Page 65 of Bound Vows
I capture her hands before she can finish undressing me. “Maya, you’re still recovering from a gunshot wound. Dr. Morrison said?—”
“Dr. Morrison said no strenuous activity. He didn’t say anything about gentle, careful, thoroughly satisfying activity that involves my husband demonstrating his devotion while I demonstrate mine.” She pulls her hands free and continues. “Besides, emotional healing is just as important as physical healing, and I need to know that what we have transcends the violence that created it.”
“You want me to make love to you while armed guards patrol outside our bedroom door and a homicidal stalker plans our demise?”
“I want you to make love to me because we choose each other despite armed guards and homicidal stalkers and every other obstacle the world throws at us.” Maya pushes my shirt off my shoulders and runs her palms across my chest. “I want to honor Elena’s memory by helping you heal from Katarina’s betrayal and build something positive from all this tragedy.”
The mention of Elena should make me hesitate, should remind me of guilt and promises and the cost of loving women who could be destroyed because of who I am. Instead, Maya’s touch dissolves every rational objection I might have raised.
“Are you certain? Your shoulder?—”
“My shoulder will be fine as long as you’re careful with me. Which you always are.” She reaches for the hem of hersweater and begins lifting it over her head, moving slowly to accommodate her injury.
I assist her with removing the sweater to avoid aggravating her injuries. When she’s naked except for the bandage covering her gunshot wound, I take in the olive skin and perfect curves that no amount of medical tape can diminish.
“Beautiful.” I drag my palms across her skin with reverent fingers, avoiding every tender spot while worshipping every inch I can safely touch. “Even wounded and bandaged, you’re the most magnificent thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Less talking, more demonstrating your devotion.” Maya reaches for my belt buckle. “Even if I do appreciate being called magnificent.”
I watch her face as she works to free me from my clothes. “I want you,” she whispers, and the admission carries weight beyond desire. “Not because I’m trapped here, not because I have no choice, but because I choose you. I choose this.”
“Maya—” I begin, but she silences me by pulling me down for a kiss that starts gentle but becomes something hungrier as she opens her mouth and uses her tongue to claim me as thoroughly as I’ve claimed her countless times before. When we break apart, we’re panting, and her eyes blaze with heat that makes my cock throb against her thigh.
I settle between her thighs and slide one finger through her slick folds, finding her already wet and ready for me. Maya gasps and arches beneath my touch, gripping my shoulder with her good hand.
“So wet for me already.” I circle her clit with gentle pressure. “Your body knows what it wants, even when your mind fights it.”
“My mind isn’t fighting anymore,” Maya pants as I slide two fingers inside her, stretching her while my thumb works her clit.
I work her with skilled fingers until she’s trembling and desperate as her hips rock against my hand while soft moans spill from her lips. When I withdraw my fingers and position my cock at her entrance, she looks up at me with eyes that hold a softness I’ve never seen.
“I love you,” Maya whispers as I push inside her. The words hit me like lightning, making me pause. “I love you, Andrei. Not the man who kidnapped me, not the dangerous criminal who forced me into marriage, but you. The man who dove into a freezing river to save me. The man who wants to build something beautiful from all this darkness.”
“Maya,” I breathe her name like a prayer as I fill her, and her tight heat surrounds me. “Say it again.”
“I love you,” she repeats, stronger this time.
“I love you too,” I tell her as I begin moving within her, each thrust deeper than the last.
I set a rhythm that’s gentle and thorough, mindful of her healing body while still giving us what we need. Maya meets each movement with soft gasps and the kind of responses that speak of genuine desire rather than obligation. For the first time, there isn’t a hint of regret on her face when she melts into my touch. Just pure, unbridled want.
“After this is over,” I murmur against her throat as I maintain steady movements that make her breathing hitch, “I want to take you somewhere peaceful. Somewhere we can focus on each other instead of survival.”
“Where?” Maya’s voice comes out breathless as I angle my hips to hit the spot that makes her eyes roll back.
“Tuscany. The Greek islands. Anywhere you want to go.” I adjust to drive deeper as her inner muscles clench around me. “We’ll plan our future together.”
Maya’s response dissolves into incoherent moans as her body trembles with approaching release. I feel her tightening around me, and her movements grow more erratic as she climbs toward the edge.
“Look at me,” I command as I reach between us to find her clit. “I want to see your face when you come apart for me.”
Maya’s eyes lock with mine as I rub tight circles around the sensitive bundle of nerves while keeping up with the rhythm that drives us toward madness. Her pupils blow wide, and her mouth falls open in a silent scream as the pleasure builds to breaking point.
“Andrei,” she gasps as my name is torn from her throat mid-orgasm. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
The sight and sensation of Maya shattering underneath and around me, combined with her repeated declarations of love, trigger my release. I bury myself deep inside her as I come with a groan, and her name spills from my lips like a benediction.
We remain locked together for several long minutes while aftershocks pulse through our joined bodies. We breathe hard as we recover from what just passed between us. When I withdraw and settle beside her, Maya curls against my chest with contentment.
