38. Cora
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
cora
The sun dipped low on the horizon, setting the sky colored with hues of orange and pink, the colors reflecting off the crystal-clear waters of Bali’s shoreline. I sat on a lounge chair, my bare feet digging into the soft, warm sand as gentle waves reached my ears. The world there felt distant from the chaos we had left behind in New York. It was a sanctuary—a rare, precious moment of peace.
It had been a wonderful few days that we’d spent here. Maxim had let me spend as much time as I wanted with my camera, following me everywhere with tiny, tempting touches. He’d corner me and take me against the nearest available surface every few hours. It was paradise.
I glanced over my shoulder at Maxim, who stood near the villa’s infinity pool, a drink in his hand, his sharp features softened by the warm light of the setting sun. Even on vacation, he exuded an aura of control and authority. But there was a different side to him, away from the weight of the bratva and the pressures of our world. He wore a loose linen shirt, the top buttons were undone, and the faintest hint of a smile pulled at his lips as he watched me.
“You’re quiet,” he said, his deep voice cutting through the air as he approached me. “What’s on your mind, Cora?”
I tilted my head, a smile playing on my lips. “Just thinking how unreal this feels. Like we’ve stepped into another life.” Maxim placed his glass on the side table and lowered himself onto the lounge chair beside me. “It’s not another life. It’s our life. This—” he gestured at the serene beach, the soft waves, the golden glow of the sunset, “—is what we’re fighting for. To carve out moments like this, away from everything. Conall, Angelo, and Ilias have things under control while we are gone this week. Lev will help — he’s bringing in more men while we get ready for the next stage of our fight against Vallone.”
I turned to face him fully, the sincerity in his words striking a chord deep within me. “Do you think it’ll last? Moments like this?”
Maxim’s smile faded slightly, but his eyes never left mine. “It will last because I’ll make it last. For you. For us.”
I reached out, my fingers lightly brushing his. “I don’t want to lose this, Maxim. Or you.”
He took my hand in his, his grip firm but comforting. “You won’t. I promised you, Cora. I don’t break my promises.”
I leaned into him, my head resting on his shoulder, as we watched the sun slip beneath the horizon. The world seemed to hold its breath, and the transition between day and night was a perfect metaphor for our lives. We had come from darkness, clawing our way into the light, and now, together, we stood on the edge of something brighter.
“You know,” I said, my voice teasing, “you’re almost convincing as a romantic.”
Maxim’s laugh was low and rich, vibrating through his chest. “Don’t let it fool you. I’m still the same man. When we return to New York in a few days, there will be just as much blood and chaos.” He gave me a stern glower. “And you’re going to learn to shoot.”
I pulled back, studying his face. “I’m not fooled.”
Maxim’s expression softened, and for a moment, the formidable pakhan was replaced by a man who loved me fiercely, without hesitation or regret. “You make me want to be more.”
We stayed like that for a long while, the world around us fading into the background. When the stars began to sprinkle the sky, Maxim stood and offered me his hand.
“Come,” he said. “There’s a promise I made you.”
I let him pull me to my feet, the warmth of his hand in mine grounding me. As we walked back to our villa, the lights from the pool casting a soft glow around us,
“What promise is that?” I said coyly as we reached the bedroom, looking at him from my lashes and reaching for my bikini strings.
“Don’t untie those yet, zayka,” he warned with a growl.
“Don’t untie them?” I teased. “Or … what will happen?” I pulled the string slowly.
“You’re going to get punished.” His jaw clenched.
I let the bikini fall to the floor as it unraveled and scooted back to the bed, watching while Maxim picked the bikini up and pulled the string out of the top and the bottoms. Wetness pooled between my thighs, and I thought about finding relief myself. I slipped my hands over my breasts, tweaking my nipples. The sensation sparked as I pulled and twisted each nub.
“I’m so close, Max.”
“No, my bad little girl.” He tsk’ed. “Get on your knees. Hands on the headboard. I don’t want you coming until I say.”
Eagerly, I did as he asked as he prowled forward. He rubbed a palm over one of my flanks, caressing them, pinching gently until his blunt fingers edged toward my slit as he positioned himself behind me. I groaned with need, dropping my head to the pillows. I was aching to be filled.
“I’ve promised you a spanking for a while now, haven’t I?” Maxim crooned, returning his palms to rubbing my ass.
“Yes,” I managed. He had promised, and the thought was tantalizing, but I was having second thoughts now. My hips swiveled as his fingers dipped and whirled in the wetness that had gathered.
“We need to cure you of that wandering, zayka. Make you obedient.” His cock dipped into me, and I groaned. The sensation was electric as he pumped the tip inside. It wasn’t nearly enough. “Maybe this will be your fate every time. I’ll fuck you into submission.”
“More Max. More. Please,” I begged, trying to thrust back against his cock and the feelings that were expanding inside me.
“Bad girl,” he chastened, but I could feel how he was restraining himself – how he pulsed inside me.
The spank surprised me. It was hard enough to sting and startle me, but his palm soothed the sting immediately after, stimulating the skin underneath in a new way that made my senses fire on all cylinders.
“You like that, don’t you?” Maxim kept up his steady, teasing pace.
“Noooo,” I whined. “Let me come, please.” I was going to explode.
“Don’t lie, zayka. That’s bad.”
Smack. His palm hit the same spot, and pain sparked, but the hit seemed to go straight to my clit, and I almost came right then. Maxim started to slide into me lazily as I squirmed.
“Don’t come,” he warned, but I was already gone like a shooting star, the lights blazing behind my eyes as the orgasm hit me.
“We’ll have to start again, baby,” he said with a sigh pulling his cock from me.
Turning me over, he tweaked my nipples, laving them with his tongue and kneading them while he spread my legs and speared my center with his fingers. Just when I was about to come, he withdrew and flipped me back over, making me nearly cry.
“Should I punish you for coming before I told you?” he asked me as he positioned me how he wanted.
I was quivering with need by now and wasn’t sure how I felt about this new round of sexual frustration. Did I like it?
“No?” It came out in a whine.
Smack.
He soothed the sting as he pumped into me. “Don’t you dare come.”
His thumbs dug into sore spots on my ass and thighs as he thrust harder and harder just as he reached forward to my clit, pinching it hard.
“Now, zayka,” he groaned.
The explosion went on forever, the pleasure bursting forth as he bent over me, pressing and kissing against my skin and rolling me to the sheets. I closed my eyes and let my head fall against my husband.
“Are you going to be good now?” he whispered.
“Never,” I whispered back.