Page 29 of Fatal Bonds

His fingers curl, bunching my skirt at the bend of my hips as he guides the fabric up my thighs. As soon as I have the freedom to do so, I brace against his shoulders and jump up, wrapping my legs around his waist. A low moan vibrates from his chest, releasing butterflies in my stomach, and his warm hands grasp my thighs, his fingers sliding beneath the hem that’s ridden all the way up.

Without breaking our kiss, he moves toward the bedroom, and my pulse flutters, my breaths quickening. What happened between us in his office was unexpected and frantic, a necessary release after the explosive tension from my punishment. But this feels entirely different. This smoldering attraction has been building since we met, and finally, I feel like I understand what drew me in. The electric connection between us has been sitting unacknowledged, waiting for the catalyst to spark a fire. All it took was a glimpse of the real Maks, the man behind the ruthlesspakhan, for me to know that my attraction isn’t completely irrational. Something about Maks keeps luring me in. He’s not at all the man I envisioned falling for, but as he carries me to bed, I’m shocked to realize my feelings for him are more powerful than anything I’ve felt before.

The bedroom doors slam against the wall as he shoves them open blindly, and he doesn’t bother closing them as he steps forward, spilling me onto his luxurious bed. His weight presses me into the mattress, his hips spreading my thighs as they pin me down, and I grind against him, needing friction to satisfy that aching desire pulsing in my clit.

Maks’s fingers lightly circle my throat, making my pulse stutter, and his thumb tips my chin up, granting him better access to the sensitive flesh. Trailing hot kisses down my neck, he works his way toward my collarbone, his fingers blazing a trail as he opens the buttons of my blouse, exposing my breasts and the wire he so carefully tucked inside it.

I sit up as he tugs the fabric free of my skirt, and he guides the shirt over my shoulders as he undresses me. Reaching for the clasp of my bra, I help while he lowers the zipper on my skirt, then he presses me back onto the bed so he can peel off the rest of my clothing. Once again, I’ve been laid bare for Maks to see while he’s still wearing all his clothes, and my fingers itch to take them off so I can see what’s underneath. But as soon as I start to drag the hem of his shirt up, exposing a hint of his tattoos, his fingers circle around my wrists, and he pins them against the bed above me.

“I want to tie you down and claim each of your holes, little rabbit,” he breathes, his lips brushing the shell of my ear, and I shudder as my stomach flip-flops nervously.

Transferring his grip to keep my hands trapped above me with one hand, he reaches between us to unbuckle his belt, and I gasp as it hisses free of his belt loops. I swallow hard, tensing as I think about what he just suggested. I might have enjoyed his punishment with the belt, but I’ve never done what he’s suggesting before, and I’m not so sure I would like it.

“Maks,” I say, anxiety lacing my tone, as he wraps the soft leather around my wrists and fastens it to the headboard. “I don’t know?—”

But Maks’s lips feel so good as they travel down my body inch by inch. He looks up at me as he palms my breasts, his lips brushing across the sensitive skin, and he rolls my nipples lightly with his thumbs, coaxing a moan of pleasure from me.

“Have I given you any reason to think you wouldn’t enjoy what I do to you,zaya?” he asks, his lips continuing toward my navel.

“No,” I breathe, my back arching beneath his expert touch.

“I promise you’ll like everything I do to you, and I won’t push you farther than what you can take. Do you trust me?”

Surprisingly, I do. Maks might seem capable of killing a man with his bare hands, but when it comes to my body, I believe him if he says he won’t hurt me. But I’m not quite sure I’m ready to give him more power over me. It feels like he has too much already.

“We could use a safe word,” he murmurs.

“Would I need a safe word?” I ask, my skin prickling with fear and overstimulation as Maks continues to trail kisses down my abdomen.

He shifts his weight, straightening to kneel over me, and my mouth goes dry, my thoughts scattering, as he grips the hem of his henley and pulls it off over his head in one fluid motion. The glimpse I got of him in his office is nothing compared to the work of art I see now. He looks like he’s carved from marble, his rippling abs ending in a deep V that vanishes into the top of his joggers. His broad, muscular chest is covered in black ink. Tattoos snake up his arms and over his shoulders, all intricate, haunting depictions of death and destruction shrouded in curling smoke.

“If it will make you more comfortable,” he says huskily. “It’s an assurance that if you say your safe word, I’ll stop what I’m doing immediately.”

I’m so distracted by the perfection of his body that, at first, I can’t make sense of what he just said. Then my eyes snap to his face as he lowers himself between my thighs, hooking my knees over his shoulders.

“And ‘stop’ wouldn’t do the trick?” I breathe, straining against the belt around my wrists as his hot breath washes across my clit, making my core clench with the need to have something inside me.

His eyes are black with desire as he inhales deeply, like the scent of me is driving him wild. “‘Stop’ is too common, something you could use without meaning it literally. A safe word should be something you wouldn’t normally say,” he says darkly.

Maks is dangerous. The more I’m around him, the more alluring that danger becomes. It feels like he’s Hades preparing to carry me down to the underworld, but unlike Persephone, I’m not so certain I want to resist. Because with each dark promise he makes, I know the pleasure will be exponentially better.

“Like ‘pomegranate’?” I suggest, humor bubbling up in my chest when the theme fits perfectly with the comparison that popped into my head.

He chuckles, soft and low, the sound vibrating through my skin, and I gasp as he runs his tongue from my wet entrance to my clit, the tip sliding between my folds. “Exactly.”

I breathe heavily, my skin buzzing with anticipation, and my fingers curling into fists as my clit throbs. Maks’s mouth leaves me aching with desire, his breath teasing me to the brink of insanity, and I can’t seem to find my voice through the haze of arousal clouding my thoughts.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he says playfully, his breath whispering across my clit and making me squirm. “If I can make you come in less than a minute with my mouth, you’ll let me show you my kind of pleasure.”

Torn between fear and exhilaration, my heart hammers against my ribcage. But something about Maks tempts me to try the forbidden fruit and damn the consequences.

“Okay,” I whisper, and I cry out as Maks’s lips wrap around my clit without warning.

Heat floods my core as his tongue swirls around the sensitive point, sending bursts of electricity up my spine. My back arches off the bed, my head falling back as my arms strain against the leather confining me. It makes me feel helpless, and at the same time, it’s oddly liberating to have my pleasure so completely in his hands.

Maks hums approval, his fingers pressing into my thighs as he licks my slit, picking a pace that makes me squirm beneath him. My knees quiver as the pleasure intensifies, and I grind forward against his lips even though I know he’s going to win the bet if I can’t get ahold of myself. I’m starting to think I don’t want to.

“Maks!” I cry as he slides two fingers inside of me, nearly pushing me over the edge.

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