He returned from the bathroom to see Sabrina still sprawled, but now, short minutes later, her eyes were closed and her breathing was regular. He was transfixed by the picture she made with her pale limbs relaxed and her hair tangling wildly on the pillow. He was in the act of pulling the sheet over her sleeping form when she stirred and his gaze fell to the rise and fall of her breasts with their pink-tipped nipples; so round and full in comparison to the rest of her. In the weeks leading up to the wedding she had lost weight, her sultry curves were much less pronounced of late.
Unable to stop himself he put his mouth to those rosy peaks and watched her eyes blink fully open.
“I was too rough, too fast with you earlier.” He paused in the act of suckling her, looking intently into her face.
“I, no,” she responded, her breath hitching. “I liked it.” Her body already glowing from their lovemaking, flushed anew.
“I should have gone slower. A woman needs—”
“I have no complaints,” she interrupted, looking at him from under her eyelashes, and he was fascinated by the knowing gleam of her green eyes. “I know what I need.”
“Really?” His lifted his head from her breast, amused at the return of her sassy tone.
“Yes, I do. You.”
She reached up and pulled him down to her, murmuring that she wanted him again, now.
At her words, in that sexy little whisper, the muscles of his arms bunched once more with the effort it took not to react by pulling her under him and plowing into her as he had just done.
This time, he thought, he would exhibit a little more control, show her some finesse. He never had trouble finding it with any other woman. So he made her wait. He made them both wait. He tormented both of them with foreplay seeking to prove to himself that he could pace and plan his lovemaking with Sabrina, and thereby fit their relationship into the neat compartment he had chosen.
He suckled at her breasts, deaf to her keening cries until her nipples were damp points of dark pink, before he moved on. He inched his way down past her quivering ribcage to her taut belly, laving her creamy flesh along the way. When he reached the feathery curls between her legs, her legs fell open at the first foray of his tongue into that sensitive place, and he chuckled in a low, sexy rumble that said his measured pace was working.
Sabrina was teetering at the edge but then again so was he. Her head thrashed back and forth against the pillow as he continued his ministrations, and she moaned as his fingers worked their way in. For long minutes, he tasted her honeyed flesh. Her hands found his shoulders and squeezed tight.
“Please, Vlad, please, now, I can’t—” she panted. “Yes, you can,” he soothed, pulling her legs wider
to continue his sensual assault before covering her mouth with his as her orgasm ripped violently through her. Then, knowing neither of them could bear another moment, he moved up to enter her still convulsing
body, guiding her legs round his back as he found his own release and Sabrina climaxed once more.
****
When she awakened, it was almost midday. She crept into her own stateroom to bathe and change clothes, loath to run into any of the staff or crew. The heavy lethargy of jetlag clung to her even after her quick shower. Added to that, her body felt well used and beautifully sated like a concert instrument played by a master. Her milky skin bore not one mark of Vlad’s hands; nevertheless, she felt his touch all over. It was strange, but she felt less like herself without Vlad’s hands or body on hers.
Stop it, Sabrina, what was left of her brain demanded. She was sinking fast into the kind of jumbled state where she didn’t know where she ended and he began, and in the act of scolding herself, she stopped.
It was sex. And they were on their honeymoon.
Everything else about their life might be an illusion, but the sex was very real. With that earthy conclusion she tried to think more like Vlad was obviously thinking. They should be enjoying each other without messy emotions confusing their obvious physical compatibility.
When she emerged onto the main deck, Vlad and Alex were romping in the onboard pool; the little boy’s tentativeness about the water finally eased under Vlad’s patient guidance.
“Rina, watch this, look at me!” As soon as he spotted her, Alex had called out, eager to show off his newly learned prowess. He was progressing rapidly, his sturdy body naturally well-coordinated. She sat at the edge of the pool, letting her shorts-clad legs dangle in the water.
“You can lie out over there,” Vlad nodded toward an umbrella-covered lounger, “and have a rest.”
“I’ve only just awakened,” Sabrina countered indignantly. Were they trying to get rid of her?
“Your eyes are still heavy,” came the honest response.
“I wonder why that might be?” she parried.
Vlad gave a shout of laughter and Sabrina’s eyes immediately went to that tanned throat and those straight white teeth. He was just so gorgeous. Her eyes examined every inch of his tanned physique, remembering the sensuous scrape of the fuzzy black body hair that covered his chest, thighs and legs against her softer skin. She was vaguely shocked at her own body’s flood of warmth; they’d just spent hours in each other’s arms, but the pull of his attraction was just as strong as the first time together, stronger even.
Vlad chuckled again, this time at Alex’s antics, and Sabrina had to smile. His laughter was a rare thing and beautiful to her eyes and ears. She found herself wondering how much he had laughed in his childhood years. From the little he said, she knew his experiences had been grim. To a boy of his obvious intelligence, he must have put two and two together rather quickly, both about his situation and the necessity to get out of it. She flashed back to the night of the hurricane when he laid thrashing through that dream. Was it his childhood he saw in that nightmare?
Alex responded to Vlad’s good humor by jumping back into the pool and fearlessly paddling into Vlad’s arms.
“Excellent, Alex. Very impressive.”
Alex beamed at his words. Vlad treated him to another smile, and then Alex and Vlad were busy high fiving each other and splashing around. Sabrina took the hint and settled into the lounger, opening her book. She only pretended to read, because she couldn’t get into it when all she could see in her mind’s eye was Vlad, the scared little kid in a living nightmare and then Vlad, tanned sex on legs in his swim trunks.