In a Broken Dream (The Broken Series Book 4) (20 page)

He
broke the kiss, pushed my shoulders back toward the bed, and held my hips in
place, forcing me to remain on my knees. His fingers dug into my hips as he slammed
inside of me. Rafael wasn’t making love, he was staking his claim, demanding my
submission in a very brutal way.

This
was exactly what I wanted.
“Yes,” I cried. My hands fisted in
the duvet. I wanted Rafael,
and only Rafael
, to own me in this way. I wondered
if he knew or if he simply needed this too.

“You’re
mine,” he repeated. He slammed inside of me again and again.

My
body wound tighter and tighter, then suddenly exploded. Rafael drove inside of
me one last time. A second orgasm swept through me as he pulsed, then flooded
me with heat.

I
collapsed onto the bed when he released me. He rolled me over and immediately reclaimed
his position inside of me. We made love, slowly this time. He gently caressed
my breasts, my arms, and face as he began moving deep inside of me. There were
no hard thrusts, only soft, silky ones as he kissed my hands, my face, and neck.
He captured and held my eyes when he found the sweet spot. He slowed, ensuring
every inch of every stroke kept us lingering along that edge of intense
pleasure, until we both neared the breaking point.

“Now,”
I pleaded breathlessly.

He
slowed even more. “Who am I?” he asked.

I
stilled, uncertain as to why he’d ask such a ridiculous question. “What?”

“Say
my name,” he demanded.

“Rafael,”
I replied. My toes curled when he thrust inside of me. Every nerve ending
sparked as my body sought release.

“Again,”
he insisted.

“Rafael,”
I breathed.

My
back arched as he slammed inside of me.

“Rafael,”
I cried instinctively.

He
thrust hard and fast, spilling inside of me when I shattered in his arms.

Rafael
kissed the inside of my wrists while he watched and waited for my breathing to
slow. The sensation caused my nipples to harden. My body clamped down on his as
desire shot through me once more. He remained buried inside of me as he rolled over
and positioned me on top of him.

He
completely consumed my breasts, then stared with lust filled eyes as I rode
this storm on top of him. He forced a slow, steady pace when he took control of
my hips. My head fell back as I relinquished
everything
. My thoughts
turned carnal when I saw his muscles tense beneath me. I pinned his hands above
his head and ground my hips into his until he lost control… until he
surrendered
everything
.

Rafael
rolled me beneath him and took me three more times before we drifted off to
sleep. He repeated the process all over again the next morning, that afternoon
and evening, the next morning, and long into the third night. Rafael owned me,
body and soul, by the time it was over. He left eight love bites on my neck,
six on my breasts, one on my wrist, and two on my thigh to prove his ownership.
I was insanely sore but blissfully happy to have a sex life again.

Shae
and I were sitting at my favorite Starbucks waiting for Dr. Sandstrom to
arrive. I was nursing a grande triple skinny caramel macchiato. She was drinking
a bottle of blackberry flavored water. “Did Dr. Sandstrom say why he wanted to
meet here?” I asked. I inhaled deeply, savoring the musky scent of freshly
ground coffee.

Shae
snagged another chair from a table that had just been vacated, then dropped back
into her seat. “He said he was up to his eyeballs in grad students and needed
to get away.”

“Aren’t
we considered grad students?” I inquired jokingly. I relaxed into my seat. I
was keenly aware of the fact that the chairs were wood and not metal, as they
had been in Ukraine.

She
shrugged. “I think he was referring to the newbies. Besides, he’s been treating
us more like colleagues ever since we returned from Ukraine.” Shae glanced at
the door when it swung open, then locked in on my scarf. “What’s up with the
scarf?”

My
cheeks heated. “Apparently, Rafael felt he needed to mark his territory now
that Maxim’s in town.”

Shae
burst out laughing. “Rafael gave you a hickie?”

I
fingered the scarf, adjusting it self-consciously. “He gave me seventeen
hickies to be precise.”

Shae
choked on a mouthful of water. Her eyes teared when she cleared her throat. “Now
I know why you called in sick yesterday. I presume you two…”

I
nodded.

“And
everything’s working okay?” Shae stilled, and her breath caught, as if she were
afraid to hear my response.

I
smiled reassuringly. “Everything’s still working, shockingly enough.”

She
gaped at me. “Oh no you didn’t.”

My
lips hovered over the top of my coffee cup. “Didn’t what?”

She
set her bottled water on the table and glared at me. “You did not just say
‘shockingly’ when referring to your goodie bits.”

I
spewed coffee out my nose. “Goodie bits? What are
goodie bits
?” I choked
out in a fit of laughter.

Shae
folded her arms across her chest and arched a single eyebrow at me. Eventually,
she huffed out a breath and handed me a wad of napkins.

I
doubled over. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop laughing long enough to clean
my face up.

Shae
started cracking up. “I can’t believe you said ‘shockingly.’”

“Oh
my God,” I gasped as I mopped my face up. “We’ve got to be seriously brain
damaged to be laughing about this.” A strangled sound escaped from my chest
when my mind conjured up an image of Shae being tortured with the stun gun. I
stopped laughing. “I’m so sorry,” I groaned.

She
reached for my hand. “Me too,” she sighed. My pain was carved into her face when
our eyes locked.

The
coffee shop grew quiet. I tried to force my thoughts toward more pleasant topics.
“How’s Konstantin?” I finally asked.

Shae
sank back against her chair and slowly released her breath. “About as well as
can be expected. He’s limping, but he hasn’t done any physical therapy, so no
surprise there. He claims his head is fine, but he hasn’t undergone any testing
for the traumatic brain injury, aside from that initial CT scan. Konstantin is
stubborn, and he can’t be bothered to take care of himself.” She took another
swig of water. “He’s still blaming himself for what happened to us. Frankly, I
think he’s surprised Maxim didn’t kill him when he found out what the SVR had
done to you.”

