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  She giggled. “We have time. You wore me out.”

  He rolled to his side, shivering as his body withdrew from hers. “I need to clean up.”

  She pulled the covers to her chest and smiled as he left the bed. In the bathroom he removed the condom and winced, his entire body sensitive to the lightest touch.

  Catching his gaze in the mirror he paused. He looked the same, but something in his eyes was different. Quietly laughing to himself, he shook his head and whispered, “Nadia.”

  She’d never know how much this meant to him and he might never know what it was to be a part of her intimate world for more than a day, but he knew this moment and the few that would follow. He knew he’d never forget this feeling or the way she smelled on his skin. And whether she’d ever know how he felt, he knew no other woman would ever have this strong of an effect on him.

  Smiling, he washed up, anxious to return to her. When he exited the bathroom, her eyes were closed. The sense that he was trespassing wasn’t as strong as before. He climbed under the covers and she curled into his side, welcoming him close to her body.

  Nadia.

  This was definitely heaven.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Don’t Panic.”

  The Hitchhiker’s

  Guide to the Galaxy

  Elliot awoke to the distinct sense that someone was watching him. As he opened his eyes he was greeted by a vision. Nadia, her dark waves appearing almost black in the shadows, her face wearing a serene look of pleasure.

  “Good morning, Mister Sleepy Head.”

  “Good morning.” His hand lifted to her hair, hefting the thick weight between his fingers. Softer than silk.

  “You have your meetings today, no?”

  He shut his eyes, regretting his need for an unnecessary schedule. However, she’d be with family most of the day and this trip was really about her having time with loved ones. “I’m afraid so.”

  “Will I see you tonight?”

  “Of course. My meeting’s at noon and then I have another at four. I should be back to the hotel by six. Did you want me to come to the house?”

  “No, I think I’ll come here and surprise you.”

  He laughed. “It’s not a surprise if I’m expecting it.”

  She tsked. “I have lots of tricks up my sleeve. You are not the only magician in this bed.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Mm-hm.” Her hand slithered under the blankets and he sucked in a breath as her cool fingers closed around him.

  The novelty of her nearness still took his breath away. He doubted he’d ever adjust to her touching him like this. Every graze of her fingers, even a spare direct glance… She completely disarmed him. “Nadia…”

  “Yes?”

  He shook his head, nothing to say, only needing to hear her answer to prove this was real. “I love when you touch me,” he groaned, stretching onto his back. As her hand slowly stroked, the muscles in his legs flexed, waking and stretching in a deliciously tantric seduction. He was completely under her spell.

  “Me too. I like touching you and I like how you touch me. I’m not sure I believe I was your first.”

  He nearly snorted. “Trust me, you were.”

  She brushed the covers away from his hips and continued to stroke him slowly. It was strange letting someone see him so exposed, but what she was doing with her hand subdued any sense of self-consciousness.

  “I think I should also be your second.” Sliding her hand under the pillows she produced a condom. “Look… Magic.”

  He laughed. “I think your tricks are more impressive than mine.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. You’re a Jedi. Maybe I’ll wear my hair in braids like the Queen for you.”

  Jesus. It was the holy grail of fantasies—Princess Leia in the gold bikini. “I love when you talk Star Wars to me.”

  She tore open the condom and slid it over his length. “You’ll have to point it out.”

  “You’ll know when you see it.”

  She straddled his legs and rose above him, slowly dragging his cock against her hot sex. There was nothing as gratifying as his body touching hers.

  He’d assumed now that Pandora’s Box had been opened the haze of shock would dissipate. He’d been wrong. Though he was no longer a virgin, he was still a novice and the sheer pleasure of her delicate flesh stroking along his rigid cock sent his mind into meltdown mode. It was almost too intensely satisfying to take. Almost.

  His chest lifted as she seated herself, sliding him into her tight channel and engulfing him in heat. His hands cupped her hips as she slowly rocked. He was still acclimating to the intense sensations linked to being inside of her.

  Her dark hair covered her breasts as she rode him at a gentle pace. She gathered it off her shoulders, piling it high on her head as she stretched and elongated her body, utterly breathtaking.

  His fingers tightened on her hips. It was still surreal he could touch her like this. Stretching forward, he pulled her closer, capturing her nipple in his mouth and she lost her balance.

  “Sorry.” He needed to work on his finesse.

  She cocked her head. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No. Not at all. But I wanted…”

  Onyx tendrils tumbling over one narrow shoulder, she tipped her head and smirked, her hands lifting to cup her breasts, lifting them like a sacred offering. “You wanted to taste?”

  “Fuck…” His rasp was a plea for stamina because such eroticism should only exist in fiction but she was warm flesh and hot blood and she was riding his cock. “Come here.”

  She giggled and lowered. The moment her dark nipples were within reach he captured one turgid tip in his mouth. She let out a sharp gasp that had his dick twitching inside of her and thickening—ready to burst.

  Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he lifted his hips and the sharp tips of her nails scraped along his skin. What would drive a woman to scratch a man like that? Was it a reflex or something she did because she saw it done in the movies? His mind went to all the various things he’d seen over the years, his greedy libido wanting to try every single one—yesterday.

