri pressed my body closer to his, melding my chest to his, making his erection difficult to miss.

He simply grinned at me knowingly, his dimples once more making an appearance.

There were a lot more of the Bratva here, each mingling with my mother's people, and this wasn't even the main function.

"How much longer do you think we have to stay?"

"You want to leave?" His voice was gruff against my neck as he spun me towards him in a skill that paralleled most professional dancers.

I allowed my gaze to skitter down towards his crotch area, the black suited pants did little to hide the bulge there, and suddenly I was pressing my thighs together in a bid to ease some of the building pressure that always seemed to accompany me when I was in Dimitri's presence.

Seamlessly, he danced us across the dance floor, and when his hand wrapped around mine and he tugged me towards the exit, I followed willingly, ignoring Eli's sneer as we passed him on our way out.

There were no hasty goodbyes or last minute thank yous. We simply left, leaving the others to enjoy the function that Brenna had so painstakingly set up. And when Dimitri brought me home, he led me towards our bedroom wordlessly because the very act of speech seemed an intrusion on what we had created.

Carefully, so very carefully, I slid out of my dress, allowing it to pool at my feet as I remained clad in nothing but a red bodice, a thong, a garter belt, and my stockings. Dimitri's sharp inhale sent a jolt of heat to my core, but he did not move from his position, allowing me to take the lead as I stepped towards him, swaying my hips in the way Maxine had taught me.

"You keep doing that little Vedman, and I promise I'll fuck you through the goddamn floorboards."

I stood before him, holding his gaze in a way that somehow seemed more personal than the act of sex itself.

"I love you, Dimitri." The words spilled out of me at the same time my fingers unclipped my bra, the material sliding from my body. I hadn't planned to say it - hadn't even thought about it really, but that didn't make the words any less true.

"I know." His voice was gruff and low, and a hollow pang reverberated through my core at the non-reciprocal words. I turned my body away from his, bending low to unclip the small buckle on my shoes, giving Dimitri an unhindered view of my ass in the process.

It was a strange thing to be wet and wanton for him, all the while my heart ached because he hadn't truly responded.

His hands slid against the sheerness of my stockings, cupping my ass in a way that brooked little argument about where this was heading. I stilled beneath his touch, content to let him lead this dance as licks of desire kicked through my system, swimming faster and faster with each scrape of his fingers that descended along my thigh, all the way down to my calf. And when Dimitri knelt behind me, he dug his fingers into the sheets fabric and ripped them off of my body, the air cool against my now naked flesh. I couldn't stifle the gasp that escaped my lips, but he did not falter or stall as he simply removed the fabric from my flesh until all that remained was the thing itself.

I shivered in anticipation as he peeled the straps of my thong off, rolling them down my thighs with such control that I couldn't stop the involuntary thrust of my hips as I arched back into Dimitri's palms. His breath tickled the back of my thighs as he chuckled softly, and suddenly he was all movement, his hands gliding down to grip my thighs, forcing me to widen my stance, giving him an unhindered view of my sex.

"I love going down on you." His voice was low and guttural, his breath hitting my clit in a way that made me clench both in longing and anticipation.

We both groaned at the first swipe of his tongue, his nose cresting the cheeks of my ass as he used his fingers to widen my stance even further.

"I love making you come." His confession was an exhale that had me whimpering in need.

He delved back towards my clit, my pussy aching and dripping as his tongue dipped in and out of me, working me towards the precipice of oblivion.

"I love your ass." His voice had taken on an animalistic tone that begged me to ride his face - his hands - any part of him that he would offer. But then his teeth clamped down on my right ass cheek, causing a yelp to shudder through my chest. He chuckled darkly.

"No coming yet." His voice was a command that I both hated and needed simultaneously. And even as he stood up, his hands gliding along my waist, up my chest, cupping my breasts in that way that walked the line of pleasure and pain, I yielded to him.

"I love these tits." His fingers pinched and tweaked my nipples, causing me to cry out. Finally, his hand slid towards my neck, and I willingly lifted my chin, arching towards him in a way that gave him greater access, allowing him to press his hand against the column of my throat, my pulse beating against his life lines etched into the flesh of his palm.

"And…" His voice trailed off as his teeth grazed the side of my neck, causing me to quiver and moan. "I love you."

Those words were my undoing, and it was all I could do to hold on as his knee knocked my thighs even further apart as he unzipped himself and slid in home. He was still fully clothed, whilst I stood there exposed in nothing but my heels and panties that seemed to strain against my widened legs, banding them in a way that strained against the pull of it all, heightening every thrust and retreat that Dimitri unleashed upon me.

This wasn't making love, this was a reckoning because it was not soft and gentle, it was an offering of Dimitri himself - an acceptance of all the dark, ugly bits that resided in our very souls, melding our bodies together by sheer force and will alone.