HIGHLANDER: The Highlander’s Surrender Bride (Scottish Alpha Male Pregnancy Romance) (22 page)

“Another revelation?”

“Yes,” she replied with a smile, “one of mine.”

His smile remained, becoming more inviting.  “We will still have our problems in the morning.”

“The morning can wait,” she said, her voice becoming breathless.

He dropped his vodka bottle carelessly upon the floor and bridging the gap between them once again and placed his mouth on hers with such fervor, such tenacity, that she fell over onto her pillows once again.  He stretched out on top of her, his hands planted on her shoulders before stretching out and seeking out her hands.

Their fingers interlocked and she again felt his strength, both in his fingers as they clenched tightly around her smaller ones and in his tongue as it probed the inside of her mouth.

Her lips parted invitingly, welcoming his tongue into her mouth.  His taste was sweet, even with the vodka on his breath.  The heavy drink still held a profound effect and she felt herself becoming drunk, but off of his kisses and the work of his tongue.

He pinned her against the bed and she tried to wrap her legs around him, but her sheets prevented her.  She felt like a fly, caught in a well-made spider’s web, unable to move and unable to escape the pressing feeling upon her.  Somehow, the feeling of helplessness added to her passion and a soft moan stirred within her mouth.

Encouraged by the muffled sound, Alexi began to kiss his way south.  His lips and tongue gently pecked at her chin… her neck… and slowing at her chest.  His hands freed hers and he brought them to the neckline of her silken night gown. 

With the kind of power she would expect a god to have he ripped the garment cleanly down the middle, reducing it to worthlessness.  Not that she cared… she would have sacrificed a thousand expensive sleeping gowns to witness a display of that kind of power. 

Her breasts, freed from the confinement of the silk, his mouth resumed its course.  His lips and tongue tasted each of her nipples in turn.  His tongue traced lazy circles around her areolas.  Her breasts were not large but she reveled in how he took his time exploring every inch of them with his tongue.

Lightly, he traced invisible lines to the narrow valley between her breasts as he adjusted himself on the bed, licking his way down to her belly and beyond.  When he came to the hemline of her panties again, with godlike strength, he ripped the obstacle from his path.  Were he truly a god she would have thought that this is how women prayed to him and she would gladly have offered herself at his altar.

In a move that surprised her, he picked her up from off of the bed as though she weighed nothing at all, hooking her legs over his shoulders, and he planted his mouth upon her most sensitive of places.  She felt the heat of his mouth rush through her and once more the idea of Alexi Romanov being likened to a volcano filled her mind for but an instant.  It was as if his mouth had become a lava tube and she was the vessel that housed the warmth he offered.

Despite her posture she felt herself buck as his tongue slipped inside of her.  He expertly explored her inside… the tip of tongue taking careful time with her labia… her mons… all of it was subject to the demands his mouth made and she happily accepted it.  Her back curled until only the tip of her head was resting on her mattress, her ruined nightgown slipped from her body as her arms stretched out looking for something to grab a hold of.  But all she managed to find was air, empty and unwilling to give her balance as Alexi lifted her further from off of the bed with ease. 

Regina felt as if she were flying with her arms flailing almost wildly about.  Her form wouldn’t have carried her but that did not negate the fact that she felt as if she were climbing higher and higher into the air even now.  Not even the thick walls of these living quarters or even the iron gates beyond those could have kept her in. 

“Alexi… Alexi…” she moaned softly, trying to both praise and caution him as he went about his task.  Already she could feel the tides of her passion rising to dangerous levels inside of her.

The men she had bedded before had never been like this.  There had been nights when loneliness and a desire to be reminded that she was still alive and young had driven her to seek companionship.  Sometimes she found willing partners at the office; once or twice had been with a friend whom she had made an arrangement… but never with a client.  Though the lawyer’s code of ethics forbade this kind of intimacy she didn’t care. 

Her body drooped until the world seemed upside down to her.  Her thickly braided hair pooled on the mattress and she found space to put her hands down flatly upon the bed as if doing some kind of a yoga headstand.  Still, Alexi’s tongue worked frantically within her sex, as if he were trying to dig buried treasure from within her. 

Then it happened.

