Page 13 of Tell Me You’ll Stay

“Math isn’t hard to figure out. My contact confirmed what my gut already told me. And the rest is right in front of me.” Lana sits in absolute silence for a long moment, staring at me as if I’m some force of nature that crashed into her otherwise structured world. Her hands drift back down to rest on her stomach as her chest rises and falls with deep, uneven breaths.

“You’re insane,” she whispers, though there’s a faint trace of a smile that begins to tug at the corners of her lips. “You tracked me across the world, ran an intelligence operation on my family, and decided we’re getting married in two weeks?”

“I’m not insane,” I reply, stand up from my chair, move to where she sits, and lower to my haunches. I cup her face in my hands and look into her eyes, loving them so much more without the contacts and wig she chose to use to hide her identity. “I’m a man who found the only woman who matters, and I’m not letting you, your father and this whole Vance situation, or an ocean stand in my way.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you know about that, too, or that I agreed but had no intentions of ever stepping on American soil again if it meant going through with his cockamamie scheme.” I nod.

“Two weeks?” she asks.

“Two weeks,” I confirm, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Pack your bags, Liliana. You’re coming with me. I want you on the yacht with me, and while I know you want to spend time with your grandmother, that can happen anytime during the day. Your nights are mine.”

CHAPTER TEN

liliana

The glow of the sun turns the Mediterranean into a sheet of gold. We’re anchored in a hidden cove along the jagged limestone coastline, tucked far out of sight from the mainland behind high crowned cliffs. An hour ago, Maxim quietly dismissed the boat staff, having them take the small tender dinghy back to the harbor until late tonight. He wants total isolation—hours of uninterrupted, undisturbed time with me in the middle of the open water.

The gentle sway of the yacht against the tide feels like a cradle, insulating us from the entire world. I slide out of the clothes I wore when we left Mamé’s villa and reach for a dark emerald two-piece bikini I packed from home. The fabric is smooth and minimal, tying at the nape of my neck, between my shoulder blades, and at my hips. I catch a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror as I adjust the top. My growing breasts won’t fit in this much longer, that’s for sure. As it is now, my skin is flushed, my lips are still bee stung from Maxim’s kisses, my nipples are still pebbled from the way he brushed his fingers along my lower abdomen, and beneath the small scrap of fabric covering my center I’m wet and aching.

The faint, mouthwatering aroma of seared fish and fresh herbs drifts down from the upper deck. A smile touches my lips. Who would have thought that the man in the headlines known for being a ruthless billionaire who burns through boardrooms and hires some kind of uber-intelligent private investigator to track me down would be cooking dinner for us?

I make my way out of the stateroom, and when I take the teak steps up to the deck, the warm breeze wraps around me. Maxim stands near the outdoor prep counter, dressed in a pair of dark shorts and nothing else. His broad, muscular back is facing me, the shadow of his powerful shoulders blocking out the sun as he moves with practiced efficiency.

I cross the deck, my bare feet making hardly any sound against the polished floor, and stop a few feet away from him. I rest my hands on the edge of the plush leather outdoor lounge couch that sits nestled against the stern railing.

“Maxim.” He turns slowly, a heavy wooden platter in his hands. His dark, piercing eyes rake over every inch of my bare skin, starting at my ankles, sweeping up the line of my thighs, and stopping for the barest of moments at my pussy, causing my legs to shift together from the ache he’s building inside me. Then he pauses yet again, this time on the softness of my stomach. His tongue slides along his lips, and only when he’s got his fill does his gaze settle on my face. The intensity in his expression is so thick, so heavy, it feels like a balm to my soul.

“Are we crazy for doing this?” I whisper. The question floats out in the air between us. “Running away, planning a wedding, tearing apart my family?” He sets the platter down on the low wooden coffee table without taking his eyes off mine and steps toward me with long strides, closing the distance until the heat of his chest warms my cool skin.

“No,” he states resolutely, his deep voice unshakable. “We’d be crazier not to do what we’re doing.” He reaches out. His large, calloused hands wrap firmly around my waist, his long, thick fingers digging into the soft skin of my hips as he pulls me flush against his hard body. “You’re mine, Liliana,” he rumbles, bending his head down until his breath brushes against the shell of my ear. “You and our child. And I’ll do anything—I’ll burn down every corporate empire on this earth—to protect the ones I love.”

