He broke the kiss, his breath panting out against my face and then after he met my eyes, he looked down to the place where we were joined.
“So perfect,” he said.
I nodded, but didn’t speak, not having the capacity to, and instead began to touch him, stroking my hands along his chest, his heavily muscled stomach, his sides.
Then I went lower, reaching between our bodies to touch the spot where we were so intimately joined.
He thrust then, pushing himself deeper inside and then pulling out.
I kept my hand there, touched my opening, the base of his shaft as he pushed inside me and pulled out.
My fingers were coated with our combined juices, but still I touched, feeling each time he entered me against my fingers and deep inside.
Then when I brushed my clit, I clenched my sex down tight and Maxim pushed my hand away, entwined my fingers with his, and then looked into my eyes. Then he began to push, thrusting inside me so hard my breath rushed out of my lungs, my breasts moving in time with his hard pace.
He continued, again and again, sending me into a wild, unrestrained climax.
When his body stiffened, he pushed one final time and then, on a hard breath, he came inside me.
Eighteen
Maxim
When my heart finally slowed, I kissed Senna’s soft shoulder, pulled her small, full body closer to me. She curled against me, crushing her curves against my body and breathing out a sigh of contentment. But still, I knew something weighed on her.
“What troubles you, little flower?” I asked.
There was something. Before I had touched her, I had seen the tension in her. But I’d been too taken with the need to have her, and now that my passion had been momentarily slaked, I could try to figure out what bothered her.
She said nothing, though, so I kissed her again, nipped at her soft skin.
“What troubles you?” I repeated.
“What makes you think something does?” she said.
I wasn’t fazed by her attempt to distract me. I kissed her again. “Don’t insult me, Senna. What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Today—” she said and then she cut off.
“Did something happen?” I asked, alarm making my body stiffen.
“It was wonderful,” she said, gripping my hand and then running fingers along mine. Her fingers were soft, smooth, and the contrast of her fingers against mine was amazing, made me shiver. But I focused instead on the question at hand.
“What happened?” I said, my voice rough.
“It was wonderful, exactly what I needed, but…”
“But what?” I said, keeping my calm, though my alarm was rising.
She sighed and then lifted her eyes to mine. “I was so happy, but now, I can’t help but think about them,” she said.
“And him?” I supplied.
She nodded, and I squeezed her, well aware of the significance of what she was saying and ready to find Santo and punish him.
“Did someone approach you?” I asked, my alarm momentarily rising.
She shook her head. “No. There was nothing out of the ordinary, and everyone was kind. Friendly.”
“And that was the problem,” I said, hugging her closer and then stroking her hair.
“Yeah,” she said. “Stupid, right?”
“No,” I replied, leaning forward to kiss her forehead and then brushing a kiss against her lips.
“It is. I go to those places, am happy, but it never fails. I always feel sad afterward, thinking about my parents,” she said.
“It’s okay, Senna,” I said.
Senna scoffed, tried to pull away, thought I didn’t let her. She eventually stopped moving and lay against me. “It’s so foolish, Maxim. I know that all that peace and community stuff is just an illusion. One that can be destroyed in a moment.”
“It’s a good thing, Senna, you wanting to be around normal people like your parents.”
“No. It’s stupid, because me wanting to be around them doesn’t change the fact that I know what can happen. Santo, people like him, don’t care that they are normal. I should be more like him,” she said.
“Don’t ever say that again, Senna. Ever,” I said, my eyes locked on hers, my mind rejecting any comparison of her to Santo. “You’re not like him,” I said.
Not like me.
I left the last words unspoken, though, and then kissed her until I felt her body begin to soften against me.
I had told Senna what had happened to her parents, explained how they had simply been victims of bad luck. When Santo was in the mood to kill, there was no stopping him until he had. Absent business-related killings, he’d go after anyone he found, even innocent people who had no connection to the Syndicate, people like Senna’s parents.