I clenched my jaw. “How about I choose my cases myself but stay out of your lane?”
He thought for a second.
“I’ll do my thing without interfering in Bratva business,” I added. “That’s fair, if you ask me.”
“I can work with that.”
“Good,” I replied. “Now my next condition is that you never silence me.”
A pause.
“Fine,” he said. “But as long as you learn to bite that sharp tongue of yours.”
“Fine.”
“Good.”
“Perfect.”
Silence. The awkward kind that charged the atmosphere with something electric. The agreement hung between us like a fragile line neither of us fully trusted.
I felt a wave of heat slowly spreading across my body under the intensity of his gaze. My heart was swelling with something familiar, something I’d rather not name.
The longer we stared into each other’s eyes, the more the tension between us intensified. My gaze discreetly swept over his ripped body as those wild thoughts came rushing back.
When I glanced down, I saw the print of his erection underneath the towel. My palms were sweaty all of a sudden, my pulse racing as I struggled to remain composed. The last thing I wanted was for him to see through my mask.
A part of me wanted to damn it all and run into his strong arms. But that reckless move was the reason I was in the situation in the first place.
His unwavering gaze and slightly softer expression hinted at something sexual. He didn’t have to say a word to spark a fire within me, one that refused to quench no matter what I did.
I hated how much his presence affected me—how much my own body carved him. It was as though I was no longer in control, and that alone was unsettling. The longer I stared at him, the stronger the urge to devour his lips.
The mere thought of his cock buried deep inside me again sent tremors down my core. My heart swelled with desire as I drowned in the sea of my passion.
My knees knocked discreetly, attempting to douse the sensation between my legs. My mind was flooded with images of our naked bodies, the flames of lust threatening to consume me.
Before I could lose control completely and do something I’d regret, his phone rang, the incessant buzzing cutting through the silence.
I breathed a faint sigh of relief and backed away, saved by the phone. Without a word, I turned around and stormed out of his bedroom.
I rushed through the hallway and didn’t stop until I got to my room. Inside, I slammed the door shut, locked it, and leaned my back against it. I slid all the way down to the floor, fingers in my hair, overwhelmed by my own emotions.
All the feelings I’d been suppressing this whole time came rushing back at once. Although a part of me was glad that I ran away before things got heated up, the other part wished I hadn’t.
My imagination was running wild, making me wonder what would’ve happened if I had stayed back. I let out a soft sigh, allowing myself to drift back to the day we shared the same bed.
I kept replaying the moment in my head.
The heat.
His kisses.
His touch and gentle thrusts.
I remembered the way he used his tongue to take me to places I’d never been before.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop myself from reminiscing on that moment. He’d marked me that day, tattooed his name and face on my mind.