Chapter 19
Lev
She gets up and walks back towards the house.
Towards me. A slow, dark satisfaction coils in my gut.
She didn’t run. She didn’t fight the guards.
She chose to come back inside. She chose the cage.
I kill the security feed and stand, my work on Popov and Mercer forgotten.
They can wait. The handler can wait. Everything can wait.
When she walks into the sitting room, I move to block her path to the stairs.
Her eyes meet mine, and there’s no fight in them now.
Just a weary resignation that is somehow more potent than her anger ever was.
She came back because she can’t stay away. Because the invisible chain I’ve wrapped around her is already pulling tight. I step closer, backing her up against the wall. “You came back because you know where you belong now.”
She inhales deeply, but she doesn’t deny it. That’s all the answer I need.
Leaning forward, my hands rest on the wall on either side of her head. She looks small against the white paint, but her spirit is anything but.
“Say it,” I command, my voice a low rasp.
“I have nowhere else to go, Lev.” Her voice is barely a whisper, yet it cuts through the silence of the room.
“That’s not what I asked.”
I lean in, brushing my lips against hers. She makes a tiny sound of surrender that fuels the fire in my blood. I don’t want her here because she has no choice. I want her here because she wants me, despite the blood on my hands and the lock on her door.
“I belong here,” she finally breathes out.
I don’t waste another second. I scoop her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around my waist as I carry her back up the stairs.
She buries her face in the crook of my neck, her fingers clenching the fabric of my shirt.
The world outside can burn for all I care.
Inside these walls, she is mine, and I am never letting her go.
I kick the bedroom door shut. Varvara is a warm, solid weight in my arms. Her heart thuds against my chest, a frantic rhythm that I want to own.
I don’t stop until I reach the centre of the bed.
I lay her down on the dark cotton and follow her before she can find her breath.
I’ve spent my entire life taking what I want. Most things are disposable. This is different. This is a fucking obsession I can’t shake. I look at her, memorising the way her hair spills across my pillow. She’s waiting for the monster to show his teeth. I don’t intend to disappoint her.
“You think I’m going to let you wake up tomorrow and pretend you didn’t say it?” I ask. I brush my thumb over the thin red line on her throat. My mark. “I’m going to ruin you for any other man. I’m going to make sure that every time you close your eyes, you see my face.”
She doesn’t flinch. She reaches up and pulls me down by my hair. “Stop talking, Lev.”
I don’t need a second invitation. I crash my mouth against hers, devouring the sound she makes.
It’s a desperate, broken noise that tells me she’s finally stopped fighting the inevitable.
I’m going to keep her in this room until she forgets there’s a world outside these walls.
Until the only name she knows how to scream is mine.
I strip her clothes away with a single-minded focus that leaves no room for hesitation.
Every inch of skin I uncover is a new territory I intend to hold.
She is pale and perfect against the navy bedding, a contrast that makes my blood roar in my ears.
I get rid of my clothes, tossing them aside as I move back over her.
I don’t go slow. I don’t give her the chance to find her footing as I pin her wrists above her head with one hand, letting her feel the full weight of my body and the stiffness of my cock. Her eyes are wide, the green darkened by hunger that makes me want to worship her.
“Mine,” I say against the sensitive skin of her ear.
I sink into her pussy in one heavy thrust. She gasps, her back arching off the mattress as she takes all of me.
I don’t wait for her to adjust, I just set a punishing pace, driving into her with a raw, primal need that bypasses logic.
She meets me, her hips rising to find mine, her teeth sinking into my shoulder to stifle a scream.
This is the only truth that matters. The world can hunt her, the Bratva can bleed, and Popov can plan his petty wars, but in this bed, she is anchored to me.
She nears the edge, and I lean down to catch her moan with my mouth.
When she breaks, I ride her through it, not even close to having this end yet.
Her pussy clamps down on me, and I nearly lose the battle with my restraint.
I drive deeper, ignoring the burn in my muscles because the way she clenches around me is the only thing that matters.
She’s tight, dragging the breath from my lungs until I’m nearly as far gone as she is.
I release her wrists, my hands moving down to grab her thighs, pulling her legs wider so I can bury every last inch of myself in her cunt.
She sobs my name, the sound muffled against my neck, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.
“Eyes on me,” I demand.
They are glassy, blown wide with the shock of her climax. She doesn’t look away. She can’t. I drive into her harder, deeper.
“Never letting you go, moya sladkaya. Never. Do you hear me?”
“Yes,” she pants.
“You’re mine now. You will never be set free.”
“Lev!” she cries out as her pussy clamps down again, nearly breaking my cock in half.
“Fuck, Varvara,” I rasp. “Fuck. You feel so good. So perfect. So mine.”
“Yes,” she pants. “Yours.”
“Fuck,” I groan, as hearing her say it makes my cock harder.
Withdrawing fully, I flip her over and drag her up by her hips. Driving into her from behind, she sheathes me, wet, hot, tight as fuck.
I dig my fingers into her hips, anchoring her as I drive home.
Every thrust is a claim. I want her to feel the weight of my obsession in every bone.
She’s kneeling on the bed, her hair messily strewn across the navy fabric.
I don’t let her catch her breath. I want her to know exactly who dominates her.
“Say my name,” I say. My breath is hot against her neck.
“Lev,” she gasps, her voice trembling.
I slam into her, my cock buried deep. She’s so tight I’m losing my mind. She arches her back, her cries getting louder. I want this to last until the sun burns out. Sex has never felt like this. It’s never made me want to destroy the world just to keep ploughing my dick into a hot pussy.
She is different. Varvara Krestova has broken me in the best possible way.
“You aren’t leaving this bed,” I say.
I feel her clench around me. Her muscles contract, pulling me in. I lose my grip on my restraint and let out a low groan as I unload inside her. My body shakes with the force of my release. She squeaks as I bruise her hips, but I won’t let go. Not now. Not ever.
I withdraw slowly and roll her over so I can see those green eyes. They’re clouded with the aftermath of what I just did to her.
I run my thumb over her swollen bottom lip. She doesn’t pull away. The defiance I met in the park is buried under layers of exhaustion and raw need. I’ve broken the seal. There’s no going back to being the girl who serves drinks in a club.
“You’re going to stay in this bed until I say otherwise.”
Crawling into the bed beside her, I pull the navy duvet over us, trapping her heat against mine.
She doesn’t fight the proximity. She settles into my side.
Her head finds the space on my chest. It belongs there.
I’m a possessive bastard. I don’t care. Popov wants a war?
I’ll give him one. But I’ll do it with Varvara tucked safely behind my walls.
Anyone who thinks they can take her from me will learn exactly how I treat thieves.
I don’t just kill them. I erase them. I’ve made a deadly vow, and I’m going to enjoy every second of keeping it.