14. Lindsey
14
LINDSEY
M y stomach knots as my argument gets trapped in my throat. I’ve felt so confined, locked in a gilded cage, and I’ve focused all that growing frustration on Maks, holding him responsible for everything that’s happened, for all my confinement, until I lost sight of the bigger picture. It’s not safe for me out there, but Maks is at the root of my problem. I hate that this is all because I stupidly stumbled down the wrong hallway at his club. I’ve done everything he’s asked, proven my loyalty, built a connection with him—I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve slept with him, for god’s sake—and still, I can’t go back to my real life.
At the same time, hearing that he’s not just worried I might say something—that he’s actually concerned for my safety, is oddly touching. I haven’t had someone look out for me for a long time, and it means a lot that Maks cares enough to consider what could happen to me. Still, I can’t be his prisoner indefinitely.
“Will I be safe to return to my normal life when Emiliano is dead?”
Maks’s eyes darken, and he rises from the couch to cup my chin with one large palm. “Yes.”
Relief fills my chest, and warmth floods my veins at his touch, but the hardness in his eyes clashes with the tenderness of his hand.
“Once Emiliano is dead, you’ll never have to see me again,” he promises darkly, his voice low and foreboding.
A cold shiver ripples down my spine. The thought that I might never see him again hits me unexpectedly, and my throat tightens with the threat of tears. Where I had reservations about Maks at first because he was older and dangerous and clearly a criminal, I find it hard to imagine my life without him now. In the few months I’ve known him, it feels like I’ve gotten closer to him, opened up to him more than anyone else in my life. He makes me feel safe and heard. I know I’m not imagining the connection between us—even if it’s developed because of my imprisonment.
“Until then, you’re staying put.”
I fight the sudden sting of tears at the back of my eyes as his sharp blue gaze peers into mine with an intensity that steals the air from my lungs. But as I search his face, a warning bell goes off in the back of my mind. Why do I get the feeling that he’s not being entirely honest with me—or at least, it’s not the whole truth?
“What aren’t you telling me?” I breathe.
His brows buckle, and Maks takes a step back, his spine straightening as his hand falls to his side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Are you just telling me what I want to hear? How do I know that when it comes down to it, you won’t just keep me here?” Anger surges through my chest, and I grasp at it, preferring a fight to facing the realization that I might need Maks in my life.
“I’m sorry, we’re questioning my honesty now?” he demands, bristling visibly.
“Don’t do that,” I say coldly.
“Do what? Point out that you’re the one who’s lied and betrayed my trust when you want to challenge my word?”
“That’s not fair, and you know it,” I state, my voice quivering with hurt and frustration. “I don’t deserve it.”
“And you think I do? I’ve been nothing but honest with you since the day we met, and out of the two of us, I’m the only one who can say that, so I think my word will be the one we go with.”
I’m vibrating with emotion, and I cling to the anger, letting it consume me so I won’t have to feel anything else. Stepping forward, I tilt my chin up to get in his face as I glare at him, and my breath catches as heat blossoms in my belly. I shouldn’t be this close to him. It’s impossible to keep a clear head when the smell of his cologne envelops me with thoughts of sensual nights between the sheets and a forbidden desire I can’t seem to satiate. “I guess kidnapping and murder don’t count when we’re calculating where we stand on the whole morality scale, huh? Well, clearly my lack of honesty doesn’t make me any less fuckable, does it?”
Maks’s jaw clenches, the tendons popping in his jaw, and his eyes burn with intensity. “Why should it? I’m used to fucking women for the pleasure and setting them aside when I’m done with them. I don’t need honesty to know when they like what I have to offer, so why would you be any different? I like fucking, and you like it when I fuck you, so I intend to get you out of my system before I let you go.”
His words hurt a surprising amount—even when they come with the promise that he will set me free. But he’s right. Nothing real could come of this connection between us. Even if Maks were looking for a woman to spend his life with, I’m not at all confident I would want to be a part of his dark world. But I like the way he makes me feel. He’s dangerously good at sex, and right now, I need his protection, so I should focus on what I can have at this moment, because it’s not going to last forever. After, I’ll have to make peace with going our separate ways.
“Get me out of your system?” I hiss, removing the last of the space between us. “You’re an asshole.”
