Christmas Tsar (Blood and Thunder 1)

“Yes, I do,” she said fiercely.

She had that same look again on her face, the look that said I trust you. If nothing else, they would have Christmas together, he determined.

“I’m supposed to be making Christmas special for you,” she reminded him, “and now you’re buying me presents?”

“One small and very insignificant gift,” he pointed out.

“Don’t you dare call Mr. Mouse insignificant.” She clutched it close. “He’ll be spending Christmas with us, as our guest.”

“As long as I spend it with you.” Using the towel, he bound her tightly against him. “I love that you’re a cheap date, by the way.”

“Because I love Mouse?”

“Because you’re you.”

He kissed her, and they were instantly on fire for each other, but this time, he held back. “There is something else I want to show you—something I think you’ll like.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so excited at the thought of sharing his very private life.

“What is it?” Amber demanded, staring up at him.

Linking fingers with her, he walked to the elevator. There were seven decks on his yacht. Amber’s suite was located on deck three. His was on deck two. He brushed his fingertips across the elevator’s digital controls…

“Deck nine?” she exclaimed. “I didn’t even know there was a deck nine…”

Seeing everything through Amber’s eyes was like seeing it for the first time, and he was as blown away as she was when the elevator door slid open.

Chapter Seven

“And I thought I’d seen it all,” Amber breathed as they stepped out of the elevator into the underwater observatory.

This was the sort of wonder his money could buy, and he’d never had anyone to share it with. Because they were moored offshore in deep water, the sea life beyond the toughened glass was extraordinary. All shapes and sizes, multicolored and varied, it was an incredible sight. Amber leaned her head against his chest. He looped his arms around her waist. It was one of those rare moments when nothing needed to be said.

But of course, it couldn’t last. He couldn’t allow it to last, not with the closeness between them growing all the time.

“You can only ever pay a fleeting visit to something that soothes you, can’t you?” she said as he nuzzled her neck and moved away.

“I thought it might be time to test the strength of the toughened glass.”

“Liar,” she murmured, staring at him with a mix of pity and disappointment on her face at the idyll so quickly lost.

“So?” he pressed with an unrepentant hum.

She shook her head and gave him a wry smile. “So, I’m totally up for a challenge.”

“You can still watch the sea life,” he promised.

“Like I won’t be distracted?” she said as he removed her towel and made a start on her bikini.

She wanted Alexei so much it hurt, and not just physically. Her feelings had changed toward him, and she didn’t know how to hold them back.

Murmuring what she had no doubt were outrageous suggestions in Russian, far too advanced for her sparse understanding of the language, he was steadily backing her toward a viewing bench. He was so sexy and she was so hot for him. But… “No,” she said, holding back at the last minute.

“No?” he queried. Stepping out of his swimming shorts, he stood in front of her, utterly beautiful and completely unabashed. And he certainly didn’t need to tell her that there was nowhere else he would rather be.

“I want you,” she said softly, wishing this could be enough for her.

“I know,” he murmured. “I feel the same.”

“So I see.”