Serenity (Inevitable #5)(74)

His hand caressed the sleek curve of her hip, before pulling the duvet up over her nude body. After arriving home from the party more than an hour ago, they had instantly fallen into bed, their lovemaking a little lustier than usual since they had both been a bit tipsy. But Matthew was hungrier than ever for her, and even after a tumultuous orgasm he was still semi-aroused.

Sasha was clearly exhausted, though, and he put a damper on his raging libido, even though he wasn't feeling in the least bit gentlemanly at the moment. But he sighed, and settled for a sweet good-night kiss, instead of the second round of lovemaking he really craved.

"Good night," she murmured sleepily. "Tonight was actually fun. More fun than I expected. So I'd be okay with going to more events with you in the future. That is, if you want me to."

He caressed her cheek tenderly. "Of course I want you to," he whispered. "Don't you know by now that I want you with me all the time? Or that I'm pretty sure I've fallen in love with you?" 

But as he waited with bated breath for her reply or reaction, all he got in return was a faint snore, and he realized with a frustrated grin that she'd already fallen asleep.





Chapter Twelve




February



"Wow, you really weren't exaggerating about those two. Do they always bicker this much?"

Sasha smiled faintly at Matthew's urgently whispered question. "This is actually pretty tame for them. When my mother starts looking for sharp objects to throw at my dad, that's the time to quietly duck out of the room and leave them to it."

Matthew grinned in spite of the increasingly loud and heated argument that was going on in his living room. "What is it exactly that they're arguing about anyway? Kind of hard to tell, given that they keep switching languages."

Katya and Enzo seemed to be arguing back and forth in either English or French, languages that they were both fluent in, and then occasionally would revert to their respective native tongues. And Matthew was just guessing that the Russian and Portuguese words they were flinging at each other weren't especially complimentary.

"Who really knows at this point?" asked Sasha tiredly. "I'm not even sure they remember what started this particular argument off. Sadly, it doesn't seem to take very much to get them going."

"Gee, the only thing I ever remember my parents arguing about was whether a colleague's paper on the current status of advanced mathematics in high schools had real merit or not. And that was really more of a debate than an argument," he recalled.

Sasha glanced across the room to where her mother was now stomping one stiletto-clad foot to emphasize whatever point she was trying to make, while her father was muttering in Portuguese, his face darkening in anger. "Lucky you," she sighed. "Meanwhile, living with these two was like being a permanent cast member in a telenovela. You never knew what drama was going to be enacted the next day. Ah, and then of course, their fights more often than not ended just like this."

Matthew followed the direction of her gaze to where Katya and Enzo were now locked in a passionate embrace, startled at how quickly they had made the transition from adversaries to lovers. But from the resigned expression on Sasha's face, this, too, was far from something new to her.

"Good thing they aren't staying here with you, like you originally suggested," she whispered to him. "Otherwise, my father would think nothing of carrying Mama off to the bedroom right about now. After they each discarded several articles of clothing first, of course."

His eyes widened as Enzo forcefully pushed Katya up against the wall, lifting one of her legs to wrap around his waist as he ground himself against her. And since Katya apparently didn't have a submissive bone in her body, she gave it back as good as she got, raking her long, blood red fingernails down her lover's back before biting down on his earlobe. That caused Enzo to smack her on the buttocks, which in return made Katya retaliate by biting his bottom lip this time.

"Cristo!" yelped Enzo, stepping away from the wall as blood began to trickle down his chin. "I've always sworn you were part vampire, Katya. Or maybe a witch. You're definitely crazy."

Katya glared at him, rubbing her abused posterior. "I don't like the spanking, Enzo," she snarled. "You know that. You watched that movie again, didn't you? The one where the man likes whipping women, or tying them up. If you ever try that with me, you will be the one who gets spanked. Ach, but knowing you, that would probably give you pleasure, wouldn't it? You like that sort of - "