The heat in Maks’s eyes turns molten, but what I took for anger shifts to desire as he grabs the back of my head and brings our lips together in a demanding kiss. I should push him away, but instead, I find my fingers curling around the collar of his dress shirt as I pull him toward me, rising onto my toes. Fighting shouldn’t turn me on like this, but I’m desperate to ignore the rejection lingering under the surface, and my argument’s run out of steam. Focusing on the electric tension humming between us is much easier.
Maks’s hands find my hips, and he pulls me close as he grinds forward against me, pressing his hard length against my abdomen. My pulse quickens as I realize fighting was turning him on too. My mind flashes to the last time tensions between us were this high, and I can almost feel the sting of his belt across my ass, the liquid pleasure rushing between my thighs. Suddenly, I know why I’m excited.
“You fucking drive me crazy sometimes,” Maks rasps against my lips, his hands sliding up beneath my oversized cashmere sweater as his fingers splay across my bare back.
“Shut up and fuck me,” I breathe, nipping his lower lip as I wrap my arms around his neck.
My back bows, my body bending to his will as Maks curves around me, his strong arms supporting my weight. His mouth claims me with a ferocity that makes my heart pound and my breath quicken. All I want to do is let go and let the heat of the moment burn away the unwanted ache deep in my chest. As Maks’s tongue delves between my lips, my thoughts scatter like ash in the wind. A soft moan rushes from me as my explosive emotions find an avenue for release, and I kiss him back with all the desperation that’s been building inside me.
“Don’t worry, little rabbit,” Maks growls, his accent thickening with his arousal. “I’m going to fuck every one of your holes tonight so you know what happens when you speak to me that way.”
My stomach quivers, and a shiver races down my spine. I don’t know why I’m drawn to this darker side of Maks, but I’ve awakened something in him that makes my pulse race. The fine hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end, and as he breaks the kiss to push me to my knees, they buckle willingly.
As I kneel before him, I glance nervously over my shoulder toward the kitchen.
“You’re in luck. Lenka already went home for the evening,” he says. “But maybe you should think of that before you pick a fight next time.”
Heat floods my cheeks as my eyes snap back to his over the rims of my glasses as Maks undoes the buttons on his shirt, pulling the tails out of his slacks to let the panels fall open. My mouth goes dry at the sight of his lean, chiseled torso, and his blue eyes blaze down at me like an avenging god’s. The soft clink of his belt buckle raises goosebumps along my flesh, and when he pulls out his cock, my core clenches with nervous anticipation. A bead of precum spills down his thick length, drawing my eyes to the swollen tip. I don’t know how he thinks that’s supposed to fit in my mouth. My jaw aches just thinking about it, and the knot in my stomach tightens.
“It’s time to put those pretty lips to good use, zaya ,” he commands.
His silken tip brushes against the seam of my mouth, and I can taste the salty arousal as he urges my lips apart. Excitement throbs between my thighs, and I press them together as I open my mouth, holding his gaze as I take his cock. A sharp breath hisses between his teeth as Maks combs my hair away from my face. Then he palms the back of my head, his hips rocking forward until he’s filling me, his swollen tip finding the back of my throat.
“Good girl,” he groans as I gag and choke, tears stinging my eyes. But the praise makes my stomach flutter and my clit throb. “You’re taking me so fucking well,” he encourages, easing out of my mouth several inches before he presses forward again.
I moan, the pulse between my legs intensifying, and I know if I touched myself right now, it would take nothing to make me come.
“Does that turn you on, little rabbit? When I fuck your perfect mouth?”
Maks’s pace increases, each thrust inching deeper down my throat, and as I suck in a ragged breath through my nose, my hands twitch with the urge to give me some relief. I hum confirmation, the throaty sound filled with lust, and Maks groans as his hips jerk forward, his cock sliding down my throat until my nose brushes his groin. He’s too big for me, and my muscles spasm around his tip, but the rush of tingling anticipation that races down my spine makes my panties cling wetly to my sensitive skin.
“You want to touch yourself?” he rasps, the question almost taunting.
I moan around his cock and move my hand between my thighs to do as he suggested, but before I can, his fingers tighten in my hair.
“Ah-ah-ah, I didn’t give you permission, zaya . You have to earn the right to come tonight, after your little outburst.”
Why is it so fucking hot when Maks decides to control me? It shouldn’t be, but I know that when I obey him, he rewards me with a pleasure I can’t find with anyone but him. Whimpering from the ache of my frustration, I force my hands back to my thighs and grip them tightly.
“Good girl,” he murmurs, his grip relaxing until tingling relief prickles across my scalp, and his rhythm intensifies as he fucks my mouth more intently.
