“West?”
“Yes!”’ I blurted a little loudly. Adrik gave a low chuckle.
“Good, moya lyubov’. I will make arrangements.”
“Okay,” I uttered.
His gaze drifted down to my lips.
Yes. Kiss me.
A kiss was okay, right? We liked each other. We slept beside each other. We touched each other. All right, maybe Adrik did reach for me more than I did, but I never would regret any caress from him. I loved them in fact—the way he would reach out to me or kiss my jaw, cheek, temple, and forehead.
I wanted one on my lips, though.
So much.
But he didn’t. Instead, he pulled his gaze away and rolled to his back. “Are you ready for sleep, or would you like me to read more?”
I wanted him to face me again and kiss me. My heart and body agreed with my mind.
But how did I make it happen?
Could I ask?
Just the thought of saying the words had my stomach dropping to my feet.
Could I push through my nerves and just say it? Would he want to kiss me?
I licked my dry lips and opened my mouth to ask. Only the words wouldn’t come out. I snapped my mouth closed and cursed myself.
I was a chicken.
Adrik would want a kiss. He was here and had been with me every night. He liked me and would want a kiss. I didn’t have to be so scared over the words.
“West?” He turned his head my way.
“Huh?”
His smile was warm, probably as warm as my face. He placed his hand behind his head, and his T-shirt rode up and exposed skin.
I gulped.
“Would you like to sleep or for me to read more?” he asked again.
“Adrik.”
“Da?”
I cleared my throat and followed his body up to meet his gaze. “Would you….” I made a noise in the back of my throat.
Adrik rolled to his side, up on one elbow, and looked down at me. Heat seared his gaze. “Would I what, moya lyubov’?”
I scraped my bottom lip with my top teeth and made a move to sit up. Ignoring the tight pull to my back, I faced him, sitting cross-legged on the bed. I picked at the sheet as I stared at it.
Adrik’s hand rested on mine. He still lay on his side, and it was my turn to look down at him. “I am guessing you do not wish to sleep, since you are sitting.”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Moya lyubov’, what is it you are after then?”
Hoo-boy, here we go.
My heart threatened to beat out of my chest, but I managed to get the words out. “Kiss me.” My eyes widened. “I mean… you don’t have to. I know this is new, and you’ve been sleeping here. I don’t know—” I squeaked out the last part as Adrik sat swiftly and leaned in with his nose close to mine.
“I would give you anything, West.”
His lips brushed against mine once, twice. My ears rang from freaking butterflies bursting to life inside me.
“More?” he asked, his voice thick with… desire?
“Yes,” I whispered.
A hand slid to my neck, to the back of my head, threading through my hair where Adrik gripped. I gasped, and Adrik took the opportunity to press his mouth against mine, to gently glide his tongue over mine.
Reaching out, I held onto his T-shirt and shifted closer to deepen the kiss. Our tongues danced, our breaths mingled, our hands caressed.
It was more than I thought it would be.
It was amazing.
Adrik broke the kiss. Both of our breaths were ragged. “Christ, West,” Adrik muttered.
I wanted more. No, I needed more. I tugged on his T-shirt. “Can we?”
He groaned in the back of his throat, moved back, and removed his T-shirt, throwing it to the floor. I caught a glimpse of something on his back, and before he could turn my way, I grabbed his arm.
“What’s on your back?”
“A tattoo.”
Oh, heavens above. The man just got hotter.
I pressed a finger to my bottom lip and pinched at it. “Um, can I see?”
Adrik studied me with a smirk. “You like tattoos?”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded. “Yep.” It was a weakness of mine.
Adrik turned away from me, placed his feet on the floor beside the bed, and rested his hands on the mattress on each side of him to let me have my eyeful.
Hot damn. It was all I could think over and over. I’d never seen anything so ferocious and yet stunning in my life. A dragon’s head covered most of his back. A beautiful, scary dragon. It was perfect for Adrik.
I rested my palm against his back. He shivered. I bit my bottom lip and ran a hand over his smooth, warm skin, as if I petted the dragon.
“It’s gorgeous,” I told him.
“West,” he clipped.
“Hmm?”
“I will need to kiss you now.”
“Okay,” I uttered.
He turned so fast I gasped. His hand cupped my cheek, and his lips were back on mine. I moaned into the tangle of tongues, the brushing of lips. Reaching out, I placed my hands against his chest. His naked chest. Hard planes of muscle greeted my palms. Slowly, I ran them down the dips and ridges of his stomach and felt it move under my hands. My arm brushed against something before a hand gripped my wrist and brought it up just as the kiss broke off to a sweet caress of the lips against each other.
Adrik pulled back and kissed the back of my hand. He shifted around until he was on his back with his arm out my way.
“Come here, moya lyubov’. On your stomach, rest your head on my chest.”
Smiling, I felt the blush rise, suddenly shy even after the kissing. I slid down the bed and curled an arm over his stomach, resting my head to his chest.
This was nice.
Sweet.
I let out a breath and opened my eyes to see the hardness in Adrik’s sleep pants. It matched my own. A fresh new blush hit my body all over. Adrik pulled the blanket over us, covering a sight I wanted to stare at for some time more, but I didn’t say anything.
What we’d done was enough.
I could wait. Even if my dick was crying over the travesty. I wanted our first time to be exactly like it was tonight.
Perfect.
Chapter Eighteen
Adrik
We used to sleep on our separate sides of the bed—until the night we shared a kiss. Now, I woke with West sleeping in my arms, and I could not be any happier. It had been a week since that night, and I knew with the amount of healing West had done, it was creeping closer to the time I would have to get back to work.
It was not something I wanted to do, but if we were to keep this going between us, I wanted to make sure it grew into something strong. I needed to give us both time to get back into our normal everyday lives. Besides, West was to start his new job at the end of next week. I tensed at the thought of him leaving my side or the safety of the house, but I reminded myself he would be surrounded by men I trusted.
West nuzzled into me. His head tipped back, and he lazily blinked up at me. My heart caught on a beat when he smiled.
“Morning.”
“Good morning, moya lyubov’.” I dipped and kissed his forehead. I was free to kiss him when it came over me to do so. Each time I enjoyed the cute smile he gave me, along with the blush.
Mostly when I first did it in front of people. West had been sitting in the living room when I got back after having to step out for a moment. I couldn’t even remember what for, but all I could think about was getting back to West. I had walked through the front door to see him surrounded by Kylo, Lucas, and Lucas’s parents. I greeted them but kept my gaze on West as I approached. I had planted my hands on the armrests and leaned in to take his lips in a hot kiss.