Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Reluctantly, he lifted his mouth from Soren’s and gazed into his hooded eyes. Soren’s lips were puffy from the kissing, and his face was flushed beneath the bruises and swollen eye. “What would you like, my battered burglar?”
A crooked grin tugged at the corners of Soren’s mouth. It had to be the first time he’d ever seen Soren looking anything but confident.
“What? Do you want me to bottom?” Alexei prodded. It wasn’t his favorite thing, but he didn’t mind on occasion. It was that most men took one look at him and simply assumed that he only bottomed. Nope. Not even close. He loved topping a man bigger than him, and there were a surprising number of big men who loved to fucking bottom.
Soren shook his head before pressing a kiss to Alexei’s jaw. “No, I love feeling you inside of me.”
“Then what? You gotta give me a hint. You want me to tie you up again?” he asked, only partially teasing. It had been fun knowing he was in complete control and Soren was restrained, though even that didn’t last long. Sneaky bastard.
“No. Something kind of boring. I guess…I’m afraid of you thinking I’m old and boring.”
“What?” he gasped, and his eyes widened as understanding finally hit him. Soren was still in pain from the fight. He’d already been quite battered by the time Alexei reached him and it had taken a while to get him free of those assholes. He was bruised from head to toe. Fuck, Alexei probably shouldn’t have been straddling his lap, but he wasn’t going anywhere, considering the way Soren was tightly holding him in place.
Dipping his head, he gently licked and kissed his way up the side of Soren’s neck. “Doudou, it doesn’t make you old to feel pain. You got your ass kicked not that long ago.”
“Skipping that brutal last part, what did you call me?”
“Doudou?” Alexei lifted his head. “You keep calling me Angel even though you know it’s not my name. I thought I’d try one out on you. Would you rather I call you mon nounours?”
“It depends. My French apparently doesn’t include these words.”
“Mon nounours is like my teddy bear.”
“And the other. Doudou?”
Alexei released Soren and sort of waved his hands in front of him as he searched for the right words. He’d grown up learning French, well before he’d moved to the country. English escaped him more often than not. “Doudou doesn’t have an exact translation. It’s a bit of nonsense, I think. Like most American endearments. Some people say it’s like a cherished child’s toy—the security blanket or favorite toy that you can’t live without. I’ve heard it used like people use ‘pookie’ in America.”
“And those are my choices?”
Alexei shrugged. “I could call you Soren.”
“Doudou, s’il te plaît.”
“Oui, mon doudou.”
Alexei resumed kissing him again while he carefully pushed Soren back against the pillows. When he was fully reclining, Alexei pulled away long enough to shove off his sleep pants and crawl under the blankets. They lay, facing each other, slowly kissing and exploring each other. This was a first for him. He’d never taken his time quite like this with anyone else. He was a good lover, attuned to the other person’s reactions and needs.
But this was so much more. He wasn’t just noticing how his partner looked or reacted, he was memorizing it. He mentally logged the way Soren’s breath caught in his throat when Alexei kissed along his collarbone, and he smiled at the interesting freckle in the dead center of his chest, half-hidden under the soft mat of hair. He loved the noise that escaped Soren when his fingertips grazed the inside of his hip.
Soren was a playground, and he wanted to spend many more nights reveling in each and every new discovery.
“You’re teasing me,” Soren said in a growling purr. He was like a cat stretching in a patch of morning sunlight, luring you in to scratch his belly. But danger lay in that direction.
Alexei licked across one nipple. “Teasing you?” he replied, sending a gust of hot air across the damp flesh. It immediately pebbled, and Soren happily hummed.
“So slow. Torture. I’m not hurt that bad.”
He nuzzled the hair on Soren’s chest and wetly kissed his way lower. Soren tried to hold on to him, but Alexei refused to stay still, moving out of his reach so that Soren was left to play with his hair. Strong fingers massaged his scalp and threaded through the long blond strands, causing more tension to slide away.
“Maybe I’m not going slow because you’re hurt. Maybe I want to explore every inch of you.”
“Well, there are a few inches that are very excited to be explored.”
Grinning, Alexei quickly dipped his head lower and licked a stripe up Soren’s hard cock. Soren sucked in a harsh breath and cursed suddenly, fingers tightening almost painfully in Alexei’s hair.