He brought the tips of her fingers to his mouth and bit down gently, enjoying the way her eyes went wide and goose bumps leapt over her skin. She could take away every nightmare and replace them with her. Her laughter. Her wide-eyed wonder. Her generosity and compassion.

“I absolutely intend to use every weapon in my arsenal to seduce you into choosing me for your lifelong partner. I’m not fucking around with you. I mean to do exactly what I’m telling you, so be warned.”

Another shiver went through her body and her long lashes fluttered. “Unfortunately, I think you’re up to the task.”

His smile started somewhere deep as he quirked one eyebrow at her. “Unfortunately?”

“Yes, unfortunately. That means whenever you want your way, you’re going to get it. That makes you spoiled.”

“Think of all the pleasure you’re going to have when I’m seducing you to get my way.”

She gave a little shake of her head. “You’re impossible. You have not one iota of remorse, do you?”

“Nope. Not if anything I do ensures I have you with me.”

Azelie laughed. The sound hit him right in his heart. His chest ached and he rubbed his palm over the spot. He leaned in to take her mouth. That perfect mouth that sent roaring flames down his throat. That could be sweet with strawberries and honey or fiery like whiskey. No matter how reluctant her brain was feeling in that moment, when his lips touched hers, she gave him everything. Surrendered completely.

He lifted her and carried her right back to the bed. He needed to be inside her, connected with her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, all the while giving him her mouth. Somewhere in between taking off what little clothing she was wearing and stripping himself as well, as he kissed his way down her body, he realized she was giving him another gift. She had concerns about the two of them, about him. What he was. Why he was with her. Valid concerns. She’d decided no sex until she felt more comfortable with who he was, yet she was giving him this. It wasn’t because of his expertise; it was because she knew he needed her.

Bog, his woman. He understood how the men in his club could become total pussies when it came to their women. Azelie could rip out his heart anytime she wanted. He didn’t fuck her. He made love to her, making every single touch, every stroke, count. He wanted her to feel his love. Feel everything he felt for her.

“Do you understand, Solnyshkuh? Do you know what I’m saying to you?”

He threaded his fingers through hers and pinned her hands to the mattress on either side of her head as he moved in her. Long, slow, burning strokes. Each time he surged into her, fire raced up his spine and spread through his belly.

Azelie had tears in her eyes. Her teeth bit into her lower lip, and she nodded, not taking her gaze from his. He felt as if he were looking into her soul. Into the very essence of who she was. He saw her, this miracle that had been handed to him in the worst of circumstances.

“I understand what love is for the first time in my life.” He kept moving, giving them both that slow-burning fire that seemed to roll them both in flames. Burning them together. Welding them until the ties were woven so tight, they would never loosen.

“Andrii,” she whispered his name, her fingers tightening in his. Her blue eyes looking directly into his. She never winced from the raw intimacy. She held his gaze, allowing her to look inside him, just as he was looking into her.

“I mean it, Azelie. You’ve given me what I never had before, not one time, not from anyone. My brothers and sisters love me in their way. They’re just as screwed up as I am. Victor tried to tell me. Hell, even Savin, a brother, tried to warn me I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about half the time. I just couldn’t get it. I didn’t feel it, until you.”

Maestro kissed her chin, nipped with his teeth, and then lifted his body enough to once again look into her eyes. “All the beauty that is Azelie Vargas is mine. All for me. Never had a fucking thing worthwhile until I bought my first motorcycle.”

All the while he murmured to her, his body glided, cock pulsing with his heartbeat, surrounded by her. “I don’t ever have experiences like this,” he murmured, unable to look away from her blue gaze. “Never believed in heaven, baby. Lived in hell.”

“Honey.”

The blue deepened in her eyes, showing him more of the emotion she felt for him. Crazy. Impossible. He wasn’t worth it. He never would be. He knew himself. He knew the results of lifelong betrayal were ingrained in him, a part of his makeup. He would forever be looking, maybe unconsciously, but no matter how hard he tried—and he’d try—he would fuck up and accuse her of things she didn’t do.

He loathed himself. His tendency to mistrust everyone. His inability to understand his brethren when they consistently gave in to their women in situations Maestro deemed too dangerous. He’d never been hesitant about voicing his opinion, one that he now understood was absurd. Still, he would always need Azelie to listen to him when it came to matters of her safety.

He heard himself groan, and the affection in her gaze deepened even more.