  “Nadia?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Can we try something?” He needed to switch things up before he finished.

  Her hips slowed as her body lifted, and her gaze met his. Her dark hair formed a curtain around them. “What do you want to try?”

  Everything. God, she was so damn beautiful. “I want…” His throat was suddenly dry, and he feared foolish words of inexperience would spill out and scare her away. He was falling in love with her and she… She didn’t love him.

  The hair surrounding them seemed to trap them in a secret world where their breath mingled and their eyes locked. It was a place secrets couldn’t exist between them, intensely intimate and somewhat overwhelming.

  “On your knees,” he rasped, hoping she didn’t detect how much she beguiled him. Men probably shouldn’t feel this much emotion with sex.

  She hesitated and then nodded. As his body pulled from her heat he let out a silent moan, his eyes rolling back. The suction of her tight, wet heat made it deliciously painful to leave. Shifting behind her, he pressed her hands into the mattress so she was on all fours. He hoped he wasn’t being too demanding.

  She arched a brow as she peeked over her shoulder, a playful glint in her eyes. “What are you planning to do back there?”

  He wasn’t really sure. Right now his eyes were focused on the plump curve of her ass. Kneeling behind her, he dragged a finger slowly down her spine and she arched like a cat.

  His palm brushed over her bottom and she moaned, shifting closer until the hair of his legs rasped against her smooth thighs. Taking himself in hand, he guided his body back to hers, aligning his swollen flesh with her glistening folds. His mind short-circuited and plunged forward, sinking deep.

  She gasped and he stilled. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No. A little aggression is good.”
>
  “It is?”

  “Yes. I’ll tell you if it’s too much.”

  His hands glided to her hips, holding her in place this time, as he thrust again. She gasped and pushed into him. Every way she moved sent a different sensation spiking through his nervous system.

  His grip tightened, as his thrusts grew surer, harder, and with each deep stroke of his body, she appeared more excited. Finding his rhythm, he pumped faster, firmer, and his lungs burned with exertion.

  Though he’d outlasted his first experience, he was still on the verge of finishing too soon. It seemed impolite to come without bringing her release, so he slid his hand beneath her belly and touched where their bodies connected.

  The color leached from her knuckles as she fisted the blankets and he groaned as her body gripped his so tightly it became difficult to move. She gasped and rocked into him with quick little pumps of her hips, and her shoulders collapsed.

  The pulse of her contracting sex broke his control and he called out her name, trembling as his body blanketed hers, his hips jerking as come spurted hard into the condom. Catching his breath, he lifted his weight off of her and withdrew, collapsing to his back.

  She curled into his side and pulled the covers over them as they panted. He couldn’t recall another moment when he was so damn content.

  This couldn’t have been what normal sex felt like. It seemed too incredible, too much the result of his feelings for her. But maybe it was like this for everyone. Maybe this was why the rest of the world seemed fixated on all things sex.

  Jesus, he was just like the rest of them. The thought amused him more than he expected. “I like sex,” he announced and laughed, never having the courage to entertain such possibilities before.

  Two weeks ago, he’d have denied the appeal at all costs. He was an ignorant fool. If he’d known what he was missing he wouldn’t have been the world’s oldest virgin.

  She giggled. “Not many people dislike it.”

  If only she knew how much effort he’d wasted trying to avoid the subject in thought and action, somehow convincing himself he wasn’t missing anything. Despite his IQ, he was a fucking idiot.

  Deep down he knew he’d like it. Too many people desired it for there to be no appeal. But how deep were his trust issues that with knowing sex would likely be incredible he still avoided it? He’d never wanted to give anyone that sort of hold over him. And now he’d given it to Nadia—the one woman who already affected him more than anyone else ever could.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hasn't ended.”

  ~Batman

  Elliot took the elevator, hoping to find Nadia waiting for him in his hotel room. His meeting had been unremarkable, but Asher was happy to hear they’d received a proposition from their shareholders, so all was not wasted.

  As he slid his key through the door and twisted the knob, disappointment washed over him. His room was dark and empty.

  He checked his watch. It was only six-fifteen. Maybe she was still finishing things up with her family. Unsure if she’d eat with them or wait to have dinner with him, he ordered a light snack from room service and passed the time responding to emails.

  When his food arrived with a knock at the door, he stowed his laptop. Opening the door—

  “Nadia.”

  Her face pinched as she looked up at him with red eyes, tears streaking her face. Seeing her so upset and not understanding why it hit him like a punch to the gut. His first and only instinct was to fix whatever was wrong.

  “What happened?”

  “Mira passed,” she rasped, her shoulders shaking as she fought back a sob and lost the battle.

  His heart fractured as she struggled to hold the pain inside. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight, pressing his lips to the top of her head. He couldn’t fix it. Losing a loved one was a pain that only time could ease, but even time wasn’t powerful enough to totally erase the grief. He wished he could do more for her, but all he could do was hold her.

  “I’m so sorry, Nadia.”