The lava that he had been filling her with reached its maximum point before erupting inside of her.  Like a mini volcano she felt herself explode deep in her core, heat and passion mixed with each other for dominance and she lost control of her voice.  All that managed to escape from her mouth was wordless sound that only bespoke of pleasure.

Alexi freed his mouth from her and gingerly he set her back upon the mattress as if she might shatter if he did not.  Her legs trembled and her toes felt numb, but the sensation was amazing.  More amazing still was Alexi as she witnessed him slip his thumbs inside the waistline of his sleeping trousers and pull them down.

Inch by inch she reveled in the sight, even though only the moonlight showed her everything that she had been craving.  Finally, he revealed his manhood and she saw that that was just as hard as the rest of him. 

As if she were about to touch some sacred idle she put out her hand and gently stroked him.  His eyes fluttered at her touch and she savored the sight of him like that.  His body trembled under her hand with every stroke until he fell forward, landing on all fours as her palm slid slowly over his delicate flesh.

“It’s been so long…” he gasped softly.

She reclined back upon her pillows and he followed her down and pried her legs gently apart.  Her body tensed and moistened with the anticipation of his touch as he settled his weight upon her.  Her head was still reeling from her first climax as he slipped inside of her, once more stirring the swirl of orgasm in her mind.  Again, the lava he’d given her began to boil anew.  He was hard and strong and he stirred his hips, touching her in all of the right places both within and without.

“Yes… yes… yes…” she panted as he began to thrust inside of her, her words keeping pace with his movements.  He brought her to silence as he put his mouth upon hers.

Her arms attempted to encircle him but failed, his shoulders were too wide.  Her fingers brushed up and down the flanks of his torso, like a farmer plowing his fields.  She felt the hardness in the muscles of his abs, his chest, his back, and even the taught muscles of his buttocks. 

Her body began to crest with sweat as his thrusts became more and more intense and she felt beads of perspiration forming along his flanks as well.  She ran her hands through his hair, ruining what had been neatly combed there.  Her actions drove him to greater fervor.

He penetrated her so deeply that it felt as if he was trying to reach her very mind through their union.  She could already feel some of her higher brain function on the wane, enveloped by the craving for more and more of what Alexi had to offer.

He separated their kiss and lightly licked at the sides of her neck.  A small sound of pleasure reached her ears as he did so and she rejoiced at his attention.  She could feel him throbbing both within and without and the power made her feel more and more vulnerable.  She was an insect captured by the power of a Titan and the power he commanded simply demanded her compliance.

His mouth once again found its way to hers and she could taste the musk of their union on his lips.  Her tongue slipped over his lips this time and she delighted in probing the recesses of his mouth.  His enthusiasm did not diminish and more to her surprise, his thrusting took on new and greater fervor than before. 

Her fluids began to surge, nearing their peak for the second time.  She moaned at its approach and felt her fingers digging into Alexi’s shoulders.  Her fingers clutched so tightly that she was frightened that she might yet draw blood.  But he didn’t seem to mind as they continued to dance the most ancient and primal of partnerships.

His thrusts deepened… her legs spread to accommodate his motions… he pumped four… nine… eleven more times… then held.  She felt a small yelp build up inside of her that she managed to catch in her throat, a soundless scream formed on her face as the end result finally held, overcoming them both.

She tried counting the seconds that the sensation lasted, losing count somewhere around four or five before her senses became too befuddled to even count straight as her body became awash in the aftershock of her own personal inner earthquake.  Her breathing came back to her and her legs trembled once more with the sensation of what she could only have described as earth shattering.

“Oh, god…” she managed to whisper.

Alexi pushed himself up, resting on his elbows and looking down at her.  His face was beaded with sweat and in the darkness he still looked radiant.  “Sorry…” he whispered back, sounding lightly breathless himself.

“For what?”

He licked his lips.  “I… I should have done much better.”  She wasn’t certain in the darkness, but it looked as if he could have been blushing.  “I suppose I have been too long without a woman.”

Despite the reasons he had come to her, she felt a surge of victory within her.  “You haven’t forgotten much, Alexi.  I’d give you highest marks.”  She chuckled, “Although… if anyone finds out about this, I could be disbarred.”

Alexi chuckled this time and gently kissed her lips.  “This is a Russian embassy.  You cannot violate the laws of your country
here
.”

A technicality
, she realized, but despite that she laughed and kissed him back. 

