Page 96 of Beautiful Cruelty

Because this is the only place that I want to be.

27

VADIM

I help Lacey stand,steadying her as her legs tremble. My desk is in complete disarray—papers scattered, pens knocked over, and evidence of our intense coupling smeared all over the polished wood.

"You've made a mess of my workspace,zvyozdochka." I nibble her ear, enjoying the way she shivers.

"And I'd do it again if you ask me to," she quips back, but her voice still carries that delicious breathlessness.

I guide her toward the private shower attached to my office—a necessity given how many nights I spend here working. My fingers find the delicate chain of the necklace at her throat. With utmost care, I unclasp it and place it on the marble countertop. The small diamonds catch the light, and I notice how Lacey's eyes linger on it before she turns her attention back to me.

The shower springs to life with a twist of the chrome handle, steam quickly filling the spacious enclosure. I turn back to Lacey, who stands watching me with those amber-flecked eyes that hide nothing of what she's feeling.

"Join me?" I ask, extending my hand to her.

She puts her hand in mine and, smiling, walks in.

The moment she steps under the hot water, I capture her lips with mine, drinking in her soft gasp of surprise. Steam curls around us as hot water cascades down our bodies. Her hands slide up my chest, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

You're being selfish, my mind whispers.She deserves better than this. Better than you.

But I can't stop myself from deepening the kiss, from tasting every inch of her mouth as she melts against me. My hands find her waist, steadying her as she arches into my touch.

"Vadim," she breathes against my lips, and the sound of my name on her lips carries such trust that it makes my chest ache.

The more she learns about you, the harder it will be for her to walk away.

I know this truth deep in my bones. Every secret I share, every vulnerable moment between us, they're all chains I'm wrapping around her heart while pretending she has the freedom to choose her path.

My fingers trace the curve of her spine as water streams down her back. She shivers, pressing closer, completely unaware that each tender touch is another tie binding her to me.

"You're thinking too hard," Lacey murmurs, nipping at my lower lip.

I smile against her mouth, masking the guilt that threatens to overwhelm me. "Just appreciating the view,zvyozdochka."

But the lie tastes bitter on my tongue. Because while I make her believe she has options, I'm crafting a cage of intimacy around her—one she won't even realize exists until it's too late.

I trail kisses down Lacey's neck, tasting droplets of water mixed with the scent of citrus and lavender rising from her skin. My fingers memorize the curves of her body while guilt gnaws at my conscience. Every soft gasp she makes, every tremor beneath my touch, pulls me deeper into dangerous territory.

"Yes," she whispers by the time I kneel down before her feet, and that single word nearly breaks my resolve.

I shouldn't want her like this. Shouldn't crave the way she arches into my touch or how sweet her body tastes. This was meant to be a temporary arrangement. Yet here I am, on my knees before her in my shower, worshipping her body like a man possessed.

My lips brush across her stomach and she whimpers my name. The sound echoes off the marble walls, mixing with the steady drum of water against tile. I pause, resting my forehead against her hip, fighting the urge to confess just how deeply I'm falling for her.

Instead, I press another kiss to her skin, letting my actions speak what my words cannot. Her hands tighten in my hair as I move lower, and I'm lost. Lost in the taste of her, in the sounds she makes, in the knowledge that I'm crossing lines I never meant to cross.

You're going to destroy her, my mind warns. But I can't stop. Don't want to stop. Every kiss marks her as mine, even though I have no right to claim her.

The water cascades around us as I worship her with my mouth, each caress an unspoken apology for the pain I know I'lleventually cause her. Because that's what men like me do—we take beautiful things and break them, no matter how carefully we try to handle them.

Yet still I continue, addicted to her responses, to the way she trusts me so completely. And as she comes undone above me, I realize I'm falling harder than I ever thought possible.

I worship Lacey with my tongue, savoring her first shuddering gasp. Her fingers tighten in my hair as her hips buck against my mouth. The water streams down her body while steam curls around us, but all I can focus on is drawing more of those delicious sounds from her throat.

"Vadim, please..." she whimpers, and the desperate need in her voice spurs me on.

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