  She sniffled and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tight. “I was there, holding her hand, and she just looked at me and said, Én kész vagyok most.”

  Damn this language barrier. “What does that mean, sweetheart?”

  “I’m ready to go now.” Her tears seeped through the fabric of his shirt as she crumbled in his arms.

  He ushered her into the room and sat her on the chair. Opening a bottle of water and gathering the box of tissues, he sat on the ottoman, pulling it close so their knees touched as they sat across from each other. “Take a sip of water.”

  She drank and he pulled out a tissue, blotting the shed tears before they dried. “Just think, she left this world holding hands with her favorite niece. That had to mean a lot to her.”

  She wiped her nose and nodded. “It meant something to me, too. Thank you so much for bringing me here, Elliot. I can never repay you for such a gift.”

  “You don’t have to thank me. I wanted to do it.”

  Wiping a hand over her eyes, she held her hair away from her face and sighed. “My eyes are killing me. I need to get these contacts out.” She scrunched her nose. “I must look like a disaster.”

  Honestly, she looked gorgeous, though sad. If not for her heartache he’d be all over her. “Do you have your glasses?”

  She nodded. “In my purse.” The knock on the door noticeably startled her. “Are you expecting someone?”

  “It’s just room service. I ordered an appetizer because I didn’t know if you had dinner or not.”

  “Oh. I haven’t eaten since this morning.”

  “I’ll get dinner then. You go find your glasses.”

  He patted her knee and stood to get the door. Stepping into the hall, so she had privacy, he asked the attendant to bring up dinner for two using a lot of hand gestures and butchered Hungarian. The attendant seemed to understand and left to go relay whatever the hell he’d just ordered to the chef.

  Nadia stepped out of the bathroom and he stilled. She looked like the sexiest nerd in the world when she wore glasses.

  “I ordered dinner.” He couldn’t blink. “It should be here soon.”

  She sniffled and nodded. “Thank you.”

  Trying to be tactful, yet practical, he sat her back down and took both her hands in his. “We can stay longer. I can arrange a different flight. I just need to know what day the service will take place?”

  “There’s no service. We don’t do things that way in our family. Mira will be taken tonight and there is no embalming. She’ll be cremated and her ashes will sit beside my Aunt Petra’s in the sacred corner.”

  Recalling all the formality of his father’s burial, this seemed incomplete, but it wasn’t his place to judge one tradition against another. Now it made sense why they held the open house.

  “It’s nice she was able to see so many loved ones in her last days.”

  His analytical mind wasn’t satisfied with leaving so soon after she suffered such a loss, so he silently continued to evaluate any options that might make this easier on her. Their flight was scheduled to leave tomorrow night, but he didn’t want to rush her when she was mourning.

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and wished there was a way to take some of her pain. “Do you want to stay longer, Nadia? Even if there isn’t a service, we can stay so you have time to be with family.”

  “I can’t afford to stay any longer. I have classes I need to teach.”

  “I’m sure your students would understand.”

  She laughed without humor. “They would, but my landlord wouldn’t. I need to get home so I can pay my studio rent. No classes, no money.”

  He hesitated, knowing she’d likely say no, but wanting to help her any way he could. “I could handle your rent. Why don’t you let me talk to your landlord? You
and I can work out the details later.” He’d never take a cent from her, but if she knew that, she’d definitely decline his offer.

  She smiled, cupping her hands at the side of his jaw in a way that made him feel awkward, yet told him she was giving him complete sincerity. “You’re a very sweet man, Elliot, but no. I’m not going to let you do that. I came to say goodbye to my aunt and I have. There’s no need for me to stay here. I can mourn at home.”

  He missed his house, his language, and American food, but he’d stay another year if it made this easier for her. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “Tomorrow I’ll say my goodbyes to my mother and Nagymama and then I’ll be ready. Will you come with me?”

  “Whatever you need.”

  She shut her eyes and sighed. “I’m tired.”

  He stood and pulled back the covers of the bed. “Rest. Do you want me to wake you when the food arrives?”

  She climbed onto the bed, her motions lethargic and weak. “If I’m awake, I’ll eat. If not, I’ll eat later.”

  He tucked the blankets around her shoulders and pressed his lips to her brow. Pulling off her glasses, he folded them on the nightstand. Her hand caught his arm and he looked at her in question.

  “No one’s ever been so nice to me, Elliot. I don’t always know how to accept such kindness, but with you… I want to. I want nothing but truth between us. No games. No lies.”

  “I wouldn’t lie to you.” He’d done some truth bending to get her here, but in the end, the trip had served a business purpose. “I don’t want games either.”

  Her eyes were tired, but as he held her stare he noticed a weighted concern in the depths. “I care about you, Elliot. And I never make the right choices with men, it seems, but I want this to be right. I don’t want to be wrong about you.”

  Her words knocked him back, but he stayed outwardly still. The pressure not to disappoint her doubled as he understood how much she wanted to believe everything she assumed about him, but she was so far out of his league he wasn’t sure he’d ever measure up to being good enough.

  All he could offer was the truth. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”