“I love you,” I whispered, pressing my lips to the corner of his mouth, moving to his jawline. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
He pulled back, framing my face with his calloused hands, all while buried deep inside me.
“I love you,” he said gruffly before letting out a little laugh. “I honestly didn’t think I would ever say that to another person again.”
“Gavril,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. Honestly, I had been prepared to wait until he had come to terms with his feelings before he actually uttered the words aloud.
He arched his hips, and I moaned as his cock rubbed against my center deep inside, brushing the part of me that only he was allowed to touch. We could talk about his feelings later, but right now, I just wanted to feel him.
Gavril’s hands found my breasts as I rocked against his cock, the pressure mounting tight in my gut. His scent wrapped around me, his hands molding my aching breasts to his liking as he guided me into a steady rhythm.
When the first orgasm crashed over me, I cried out his name.
“Yes,” I gasped, wanting to feel him lose control. “Fuck me, Gavril.”
This was the man I loved, the man that I couldn’t live without.
This was the man that held my heart in his strong, capable hands.
“Naomi,” he growled as he angled deeper, driving into me. My name rang like bells from his lips, and I felt pleasure building again at its sound. The couch squeaked underneath us and I clung to his broad shoulders, my fingernails digging into his muscles.
“Yes,” I breathed, rocking hard against him as the familiar curl of need threaded through my body. “Give it to me.” I wanted it all, everything he could give me and more.
The moment I shattered, Gavril did as well, pouring into me with my name on his lips. Collapsing against his sweaty chest, I gulped in breaths as my body tried to recover from what had just happened. It felt like something had fallen into place, the last puzzle piece fitting perfectly.
Gavril’s hand slid into my hair and held me against him, his thundering heart pulsating in time against my chest.
The realization of what he had said started to sink in and left me teary-eyed once more.
He loved me back. It was still hard to believe.
Finally, after a few minutes, Gavril stirred and I slowly climbed off him, my legs weak from being in the position for too long. He pulled me next to him on the couch, reaching behind us to pull down a throw blanket I hadn’t seen there before. “Take a breather,” he replied, tucking his arm around my waist.
I laid against his chest, sighing. Was I happy? Heck, yeah. I had captured his love, after all.
Were there a ton of things that hung over our heads, threatening our future? Unfortunately, yes. This small bubble of happiness wouldn’t last long, not with the war still ahead of us.
“What are you thinking about?” Gavril asked softly.
“War,” I admitted. “What we have to do.”
“Do you really think that your plan will work?”
I smoothed my hand over the blanket, nervous about what I had come up with. I was happy that he was letting me be a part of what was clearly going to drive our future, but also nervous that it might not work and I could end up dead in the end.
It was dangerous, having both Jon and the Krasnaya brigadiers come after me, but it was also the only way to get our enemies all in the same place so that we could end them once and for all.
“Yes. I hope so.”
His arm tightened around me. “I don’t like putting you in danger.”
“You don’t have a choice,” I told him, pulling back to look into his eyes. “You know it’s the only option we have.”
“I know.” Gavril sighed and leaned back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. “And it’s a solid plan, Naomi, but I wish it didn’t have to be you. I wish I could protect you.”
“And you will,” I cut in. “You won’t let me get hurt.” I believed in him and his ability to pull this off. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it.
He looked over at me, emotions reflecting in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before. “You are everything to me,” he said softly, reaching out to cup my cheek. “Everything. If you didn’t know that before, I’m telling you now. If anything ever happened to you…” His throat bobbed. “I would fuck up the entire world to keep you safe.”