Chapter Fourteen

He quickly shed his shorts. He watched her eyes travel over his body. She clearly liked what she saw.  She must not be a very good liar, he thought.  Her every thought was all over her face.  Her eyes lingered on his erection.  He watched her bite her lip and look up into his eyes.  She was so beautiful.  Maybe now was a good idea.  He crawled over her again, sliding between her legs and supporting his weight on his arms. She ran her hands up his arms onto his shoulders. She tugged on him gently and he leaned down to kiss her.  He liked how she ran her fingers up into his hair.  He liked how she sucked on his bottom lip after she kissed him.  He liked how she wrapped her legs around him.  He liked just about everything about her.  Most of all, he liked how bad she wanted him and she didn’t even know who Alexander Ovechkin was.

She slipped her hands under his arms and caressed his sides with her fingertips.

“No, that tickles,” he said grabbing her hand and smiling down at her. Her eyes lit up for a moment and he gave her a warning look.  He could see the decision not to pursue tickling him on her face.  He quickly kissed her again to prevent her from changing her mind.  He loved kissing her.  Once she decided she wanted him, she gave herself to him completely.  She didn’t seem to hold anything back. She was just as breathless as he was.  She bucked her hips up against him and he decided he’d waited long enough.

He pressed the tip of his penis against her.  She licked her lips and caught her breath as he slowly pushed inside her.  She felt so warm and tight around him. He heard her sigh or maybe it was him.  He kissed her again when he was fully inside her.  He definitely heard her whimper as he pulled back and thrust deeper.  She thrust her hips against him in rhythm with his.  He kissed down her neck and felt her back arch against him.  He slid back and forth slowly. She reached up and kissed him again.  He caressed the hair back from her forehead and followed the strands down across the pillow. Soft, it was so soft. Everything about her was so soft.  She looked up into his eyes again.  She constantly looked at him like he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.  She made him feel incredible.

He slid his hand across her side and up her thigh.  He pulled her knee forward and shifted his weight for better leverage.  He thrust faster.  

“Oh, Alex, don’t stop,” she cried as he quickened his pace. 

He grunted in answer and continued to pump in and out, faster and faster.  He released her knee and slid his hand down to her lower back.  He felt her dig her nails into his back.  It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but strong enough to send him over the edge.  His muscles seized up as his orgasm shook the both of them.  He thrust into her one last time as he bit down on her shoulder. He had the presence of mind not to actually hurt her, but just barely.  She whimpered against him. Her whole body was trembling.  He lay on top of her completely spent, doing his best to catch his breath.

“Alex,” she murmured and moaned. He felt her kisses on his cheek.  He mustered enough energy to kiss her again, softly.  She looked up into his eyes again with a contented smile on her face.  It was a very attractive smile.  He’d been happy to see that smile every minute of every day. 

“Zoey,” he whispered and nuzzled her neck. He felt her fingers travel through his hair again.  He shifted his weight to lay beside her and enveloped her in his arms. She snuggled in against his chest and he felt her sigh against him.  He caressed her hair again enjoying its softness.

They fell asleep together as the moonlight started to shine through the window.

Chapter Thirteen

She loved the sound of his laugh. It was deep and real and it made her heart leap in her chest. He was irresistible. It seemed she had no defense against the way he looked at her with those big blue eyes. Her better judgment kept screaming at her, you’ve only known him a little while, what are you doing?  Her body kept screaming, more, more, more!  He was kissing her again and her body was swimming with desire.  His gentle hands were so warm rubbing against her back. Her brain was losing the battle. His hands traveled down and cupped her buttocks. He pressed her down against him while grinding his hips upward. She could feel how hard he was beneath her.  He kissed her harder, more urgently.  She felt his hands travel back up to the string of her swim suit.  He pulled the tie.

“Zoey,” he whispered in her ear.

The war was over. The battle was lost.

