Chapter 16 – Artur
The first chance she got, she tried to use it to escape me. Only a few people knew the exact route that led in and out of this forest. The road was a decoy designed to confuse anyone who tried to come unannounced or leave without permission.
The only reason those assassins were able to find my place was that it was an inside job. If that son of a bitch Mikhail hadn’t snitched on me, they never would’ve found me.
In her mind, she might think that I tricked her into running away—that I orchestrated the whole thing. But I didn’t. It so happened that she found the perfect loophole and would’ve gotten away with it if she’d known how.
Hilda, the housekeeper, was too tired the night before, and that’s why her keys were lying carelessly on the table. It almost never happened, but she forgot to lock the front door as well. The last person to drive also left the gate unlocked.
It was as though the universe was working in Celine’s favor that earlier morning. Some of the guards had dozed off while the others weren’t at their stations during the time of the escape.
Nothing about that whole scenario was planned. It was just some really weird coincidence. The chances of all these happening in one night were one in a million, and she was lucky to have even experienced it.
I couldn’t be mad at her for trying to leave. She was tired of being locked up in here and just needed her freedom. She saw a window, a rare opportunity, and she took it without hesitation. That was the attitude of a survivor. I respected that.
Each time I was alone, her words would echo in my head: Well, I never would’ve tried to run away if you hadn’t….
What did she mean by that?
Was she trying to say that something I’d done was the reason she tried to leave? If that were the case, then she must’ve been referring to my sudden withdrawal from her.
She also made another statement that proved my distance had influenced her need to escape.
You’ve ruined me already. What more can you do?
Even though she hadn’t confronted me about my actions, it was obvious that she hated it. She thought that I used and dumped her. That was why she’d tried to escape.
Four days after I brought her back to the mansion, things returned to normal. At least for me, anyway. I went back to work, burying myself in files all day long. We hadn’t seen each other or had a conversation of any sort.
This time, my distance wasn’t on purpose. I actually planned to go see her—maybe even tease her a little—because deep down, I knew I missed her. But I hadn’t gotten the chance yet.
A territorial dispute with a rival organization had kept me busy. The Bratva had tasked me with fixing the problem in a short period of time.
While doing that, I was also working with Konstantin on how to deal with the Italians. Rocco Alessandro Romano thought that I’d forgotten about what he did to me. But he was wrong. I hadn’t. Instead, I was cooking something dangerous in the silence.
Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold.
He’d better watch his back because he wouldn’t see me coming.
I was in my room that night reviewing some files with Konstantin when the door slammed open, and she barged in.
“We need to talk!” she barked, storming in like she owned the place.
I raised my brows at her audacity.
Konstantin locked his jaw but said nothing.
Celine halted in front of the couch we were seated on, hands on her waist. “Now.”
I met Konstantin’s gaze and motioned for him to excuse us. Without hesitation, he stood up and walked away, closing the door behind him.
“What do you want?” I asked her, my voice calm and collected.
“I want us to talk.”
I seemed composed on the outside. However, on the inside, my cells had come alive at the sight of her in that oversized shirt. Mine. The hem kissed her mid-thighs, revealing her smooth, fresh, and alluring legs.
The top three buttons of the plain shirt were undone: not too much, but enough to showcase the skin above her breasts. Tempting.
And just like that, all the restraints I’d been clinging to for weeks began to shatter. Everything about her tonight was sexy: her amber eyes, her glistening skin, and the dark curls that fell past her shoulders.
“What am I still doing here, Artur?” She glared at me. “I mean, you know I’m not a threat to you and your organization, so why won’t you let me go?”
“You wanna leave, then leave.”
“Bullshit!” she snapped. “You know I can’t!”
“Then stay put!” I raised my voice a little higher than normal.
“Why, so you can ignore me all day and act like I don’t exist?!”
My brows arched in amusement as I slowly rose to my feet. “That’s what this is about?”
She swallowed hard, realizing she’d overshared her true feelings.
“You feel neglected?” I set down the file in my hand and began walking toward her.
“I…I– didn’t—I didn’t say that,” she stuttered, clearing her throat.
“But you insinuated it.”
“Don’t try to change the subject.”
My lips curled into a sly grin. “I think I know why you’re here.”
“This is pointless—I’m leaving.” She tried to turn around, but my hand snapped out.
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into my arms.
“Let go of me.” She struggled, trying to squirm out of my hold.
“Are you sure you want me to do that?” I asked softly, my eyes boring into hers.
She hesitated, her chest rising and falling with slow, controlled breaths. “Yes.”
I clicked my tongue rapidly, my arm wrapping around her waist. “I don’t think so.”
“I’m serious, Artur, let go.” By now, her willpower was already thinning, leaving her vulnerable.
I ran the back of my hand along her cheek. “Say it like you mean it, and I promise I’ll grant your wish.”
Her body shuddered at my touch, her breath hitched in her throat. She leaned in, her face mirroring mine as she whispered against my skin, “Screw you, Artur.”
My grip tightened around her waist with a self-satisfied smirk on my lips. “Do you plan to actually follow through, or are those just empty words? Because I don’t mind being screwed…by you.”
