Where the Snow Falls (Seasons of Betrayal Book 2) Read online

  “Don’t take it personally if Maya stays away for a bit,” Kaz said, his words whispering along the back of her neck as his lips brushed her skin.

  “Why?”

  She found it was easier to talk if she focused on his words and not the heat traveling through her blood.

  “Because Kolya is … well, he’s a little insane where Maya is concerned,” Kaz explained. “It’s better to just let him do what he needs to do to get back to his normal, nasty self.”

  “All right.”

  “You’re taking this all well, hmm?”

  Violet took another sip of wine, unsure of what he wanted her to say. “It scared me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “But the thought of being dragged back to my father scared me a hell of a lot more. I’m not a possession, but he thinks that I am.”

  “You’re not going back to him.”

  Violet let out a soft breath. “Don’t make promises, Kaz. At least not ones we don’t know if you can keep.”

  “I’ll keep this promise—even if it kills me, krasivaya.”

  Kaz watched as Violet brushed by him, but instead of heading up to their bedroom, she went to the living room. One delicate hand held the wine glass, but his gaze had strayed down from it to the curve of her hip, swaying just enough to get his attention every time.

  His thoughts should have been on Vasily or even Alberto since he had been bold enough to send his men in Boykov territory, but the second his gaze strayed to the bare skin of her midsection where her shirt didn’t quite cover, he didn’t want to think of anything else but her.

  Pushing off the wall, Kaz crossed the floor in a few long strides, catching her around the waist before she could sit. Instead, he drew her down over the top of him, her legs on either side of him. Plucking the glass from her hand, he set it on the floor beside them.

  “Kaz—”

  It still baffled him sometimes … the way he felt when his name fell from her lips. Maybe because, even when it was innocent, he could still hear the way she moaned it when he was fucking her.

  He lived for that sound, and though it had only been days, he already missed the sound of it.

  Before she could finish whatever she thought to say, his fingers had drifted from her waist until they spanned out over her throat.

  And there it was …

  That slight hitch in her breath as he pressed just a bit harder. The way her lips parted …

  Outside their bedroom, she was fragile to him, someone he wanted to protect, but here, when he had her beneath his hands, he wanted to see how much she could take before she broke.

  Pulling her toward him, he didn’t kiss her lips but ran his lips along her jaw, feeling her skin heat up as he bit at the cord in her neck. She arched into him, but he held her exactly how he wanted, dragging the straps of her top and bra off her shoulder and pushing the material down until he could get her breast in his hand, her nipple between his fingers as he squeezed.

  A sharp, needy sound tore from her, her hips grinding further into his erection. He could practically feel how hot her pussy was beneath those shorts she wore, and he was dangerously close to ripping the fucking things off just so he could get in there, but he reined it in, contented with the process.

  Releasing his hold on her, he drew back just far enough to drag the shirt over her head and unsnap her bra. His hands full, he didn’t hesitate to kiss her now. Even as he drew her bottom lip into his mouth, pulling at it, the answering whine made his dick ache.

  One hand curled around her neck to keep her in place as his other pushed its way into her panties and down to her begging, slippery flesh.

  Fuck, she was already shaking, and he hadn’t even touched her properly. How easy it would be to get her off right then …

  “Do you want to come, krasivaya?” He asked the question against her mouth, her lips parting with a gasp. She was trying to concentrate, he knew, seeking out his fingers to give her more, but he didn’t give in. Not yet. “I need an answer.”

  Violet nodded, but as quickly as she did, she answered him with a quick yes, knowing his rule on needing to hear her.

  “Then do something for me, hmm?”

  “Anything …”

  “Get on your knees.”

  There was no hesitation on her part, no questioning glances as she merely pulled free of him and slowly moved to her knees between his, looking up at him expectantly.

  He fucking loved that look on her face.

  She knew what he wanted without him having to ask.

  Shoving his pants to his ankles, Kaz fisted his cock, nodding for her to put her mouth on it. And when she wrapped her lips around of it, taking more of his length into her mouth, his head fell back, his hand drifting to curl in her hair.

  At first, he guided her movements, pushing her mouth down slowly then pulling her up, making a moan vibrate his cock with how rough he handled her. There was never a need to instruct her on how best to suck him because the moment he growled, “Take my cock,” she did just that.

  His entire body was vibrating with the need to come, but more than that was the need to hear her scream.

  Yanking her off his cock, he was pulling her back over him in the next second. Her breath left her in a rush, but her need was as great as his was as he grabbed the base of his cock and lined it up with her slit. But even as he felt like he was about to split apart if he didn’t get inside her, she didn’t do what he wanted.

  No, she dragged it over her pussy, smearing her juices all over his cock, and just when he thought he was about to go mindless, she finally sank down on him achingly slow, her head falling back as she did.

  Her pussy felt like a fucking vise around him, so fucking tight it felt like the first time all over again.

  He gave her a moment, letting her get used to his size before he had his hands curled around the curve of her hips, but he didn’t move yet.

  “Look at me.”

  Her eyes opened, the pupils blown, even as she did as he asked, her hands going to his shoulders, her nails digging in. That pouty bottom lip of hers was red and inviting, and had it not been between those teeth of hers, it would have been between his.

