Lair of the Lion

hard peaks of desire, and her body ached with a curling heat she recognized.
    Nicolai walked around her, not touching her, simply looking, drinking her in, devouring her with his hot gaze. He gestured to the bed as he crossed to the bottle of wine sitting on her nightstand. "Go lie down." His voice was husky, a testament to his arousal. He poured himself a glass of wine and sat in the chair beside the fire.
    Isabella walked across the room, aware his eyes tracked her, aware of the sway of her hips, her breasts. She lay back, feeling more sensuous than she ever had in her life. He hadn't touched her, yet every part of her body was alive and pulsing with need.
    "Bend your knees and spread your thighs wide so I can see you, Isabella."
    She watched his face, the hunger etched there so deeply. She was bringing him pleasure, and it was as arousing to her as it was to him. Slowly she obeyed him, allowing the flickering light to shine between her legs, revealing the glistening invitation.
    Nicolai took a slow sip of wine, allowing it to trickle down his throat. She was so beautiful, so everything to him. "Feel your breasts, Isabella. I want you to know your body the way I know it. How perfect it is. Slide your hand down your belly and push your fingers deep inside yourself."
    He expected a shy protest, but Isabella had courage, and she wanted his pleasure as much as her own. She cupped the weight of her breasts in her palms, her thumbs sliding over her nipples. Her breath caught in her throat.
    Nicolai's breath caught in his. His body tightened to the point of pain. His gaze was riveted to her hands, to the beauty of her full, firm breasts spilling out of her palms. He watched as her fingers slid slowly over her curves, caressing her belly, the curve of her hip, then tangled in the tight curls of her mound. His lungs nearly exploded as her fingers disappeared inside her body, as his had often done.
    Her face was turned toward his, flushed with passion, pleasure heightening her beauty.
    He watched her until her breath was coming in short gasps and her body was quivering, until he could no longer stand to be apart from her. He stood up, set his wineglass down, and began to remove his clothing.
    Isabella lay back and watched him. He looked like a magnificent god, with the firelight stroking the hard angles and planes of his body, with his erection thrusting large and insistent toward her. Nicolai reached out, caught her wrist, and sucked her fingers into the hot, moist cavern of his mouth. Her entire body clenched.

    "Nicolai," she said softly, almost reverently.
    He knelt on the bed between her open legs. "There is no other like you, Isabella." He meant it, too. His head was roaring, his mind numb with need. His body was a fierce ache that felt as if it could never be assuaged. He was enormous, thick and hard and throbbing with urgency. He caught her hips and thrust hard, burying himself deeply with one desperate stroke. It was the most important thing in his world to take her, possess her, to love her to distraction.
    As he pumped his hips hard, guiding her hips with his hands, he watched her face, watched the play of the flickering firelight on her breasts. He watched their bodies come together in perfect accord. Her sheath was hot and tight and fit him as though she'd been made for him. She tilted her hips to take all of him, greedy for every inch, unashamed to show she wanted him the way he wanted her.
    He pounded into her, deep and hot, taking her higher and higher. He felt her body tighten, ripple, clench around his. She cried out, her fingers digging into his arms as she went over the edge. Nicolai kept his gaze glued to hers, woman to man, man to woman, even though his body was primitive with a lusting he'd never experienced. He thrust hard, stroke after stroke, keeping her pleasure so heightened that she was in tears, crying his name, pleading with him.
    When his release came, he poured into her, emptying himself completely. He slumped over her, kissing her breasts, sucking her nipples into his mouth so that her body continued to clench and spiral out of control. They lay together, hearts pounding, breathing hard.
    When he found he could move, he rolled to one side, easing his weight from hers, pulling her onto her stomach. Nicolai trailed his fingertips down the curve of her back. "Do you know what's so beautiful to me? I think of you all the time, the way you are, like this. So willing to let me love you any way I