Page 20 of Twisted Fate

Sophia stands next to me in the doorway as the valet points out where the adjoining bathroom is, as well as the door that connects our rooms. “You can go through there, Mrs. Abramov,”he explains, and I give Sophia a pointed look. “Your luggage has already been delivered.”

I feel Sophia stiffen next to me, but she says nothing. She only nods to the valet, then turns and stalks to the door leading into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her with enough force to rattle the frames hanging on the walls.

“Apologies,” I manage through clenched teeth to the valet, handing him a tip large enough to ensure he doesn’t gossip about this. The last thing I need, despite my assurances to Sophia that my father isn’t going to question our vacation, is the staff gossiping about us.

He nods, taking the tip and leaving, and I stare at the closed door, fighting the urge to go after her.

I’m not sure the separate rooms will make things that much easier. I’m well aware that she’s on the other side of that door, easily accessible if I only…

I grit my teeth, shaking my head. That would be a mistake. Sophia Moretti is a complication I can't afford right now, a temptation I need to resist. And, based on our argument in the lobby, a brat that needs to be tamed.

My cock throbs again as all the ways I couldtameher flash through my head.Stop it,I order myself, reaching down to press the heel of my hand against my hardening shaft. Ignoring Sophia’s tantrums is how I’ll put a stop to this, not any of the delicious ways I could imagine punishing her for her sharp tongue.

Heading to the minibar, I pour myself a drink. I down it in one burning swallow, then pour another. Far off, in the quiet here, I can hear the distant sounds of wildlife—the trumpeting of elephants, the occasional roar of a lion. This place, with its wild beauty and isolation, should be a paradise. Instead, it feels like a test of will I'm not sure I can pass.

I wonder if I’m being ridiculous as I pour myself another drink. I stride out onto the patio, feeling the warm, dry air fill my lungs, and movement catches my eye to my left.

Sophia is walking out onto her private patio—also connected to mine by a low, black-barred fence with a gate. An easy barrier to cross, if I wanted to do so.

In the dark, she hasn’t yet seen that I’m standing here. My heart stutters in my chest as I turn just in time to see her fully—her pale skin luminous in the moonlight, her body only just covered by the barest scraps of a black bikini.

In an instant, my cock goes from soft to rock hard, throbbing with need at the sight of her. She’s a fucking vision, all lean muscle and curves that I ache to run my hands over, the shape of her breasts a perfect, firm handful against the creamy skin of her chest. Her dark hair is piled up on her head, showing off her long, slender neck, and my lips tingle with the desire to run them across her skin.

She steps down into the water, and I take a gulp of my drink. The burn isn’t enough to distract me, not as I watch the water kiss her calves, lap against her thighs, rise to brush against the hidden place between them. It skims her stomach, her ribs, beneath her breasts, and somehow my cock grows harder with each lap of water against her skin, harder than I can remember ever having been in my entire fucking life. She ducks beneath the water, disappearing for a moment, and I reach down to adjust myself, letting out a hiss between my teeth at the sensation of my hand pressing against my aching cock.

When she comes up out of the water, drops sliding down her skin in the moonlight, it takes everything in me not to open the gate and go to her. I clutch the railing with one hand, knuckles turning white as I struggle to get my desire under control, to not either go to her or get my cock out here, stroking it until I get my much-needed release.

The sight of her, wet and lithe and achingly beautiful, is a vision that I’ll never be able to get out of my head. I can feel blood pounding in my temples, and I close my eyes briefly, tossing back the rest of my drink as I fight for control.

When I open my eyes again, Sophia is looking right at me.

“Come join me,” she splashes her hand against the water, her gaze impossible to read in the darkness. Her voice is light, but there’s a challenge in it, taunting me to deny her again, now that I’ve seen so much of her. “The water’s nice.”

“I’m sure it is.” It takes effort to keep my voice even, to not betray how very thin the thread of my self-control is right now.

She seems to realize that I’m not going to take the bait, turning to look out over the nighttime view of the savannah. "It's beautiful here," she says finally, breaking the silence. "Peaceful."

I nod, following her gaze up to the stars. "A good place to think."

She glances over at me. "Is that what you're doing? Thinking?"

"Always." My mouth twists ruefully, and I’m glad that she can’t see my expression clearly.

Sophia tilts her head, refusing to let it go. “Your position requires that youalwaysbe on, Konstantin? That you never allow yourself peace or relaxation or a moment where you’re just yourself, ever?”

“I’m the heir to the Miami Bratva,” I bite out sharply. “I have responsibilities, Sophia. I’m sure that’s unfamiliar to you.” I pause, hoping she’ll take offense and leave me alone. I look out toward the grasslands, shrouded in darkness under the starry night sky. It’s never possible to see this many stars back in Miami. They’re endless here, a dusting of diamonds across a velvet canopy.

She doesn’t take offense—at least not enough to go back inside, and stop tormenting me. “You’re worried about whathappens when it all becomes yours,” she says it matter-of-factly, as she climbs out of the pool, walking toward the fence that separates my patio from hers. “What you’ll do, if you’ll be a good leader.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” I eye her cautiously. I’m not about to share my secrets with her, or what I think about on nights like tonight. There’s no world in which I’m going to allow Sophia Moretti that close to me.

“You know,” she murmurs softly, and I jump slightly, realizing that she’s very close to me now—close enough to touch, if I wanted to. The barrier of metal between us is nothing at all—it only comes up to her chest. I could reach across it to her. I could unlatch the gate?—

“I might have started out as a part of your father’s plan for you,” she continues, her voice soft and silky, “but I’m yours now, Konstantin. There’s no reason to push me away.”

I’m yours now.The words go straight to my aching cock, sending a bolt of white-hot desire through me. I want her so badly right now that it fucking hurts, but I don’t like being pushed. My entire life is managed, controlled by someone else.

I want to be the one in control in my own fucking marriage.

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