Page 44 of Gilded Caresses

Lev grinned the whole fucking time.

“Good,” my friend growls with arrogance. “Then you know I was telling you the truth when I told you we would enforce the contract. Why didn’t you believe us?”

Lev traces the tip of his finger over the swells of her breasts causing her to jerk away. The sight of her swaying breasts has mewanting a taste. But we have more important things to take care of first than what my dick wants.

“I know why she didn’t believe you. She wanted the option taken out of her hands. Being family to the head of the Northern Alliance places her in the worst possible position. It’s easier this way.”

“Liar. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You sure about that, Sapphire?”

Lev was right. We should have kidnapped her the same night we claimed her at The Society.

I finger the ends of Sapphire’s hair and she jerks out of my touch.

“Krasivaya malen’ kaya ptichka v kletke. Plach’ o nas, milaya.”

“Get off me. You know I don’t understand.” I left the bag on her head as we carried her into our private elevator and dropped her in the middle of Gregor’s bedroom. It’s large and cool with floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a bird’s eye view over our empire. And the perfect cell for our little flitty bird eager to escape.

“Quiet,malyshka.” I fuse strength and dominance into my tone and her back might be ramrod straight but she stills against the rope at her wrists.

“Let me go. Just let me leave. I can’t be pregnant anyway. Let’s just cancel the contract and I’ll go my way. You go yours.”

I laugh.

“You beg so well.” Gregor fists the ends of the black hood and yanks it off her head. Dark hair tumbles over the white silk of her blouse and she’s the spitting image of a raging angel.

Fiery blue eyes scan the surroundings and they don’t stop until they land on Lev, Gregor, and then me. Damn, I love a woman who makes me work for what I want. And she’s beautiful. I never saw myself falling for the enemy but this woman has stolen a part of me I didn’t know I had to give. Seeing Lev struggle this morning with his nightmares made me realize I haven’t had one in about a week. Why? I can’t say for sure, but if I had an educated guess I would say the reason is sitting right in front of me. The thought of her, knowing I would not live this life in a void helped chase some of the darkness from my soul.

And therein lies the problem. She doesn’t deserve what we want from her, but I am too fucking selfish to let her walk out of our lives. If we don’t get her pregnant someone else will and fuck that shit. I want to see her round and happy with our baby. That’s probably a little fucking alpha chest-thumping for people to hear, but it’s true. Something primal grips my balls and won’t let go until I am releasing my white-hot milk inside her.

Every time she breathes out, hair flutters over her face. I smooth the long strands from her face and cup heated puffing cheeks in my palms.

“Untie her men. Let her run. She’s in Southern territory now. Let’s see how far our little birdie can get before someone spots her.”

“I’m betting half a block in those four-inch heels and that sexy thigh-tight skirt.” Gregor takes out a switchblade from his pocket and slices it through the ropes.

She jumps a little but doesn’t back down from Gregor. He takes her hands in his and kisses the small band of red left by the harsh rope.

“Forgive us,” he murmurs in our native language. “We would never intentionally hurt you.”

“I wish I knew what you were saying.”

Gregor brushes his scarred knuckles over her cheeks and she doesn’t realize it, but his touch calms her breathing.

She eyes the healed gashes over my friend’s hands but doesn’t ask questions. But it won’t take long. She left it for later when we stripped for her in The Society. She had other things on her mind, as did we that night. But curiosity is getting the best of her with how she keeps looking and biting at the inside of her cheek.

“We will teach you our language if you give us that chance.”

Lev is at her side. He takes a brush he pulled from some drawer in Gregor’s walk-in closet and sets to taming her wild hair.

“You know I can’t stay. It’s not that I don’t like you?—”

“—it’s that you are scared?”

She nods. “I do not want to be the reason you are hurt. So, show me the door, I’ll find a cab before anyone spots me and I’ll be out of your hair.”

There are two problems with that scenario.

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