I
thought about all the other people Maxim had killed. I was thankful he’d drawn
the line at Konstantin. “Maxim said Konstantin is thinking of moving to the
United States so he can live closer to you.”

Shae
nodded while quietly toying with her bottle of water. The gentle clanking of
metal spoons and coffee carafes followed the high pitched whine and hiss of the
espresso machine when a new wave of customers approached the counter.

I
waited for Shae to elaborate, but she didn’t. “Is he going to move here?”

Shae’s
eyes finally met mine. “I don’t know. I told him I’d like him to move here, but
I don’t want him working for the mafia, not in the United States.”

I
took a sip of coffee. “I think that was a very wise move.”

“He’s
worried he won’t be able to find a job outside the mafia. It’s not like he can
put his work history on a resume,” she noted sadly.

I
exhaled softly. “I’m sorry, Shae. I know how much you care about him. I imagine
it would be difficult for him to find a legitimate job, but working for the
mafia would put you both in danger. There’s got to be some way he can shore up
his resume so he can secure a different job.”

Dr.
Sandstrom burst into the coffee shop. His snow white hair was poking up in a
million different directions. His tie was askew and his suit jacket rumpled,
but his crisp blue eyes were sparkling. He waved on his way over to the
counter. He ordered a Caffè Americano before loosening his tie and joining us
at the table. “Ladies, I have wonderful news.”

My
breath caught. I’d just delivered Oni’s application materials to Dr. Sandstrom this
morning, before work. He couldn’t possibly have a decision. He’d had less than
a day… ten hours to be precise.

He
took a sip of coffee and dropped into the chair Shae had scrounged up for him. “I
have spoken with the dean, the provost, and the financial aid staff. We are
prepared to offer your friend, Oni, a full ride scholarship. She can begin winter
semester, assuming she’s prepared to start her coursework in January.” He took
a sip of coffee. “I’ll confess, you two got the short end of the stick. We
scored a new class and an exceptional young woman. Her academic record is
outstanding.”

We
nearly knocked the coffee out of his hand when we jumped up and threw our arms
around his neck. “Thank you, Dr. Sandstrom. Thank you so much,” we both gushed.

His
cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. Clearly, he was embarrassed by the group
hug. “Oh, please. I did nothing. We are very fortunate to have all three of you
ladies attending our university.”

“I
can’t wait to tell her,” I prattled excitedly. “Are you going to mail her
acceptance letter or should we have that hand delivered?”

Dr.
Sandstrom pulled an envelope from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. “I have
the acceptance letter and the financial aid offer right here.” He set the
envelope on the table.

I
stared at him in awe. “How did you accomplish all of this in one day?”

He
took a sip of coffee, stretched out his long legs, and grinned. “I didn’t. The
dean and provost approved this two weeks ago, pending final review of her
application materials. We’ve been working on the financial aid package ever
since.”

“Konstantin
isn’t leaving until Sunday. He can deliver the acceptance letter, unless you’d
prefer to go through Maxim,” Shae suggested thoughtfully.

I
shook my head. Hard. “Oh, no. I’m not about to owe Maxim for any more favors. You
should have Konstantin deliver the letter.”

Shae
glanced at me questioningly.

My
mouth snapped shut.

“Konstantin
it is then,” she replied with a sly smile. She was letting me off the hook. For
now.

* * * * *

“What
do you think of this one?” Cenia asked.

I
eyed the light blue gown. The cut was nice, but the color was all wrong. “Do
you really want a pastel for a November wedding?”

Cenia
looked thoughtful. “No, but I think we should stick with blue or green to match
the flowers in my dress.”

I
pulled another gown from the rack and briefly examined it. “Agreed. Not navy,
though. Navy is too dark.”

“What
about this one?” she asked.

I
fingered the royal blue taffeta gown. “This color would make the flowers in your
dress pop.” The dress was strapless, like Cenia’s wedding gown. The floor
length skirt was full, but not so full that it would knock anyone over. “I
really like the cut.”

“I
like this bow accent across the chest,” Cenia mused. “Do you think you’ll be
able to dance in this?”

I
examined the dress a bit more critically. “I don’t know. Maybe I should try it
on.”

Cenia
handed me the gown. “I’m going to keep looking. I’ll meet you back in the
dressing room.”

I
found an open room, stepped out of my clothes, and slid the gown over my head.
My breath caught when I saw my reflection in the mirror. The dress was truly
breathtaking. The ruche bodice made it look like miles of fabric had been cinched
around the chest, hips, and waist. The skirt was fitted in the front but flared
in the back, like a form fitting gown with a train. The cut was very
flattering.

“How
does it look?” Cenia asked from outside the door.

I
popped open the door, stepped into the hallway, and turned around. “Well? What
do you think?”

“What
the heck’s wrong with you?” Cenia exclaimed. She stared slack-jawed at my neck.

My
hand flitted to my chest. “Why? What…”

Cenia’s
eyes widened. “Are those
hickies
?”

Heat
flooded my cheeks. I’d been so busy admiring the dress, I had forgotten all
about them. “Yes,” I confessed.

She
spun me around. “My God! How many are there?”

I
cringed when she lifted my hair. “Seventeen.”

She
sucked in a breath. “Does that mean you…”

I
tried not to smile as I turned back around. “Yes.”

Her
eyes locked on mine. “And everything’s okay?”

I
grinned. “Better than okay.”

She
gave me a monstrous hug. “Thank God!” Cenia positioned me at arm’s length when
she released me. Her head tilted as she examined the gown. “I think the dress might
look better without the hickies.”