Page 73 of The Pakhan

As the rush of hot cum erupted deep inside of me, my thoughts drifted to something else I shouldn’t be thinking.

What if I fell madly for this man? The real question was whether my heart could take it.

Or if I’d fade into a lesser expression of myself, falling into his delicious trap.

I closed my eyes, realizing and hating the fact a single tear managed to escape, trickling down the side of my cheek to the pillow. And all I could think was a single thing.

Too late.

CHAPTER 19

Caroline

Did mafia men do pillow talk?

I was lying with my arms folded on his chest, still basking in the warm glow of our closeness. Meanwhile, Vadim was absently stroking my arm with one hand, his other arm positioned behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

“Penny for your thoughts,” I finally asked, unable to stand the total silence any longer.

“I’m worth a lot more than that.”

“Then what will it cost me?”

He raised his head, lifting those thick eyebrows of his. “Your soul.”

“At least you didn’t ask for my heart in payment. That will require more than learning your thoughts, buddy.”

“You know how much I love a challenge.”

“Yes, but I am a formidable enemy.”

He laughed and closed his eyes briefly. “We need to find this guy, Caroline. Unfortunately, I’m not convinced whoever it was is one of my employees.”

“He seems to know you.”

“What does that mean?”

“I was having a dream earlier and woke up remembering words he taunted me with.”

He stopped stroking my arm, pushing up onto his elbow. “Talk to me, Caroline. If you remembered something, it is vital I know what he said or did, anything you might remember about his physical characteristics.”

“He was big but that could mean any of your men. His accent was there but extremely subtle, although I couldn’t swear in a court of law it was Russian. Then again, with a little vocal training anyone could mask any accent.”

“True. What did he say?”

I was hesitant to tell him because I knew how he’d react.

“Caroline. Be a good girl.”

“He said something about the fact you’d destroy me.”

His laugh was bitter. “Anyone who hears a single thing about my reputation would tell you that.”

“That’s not it. He said… Something about how your wife died, alluding that you were responsible.” I cringed as soon as I muttered the words. What was I doing to this man?

He pushed me aside, immediately sitting up and shifting to the edge of the bed, acting like he was going to escape both me and the thought. I refused to allow him to walk away so easily, rolling onto my knees and wrapping one arm around his shoulders.

“Don’t pull away from me,” I said gruffly. My God, his chest was heaving, the sound he emitted almost terrifying me.

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