Page 95 of Break Me Open
“Very,” I confirm. My mouth hovers over his. “U tebya krasivyye guby.”You have beautiful lips.
He laughs under his breath. “You say that like you’re evaluating me.”
“I am,” I murmur, kissing him slowly. He groans quietly, his grip tightens on my ass. I grin against his mouth and keep going, because this is easy.
This is safe.
“Mne nravitsya tvoya zadnitsa,”I like your ass.I add, in a low and teasing tone.
“Oh?” he asks, sounding amused. “That one sounded promising.”
“It was,” I say smugly, rocking my hips just enough to make him suck in a breath. I should stop; my brain is loose,warm, and entirely unguarded. My forehead drops to his; he’s smiling up at me, his eyes a little unfocused.
And then I say it.
The three words I can’t ever take back.
“Ya tebya lyublyu.”I love you. Caiden doesn’t laugh, and the moment stretches. He doesn’t react at all, in fact, not at first. His hands are still, and his breath catches, as if something unexpected brushed past him. I feel it then. A hitch in the air. A wrongness that makes me pull back slightly. “What?” I ask.
He blinks slowly, like he’s questioning something.“Hmm?” he says lightly. “Sounded intense.” He doesn’t say anything else; he pulls me in and kisses me deeply.
Then he breaks the kiss and rips me open. “Ya tozhe tebya lyublyu.”I love you too.The world drops out from under me. My hands lock up first, still pressed against his chest under his shirt, then my brain just... stalls, like someone yanked the power cord.
I stare at him because what the fuck? Then I’m kissing him hard and messily. He laughs softly into it, surprised, and it only makes me kiss him harder. I don’t know what I’m trying to prove — that he meant it. That I didn’t imagine it. That he can’t take it back. All of the above?
His hands come up; his thumbs brush my jaw; it’s so gentle in a way that makes my heart skip.
“Krasivyy.”Beautiful, he murmurs against my mouth. I make a sound that’s halfway between a groan and a laugh and kiss him again, deeper this time, slower, like my body is trying to catch up with what my head still can’t process.
I break the kiss, laugh, and knock my forehead into his because I’ve lost all spatial awareness and most of my dignity.
“Ty durak.”You’re an idiot,he murmurs fondly.
I freeze.“What?” I say hoarsely. He pulls back just enough to look at me. His expression isn’t teasing; it’s open, warm, and completely unafraid.
“My beautiful idiot,” he says gently.
My hands are tight in his shirt, and I drop my forehead to his shoulder because suddenly my neck won’t hold my head up anymore. I stay there, breathing unevenly, if I lift my face, something is going to spill out that I don’t know how to put back.
“You weren’t supposed to know,” I mutter into his collarbone. His hand slides slowly up my back, and I breathe out a long, shaky breath. Then I pull back to look at him again. I feel stripped, no armour left. Just... me. “You understood,” I say.
“Da,” he whispers, kissing me again, softly.
“You’ve been learning?” I ask, breaking the kiss, trying to stay composed.
“Ochevidno.”Obviously.
“You said it back,” I say quietly, like I’m still checking the physics.
“I meant it.” I stare at him for another second, then I kiss him again. When I finally pull back, I rest my forehead against his; my eyes are still closed. “Fuck,” I whisper.
He smiles; his breath is warm against my mouth. “Yeah, fuck.”
“There’s a posting list,” I say, because my mouth has never learned when to stop. “It’s—” Caiden doesn’t let me finish. He catches my face in both hands and kisses me, physically interrupting the sentence. I make a noise of protest that dies immediately because his mouth is warm, sure, familiar, and I’m weak where he’s concerned.
“Don’t,” he murmurs against my lips. “Don’t do that.”
I frown. “Do what?”
