Lion's First Roar by Roxie Rivera Page A

when he would have protested the very thought of wrinkling his shirt before leaving the house, but those days were long gone. Vivian had changed him in small ways he had never expected.
    And he loved her all the more for it.
    “I made hot chocolate for you.” He squeezed into position behind her and adjusted the pillows so they could both be comfortable while he massaged her lower back. “It’s Benny’s recipe.”
    She glanced back at him and smiled. “You spoil me.”
    “You make it so easy for me.” He kissed her cheek before nuzzling her throat. She had chipped away so much of his emotional armor that he only hesitated a moment before admitting, “I worked hard for this life, and I built all of this,” he gestured around them, “so I would be able to give my wife and children whatever they wanted.”
    She touched his jaw, her fingertips gliding feather-light across his skin. “You’re all I want and need.”
    From anyone else, the statement would have drawn a scoff from him. But she meant it. Every word. She really did only want him. Rich, poor, mobbed up or free—she loved him. All of him. Just as he was.
    “But I really do love the way you spoil me with pretty things.”
    He laughed softly and continued kneading her lower back until he felt the tension leave her shoulders. In the back of his mind, he knew that he needed to get on the road if he was going to make the meeting on time, but he suddenly didn’t give a fuck whether or not Luka Beciraj had to wait. From the first whisper of a possibility of this meeting, Nikolai had registered his distaste. He had made it clear that his wife was ready to go into labor any day with his first born child, with his son, and that he needed to be close to her so he could protect and shield her when she was at her most vulnerable.
    Vivian expelled a relieved sigh as he pressed hard against the curve of her spine. He matched the movement of his hand with tender kisses peppered up and down her neck and jaw. “That feels so good.”
    The breathy sound of her voice made him crazy. Only ten hours ago, he’d been buried deep inside her, reclined right here on these pillows while she went wild on top of him. Just remembering the way she’d clawed at his chest and cried out his name again and again sent a hot streak of need through his stomach. It was hard to believe that only a year ago, she had been a shy, uncertain virginal bride. Now she was a wicked little sex kitten who drove him to distraction.
    When he let his hand wander along the curve of her hip to her upper thigh, she giggled softly and grasped his wrist. “We can’t.”
    “We can.” He dragged her hand right along with his as he slipped his fingers under her nightgown and discovered the silky smoothness of bare skin.
    “Kolya…”
    “Hush,” he whispered gently. “I know how to help you relax.”
    “You know how to make me do whatever you want.”
    “That too.”
    With a careful tug, he pulled Vee onto her back and pushed her thighs apart. She didn’t even protest when he dropped sensual kisses along the swell of each of breast. He bit the front of her nightgown and tugged it down to reveal even more of her luscious body. She sucked in a sharp breath when he flicked his tongue against her nipple. Knowing how sensitive she was, he was careful not to be too rough with her.
    His hand between her thighs, he cupped her feminine heat and slowly rotated his wrist, rubbing the flat of his palm against her clitoris. It wasn’t enough pressure to get her there, but it was enough to make her squirm and whimper for more. When she tried to kiss him, he pulled back and grinned, making her work for it. She threaded her fingers through his hair and gripped a handful, tugging him down for the kiss she so badly wanted.
    The moment their tongues touched, he switched tactics and explored her slick pussy with his fingers. He circled her clit with lazy strokes, working that tiny pearl until it was swollen and stiff. When