She sat up, slowly, pressing her hands against his chest to keep her balance in the hammock. He held her hips to keep her steady. Her swim suit top fell away.  He ran his hands from her hips up to her full, round breasts.  He cupped them, gently squeezing. He ran his thumbs across her nipples, hard from the cool breeze and his touch.  He licked his lips and put his right hand on her back again pulling her too him and he sat up and teasingly licked her nipple.  She leaned over allowing him to lie back down and grabbed the sides of the hammock on either side of his shoulders.  He took turns kneading one breast with his large fingers as he suckled the other.  He took his time, continuously caressing her with his tongue until her breathing was so rapid, she was beginning to get lightheaded. He reached up to the back of her neck and pulled her down into a kiss again. She pressed her hips down against him and she heard his soft moan.  Her damp nipples rubbing against his chest was maddening. She kissed down his neck and down his chest to tease his nipple as he had her own.  His chest was so solid, yet so soft. His skin felt amazing and she couldn’t keep herself from exploring it with her hands.  She ran her hand down across his abs as she sucked on his nipple. He had his hand twisted in her hair and he squeezed as her hand slid past his abs and across his shorts. She rubbed his hard cock through the fabric and smiled against his chest hearing him moan.  She kissed back up his chest and neck.

“Oh, Alex, I want you,” she whispered breathlessly in his ear.

Suddenly, he grabbed her and held her close, swinging his legs down from the hammock and sat up with her in his arms. He stood supporting her weight and she wrapped her legs around him as he carried her inside. If she hadn’t been completely overwhelmed by her desire, she would have marveled at the strength it would take for him perform such a maneuver.  He carried her to the small bedroom that he had left her overnight bag in and lay her down gently on the bed.  He grabbed the bottoms of her swim suit and pulled them off of her.  He stood there looking at her naked body for a few seconds.  She was breathing hard with excitement and she could see he was clearly just as excited.  He rubbed his hand from her ankles around her calf and pulled her leg to him. He kissed the inside of her knee and she couldn’t keep from catching her breath. His hands traveled up her thigh followed by his lips. He kissed softly to her inner thigh, making her whimper in anticipation.  He kissed the soft, hollow at her left hip and then across her abdomen to her right and down to her inner thigh again.  He slid his hand under her knee and rubbed up her thigh, sliding her knee onto his broad shoulder. 

She cried out in pleasure as he finally plunged his face between her legs.  She bucked her hips involuntarily against his mouth as he licked and sucked.  He pushed her other knee across his shoulder and pulled her hips toward him.  She moaned as his tongue teased her clit over and over. She reached out and ran her hand through his hair while grabbing the sheets with the other. He felt the vibration of his moan against her. He grasped her hips and sat up, pulling her up on her shoulders. He raked his teeth gently across her clit, sending a shutter through her body.  Her orgasm exploded sending an electric current up her spine.  Her whole body shook.  She cried out his name over and over.

He supported her back and moved her back up to the head of the bed lying her gently on the pillow. He kissed her belly and up to her neck. Zoey grabbed his face and kissed him hard.

“Alex, now, I want you inside me right now,” she demanded, breathlessly.

“Now?” he grinned. “What if I want to go slow?”

“Slow? But…,” she protested.

He kissed her neck, smirking at her groan.

Chapter Twelve

Mishka stayed only a little while longer. He kissed her hand again when he left, and though his smile was kind, she got an odd feeling from him. She didn’t think he liked her much.  She watched Alex embrace him. Mishka said something to him in Russian and his eyes darted in her direction.  Alex just smiled. Zoey walked back out onto the porch and sat down in the hammock. The brightly colored canvas was cool and soft.  She lay back and snuggled into the fabric.  She imagined napping here would be very comfortable. The sun was beginning to go down and the temperature had begun to drop.  The breeze drifting across the porch brought goose bumps to her arms.  It was time to change out of her bikini into something a little warmer.  Alex appeared in the doorway. She watched his eyes travel across her body. She watched his smile broaden as he walked over to her. 

“You know, there is room for two,” he said.

“Really? You think so?”

“I know so,” he replied.

“Oh, you know so.” 

