were, old or very, very young, he liked hurting females. He liked humiliating them. That man doesn’t get a piece of you dead or alive. His blood isn’t on you, Ania.”
He bunched her hair in his fist and pulled her head back, so he could look into her eyes. “He doesn’t get one little part of you. I could tell you things he did, but those things are so vile you would never get them out of your head. All three of those men were cruel and they liked hurting others weaker than they were. My father is the worst of all of them.”
Her eyes searched his and then she nodded, her lashes sweeping down. Mitya took her mouth. Those trembling lips. The knowledge of what he was saying was in her eyes, slowly sinking in, but he didn’t want her thinking about Albert, or Taras or Kronya. He wanted her to forget they ever existed. He could take on the burden of those vile men, but he didn’t want any part of them touching Ania.
The moment he kissed her, his lips moving over hers, he felt the familiar fire erupt deep inside him. She seemed to pour some accelerant down his throat so that it spread through his veins and arteries, moving into his belly to build into a conflagration so hot and wild that by the time it hit his groin, he was already going up in flames.
She always gave herself up to him completely. Ania never held back with him. She surrendered herself to him, gave herself into his keeping, and he loved that about her. His hands moved beneath the blanket and found her naked under a shirt far too big for her. Shaping her rib cage, he pulled back far enough to look down at her.
“You’re wearing my shirt.”
She pressed kisses to his throat and then gave him a look that told him she wasn’t happy he’d interrupted their kisses with something so mundane.
“It isn’t like I have any clothes here, Mitya. I thought about sneaking out and going to the house to get some, but I knew you wouldn’t like it. And Sevastyan said if I did it again, he’d insist you punish me.” She tossed her head, sending her hair flying, her eyes flashing fire, body posture stating “just try it.”
Mitya couldn’t help but laugh. Sevastyan might think he could intimidate Ania, but he didn’t think anyone could—with the exception of him, and that wasn’t going to last long.
“You’re so right, I wouldn’t have liked you sneaking off. Your skills are extraordinary, but the guards are all leopard.”
“So were my grandparents and parents as well as Annalise,” she said, smugness evident. “I had to learn to be even better at sneaking out than other children. It became sort of a game. They knew I was going to try, and they did what they could to prevent me going out on my own, mostly, by the way, to race cars. I love street racing. I could be anonymous. No one knew who I was. I loved it.”
He tugged her hair. “I won’t like it if you sneak out and try street racing. You’re done with that.”
She shrugged. “I did promise you, and I keep my word. But I am going to keep up my skills. That’s important to me.”
He began to undo the buttons on the shirt, unwrapping her like a gift. “Later, we’ll get your clothes. I have plans for this morning.” He looked at the sky, already becoming light with the dawn. “Dymka has them as well.”
14
DYMKA was giving him hell. Every step Mitya took hurt like a son of a bitch. He couldn’t stop thinking about sex. He couldn’t stop the hot blood coursing through his veins. Ania was being driven just as hard, so that even though she was trying to get her things together, she rubbed her body along the bed seductively. Unknowingly. But Mitya saw every single detail and inhaled the pheromones she was throwing off with every breath he took.
Mitya stayed close to Ania as she moved around her bedroom, pulling clothes from her drawers and closet. She folded them meticulously, placing each item in the suitcase. She wandered around the room several times and then would go back to choosing various pieces of clothing to take. He knew the trip would be emotional and would take a toll on her. It didn’t help that the leopard’s heat was riding her so hard.
With every other article of