Maybe it is.

“Please,” she whimpers, shaking her head. “It’s too much. Too—I can’t take this,” she whispers.

I lift my mouth from her pussy just as her hips jerk with the first spasm of her climax.

“Will you obey me, Vera? Will you trust me to protect you?”

“Of course I will,” she promises, even though I suspect she’d promise damn near anything right now. My dick throbs, and I moan against her folds.

“Good girl. Such a good girl. Come on Daddy’s tongue, Vera.”

She screams with her second climax. I release my swollen cock and flip her onto her belly. Her wrists, still bound, brace on the bed in front of her as I part her legs and stroke the entrance of her pussy with the head of my cock.

“Markov,” she whimpers. “I want you in me.”

My forehead falls to her still-clothed back, damp and hot. I love the feel of her around me when I enter her. I’m slow at first because she’s still new to this, and I don’t want to hurt her. But when she meets me thrust for thrust, I pick up the intensity. She likes a mix of pain and pleasure together.

Noted.

I slam into her, claiming her body with mine. I relish the sound of her moans and the tight, tight feel of her pussy around me like a goddamn glove. Fucking perfection.

I come, my hot seed lashing into her just seconds before her own release consumes her. I bend and bite her neck, needing to taste her, to consume her.

Finally, we come down from our high, and I kiss the red part where I bit her neck. Vera looks like she’s sleeping.

“Are you alright?” I ask.

“Mmm,” she whispers. “I can’t move, but other than that. . . yeah, I’m good.” She opens one eye with effort. “You?”

“I’m perfect, baby. I didn’t take it easy on you.” I kiss her cheek. “Did I hurt you, Vera? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Hurt?” she asks, half-grinning at me. “Markov, you bit my neck, fucked me so hard I felt like you were going to split me open, spanked me, but it was. . . .” Her voice trails off. “I am a woman with a strong vocabulary, but words fail me. Fail me.”

I brush her damp hair off her forehead and kiss her cheek. “You’re so brave,” I tell her honestly. “So damn brave. To trust me like that. . . ” I trail off because I’m surprised to find I’m choked up.

This goddamn upcoming benefit could destroy everything. If Markov’s aunt or anyone who knew him shows. . . my cover will be blown. I’ll have to make my move.

It will be time.

But we’ve had so little time together.

How can someone forbidden be so damn perfect for me?

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Vera

Markov lies beside me. He runs his fingers through my hair, combing it from my face.

“I’m so proud of you,” he says. He’s just cleaned me with a warm washcloth and is tucking me into bed. “You handled that like you were meant for it.”

“Meant for it?” I ask. My words sound slurred. “Or meant for you?”

As soon as I say it, I regret it. His eyes shutter, and his face grows flinty, almost as hard as he did when we first met.

“I shouldn’t have—I’m sorry I?—”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he says with a sigh, shaking his head. “I’m not upset with you. Come here, baby. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”