This time, when he nudged between her legs, she angled her hips and opened to him, eager to finally have him inside. For just an instant, the feel of him stretched her so fully she wasn’t actually sure she was ready. She was more than eager and wet, but she was also very tight after four years of celibacy—despite having a child in that period of time.
Then he settled in fully, her body adjusted, and all she felt was the zing of satisfaction, a wholeness she’d almost forgotten. She gripped his shoulders and rocked against him, and the power of her need took over.
“You feel so perfect,” he said against her neck. “I’ve missed the feel of you so much.”
“You, too,” she said, “Me, too.”
They rocked together, petting and kissing, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room, and the scents of sweat and sex swirling around them. She let herself go, wallowing in the freedom to just be and feel, take and taste. And love. Her orgasm built until she couldn’t hold back, but with Vlad she didn’t need to. She charged into the abyss and kept him close as he followed.
They lay in each other’s arms, hugging, silent for long moments after. She came down slowly and made no move to break the moment. She wanted to stay just this way for the rest of the night.
Vlad was the first to raise his head. He held her gaze and that emotion she couldn’t quite decipher moved through the depths of his dark eyes. Finally, he kissed her lightly and rolled off. “I’ll be right back. Just want to clean up.”
To her pleasure, he took the time to tuck her under the blanket first, then he paused at the bedroom door.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked.
“Just listening. Making sure Zoe doesn’t get up and catch me walking around like this.” He flashed her a grin and left for the bathroom.
She rolled to stare at the door, a little awed and more than a little scared to face the fact that she was madly in love with Vlad. Again. Still.
Forever.
Vlad finished in the bathroom then walked out to the living room. Alexis had returned not long ago, his sense of her being in the house the only thing that had disrupted his focus on Rose. He was still a little overwhelmed, his body humming from having her in his arms again. And he was looking forward to going back and proving his stamina by making use of that second condom.
But first, he wanted to know what Alexis had put into place for the trip to the elders.
He thought he’d been protective of Rose and Zoe before this. Now, his protective instincts were pushing him to run away with them, keep them safe and well away from any other tigers. He couldn’t, but everything in him wanted to.
Alexis sat on the couch, reading something on her phone.
“Victor has put his security team to work setting up safe rooms in the compound for all of you,” she said without preamble, still looking at her cell.
“Good.” That would augment the things Elizaveta was supposed to be doing.
He’d had to go through her assistant to start the arrangements because it was almost impossible to talk to an elder directly over the phone. Most of them just didn’t do it. But going through an intermediary worried him. Most elders trusted their assistants with every aspect of their affairs. But all his life Vlad had seen the way money could swing loyalty. He’d used that fact frequently himself. When it came to Rose and Zoe, his trust in other people’s moral fortitude was very limited.
“Any other news?” he asked.
“Victor says Elizaveta is thrilled.” Alexis glanced at him and rolled her eyes.
“Should I be pleased or afraid?”
“Terrified.” She set her phone aside. “Elizaveta will ensure you have official safe passage, and Victor will make sure you have official security. I’m going to go in with you, just to add a little muscle.” She grinned. “I’ve asked a couple of Trackers I trust to meet me there so we can provide you with the physical security you’ll need.”
“I can handle that part.”
“I’m sure you can. But we want to make a show of it. We need everyone aware that Zoe isn’t vulnerable or without support within the community. Nila didn’t have this going in, and it left her open to attacks. We don’t want anyone thinking that’s an option with Zoe. Outside of those like your brothers, you still have the elders to worry about and… Do you know about the split among the Trackers?”
He nodded.
Just like the rest of the community, the Trackers were divided over the issue of human-tiger mixes. Some of them sided with Elizaveta, some were on the fence, and some were with the elders who didn’t want hybrids in their midst. His father had used the Trackers who agreed with his stance when he went hunting for Nila. They hadn’t directly helped him go after her, but they’d actively thrown the other Trackers off his trail, giving him time to try to kill her. Since the Trackers were essentially the police force of the tiger shifter world, having some of them help a wanted criminal had damaged the organization’s reputation.