Page 31 of Bound Vows
“Faster. Please.”
She complies by grinding against me in ways that make stars explode behind my eyes. Maya’s hands brace against my shoulders as she rides me with increasing desperation, and her breath comes in short gasps that mirror my own.
The sight of Maya lost in pleasure pushes me dangerously close to my release.
Maya grinds down hard and contracts around me in ways that shatter my remaining control. I thrust upward and bury myself as deep as possible while my orgasm tears through me with devastating force. She follows moments later, her body convulsing around mine as she screams my name.
We remain locked together for several minutes while our breathing returns to normal. Maya’s head rests against my shoulder, and I can feel her pulse gradually slowing where my lips press against her throat.
“That was…” I begin.
“A mistake,” Maya finishes while lifting her head to meet my gaze. “But one I don’t regret as much as I probably should.”
She climbs off my lap and gathers her discarded clothes with a speed that suggests she’s eager to restore distance between us. I watch her dress with appreciation for every curve and hollow that I’ve now mapped twice with my hands.
“Maya.”
“Yes?” She pauses while fastening her bra.
“Thank you. For listening, for understanding, for…” I gesture vaguely at the air.
“Don’t read too much into it, Andrei. Sometimes, people need comfort, and sometimes I provide it.” Maya steps into her dress and reaches for a button. “That doesn’t change anything between us.”
“Doesn’t it?”
She considers this question while finishing with her clothing, and something in her face softens despite her words. “Perhaps itchanges some things. But you’re still holding my family hostage, and I’m still planning to escape at the first opportunity.”
“Of course. Though I hope when that opportunity arises, you’ll remember this conversation.”
“I’ll remember everything about tonight.” Maya picks up her shoes and heads toward the door.
After she leaves, I pour another vodka and review the recording device she provided. The intelligence Maya gathered tonight will allow me to dismantle three family operations within weeks, but her psychological insights prove even more valuable.
For the first time since Elena’s death, someone has seen my weakness and offered comfort instead of exploitation. The realization terrifies and intrigues me in ways I’m not prepared to analyze.
Chapter 13
Maya
Waking up with the taste of regret and Andrei Volkov lingering on my lips ranks among the stupider decisions I’ve made in my twenty-seven years of questionable life choices.
I roll out of my bed in the guest bedroom and immediately regret the movement when every muscle in my body reminds me what I did last night. Not just the sex—though my thighs feel the aftermath of that particular mistake—but the comfort I offered a man who’s forcing me to marry him. The way I let him touch me, the way I touched him back, and the way I enjoyed watching him come apart beneath me.
“Brilliant, Maya,” I grumble while pulling on a robe. “Sleep with your captor. Again. That’s going to end well.”
The shower does nothing to wash away the memory of Andrei’s hands on my skin or the way he looked at me when I made him come. I scrub until my skin turns pink, but I still feel the phantom pressure of his fingers and the heat of his mouth.Worse, I can remember the broken sound he made when he talked about his family’s massacre.
I dress in jeans and a sweater, hoping casual clothes will help me feel less like the woman who seduced intelligence from Italian patriarchs and more like the woman who plans to escape this golden prison. The transformation doesn’t work. Every time I catch my reflection, I see someone who’s compromising everything she was raised to believe.
Breakfast waits in the dining room along with Andrei, who’s dressed in a charcoal suit that makes him look like he stepped off the cover of a business magazine. He glances up when I enter, and his smile carries enough heat to melt glaciers.
“Sleep well?” he asks while buttering his toast.
“Like a baby. A guilty, self-loathing baby who makes terrible decisions.” I pour myself coffee and add enough sugar to fuel a small army. “You?”
“Better than I have in years.” Andrei sets down his knife and studies my face with satisfaction. “You have a remarkable talent for providing comfort, Maya.”
“Don’t get used to it. Last night was…” I search for words that won’t further inflate his ego. “A lapse in judgment.”
