Page 26 of Twisted Vows

Deep in my gut, I know this union isn’t really about gaining power. I have plenty.

It’s about something more...something I haven’t allowed myself to feel in a long time. “No one needs to know if we consummate our vows tonight or a month from now.”

I pull her close and don’t just feel the heat of her skin. I feel the risk. I’ve built a life on keeping every threat at bay. And here she is, a storm wrapped in silk, threatening to pull me into the one thing I’ve always avoided—vulnerability.

But I am powerless and capture her lips in a soft kiss, accepting this is what I’ve wanted from the moment we met. Gripping her waist, I pull her close as if I can somehow absorb her fire and make it my own.

She doesn’t yield. Not at first. Instead, she meets my intensity with her own, her hands fisting in the fabric of my shirt, pulling me closer even as she resists the urge to surrender.

It’s a dangerous, exhilarating dance where neither of us is willing to back down.

The kiss deepens, the heat between us building, and I forget everything else for a moment. The room, the marriage, the expectations—all of it fades away until there’s only her.

When my lungs protest, I pull back just enough to catch my breath, my forehead resting against hers. My chest heaves, the air between us thick with the scent of her perfume and something darker, more primal. “This isn’t going to be a love story, Ari. I’m incapable of love, so I won’t promise something I can’t deliver…but I will protect you.”

The words come out harsher than I intend, but I can’t take them back. Love is a weakness I’ve never allowed myself.

“That’s the most I can hope for in our world.”

I brush a strand of hair away from her face, my touch gentle. She’s my wife. My responsibility. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means eventually facing the one thing I’ve always feared.

Her fingers run down the center of my chest. “I’m damaged, Maxsim. And that will work in your favor because I know every madman was once an angel…right before he fell.”

I close my eyes and know I’ve finally met a woman whose wreckage and need match my own.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Everything you can’t control.

Ari

Every woman in the Cosa Nostra knows the more your husband desires you, the safer you are...which is why I’m going to consummate my marriage tonight.

At least, that’s the lie I’m telling myself.

The truth, of course, is much more complicated.

But an examination of that little bomb will have to wait since a beautiful Russian criminal is staring at me like I’m the answer to a question he doesn’t dare ask.

Taking a step forward, I watch him inhale sharply through his nose.

His eyes. His goddamn ice-blue eyes are warmer than anything I’ve ever seen, making every inch of my skin burn like I’m standing in the center of a fire.

“Beauty is the gift you were given to control those around you.”

“That’s not—” His hand reaches up, fingers brushing my cheek.

“Chaos is the energy that swirls around you, and attention is the thing that keeps you safe.”

My heart slams against my ribs.

“But eros,” his thumb traces my jawline, “is the one that could control everything.”

Heat radiates from his touch as his hand slides from my cheek to the back of my neck, pulling me closer until our breaths mingle.

“Maxsim—”

“Trust me,” he whispers. Not a request but a command.

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