  “Kaz,” she whispered his name like a promise even as she moved her hips, dragging her pussy up and down his cock.

  Violet fell into a slow rhythm, one that made his hands tighten on her body. That wasn’t good enough for him. He wanted her mindless—he wanted her fucking begging him to fuck her harder.

  He knew what she needed better than she even did.

  Wrapping his fist in her hair, he tugged her forward until he was just an inch from her mouth. “Are you going to come on my cock, Violet? Is that what you want?”

  She couldn’t give him the response he wanted, not when she could barely catch her breath, each one hitching in her throat.

  “You come so fucking easily, don’t you? God, fuck yourself on my cock.”

  Kaz didn’t really need to tell her, not with the way her hips shifted forward, all rhythm lost as she chased an orgasm only he could give her.

  Those fucking moans … the way she lost her breath between pleas—he was about to fucking explode.

  But before he lost himself in the sensation, he splayed a hand over her stomach, dragging it down until he could get his thumb against her clit and rub.

  He didn’t make her beg for this one because she was too close to the fucking edge. When she finally broke apart, his name echoing off the walls, whatever thin thread of control he had left snapped.

  Jerking her beneath him, keeping her legs tight around his waist, he shoved his hips forward, and a breath exploded from him as he began to fuck her harder; the hands he had grasping her thighs squeezed so tight, he knew there would be bruises.

  That first shuddering wave of her coming had nearly forced his to the surface, but he had managed to drag it back. But now, as he felt her pussy clamping tightly around him again, he didn’t fight it. He gave himself over to it, thrusting
hard before emptying inside her.

  As his senses came back, and he became aware of the droplets of sweat dripping down his back, he felt at ease in a way he hadn’t felt in a while.

  Three days to be exact.

  Kissing the corner of her mouth, he said, “Once a day from now on, hmm?”

  Her answering smile made him chuckle, but when she said, “Twice a day and I’m yours,” it made his cock jerk all over again.

  Violet sank a little deeper under the hot, bubbly water. With her eyes closed, the vanilla scented bubble bath soaked into her senses, relaxing her further.

  Happiness chased bliss through her bloodstream.

  From the side, she heard Kaz chuckle.

  Violet didn’t even open her eyes as she asked, “What are you laughing about?”

  “You—smiling for no particular reason.”

  “I’m smiling because I’m happy.”

  “Ah, I see.” His palm curved her jaw, his thumb sweeping her cheekbone. She tilted her head, letting it rest in his hand. “That is a good reason to smile then.”

  “I thought so.”

  “Are you almost ready to get out?” he asked.

  Violet hummed a soft, “No.”

  Kaz’s amused chuckles echoed in the bathroom all over again. “You’re going to be a prune, Violet.”

  “So?”

  Maybe she had been in the bath for a little while.

  But maybe Kaz had been encouraging her with the way he kept draining the water and putting more bubbles in when he refilled it.

  In a way, it was sort of his fault.

  “Krasivaya …”

  “Hmm?” she asked, smiling when she felt his thumb stroke closer to the corner of her mouth.

  “If you get out now, we can order from that place you like before they close at midnight. Late supper.”

  “Not hungry.”

  “Liar.”

  Violet gave his palm a kiss and then settled her cheek back into his hand. “I’m not, honestly. You should stop worrying about me. I know that’s what you’re doing. Right now, I am happy, Kaz. I am fine. Everything is …”

  Great.

  Perfect.

  Wonderful.

  “As it should be,” Violet settled on saying.

  When she was with Kaz, everything was always exactly as it should be.

  “I won’t deny the worrying,” Kaz murmured, “but, perhaps, I’d like to have you out of the bath, dried, and underneath me again. You did say twice a day, no?”

  Violet opened her mouth to respond, but her words failed when she heard the gentle splash of his hand as it dipped below the water and landed right between her thighs. Her air caught hard in her chest when his other hand moved from her cheek to high on her throat, his thumb pressing against her lips.

  Her eyes flew wide open as his fingers stroked her under the water, two pressing deep, curling upward in just the right spot while his thumb flicked up to press hard against her sensitive clit.

  Slow.

  Steady.

  Insistent.

  Knowingly.

  The pad of Kaz’s thumb muffled Violet’s moan as she found him watching her, so interested, always curious. It was almost as if he loved to watch all the sounds fall from her lips. Like it was his favorite thing next to making her scream.

  Kaz arched a single brow, his lips curving into a smirk as he watched her. Violet’s movements were involuntary—she pushed her hips into his hand with every thrust, making the water slosh around the sides of the tub.

  “You’re beautiful when you come, Violet,” he said quietly.

  He was, too.

  She didn't think he realized it, but he was the most natural at that moment.

  She loved it.

  “Come on, give it to me, and then I can get you in bed like I want you,” Kaz said.

  Violet’s teeth caught her bottom lip as the first sparks of bliss started dancing across her skin. Kaz wasn’t having that, as his thumb pulled her lip free and then swept over the wet, red flesh.