“Uh,” he hesitated, her tone was playful, but not completely amused. “My brother sit there with his wife before.  It will hold us both.”

She smiled wide and her heart jumped in her chest as he placed a hand on each side of her to steady the hammock and sat down.  

“Move over some. I bigger than that,” he grinned.

“But I’m comfortable right here in the middle,” she teased. “That way I won’t fall.”

“I won’t let you fall.”

She moved over slightly and smirked up at him.

“Fine,” he said and leaned over on top of her, shifting his hips to rest next to hers. He slid he arm underneath her shoulders and moved her over himself.  The hammock rocked unbalanced and she clung to him. He smiled at her.  She looked up into his big, blue eyes and swallowed hard.  He brushed his lips gently across hers.  She expected him to keep going, but he pulled away.  She was more than disappointed.  He held her tight and shifted his position again in the hammock so that he was lying on his back with her on her side next to him.

“Hey, you’re taking all the room,” she whined playfully.

He pulled her over on top of him, “Better?”

His bare chest against her skin felt so good. She leaned down and brushed her lips across his. But she didn’t pull away. She could feel his breath on her lips and she couldn’t keep from kissing him.  She kissed him softly, loving the feel of his velvet lips, the roughness of his beard.  As he twisted his fingers up into her hair, her kiss became deeper and more urgent.  She wanted it to last forever. She wanted to lose herself completely in his kisses. His large hands were amazingly gentle as he brushed them across her back and up her shoulders.

He looked up into her eyes and smiled, “Are you trying to seduce me?”

She grinned down at him, “Well, I’d never want to compromise your virtue.”

Chapter Eleven (translated from Russian)

Alex went back inside followed quickly by Mishka.  His friend moved around the kitchen a spoke to him in a hushed voice.

“Ты, что с Луны свалился? What are you thinking, bringing an American girl here, Sania?” he said with distain.

“What?” Alex ignored his friend’s tone. “She is interesting. She amuses me. And you don’t have to whisper. She doesn’t understand Russian.”

“Amuses you?” he said incredulously. “I understand that she is very pretty, but she is not even your type.”

“Oh, what’s my type?” Alex asked with a chuckle.

“Tall, skinny, blonde and Russian. Sure, her curves are in all the right places, but… she’s an American!”

“You said that already,” Alex said, quickly becoming bored with the conversation. Mishka gave him an annoyed look.

“She was alone and she is nice and funny,” Alex cocked his head to the side, shrugged his shoulders and added quietly, “and she didn’t know who I was.” 

“Didn’t know… what she is not from this planet?  How can she not know who you are?”

“Not everyone follows hockey, Mishka.”

“What do you mean, she was alone?”

“Just what I said. She is alone here.  She doesn’t speak the language.”

“So, you thought you needed to play hero and rescue the lady.”

“I know what it is like,” he said, his tone began to hold a note of warning that was not lost on his friend.

Mishka shook his head at his friend, clearly disapproving.  Alex sighed.  He couldn’t blame his friend. He asked himself the same questions on the drive out here. But every time she smiled at him, it didn’t matter where she was from.  It didn’t matter that their worlds were so far apart. He wanted to get to know her.  What was so bad about that?  

She appeared in the doorway.  Mishka was right, she did have curves in all the right places. She walked slowly over to him and smiled.  She had a beautiful smile.  He quickly forgot his annoyance with Mishka as he took in her appearance. She had full lips and very large, chocolate brown eyes.  Her long, dark hair fell in damp waves halfway down her back.  She had a long, graceful neck and a sun-kissed chest with lovely round breasts hidden beneath that bright orange bikini.  He couldn’t help but imagine tasting them as she wrapped her toned legs around his waist. He watched her eyes travel across his chest and smiled himself.  She was definitely attracted to him.  He wondered how long it would take for her to accept it.  He felt his desire for her building and resisted the urge to reach for her.  She would come to him, of this, he was certain.  Though, he found himself beginning to hope that it was sooner rather than later.

