Page 69 of Vow of Silence

Instead, I wipe it against my straining dick to prep myself for the best part: immersion.

I take Stas’s face between my hands and pull at the corner of her mouth with my thumb. She groans, her tongue touching the tip while she maintains eye contact, fucking the deepest parts of my soul with her desire. I seat myself on my heels, leaning back to make room for her to climb atop her fucking throne. This woman belongs with me, ruling from above like the queen she was always meant to be.

My place remains at her feet—worshipping the absolute angel she is, sent down from Heaven to save me.

And I’m more than okay with that.

“Don’t be gentle,” she whispers, her palm wrapped around my cock to line us up.Fucking put me out of my misery already.“I want to feel you tomorrow.” She grins, sliding her sinful pussy over my resolute dick. “Here.”

There is no slow and steady. No easing into this thing of ours. I take her by the hips and lift her two inches purely so I can hear the sound our bodies make when I slam her down again. She cries out, her response amplified in the confines of the Defender. I swear it’s my favorite goddamn sound.

Our lovemaking is frantic and compulsive. But then, our love always was.

A force of nature no amount of tradition or formality could deny.

An attraction so strong that even death failed to keep us apart.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Nastasya

“Iwasn’t sure if you’d bother to come back.” Papa stands in the doorway to the den, hands casually in his pockets. He’s ditched the usual suit jacket, but his dusk gray sleeves are rolled to the elbow, shirt taut across his shoulders. “You seemed so eager to leave.”

I pause my journey back toward my bedroom and turn to face him. “If you paid more attention to those around you, you would have noticed I was back two hours ago. Did your guard dog Ivan not tell you?” Probably not, considering the lumbering giant barely leaves my sight.

“Contrary to what you obviously believe, he doesn’t tell me everything.”

“Only what matters, right?” To be honest, I purposefully avoided seeing Papa. One look at the man now reminds me why: he’s not my father anymore. At least not in the way he once was.

I’ve always seen the man as my papa first, yet I respect who he is to others: Arseni, the Iron Jaw, and thepakhanof our brotherhood. I recognize the man in the suit, the steel glare, and the arrogant tilt of his chin. What I fail to find is any sign that this man loves me as more than an asset.

Especially after hearing what Benito had to say about our fated night together.

Papa snorts at my retort. “What is it about the man that you find so appealing? He can’t fucking speak, and he’ll never head his family.” He shakes his head. “I thought you’d fight me about this,moya malen’kaya roza. But not for the reasons you are.”

“What’s wrong with getting along with my future husband?” I narrow my eyes. “Did you expect me to do something else for you?”

“Why would it be for me?” He folds his arms.

I mirror the gesture, a freshly filled water bottle in one hand and a granola bar in the other. “Are you fucking kidding me? Why else would you agree to marry me into their family if it wasn’t for your gain?”

“I did it tosaveyou.” He strides across the floor, closing the space between us with his pointer finger held accusingly. “They won’t hurt you if you’re one of theirs.”

“Isn’t that your job? To keep me safe?” I lift an eyebrow.

He presses his lips together, gaze narrowing.

“Whydidthey want to hurt me, Papa?” I can’t hide the derision from my voice as I continue to say the things I’ve kept inside for too long. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.” His upper lip curls, the word a monotonous lie.

“That’s not what I heard.” I lift my chin. “I heard you’ve got a history with the man responsible for Caroline’s death.”

“What the hell are you saying?” He slides his scrutiny the length of me as though he can find the part that’s out of place and causing such delusions. “You’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, Nastasya. You’re confused.” He huffs a small laugh. “Maybe the knock to your headdiddo some damage.”

Fuck him.My body trembles, yet I refuse to allow my fuckingfatherto rule me with fear. “What deal do you have with Ignazio?”

He blanches before turning away to hide the reaction. “I have no deal with that mongrel, and Iwon’tentertain such baseless accusations from you.”

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