CHAPTER TWELVE
Tempting the tempter?
Maxsim
The door clicks shut behind me, sealing us in. The room is bathed in the soft glow of candlelight, shadows stretching across the silk sheets and polished wood floors.
The air smells faintly of the sea, and I move to the window, pulling the drapes aside just enough to catch a glimpse of the ocean.
A dozen bratoks are on duty, along with Anton and Nikolai. Alexey suggested six more, but I feel confident that my men will keep us alive long enough to consummate the union.
That is…if Ari agrees.
Loosening my tie with a swift motion, I allow the fabric to slip through my fingers as the waves crash against the shore in the distance. I have no plans to force the issue but understand that sealing the alliance is necessary.
I let out a slow breath and accept that my usual detachment is absent. Control is everything. It’s what’s kept me alive, kept me at the top. But there’s a flicker of something else here tonight—something I’m reluctant to name.
The door creaks open behind me, and I turn to see my wife. She steps into the room, her movements slow, deliberate, as if testing the waters. “No peignoir for the wedding night?”
“That’s not a look I could pull off with a straight face.” She runs her hand over the soft fabric of her cashmere lounge set and looks around. “You promised me cake.”
I hook my finger over my shoulder. “A feast was delivered ten minutes ago.” A genuine smile lights up her face. A first. And something I would like to see again.
“Maybe this union won’t be a total disaster after all.” She brushes past me, lifting silver domes off the plates. “What are you going to eat?”
“One of those cheeseburgers.” The pitying look she gives me lifts the pressure in my chest. “Unless you plan on eating both.”
“I might.” She slides out a chair and plops down with a happy sigh. “I wasn’t sure I’d be alive to enjoy this.”
I take my seat and release the two top buttons on my shirt. “Not one drop of blood was spilled.”
“That we know about,” she retorts before taking a healthy bite of her burger. “For all we know, the cleaners took care of the mess before we could see it.”
After rolling up the cuffs on my shirt, I pick up my burger and take a bite, knowing that Anton would’ve let me know if something happened.
After I’ve eaten half, I notice Ari’s plate is clean. “So, you’re not one of those women who starves themselves.”
“Do my hips suggest I ignore my desires?”
“No.” I wipe my mouth and remember the many nights I’ve woken up in a sweat after Ari starred in my dreams. I push the plate of fries toward her and drain the water from my glass. “You handled the evening well.”
“You sound surprised.” She meets my gaze with a challenge, and I’m reminded that she’s not like the others—pliable, eager to please. She’s exactly what I want…a force of nature.
I tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The movement is slow, deliberate, as if I’m assessing the boundaries between us. “That was a compliment, Ari.”
Her body tenses, but she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she lifts her chin slightly, meeting my gaze. Something vulnerable lies beneath, but she masks it with the same fire that drew me to her initially.
“Why are you saying nice things?” She wrinkles her nose. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Believe it or not, I have no interest in sparring with you for the next fifty years.”
“Then the lobotomy is already scheduled?”
Smirking, I twine our fingers together. “You are the first thing I’ve ever wanted.”
The statement lands heavily between us, an unexpected truth.
I didn’t plan to admit it and expect her to recoil.
But she doesn’t, and the silence stretches, thick with unspoken tension. I can feel her trying to figure me out, trying to see if there’s more to my words than what I’ve let on.
Shifting closer, I let my hand move to the back of her neck, my thumb brushing the delicate skin just below her hairline. The gesture is possessive but also—softer, more protective.
“Why did you book this suite?” She swallows, her throat moving under my touch. “My cousin got rid of the bloody sheet tradition. If we stayed at the estate, proof wouldn’t have been necessary.”
“This marriage is a lot of things.” I lean forward. “But most importantly, it’s not anyone else’s business.”
Deep in my gut, I know this union isn’t really about gaining power. I have plenty.
It’s about something more...something I haven’t allowed myself to feel in a long time. “No one needs to know if we consummate our vows tonight or a month from now.”
I pull her close and don’t just feel the heat of her skin. I feel the risk. I’ve built a life on keeping every threat at bay. And here she is, a storm wrapped in silk, threatening to pull me into the one thing I’ve always avoided—vulnerabilit y .
But I am powerless and capture her lips in a soft kiss, accepting this is what I’ve wanted from the moment we met. Gripping her waist, I pull her close as if I can somehow absorb her fire and make it my own.
She doesn’t yield. Not at first. Instead, she meets my intensity with her own, her hands fisting in the fabric of my shirt, pulling me closer even as she resists the urge to surrender.
It’s a dangerous, exhilarating dance where neither of us is willing to back down.
The kiss deepens, the heat between us building, and I forget everything else for a moment. The room, the marriage, the expectations—all of it fades away until there’s only her.
When my lungs protest, I pull back just enough to catch my breath, my forehead resting against hers. My chest heaves, the air between us thick with the scent of her perfume and something darker, more primal. “This isn’t going to be a love story, Ari. I’m incapable of love, so I won’t promise something I can’t deliver…but I will protect you.”
The words come out harsher than I intend, but I can’t take them back. Love is a weakness I’ve never allowed myself.
“That’s the most I can hope for in our world.”
I brush a strand of hair away from her face, my touch gentle. She’s my wife. My responsibility. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means eventually facing the one thing I’ve always feared.
Her fingers run down the center of my chest. “I’m damaged, Maxsim. And that will work in your favor because I know every madman was once an angel…right before he fell.”
I close my eyes and know I’ve finally met a woman whose wreckage and need match my own.