Chapter Ten

At the last second, he grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her in with him.  She felt his arms encircle her under the water.  He pulled her to him and they breached the surface together.  He shook his head, sending his wet hair flying and grinned at her.

“That was not nice,” he smirked and put his large palm on top of her head and pushed her under again.

“Hey,” she cried, as she surfaced for the second time.  He was standing there laughing at her. She swam up close to him and held on to his arm. He was much taller than she was and at this part of the pond, she could only touch the bottom with the tips of her toes.  He slid his arm under hers and held her up.   He pulled her close and swam a few strokes with his powerful arm and deposited her in more shallow water.  She was a little disappointed when he released her. She liked the feel of his arm around her.  The water was warm, but not too much and it was very refreshing.  Mishka jumped from the deck into the water and splashed them with a great wave.  Alex released a slew of Russian phrases that Zoey thought could have been light-hearted profanities and then splashed his friend back with a great sweep of his hand.  He then turned to her and lifted her chin up to look in her eyes. He wiped the water droplets from her eyelashes and cupped her cheek in his hands.  He leaned down and kissed her lips softly.  She suddenly felt completely weak, looking up into his deep, blue eyes. 

“Sorry, he a jerk sometimes,” he said with a chuckle.  “Next time, be prepared, you know. It sure to happen again.”

All she could do was nod at him.  She couldn’t find her voice.

Mishka tossed at ball at him.  Alex caught it deftly and grinned at Zoey like a little boy before moving away and throwing a bullet straight at Mishka.  She watched them play like children for a long time. Mishka seemed to be the same age as Alex, though he was shorter and did not have nearly as muscular a build.  She watched Alex jump out of the water and lunge after the ball as Mishka threw it wide.  She was still impressed by how big and powerful his upper body was.  She expected his legs to be large. How could they not be, with all that skating?  She guessed hockey must be a good workout.  She might have to start watching when she got back home.  She smiled to herself and watched Mishka take exception after he was pelted in the head.  He moved quickly across the water and grabbed Alex, trying to pull him under.  Alex was the stronger and only laughed as he wrestled with his best friend.  He finally pushed Mishka’s head under the water just as he had Zoey’s.  He turned to look at her. When he laughed his whole face lit up.  He relinquished his grasp on his friend and came over to where she was sitting at the edge of the water. 

“You want drink?” he asked her breathlessly. She nodded and he said something to Mishka in Russian. Apparently, he asked his friend the same question because Mishka nodded in answer.

Alex headed inside grabbing a towel from the bench on the porch and disappeared inside.  Mishka joined her.

“You like Moscow?” he asked her, his eyes not exactly meeting hers.

“I do.  It’s a beautiful city,” she said and despite the warm air, goose bumps broke out on her skin.

“How you know Sasha?” he asked screwing up his face slightly, trying to find the right words.  She wasn’t sure she could explain so that he would understand.

“St. Bazil’s. I met him there,” she decided would be the easiest answer. 

Alex returned with the refreshment.  He handed his friend a bottle and nodded his head as if asking Mishka to move away.  He sat down between Zoey and Mishka and handed her a bottle as well. 

“Kvass. You will like it. Trust me?” he asked with a grin. 

“Sure,” she said a little breathless, returning his smile. And it was the truth, though she didn’t know why.

The Kvass was similar to beer, only slightly sweet and it was very good.  It was strong with the taste of Rye though and she wasn’t expecting it. She exhaled a bit and Alex laughed.

There it was, the sparkle in his eyes that she’d never seen before in anyone, as if he had so much joy inside, it couldn’t help but leak out.

Chapter Nine

“How about lunch?” she said, trying to resist the slightly sweaty, extremely sexy man in front of her.  It was not anything near what she really wanted at that very moment. But her mind kept telling her she hadn’t known him very long.  He grinned at her and walked back to the bench to pick up his shirt.  She let out a sigh of relief.  If he’d kissed her instead of walking away, her resolve would have completely melted away.

“Come. I hungry too. We find something,” he said and she followed him back to the house.