They held their embrace for a few moments before Alexi withdrew himself from inside of her and rolled upon her bed beside her.  She nestled herself in the pit of his arm, lightly kissing his chest.

“Do you mind if I stay here tonight?”

She beamed at him.  She hadn’t minded sharing her body, but there was always something appealing in sharing her space afterwards.  The appeal held that she had never really done it before.  All of her previous partners had been quick to leave for whatever reason and she hadn’t tried to stop them.  But Alexi… he was a detainee here in this embassy.  Where was he going to disappear to? 

Even so, there was something special in keeping Alexi with her for the remainder of the night… and the thought of sharing it with him didn’t sound at all bad.  She looked to her bedside clock…
Jesus! Did all of that really happen in just over an hour? 
Whatever the case, she was happy to have him here for as long as she could manage it.  “Really?  Won’t it look strange if you leave here in the morning in nothing but your trousers?”

He smiled.  “No… this is a private wing.  Yuri will know where I am and he will collect me before anyone can become suspicious.”

She nodded, comfortable with the arrangement.  “Sure… if you like.”

He gently kissed her forehead.  “You really are the best at what you do.”

“Next time… I’ll try and do better too.”

He chuckled as he encircled her with one arm.  “Oh… you plan on us doing this again, do you?”

“Unless you don’t want to?”

He gently stroked the side of her face.  “I would not be adverse to the idea,” he said fondly.  But then his expression soured, becoming more solemn.  “But my future may not permit it… unless…” He paused.

“Unless what?”

He didn’t respond at once, but shook his head.  “It doesn’t matter.  It is something that can wait until morning.”

They didn’t speak again, but settled together with his arm around her and her head resting on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart. 

Regina was content to live in the moment and simply savor the intimacy that she had been fortunate enough to share.  But even as she lay there, the sweat drying from off of her body, Alexi’s words echoed in her mind.

She was the best at what she did… which was winning cases that seemed unwinnable.  And she had no idea how she was going to pull this one off.  The thought was still bouncing around in her head until finally sleep claimed her. 

Chapter 8

When she opened her eyes the next morning, Regina noted right away that Alexi was gone.  His sleeping trousers had vanished, as had the bottle of vodka he had brought with him the night prior.  She looked to her alarm clock and found that she still had at least twenty minutes before the alarm was to go off. 

Was I dreaming?

She sat up and noticed that she was still quite naked and the ruined remains of her sleeping gown and panties sat idly on the floor.  Both were proof enough that she had not imagined the passions she’d had from the previous night.  And her body still had that same tenderness that she associated with afterglow.  A smile touched her face at the thought of it.  She supposed that she should have been a little insulted to wake and find Alexi gone, but somehow his disappearance didn’t bother her in the slightest.  She would be seeing him soon enough anyway.

Then her eyes fell upon a note, written in Russian on her bedside table.  She gathered it up and chuckled at the small and simple missive that had been left for her.

Court is at 8:00. Don’t be late.  I need you.

- A

She smiled at the message and quickly bounded for the shower.  She could not clean and dress herself fast enough for a desire to get ready for court.  She washed away all traces of musk that had followed her from last night and put on the best of the dress suits that she had brought with her. 

She was half dressed when she exited the shower and found a surprise waiting for her.  A breakfast cart had been brought in while she was cleaning up.  It was laden with porridge, potatoes, and a small serving of meat that smelled like pork and a pitcher of chilled orange juice. 

She swallowed her breakfast, brushed her teeth, and gathered up all of her legal materials after she finished dressing and for the first time since last night she began to think over how she was going to save Alexi.  She found new motivations for pursuits from last night and she found that they carried her to new heights of thinking.

She checked her watch and found that she had ten minutes to arrive at the court room and was quick to make her way there, motivated by professionalism as much as…
What?  Love?  Lust?
 

She wasn’t sure.  She contemplated it on the elevator ride up to the court room as to what it was that she had done.  With her sexual appetite sated for the moment she had the advantage of clearer thinking.  Was she in love with Alexi?  Logic dictated that she couldn’t be after only one night.  But somehow, that didn’t
feel
right.  Was it lust then?  No… that didn’t seem right either.  Lust had never left her wanting more.  This was something else… something more profound…

I’ll have time to figure it out later.