“Didn’t know angels were real. Met a few good women when my brothers found the ones for them, but I still didn’t get it.”

“I’m no angel.” Her voice was breathless. Gasping. The slow burn was turning into a wildfire for the both of them. Her fingers locked tighter in his. “You want me to see you as you are, you need to see the reality of me.”

He was looking at the reality. Feeling her. Seeing her. She just didn’t see herself the way he did. The fire was burning out of control, and he couldn’t stop his body from reacting. Glides turned to surges. Hot streaks of lightning arcing between them.

Her lips parted. Lashes fluttered, concealing that look of heated desire mixed with the look he craved. Needed. Would give his last breath to see.

“Look at me, baby. Keep looking at me.” He made it an order.

Her lashes lifted instantly, her gaze meeting his. He knew she would give him what he asked for. That was Azelie and why she was so perfect for him.

“You’re my angel, perfection to me,” he said. “Mine. Made for me.”

With every powerful surge of his hips, her body rose to meet his. It felt as if she had been made for him, that they fit exactly. Every movement built the fire higher. Sent streaks of flames and vivid sparks of electricity rushing through his bloodstream. Looking into her eyes made for an even more intimate experience.

“Then you’re mine,” she whispered back.

His heart clenched hard in his chest. She had no idea how completely and utterly hers he was. Then it was impossible to talk. He couldn’t think. The beauty of the experience and the overwhelming pleasure robbed him of his ability to do anything but get lost in her body. He took her much harder now, rocking them both.

“Not yet,” he bit out, not wanting to lose the miracle of her body. Of their physical connection. He kept moving through the hot, slick silk, so tight he was strangled. A vise that clamped down like the tightest fist imaginable, stroking and squeezing, a fiery tango that had his cock jerking and pulsing as he drove into that scorching heat.

There was no holding back a wildfire, not when it burned so hot and out of control. They started slow but ended up consumed by the flames. Maestro collapsed over her, his body entirely blanketing hers. She felt small and utterly feminine, her heart wild, her body rippling with aftershocks as they both fought for air.

He was too heavy to blanket her the way he was, but it didn’t stop him from sinking his teeth into her shoulder, marking her and then soothing the small bite with his tongue. Her body reacted with another rolling aftershock, gripping his cock, giving him more of her paradise.

It took effort to withdraw, the movement sending another wave of shuddering pleasure through him. He rolled off her, keeping one arm around her waist to hold her to him.

“Damn, baby, any better and I’m not going to survive.”

He got her soft laughter, a little breathless, but that only added to the music. His gaze moved possessively over her face. “So beautiful. Bog. I look at you. I’m surrounded by you. I still can’t believe you’re real.”

“I could pinch you,” she offered.

The laughter in her blue gaze was contagious. That in itself was beautiful to him. That he could have these moments of intimacy mixed with humor and fun shocked him.

“I’d much rather you kiss me.”

“Kissing you gets me in trouble,” she pointed out, sounding more amused than ever.

“I think it’s the other way around.” He gave her the truth, although he was certain she didn’t understand. That was perfectly fine with him. He didn’t need her to know she would always have all the power in their relationship.

“You’re going to have to go. I’m not moving,” Azelie told him. “I would love for you to stay and chat, but I’m too tired. I’m going to just lie here and contemplate what an idiot I am for letting you distract me from our meaningful conversation.”

He lifted an eyebrow at her. “We were having a meaningful conversation? Really? I thought you were attempting to find reasons not to be with me.”

The blue of her eyes softened, amusement mixing with the beginnings of love. She wasn’t all the way in yet. Reservations were still there, but that only affirmed his judgment that she was intelligent. Despite the overwhelming chemistry and the pull between them, because of her nature and his, she was still struggling with self-preservation. She understood he was totally fucked up and would, at times, be hell to live with.

“I don’t have to find reasons not to be with you; just your views on punishment are enough to make me run the opposite way,” she murmured. “Fortunately for you, I’m too tired to move.”

He laughed. Not a smirk or a smile, an actual laugh. He wound his arm around her waist and tugged until her body was tight against his. “That is fortunate. I’m not leaving tonight. I think spending the night right here is best. That way whenever your fucked-up mind tells you I’m not good for you, I can kiss that thought away.”

She giggled. It was a real girlish giggle that sent little sparks of joy streaking through him. He hadn’t realized how much he needed laughter and joy in his life. It felt as if she gave him gift after gift.