“You sit,” he motioned to a large hammock on the porch. “I be right back.”

 He tossed his t-shirt in a lounge chair on the way through the door. Zoey sighed. She hoped he would put it back on. She found his chest and shoulders very desirable and she felt a little weak now that he was shirtless.  She had to make a conscious effort not to touch him. She felt sure that he knew it too.  She sat on the hammock carefully so as not to tumble out of it. It was not too hard though. It was quite large – large enough, in fact, for two people. She got up quickly and sat at the table instead.  The breeze picked up slightly and she took in a deep breath. The air was so clean out here.  She detected the sweet scent of red currents from the garden off to the left behind the basketball court. It was quiet and peaceful.  Zoey had no doubt that Alex must love summers here.

“Okay,” Alex appeared in the doorway, surprised to find her at the table instead of where he left her. “You know, it not much. I don’t cook. We could go out.”

He sat a place of cold cuts and cheese in front of her and sat beside her at the table.  

“I find these too. You like berries?” he added a bowl of strawberries to the presentation.

She smiled over at him, “They are my favorite.”

He gifted her with that incredible smile and she felt the need to repress a sigh.

Lunch was a quick affair, but just perfect.  He even softly wiped the juice of a strawberry from her lip.  She was surprised that something so cliché could actually be so sexy.  She found herself wishing at that moment that he would kiss her. It seemed like he was going to, but then he pulled away and got up from the table.   He moved over to the hammock and lay down putting his hands behind his head.  She had to avert her eyes from his well-toned body to keep from betraying her desire.

“You know, there is much room here. You should come join me,” he smirked. 

She chuckled.  “I am quite comfortable right here.”

He nodded his head to the side and smiled as if to say he knew she wanted to, regardless of what she said.

A gust of warm wind blew in across the porch.  She placed her hand on the back of her neck. She was getting warm and the pond out back was looking more and more attractive.

“We could, you know, swim,” he suggested. “Come, change clothes.”

She let herself be persuaded and followed him back inside.  She quickly pulled off the t-shirt that had begun to get sticky and donned her orange bikini.  She didn’t wear it often. She had a red tankini that she wore all the time, but this one made quite an impression. If he was going to tempt her, well, turn about was fair play, after all. 

“I be outside,” he called from the other side of the door, as she was tying the up string around her neck.

“I’ll just be a minute.”

A moment later she was out in the sunshine on his deck looking out over the pond.  He wasn’t out there anywhere that she could see.  The sun was quite warm and she lifted her long hair up off of her neck.  She turned around to see Alex standing with another man just inside the porch.  They were standing still, both with their eyes on her.  Just as she was beginning to feel self-conscious, Alex moved down to the deck toward her ushering the man with him.

“Вы привносите мне подарок, Sasha,” the man grinned over at Alex. You bring me a gift.

Alex slammed an open hand into his friend’s chest.

“This is Zoey,” he said to his friend and then turned to her, “This my best friend, Mishka.”

Mishka looked at his friend questioningly, “американский?”

Alex dismissed his friend’s surprise at Zoey’s nationality.

Zoey smiled and Mishka took her hand and kissed it softly. “здравствуйте, happy to meet you.”

Alex took her hand away from his friend and said, impatiently, “Yes, she happy to meet you too. получить назад .”

He led Zoey away to the edge of the deck. “He not bad guy. His English not too good. It okay if you not want to swim now,” he said, looking over her body. Feeling his eyes travel over her body was enough to make her blush. The suit had the effect she was looking for, though, she hadn’t expect to wear it for his best friend as well.

“You look very beautiful,” he said quietly.  “I promise, he is harmless, if you still want to.”

She definitely got the feeling that he didn’t want to change their plans just because of Mishka. 

She grinned up at him. “Okay, so you are ready to cool off?”

He smiled, “Need too cool off.”

She stepped closer to him and shoved him off the end of the deck into the pond below.

Chapter Eight

He took her through some sliding glass doors out onto a covered patio. She could see a pond beyond, lovely and natural with a high deck that went out over it. She spied a tennis court and a basketball court in the distance. 