Her thoughts were shut down completely when the elevator bell chimed and she stepped off into the familiar hall containing all of the doors marked with court rooms or judge’s chambers.  She found the proper court room and stepped inside and found that it was empty, save for Alexi standing beside the same table as yesterday, talking to Yuri in hushed tones. 

He had cleaned up again, and handsomely, she noted.  His hair was combed and though he still had the same kind of appeal he’d had last night, she noticed that there was something different about him.  There was something… serious… in the way he looked.

As she drew nearer she could hear Alexi whispering to Yuri and was only able to catch the tail end of their conversation.  And from the sound of things, it was not a pleasant one.

“…is madness, Alexi!”
Yuri said with a tone that rang of life-and-death urgency to her ears.

“Just see it done,”
Alexi replied smoothly. 
“You’re the only one that I can trust with this, Yuri.  And you are the logical choice.”

Yuri registered her arrival as she stepped in behind the table and gave her a sharp and piercing looking before looking back to Alexi.

“Can I count on you?”
Alexi whispered to his oldest friend.

Yuri’s shoulders shrank as he let out a deep breath. 
“Are you certain?”
he asked resignedly.

Alexi replied with a nod.

Yuri again gave another deep breath. 
“Then I shall… for you.”

Alexi smiled and patted his large friend on the shoulder. 
“Thank you, Yuri.”

With that, Yuri turned and urgently left the court room, not sparing a look back as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialing and number before disappearing through the doors. 

She looked to Alexi, “Is everything alright?”

Alexi nodded.  “Yes.  Business is all.”

She nodded back.  “Alright, listen… I was thinking about today.  And I think I have some ideas about how to put reasonable doubt in Utkin’s mind to get you acquitted.  Now it won’t be easy, but I was thinking about what you told me about the…”

“Regina,” he said, putting a hand up and silencing her with two of his fingers upon her lips.  The simple gesture held tremendous power, she noticed.  “I have full confidence in you…”

The doors to the court room opened and she turned to see Abram walking in, a look of determined malice on his face.  Surrounding him was an air of confidence – perhaps it was more of a certainty – that gave her a fresh chill about the hearing to come. 

“… but I have a plan,” he added quietly, withdrawing his fingers.  “And I will need your support when the time comes.”

She didn’t have time to ask what he meant.  The door to the judge’s chamber opened and she saw Utkin come strolling in, adorned in the same garb as he had been the day before. 

He settled into his chair and regarded both her, Alexi, and then Abram. 
“Be seated,”
he said. 

They sat as the judge flipped open his notes and reviewed what was written there before looking back to them. 
“Mr. Fyodorov, you may now make your opening statement.”

Before Abram could speak, Alexi surprised her by rising to his feet. 
“Your honor, if I may be heard?”

Regina felt a bolt of fear shoot through her as he did so and she quickly tried to silence him, but he waved her off.

“Mr. Romanov, this is my court room… I will not have you turn it into one of your business meetings,”
Utkin said, his voice ringing with warning. 
“We will observe the proper procedures for…”

“If you will indulge me, your honor, I can save Mr. Fyodorov some effort and I can also save you precious time.  I would like to confess my crimes and bring this matter to a close,”
Alexi said matter-of-factly. 
“That
is
what you were most interested in, was it not, your honor?”

Utkin’s face was blank and Regina spared a quick look to Abram’s face and saw a look of complete surprise on his features as well, though he still looked smug.  Her mind began to reel again for the second time in as many days, though the first time had been in bed with Alexi.  She would have preferred that. 

The judge leaned forward in his chair and stared across the room at Alexi as if his gaze could have turned men to stone. 
“Mr. Romanov… just to be clear… you are in fact admitting to your crimes?”

She tapped at Alexi’s flank and whispered furiously, “Alexi, what’re you doing?”

He silenced her with a gentle clasp her hand.  To the judge he said,
“I am admitting that I have a connection to my business dealings, your honor… but whether or not I am guilty of any crime… that is for you to say.”

Regina began to rise in her seat, but Alexi put a firm hand on her shoulder and pushed her back into it.  The strength that he did so hurt her shoulder but she felt the urgency in his action more.  From it she was able to understand a simple truth;
He knows what he’s doing
. 

