Page 35 of Slipping into the Dark Side

Yakov pressed his hands on his desk and smirked. “I didn’t steal anything.”

God, the way he looked at her made her insides quiver. Tatianna pushed strength into her back. She wasn’t going to break first. It was detrimental that Yakov did. Otherwise, any future of them together would be questioned. She needed to know that she had some effect on him.

“Your reputation is on my side. Being a man-whore comes with repercussions.”

“Are you crying rape?” Yakov chuckled, sitting proudly in his leather chair. “Who will care?”

Tatianna stepped up to the desk. “All the fathers that already hate you.”

Yakov’s brows knit in warning. There was some truth to what she was saying. If Nevsky spoke about the blackmail to Yakov’s generals, how many would he have on his side? It would be a civil war.

But Yakov knew the old man would be too humiliated to say a damn thing. Tatianna, on the other hand, would sacrifice her embarrassment for victory.

It’s the same thing he would do.

Tatianna could see the wheels in his head turning. It was perfection. So to drive her point, she continued, “You think all we women do is sit and talk about ‘senseless stuff.’ But I know the ones striving to be rid of you. What do you think their fathers will do if they believe their daughters to be next?” She enjoyed the way he looked away, the same question going through his head. “You need me to be quiet. You need this to go away.”

Yakov occupied his time by lighting a cigarette and blowing out smoke. Anyone else, he would have killed for such a threat. Because she was right. She could set off a chain of events that could alter his future.

Tatianna put her hands down on the desk, lowering herself to eye level. He watched her, blowing smoke at her. He wondered if she knew he could see down her shirt. And then knew she knew. She was doing it on purpose.

“You thought to blackmail my father, but you screwed yourself in the process. You are–” She plucked the cigarette between his fingers and took a deep drag. “—Impulsive.”

Yakov snapped to his feet and came around the desk, snatching the cigarette from between her lips and throwing it on the floor while his hand grabbed a fist full of her hair and slammed her mouth to his. The gasp, the smile, the way she melted into him, was everything. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer, dying to have her clothes off and bent over his desk.

He yanked back, panting. The heat in Tatianna’s cheeks and the desire in her eyes relieved him. “How’s that for impulsiveness?”

“I already knew you would do that,” she whispered breathlessly.

A smirk fought against his lips. “Did you? How?”

“You asked me to marry you. After you already got what you wanted. You pursued me even when it would ruin Fedor and my father’s cooperation. You were willing to risk it.”

Her fingertips graced the side of his face, and he nearly leaned into it. Her touch eased the ache in his chest like nothing else. He hated her for it, and yet it only made him love her more. “Big risk.” Yakov kept his hands on her hips, keeping her close. “What if I hadn’t kissed you?”

“I would have destroyed your kingdom.”

He chuckled into her lips. He loved the fire in her. Yakov never wanted to smother it, only to intensify her strength. “I almost want you to try.” He kissed her again. For minutes, they held onto each other, healing the damage between them. Forgivenessfrom her compared only to the forgiveness of God. He never knew he needed it, but she reached parts of him no one else could. She had become his greatest weakness.

“What about Fedor? You can’t marry him.”

“OH?” Tatianna grinned against his cheek. “Then let’s get all we can out of him before the big day.”

Yakov smirked. “You will make a perfect Morozov.”

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