Page 142 of Beautiful Cruelty

I dash up the grand staircase. My lungs burn as I push myself faster, desperate to reach the second floor. Just a few more steps...

A hand grabs my ankle and I scream, kicking out wildly. My foot connects with something solid and I hear Vadim grunt again. His grip loosens just enough for me to wrench free.

I scramble forward on hands and knees, marble cold and slick beneath my palms. But I only make it a few steps before his weight slams into me from behind, crushing me against the floor. All the air leaves my lungs in a rush.

"You betrayed me." His voice is a dangerous growl in my ear. “After everything we did together! After everything I told you! Why?”

I try to push up, to squirm away, but he's too heavy, too strong. His hands pin my wrists to the floor and I can feel the heat of his body through my rain-soaked dress. My heart pounds so hard I think it might burst.

That's when I feel his grip on my left hand tighten. His thumb brushes over my ring finger and he goes very, very still.

I squeeze my eyes shut, knowing exactly what he's found—Nathan's engagement ring, the one I put on at Megan's suggestion before going to the police station.

"What the fuck is this doing on your finger?" Vadim's voice drips with venom against my ear.

"The police would've asked questions if—" My words cut off in a gasp as he yanks my hand up.

"I don't give a fuck what questions they were going to ask!" He wrenches the ring off my finger with such force that I cry out in pain. "You aremine! Not his."

The ring clatters somewhere in the darkness, the sound echoing off marble. My body trembles beneath his weight, but not just from fear anymore. Heat pools low in my belly, shameful and undeniable.

"I had to look the part," I whisper, but the words sound hollow even to my own ears.

"The part of what? His grieving fiancée?" Vadim's breath is hot against my neck. "Is that what you still want to be?"

His grip tightens on my wrists, and I bite back a moan. What the fuck is wrong with me? I should be terrified. I should be fighting harder. Instead, I'm arching up against him, seeking more contact.

"No," I gasp out.

"Then what do you want?" His words rumble through his chest and into mine.

Maybe I'm reacting this way because I'm about to get exactly what I deserve: punishment for my part in all of this. For getting Irina killed. For putting Megan in danger. For betraying Vadim's trust.

The weight of my guilt crashes over me, and suddenly I understand.

I've been seeking absolution since Paris, and there's only one way to get it.

And maybe, just maybe...

I've known all along this is the only way I can get it.

"Answer me,zvyozdochka!"

"I want you to hurt me," I whisper, the confession tearing from somewhere deep inside me.

Somewhere honest. Somewhere that I've always known existed. Somewhere that I've done my best to keep from the world.

Somewhere that only he can reach.

The heat from his body seem to envelop me completely, and I feel the unmistakable hardness of his cock rising at my words.

"Don't lie to me,zvyozdochka," his breath burns at my earlobe as one hand grabs the hem of my dress and starts hiking it up my thigh.

"I'm not," I reply, as he exposes my ass and tears away my panties with a practiced stroke. "Iwantyou to hurt me. Ineedyou to hurt me."

"You want me to hurt you?" His belt jingles as it comes undone. “Is that really what you fucking want?”

I squeeze my eyes shut and shudder involuntarily at the sound of him unzipping his pants. Cool air kisses my exposed ass, replaced quickly with the unmistakable heat of his cock.

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