Page 29 of Vendetta Vows

And the most fucked up part is… I feelthrilledby it in the most fucked-up way possible.

"You're losing it, Aurora," I whisper to myself, but I don't move from the window.

I know why.

Because I'm hoping there's a pair of golden eyes looking back at me.

I glance at the clock on my nightstand.

4:00 AM glows in angry red numbers. I need to be up in three hours for work. With a frustrated sigh, I fall face-first back into bed.

But sleep refuses to come.

I close my eyes and let my mind wander. But the moment I do, I imagine myself standing at the window again.

This time, IknowI'm being watched because a dark shadowy figure is standing outside looking up at me.

I can't see his face, but I can sense his presence even in the darkness.

The fear that should flood my system transforms into something else entirely. A knowledge, deep in my bones, that whoever stands in the shadows isn't there to hurt me.

He's here to protect me.

In my mind, I open my nightgown with a slow trembling motion to entice him closer. My bare skin prickles in the cool night air as I stand exposed before the window, illuminated by the dim street light.

I want him to see me. All of me.

My breathing quickens as I imagine his reaction. The hunger that must be building in him at the sight of me bared and waiting. Slowly, he takes a step forward. Then another. And another.

My hand slides to the slick wet heat pooling between my thighs and I realize that I'msoaked.

I close my eyes and imagine phantom footsteps, impossibly light yet still audible, coming up the stairs while I wait for him by the window. Each step bringing him closer to me. The door to my bedroom opens soundlessly and then closes with a soft click of finality.

An unmistakable scent of cedarwood and mahogany fills the space between us.

Large powerful hands run along my body. With each trembling breath, my breath fogs the pane as they find my legs and push them apart.

"Ruslan," I murmur into my pillow, my fingers working faster as I imagine him freeing his cock.

He covers my mouth before he buries himself to the hilt inside with one savage thrust. Pain intertwines with pleasure so intimately that I can't separate them. My body stretches to accommodate him as I scream silently into his hand over my mouth.

The smell of cedarwood and mahogany overwhelms me as he starts to thrust.

His lips brush against my ear. His teeth graze the skin of my neck. One hand roams my body, kneading and squeezing the tender flesh screaming for his touch. While the other plays with my clit.

"I'll keep you safe,zarechka." He nibbles my earlobe.

"I'll keep you hidden." A thick finger enters my mouth.

"Nobody can touch you but me." His voice grows rougher as he fucks me against the window. "Because you're mine."

I believe him. In this moment, I believe every word.

My fingers move faster, mimicking the pace of my fantasy as I bite the pillow. Pressure builds inside me, coiling tighter and tighter until I'm trembling on the edge.

When I come, my body bucks against my own hand. The release crashes through me in waves that leave me weak-kneed and gasping.

Only when the last ripple of pleasure finishes coursing through me, do I drift off to sleep with Ruslan's name still lingering on my lips.