My heart does a crazy stutter inside my chest, and a sharp gasp escapes my lips as his words settle deep inside me. Before I’m able to process the sheer magnitude of his promise, his fingers move with blinding speed. He reaches behind my neck, catching the delicate thin string of my bikini top. With a single, smooth tug, the knot gives way. His fingers slide down my back, catching the second knot between my shoulder blades, snapping it lose. The fabric falls away, fluttering down to the deck.

“Maxim…” I close my eyes, tip my head back, and hold on to his firm biceps, my nails digging in. He doesn’t reply with words. His hands slide down to the delicate ties resting at the sides of my hips. He pulls at both at the same time, and the bottoms drop to my ankles. I keep them away and stand in front of him completely bare in the open beneath the golden sun, surrounded by the air of the Mediterranean.

Maxim looks down the length of my body, his eyes darkening with a ravenous hunger. He doesn’t break eye contact when he reaches down, undoes the drawstring of his shorts, and shoves them off his hips. His broad chest heaves with hard, heavy breaths, and his thick, long cock bobs against his stomach, the tip slick with anticipation. It makes my mouth water.

“The food can wait,” he growls. His hand cups the cheek of my ass, and my head tilts up as his thumb presses into the soft flesh of my lips. “It’s been too damn long since I’ve had you beneath me.” He lifts me with the palm of his hand, and I wrap my legs around his waist, feeling the heavy underside of his cock graze the lips of my pussy and clit. He walks us backward. Each step he takes makes me want more, makes me want to lift my hips and notch my pussy at the head of his cock then slide down his length.

Luckily, my back meets the plush leather lounger, and he cradles my body with his. Only then does the sudden though hit me. I look up at the vast, open sky above us.

“Maxim, wait,” I gasp. My hands press against his pecs. “We’re outside. Anyone on a passing boat or helicopter could see us!” He lets out a chuckle. His chest vibrates beneath my palms, pressing his full, heavy weight into mine. His cock is right there, right where I need him.

“You think I don’t take precautions, sweetheart?” he groans, his dark eyes burning into mine as I wiggle beneath him. The tip of his dick slips in. “I bought the usage rights to this entire cove for forty-eight hours. My security team has a three-mile boundary cleared around this yacht. No one is coming within sight of seeing what’s mine.” He arches into my heat, and my heels dig into his lower back. “Now,”—his mouth finds mine—“it’s time for me to take you.”

He takes my lips in a deep, hungry, out-of-your mind kiss that steals every drop of oxygen from my lungs. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, claiming me with a possessiveness that matches the heavy throb of where his thumb is working my cit. Jesus, it’s like he’s a magician. When the hell did he slip down there while keeping up his momentum with his cock? Doesn’t he know it’s been weeks, eight, to be exact, since I’ve felt anything like this?

I whimper into his mouth. My hands move to wrap around his broad, sweat-slicked shoulders, fingers digging into his muscles as I lift my ass off the couch cushions. Maxim shifts his hips, sinking in deeper, then pauses for a second, his gaze locking onto mine through heavy-lidded eyes.

“Look at me, Liliana,” he demands, his voice low with a rough rasp. “Tell me who you belong to.” He pistons his hips in and out at a relentless pleasure-inducing pace, causing my toes to curl.

“You,” I sob. My body works to meet each thrust. “I’m yours, Maxim. Always yours.” A growl rips from the back of his throat. He drives forward again, smooth and unyielding, sinking his thick cock all the way inside my pussy until his hips press firmly against the back of my thighs. My head falls back, and a loud piercing scream of pleasure tumbles from my lips and echoes over the quiet water. The stretch is intense, full, and overwhelmingly deep, filling every aching inch of me that has been starving for him.

“God, you feel so good,” he grumbles, his jaw clenching tightly as he holds himself buried inside me, his muscles trembling under the effort of his restraint. “So tight… so wet. I missed you so fucking much, Lana.”

He begins to really move. Slowly at first, pulling almost all the way out until just the tip remains inside my slick heat, before plunging back in with a heavy thrust that makes the whole couch creak beneath us. I wrap my legs tighter around his waist, pulling him deeper, needing every single inch he can give me.

“Faster, Maxim,” I plead, my voice breathless and trembling, my fingers tangling in his windswept hair. “Please… faster.” I don’t have to beg for long. His hands slide beneath my hips, lifting my lower body slightly off the cushion to adjust the angle, and he ramps up the speed into a faster, harder, and unrelenting drive. Every thrust hits a deep, precise place inside me that sends electric shocks of pleasure straight up my spine, making my entire body shudder in his arms.