  “I might even let you get on your knees again and watch you lick me clean, Violet …”

  Another stroke of his fingers, dragging across that spot again and he was making her see stars, his words dark and heady in her ear, and his thumb sinking into her mouth, promising to fill it, too … and she was gone.

  Violet felt his hand leave her throat and wind up in the hair that she had piled on the top of her head. Kaz pulled her head to the side as she shook and panted her way through an orgasm that seemed to sweep over her slowly, and he leaned over the side of the tub to kiss her hard.

  The cloying sensations weren’t even gone entirely before he was pulling away, his hands leaving her body and her hair. He hit the plug, making the water drain, and reached behind him for the towel he already had waiting there.

  Violet would have helped—stood up, dried herself, or something.

  Kaz pulled her out of the water without a word, setting her on the edge of the tub with the towel ready. He kissed her again, softer the second time, and his mouth didn’t leave hers as he ran the towel over her trembling form.

  She wasn’t cold. That wasn't why she shook.

  She was hot as hell, and his tender actions only made it better.

  Once Kaz was apparently satisfied that Violet was dry enough, he tossed the towel to the side and scooped her up into his embrace again. For the distance between the master bath and the bed in the attached bedroom, he crossed it quickly.

  Violet’s back hit the middle of the bed, and she had just caught sight of Kaz fisting his boxer-briefs and shoving them down before his knees hit the bed and he was moving toward her. His hands met her thighs, spreading her wide enough that her muscles protested, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care when his head dipped down, and his mouth found her sex.

  Her thoughts were gone—just like that.

  The strike of his tongue.

  The nip of his teeth.

  The pressure of his fingers digging into her legs.

  He teased her right back to the edge of that cliff with his tongue, and then he was pulling her back from it as he lifted his head, shot her a grin, and started kissing a burning path from her pubic bone to the underside of her jaw.

  “Next time,” he promised in her ear. “Next time, I’ll make you shake and scream over and over with just my mouth, hmm? Not right now, though.”

  Violet’s hands uncurled from the blankets she’d grabbed, one tangling into Kaz’s hair and the other raking down the tattoos on his chest. She loved the way his muscles jumped under her touch, but he never gave a thing away. His expression never changed from that sexy smirk and intense gray stare.

  “We’re fine,” she told him.

  Violet wasn't even sure why she said it—he hadn’t asked.

  She thought that maybe, he needed to hear it. From her.

  Again.

  Not just that she was fine, regardless of what had happened, or what was yet to come, but that they were perfectly fine.

  Still just Violet and Kaz.

  “Fine,” he echoed above her.

  Violet felt his hand between their bodies as he readjusted his cock to line up with her wet slit. He dropped down to his elbows, his lips ghosting over her chin and jaw just a breath’s worth of time before he grabbed her hip and thrust forward.

  Maybe it was their earlier fucking, and then the orgasm she’d just had, but she felt sensitive to the touch, and it was overwhelming.

  It didn’t hurt, but she felt every inch of him as he filled her.

  Kaz let out a low curse, his head falling forward to rest against her chest. She could feel it in the muscles of his back—how he strained to keep still for just that brief moment.

  Violet didn’t need or want him to be still.

  “Fuck me,” she whispered, tugging on the strands of his hair.

  Kaz’s grin grew against her skin. “Wait a second, krasivaya.”

  She dragged her nails down across his shoul
der.

  He sucked in a hiss of air.

  Apparently, that was all he needed. Violet arched off the bed as Kaz pulled out, and just as fast, he pushed right back in, the force moving them farther up the bed.

  His arm wrapped around her back, holding tight. She barely got his name out of her mouth before his teeth found the cord in her neck and bit down hard enough to leave one of his marks behind.

  Another one, she knew.

  He just kept adding more.

  But Violet really didn’t mind.

  Every pull came faster, and every stroke came deeper.

  Through the haze, she heard him say, “Love you.”

  Violet figured the rest really didn’t matter as long as he kept saying those words.

  “Love you.”

  Nothing captured one’s attention quite like the sight of a man hanging from the ceiling by his ankles, but as Kaz entered the warehouse—Kolya had texted him an address nearly an hour ago—his gaze immediately went to the Italian from the car wreck as he swung like a pendulum.

  Though a cloth was stuffed in his mouth, he screamed what sounded like a plea the moment his wild gaze locked on Kaz, but the words were lost beneath his gag.

  “I think he’s trying to say something,” Konstantin said from his spot in a chair across the room, gesturing at the man with his cigarette.

  “Then he can wait.”

  “What’s the fucking point if we can’t hear them speak?” Konstantin asked, taking a drag of his cigarette. “Then we’re torturing—at least torturing whatever the hell is left of him—just to do it.”

  “That’s because you lack patience. Sure, you can get a man to tell you things before you start—but who fucking knows how legit that information is. No, you get a little of the torture out of the way”—Kolya punctuated this by picking up a scalpel, and running the sharpened blade over the man’s stomach, red welling in its wake— “and he’ll tell you everything he knows.”

  Ripping the man’s gag out, Kolya tossed the cloth on the table and took a step back, folding massive arms across his chest as he glared over at Kaz. “About fucking time. I’m sure we would all like to be buried in pussy, yet here we are. Waiting on you.”