Page 91 of Beautiful Cruelty

"You won't hurt me," I whisper, moving closer. "You promised you'd only hurt me if I asked you to. Remember?"

His eyes meet mine, storm-gray clouded with conflict. "Lacey..."

"I trust you, Vadim." My fingers trace the line of his jaw. "Do you trust yourself?"

26

LACEY

The hard woodof his desk presses into my thighs as Vadim crowds me back against it.

His height looms over me, blocking out everything else until my world narrows to just him. The raw vulnerability I glimpsed moments ago has transformed into something else—something hungry and fierce that makes my heart race.

His hands grip my waist, lifting me onto the desk's edge. Papers scatter to the floor, but neither of us cares. All I can focus on is how his touch sets my skin on fire, how desperately I want to heal the wounds we both carry.

"Tell me to stop," he whispers. "Tell me this isn't what you want."

But I can't lie, not about this, not to him. Not when every cell in my body craves his touch. Not when I want to show him that he deserves to be chosen, to be wanted.

His lips trace a burning path down my throat, and I arch into him with a gasp. The necklace he retrieved for me catches thelight, reminding me of his kindness even as his teeth graze my skin.

How can one man be so many things at once? The dangerous pakhan and the wounded son. The man who threatens to pierce me in jewelry stores and the one who wipes away my tears. I want all of him, every complicated, contradictory piece.

"Vadim," I breathe as his kisses drift lower. "You're not him."

He freezes for a moment, tension rippling through his muscles. Then his mouth claims mine in a kiss that steals my breath. There's desperation in it, need and vulnerability and something deeper that makes my heart ache.

I want to wrap him in tenderness, even as his touch sets me aflame. Want to prove that he's worthy of gentleness even as he makes me crave his roughness. Want to heal his heart even as he makes mine race wildly out of control.

My body trembles as Vadim's kisses grow more urgent, desperate. His hands grip my waist tighter, pulling me to the edge of the desk until I'm pressed flush against him. Papers crinkle beneath me, but I barely notice, lost in the sensation of his touch.

"Let me show you," I whisper again between kisses, my fingers tangling in his hair.

His mouth traces down my neck, and I gasp when his teeth graze my skin. The necklace catches against his lips, and the metal warms between us. Such a simple thing, yet it revealed so much about who he really is.

"Zvyozdochka," he breathes against my throat, the endearment making my heart flutter. His voice is thicker now, rougher withneed. One hand slides up my back while the other grips my thigh, and I arch into him instinctively.

I can feel him trembling too, holding back. Even now, he's afraid of hurting me, of becoming the monster his mother sees in him. But I trust him—trust the man who broke arms to retrieve my necklace, who gives me choices even when he could take them away.

My legs wrap around his waist, drawing him closer.

"I want this," I tell him, my voice husky with desire. "I want you."

His storm-gray eyes meet mine, dark with hunger but also a vulnerability that makes my chest ache. I frame his face in my hands, thumbs stroking his cheeks where tears fell earlier.

"You're nothing like him," I whisper fiercely. "Nothing."

"You can't know that," he whispers roughly, but his hands tighten on my waist. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

"I know exactly what you're capable of." My fingers trace the hard line of his jaw. "You protect women from monsters." I lean closer, breathing in his familiar scent. "You're giving me choices that he would never have given, even now."

A tremor runs through his powerful frame. His forehead presses against mine, and I feel his uneven breaths fan across my lips.

"Lacey..." He whispers.

My name comes out like a prayer and a warning wrapped into one. His voice thickens around the syllables.

"Show me," I breathe, sliding my hands down his chest. "Show me who you really are."

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