I saw it in her eyes, that unmistakable flame of passion. She held my gaze for a moment, probably fighting against the urge to act on her fleshly desires.
I held her close, my hand daring to massage her soft ass, knowing it was only a matter of time before she gave in.
Three. Two. One. Now.
She drew a deep breath and rushed at my lips, sealing them with a fervent kiss. I kissed her back, heads tilting to the rhythm of our passion. Her hands fumbled for a moment as she struggled to take off my white singlet.
Fresh out of patience, I ripped her buttons apart, my hands finding and squeezing her breasts. She leaned into me, hands caressing my body as her tongue invaded my mouth.
The kiss was urgent, laced with desperation and anxiety. It was clear that she’d been starving as much as I had. And so we devoured each other’s lips like hungry beasts.
Her skin was softer and smoother than I remembered. Her breath was fresh and warm. She slid her hand below and then dipped it into my pants to withdraw my cock. I found my way to her up her tunnel and slid my finger beneath her panties.
Just as I thought, she was wet.
Soaking wet.
She let out a throaty moan once I slid a finger inside her. I’d missed that sound. She stroked my length without breaking our kiss, her breath coming in short gasps.
In a heartbeat, she shoved me down to the couch and quickly shed her shirt. I sat with my back against the backrest, watching the wild part of her take control.
She straddled me, her knees sinking into the soft cushion beneath me. Her hair spilled over her face as she edged closer and reclaimed my lips. She reached down, grabbed my cock, then positioned it outside her waiting entrance.
I gave her breasts a few gentle squeezes before caressing her skin and finally settling on her hips.
“Oh, fuck…” she murmured as I pushed myself deep inside her. “That feels so good.”
Celine stared into my eyes as she began grinding her waist against mine. Up and down. Side to side. That’s how she moved, riding me as though she was on a mission to make me come on time.
“Don’t think this changes anything,” she said, reaching to grab me by the neck. “I still hate your guts.”
“We’ll see about that.” I held her hips in place and began ramming her really hard from under.
“Fuck, yes!”
“You like that shit?” I kept going, faster and faster.
“Fuck you, Artur!” She smacked me across the face.
Wild and dangerously out of control. I liked it. I liked this crazy version of her that didn’t give a shit about the consequences of her actions. She quickened her pace, her waist moving more rapidly than ever.
I spanked her ass. “That’s it! Ride that cock like you fuckin’ own it!”
“Oh, yeah?” She moaned in my face, twisting and twirling on my dick.
The air was filled with the scent of her arrival, and sweat glistened on her chest.
I spanked her ass again, multiple times.
“Is that the best you can do?” she questioned, challenging me. “I thought you were supposed to be some kind of monster?”
Hearing this, I lost it and threw her off me. Before she could make sense of what was happening, I positioned her on all fours.
“Yes!” she cried out when I drove into her from the back. “That’s more like it!”
I grabbed her hair and pulled at it while ramming her vigorously. My thrusts were hard and deep, my pace so quick it left me breathless.
“This is how you like it?” I spanked her hard until her ass turned red. “You like rough?”
She groaned deeply, hands thrown over the headrest.
“Answer me!”
“Yes, sir!” she whimpered, legs shaking beneath her.
“You naughty little girl!” I drove deeper and deeper inside her.
“Harder! Fuck me harder!”
I obeyed, hitting her as hard as I could while still spanking that ass. Her head shot up after I pulled on her hair, my groin slapping loudly against her butt cheeks.
A primal growl signaled my arrival, but she wasn’t finished yet.
“No, no, no…!” she protested. “Don’t you fuckin’ come now.” Her voice was deep, laced with a stern warning that instantly made me delay my release.
I kept going. Harder. Faster.
She cried out, fingers clutching the fabric of the couch. “Yes, yes, yes…almost there!” She was lost in a sea of passion, her voice faint and strained.
Her lips parted in a silent scream, her face contorted in pleasure. “God, I’m gonna come!”
I didn’t slow down. Instead, I rammed her even faster while still spanking her ass. She dipped her hand beneath her and began rubbing her clit, and soon, her whole body started shaking violently.
“Come for me, Daddy! Come for me!” she pleaded with me, her tone dripping with urgency. “I want it! I want it—I want it so bad….”
Who are you, and what have you done with Celine Hart?
I let out a guttural growl, slamming into her with the hardest stroke yet. “Fuck!” I exploded inside her.
“Oh, my God, yessssss!”
My legs trembled beneath me as I held her in place until she had her release. After I pulled out, she collapsed on the couch, shaking and trembling—a clear sign she was experiencing an orgasm.
I threw myself onto the sofa across from her, struggling to catch my breath. Neither of us said a word, even though we were both in awe of what had just happened.
Without looking at my face, she managed to get up, slip into her shirt, and quietly walk away. As I watched her leave, I realized that something fundamental had shifted. She belonged to me now, and there was no way I was ever letting her go.
No one else was ever going to taste what was mine. Not while I still had breath in my lungs.
Celine Hart, you belong to me now.