Born into Temptation (Devils Will Rise: Melnikov Legacy #4)

Chapter 17

Valentin

I can’t stand to see the sad look on my wife’s face, and I’d give anything to be able to take it away, but I can’t promise her something that I know is a lie. I will be going with our family to get Max back. They’re going to need all the help they can get, and I owe him this. It’s because of him that I’m even here right now. I owe him everything, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure he survives this. I’m the only one who’s been there, and I’m the only one who can lead the way to the basement. Yelena knows this, and I know she’ll eventually accept it, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for her to say goodbye to me. It’s going to be hell for me, too. The very idea of it so painful that I force it from my mind because I don’t want to do anything except get in the bath and feel my wife’s naked body against mine. I just want time with her, time without guilt and worry and fear.

“Come here,” I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her closer as the bathroom fills with steam from the tub. I’m so anxious to see her that my hands shake when I grip the bottom of her shirt and slowly start to peel it off her. My chest aches when I see the small swell of her belly and the breasts that are a size larger than they were the last time I was here. Her body’s already changed so much in a month, and it kills me that I missed it. Pulling her yoga pants down, she stands before me in nothing but her panties and bra, and she’s so beautiful that all I can do is stare.