A buzzing warmth vibrates through my body as he claims my throat, and he watches me with such burning desire that I can’t look away. I can tell he likes what he sees, and it makes my pulse throb to know this is only the start of what he has planned for me tonight.
“You feel so fucking good, little rabbit.”
His hips jerk forward erratically, and my stomach flip-flops nervously as his muscles strain, the tendons along his neck and shoulders raising beneath his inked flesh as he fights to maintain control.
“Fuck, I’m gonna come,” he growls. “Be a good girl and swallow every last drop. If you do, I might just let you come.”
I’m so turned on by the sight of him, I’m on the brink of an orgasm without any urging. I moan as his cock hammers the back of my throat, my fingers digging into my thighs as I fight to hold on a little longer.
“Fuck, fuck ,” Maks hisses, and hot, salty cum coats my tongue as he pushes it deeper down my throat with his cock.
I swallow reflexively, gripping his thick tip, and he jerks, an agonized groan ripping from his chest as he cradles the back of my head. Keeping himself buried inside my mouth, his swollen length twitches with each wet burst that paints the back of my throat. The ache between my thighs is unbearable as I taste his cum for the first time.
He’s breathing heavily as he releases me, and I suck in a rattling breath as he pulls out. Tears stream freely down my cheeks from the overwhelming intrusion, but the arousal surging through my veins burns away the indignity of having my mouth used like that. A trickle of salty cum escapes the corner of my lips as Maks’s cock slips free, and he cradles my chin gently, his thumb collecting the moisture and pressing it back between my lips.
“Every last drop, zaya ,” he murmurs, and I suck his thumb clean, swallowing as I release it. “Good girl,” he purrs, releasing a flood of anticipation through my body.
He holds out his hand, silently offering to help me up, and even though I’m still burning with anger and frustration, I take it, because I’m desperate for relief. Maks pulls me effortlessly back to my feet, one arm cinching around my waist as if he knows my knees are too weak to hold me up, and his hand skirts beneath my sweater, his fingers slipping beneath the waistband of my leggings with ease. I shudder as his palm slides across my bare pussy, two fingers brushing across my clit to stroke between my folds before pressing inside me. I cry out as holds me captive with his gaze, the intense pleasure making me tighten around him.
“You’re so wet,” he growls, and his thumb starts to circle my clit as his fingers slide in and out of me.
Trembling in his arms, it’s all I can do to cling to him, my breaths rushing from me in sharp gasps as my throbbing need consumes my body. Black dots dance across my eyelids as they sink closed, all my attention focused on the jolts of sensation rushing from my clit straight up my spine to the pleasure center in my brain.
“Look at me, Lindsey,” Maks commands.
When I open my eyes, his are burning into me with that same intensity that melts my insides.
“You want to come, little rabbit?”
I nod breathlessly, unable to find my words, and his fingers press more adamantly inside me as his thumb rubs tantalizing circles on top of my clit. I can feel his cock swelling against my hip, and it makes my core clench with the need to feel him inside me.
“Maks!” I scream as I fall apart around him, slick arousal making his palm slap wetly against my skin, the sound lewd and erotic as he fingers me to climax.
He watches me the whole time, his blue eyes magnetic, and a tingling thrill races through me at the intense intimacy of the moment. It feels like he’s touching my very soul as he forces every last drop of pleasure from me, and only after the last shuddering tremor of my release is done does he ease his fingers back out of me.
His middle and ring finger glisten with my arousal as Maks sticks them into his mouth and sucks them clean with an approving hum. My stomach clenches at the way he makes it sound like I’m the best thing he’s ever tasted, and as our gazes meet, the air charges with electricity.
“Fuck, I want to fill you up,” he growls, his hands dropping to the hem of my sweater as he pulls it up over my head in one fluid motion.
I gasp, heat rushing through my core at the thought of him coming inside me without a condom. I’ve never wanted a man to do something like that before Maks, but the urge to feel it is almost unbearable, and suddenly, I’m so turned on, I know I would come again as soon as he slid inside me.
“Maks, you can’t,” I whisper, nervous anticipation quivering in my belly. “I haven’t taken my birth control in, like, a month.”
“Don’t worry, little rabbit. There are other ways to come inside you that won’t get you pregnant.”
A jolt of cold adrenaline floods my veins, and fear mingles with my excitement as my pulse roars in my ears.