“Wow, do you play?” she nodded her head toward the court.

“I play,” he smiled. “Want to?”

“Yeah, sure, but you have a really big advantage over me,” she looked up at him. He was nearly a foot taller than she was.

“What? You want me to play from my knees?” he grinned.

“Hmf,” she grunted, taking the basketball that he pulled from the shelf.

“Tell you what, you score on me, you win,” he offered, walking her out to the court and unlatching the gate.

“What, just one basket?” she asked incredulously.

“You think you can score on this?” he grinned and spread his arms out from his sides in a display of his mighty wingspan.

She smiled slyly. “Okay,” she said, “I score one, I win. You have to score 5.”

“Five? That hardly seems fair,” he protested.

“What, you scared,” she taunted, “of little ‘ole me?”

He laughed.  “Okay, five. Let’s go.”

 He grabbed the back of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. It took her a second to recover and make sure that he didn’t see her jaw drop.  Luckily, he had turned to toss his shirt on the bench and she didn’t think he noticed. His height and wingspan might not be his greatest advantage. She was clearly going to be distracted by that massive, sun-kissed chest and his broad shoulders. He had just the right amount of light brown chest hair that spread out across his pectoral muscles and slightly downward across his abdominals ending in a treasure trail that led past his belly button. 

His bounce pass snapped her back to reality as she’d already gotten distracted again. She began to dribble and her competitive nature took over.   She moved in closer and he planted his feet and spread his arms making a veritable wall against her.  She backed up a little and grinned at him. She dodged to the right and then went left and tried to shoot. He blocked her shot easily, dribbled back out to center and took his turn. He dribbled in to the right side and she slapped the ball away from him.

“Oh, Kroshka has some skills,” he cried with a smile.

“What does that mean? Kroshka?”

“Little one,” he explained with a crooked grin and slapped the ball from her hands, turned and shot the ball toward the goal. Big guy has some skills too, Zoey thought to herself, watching the perfect form of his jumpshot just before the ball sank into the net. 

He tossed the ball out to her. “That’s one,” he grinned.

“And where did you get your skills, Alex?” she asked, dribbling the ball straight at him and stopping short.  He stuffed the ball back down with a huge paw as she shot.

“My mom played on the Russian Olympic team.”

She stopped and stared at him, dumbfounded. “Now, don’t you think that’s something you should have mentioned before we started playing? Maybe you should go to ten?”

“No, no, no changing rules now. It five and I only have three to go now,” he said as he slid a layup into the goal.

He tossed the ball back to her.  She dribbled up the left side and caught him in the chest with her shoulder, yet he still managed to palm the ball.

“That was foul, charging. I get free-throw,” he demanded.

“Oh come on,” she complained, but uttered a “fine” as she realized he was not going to back down.

“You cannot change rules just because you are little,” he teased her with an air of authority. “Move that way, free throw is unhampered by defender.”

“I know the rules, Alex.”

She moved behind him slightly and then snuck up to blow in his ear just as he was about to shoot.  He missed by a full foot.

“That cheating.”

“I didn’t touch you at all,” she teased.

“Not fair,” he grinned at her devilishly. She took the ball to center again and dribbled up to the left. He stopped in front of her blocking her forward progress again. This time she pulled the ball around behind her hoping to switch directions on him, but he wrapped both arms around her and grabbed the ball.  She suddenly found her face in his chest and she dropped the ball.

“THAT was a foul!  You can’t do that!” she cried as he gathered up the ball and shot for another basket.

“What?” he laughed at her.

“That one doesn’t count. Gimme that ball. My turn for a free throw,” she insisted. “And you go stand all the way over there.”

“Why, afraid I might distract you?”

She scowled at him and set up her shot. It went in. She looked over at him with a satisfied grin on her face.

“So, you win. What you want as prize?” he said, moving closer to her and brushing a stray hair away from her face. She swallowed hard watching him bite his lower lip. She knew exactly what she wanted her prize to be.