Every fiber of her professional mind warned her to prevent this from happening.  But somehow, she felt the insistence in his grip that the best course of action that she could do was to remain quiet. 

“For the record, your honor,”
Alexi went on,
“what I have to say is going against my council’s advice.”

“Noted,”
the judge said, scribbling on his notepad. 
“Now, what do you have to say, Mr. Romanov?”

Alexi took a deep breath. 
“Your honor… Mr. Fyodorov represents parties that have stated that I am guilty of swindling… stealing… perhaps one might even say embezzling.  Perhaps I am in the eyes of those that have something to lose.”

Regina stayed quiet, listening and watching.

“That I am guilty of something, I suppose is true.  But the severity of the crime that they are accusing me of does not match their hatred for me.”

“Mr. Romanov…
,” the judge said, holding up a hand to silence him,
“I would recommend that your attorney in this matter be the one to offer these words.  Perhaps you have not thought this matter through clearly.”

Alexi nodded. 
“My attorney is not aware of the true severity of my crimes your honor.  And I’m sure that you’re well aware of whom Mr. Fyodorov represents and what it is that they require you to perform on their behalf.”

The judge’s face turned red and Regina feared for a heartbeat that he might actually explode.  She gripped the armrests of her chair nervously. 

“Mr. Romanov!”
the judge barked.

“If I may…”
Alexi went on,
“I know that the old system of life has not been entirely done away with.  There is a way you can provide them what they ask for and serve justice simultaneously.”

The judge’s face remained red, but Regina noticed a curious twitch of his eye.  He seemed to regard Alexi carefully, as if weighing his words for any sign of deception.  Finding none, he relaxed his chair a little. 
“What do you have in mind, Mr. Romanov?”

Abram chose that moment to speak up. 
“Your honor, if I may be heard?”
he asked fretfully. 
“I would like to go on record…”

“No, Mr. Fyodorov… I would very much like to hear what the defendant has to say… irregular as this may be.”
  He looked to Alexi,
“Proceed.”

Alexi straightened his tie. 
“I am aware that those who are baying for my blood would very much like to see me returned to Russia… mostly to satisfy their own ends.  And at some point I will likely be found dead drowning myself in numerous bottles of vodka if they are feeling generous.”

“Your honor…” Abram began to object.

“Silence please, Mr. Fyodorov,”
the judge said, his tone a bit more relaxed. 
“Continue, Mr. Romanov…”

“I would very much like to continue living as much as the opposition would like to see their money returned.  I’m prepared to do so… just not on their terms.”

Utkin arched a curious eyebrow.

Alexi gestured over his shoulder at the court room doors. 
“I have just sent my trusty friend, Yuri, to see to the dispensation of funds to the parties in question whom I have apparently mishandled.  Very shortly, the interested parties in this case will find that three-times the money that they lost will be returned to their accounts.”

“Your honor…”
Abram said, again trying to speak up.

“And
all
of it will be coming from my private financial account,”
Alexi interrupted. 
“And this is half of what Mr. Fyodorov was sent to achieve, is it not?”

Regina felt a shock shoot through her heart.  She wasn’t aware of what Alexi’s assets were in total, but she could do the math in her head well enough to know that such a gambit could ruin him financially.  Not to mention that $5 billion had been earmarked for her firm and if she failed to deliver… she felt a shudder at what Carver would do.

“It is,”
the judge said, silencing Abram with a look. 
“And I’m certain that the interested parties would be satisfied with a settlement that large.”
  He gave Alexi a stern look,
“But this is not
all
that they require in order for justice to be served.  The interests of the people – all of them – must be served.”

“I am aware of that your honor.  My actions, though illegal, have also seen the building of new schools… proper highways… facilities meant to keep our people from freezing to death when winter returns.  My assistant, Yuri, is also seeing to it that the persons Mr. Fyodorov represents will get credit for their “donations” to see these structures built.  Surely it could not hurt them to show a little respect for the people whom they labor to serve?”

Utkin took that in and Regina also noticed that even Abram seemed to be mulling that idea over favorably in his mind.  His face even lit with an unexpected smile, as if he had just discovered some wonderful bonus for his efforts.

“No… it wouldn’t hurt their reputations at all,”
the judge said favorably. 
“That still leaves the problem of your extradition, Mr. Romanov.  Federal requests dictate that the matter is to be handled.”