Page 53 of Bound Vows
“My turn to be in control,” she breathes against my ear. “My turn to show you what belongs to me.”
The possessive declaration combined with her tight heat surrounding me drives me toward the edge faster than I expected, but Maya is determined to extract every possible sensation from our joining. She alternates between grinding motions that make stars explode behind my eyes and lifting movements that drive me insane.
“Harder,” I demand as she establishes a tempo designed to torture us both.
“You don’t get to make demands tonight. Tonight, you remember who your wife is.” Maya increases the pace but maintains control, using my body for her pleasure while ensuring I remain on the knife’s edge of release.
When she finally allows us both to shatter, it’s with a force that leaves us gasping and thoroughly marked by the experience. Maya collapses against my chest with her dark hair spilling across my shoulders while aftershocks pulse through our joined bodies.
“Feel better?” I ask as we recover.
“Much better. Though I reserve the right to reinforce those boundaries if your intelligence coordinator forgets her place again. Some lessons require repetition to be effective.”
“I’ll keep that in mind during future professional meetings.”
“See that you do. Because married men who allow other women to touch them inappropriately might find their wives becoming very creative about boundary enforcement.” Maya lifts her head to meet my eyes. “And you don’t want to discover how creative I can be when properly motivated.”
Chapter 23
Maya
Waking up wrapped around Andrei after last night should feel satisfying, but instead, I’m consumed by a jealousy so vicious it makes me want to punch something, preferably Katarina’s perfectly sculpted face.
The emotion twists in my stomach like a living thing, feeding on every memory of her hand on his arm and the way she looked at him. I hate that another woman’s obvious desire for my husband makes me want to claw her eyes out when I should be focused on escaping this situation.
But the truth lodged in my chest won’t be ignored: I don’t want to escape anymore. I want to eliminate the competition.
“You’re thinking very loudly for someone who’s supposed to be recovering,” Andrei observes without opening his eyes.
“I’m thinking about your intelligence coordinator and her wandering hands.” I prop myself up on my uninjured elbow to look at him. “We need to discuss Katarina.”
“We discussed her yesterday. Multiple times.” His lips curve into a smug smile that makes me want to bite him. “I believe the conversation concluded quite satisfactorily.”
“The physical conclusion was satisfactory. The actual conversation was incomplete.” I take a deep breath, gathering courage for questions I’m not sure I want answered. “I know she’s Elena’s sister, but I need to know about their relationship. About why she thinks she understands what you need better than I do.”
Andrei’s body goes rigid underneath me, and his eyes snap open. “What about their relationship?”
“Everything. Why she feels entitled to an opinion about your personal life. Why she acts like she’s been waiting her turn for years. I need to know what I’m competing against.”
“You’re not competing against anyone. Elena is dead, and Katarina is an employee whose personal feelings are irrelevant to her professional duties.” He sits up and reaches for his water glass on the nightstand. “There’s nothing more to discuss.”
“There’s everything to discuss. Katarina doesn’t act like an employee with irrelevant feelings. She acts like a woman who’s been promised something. How long has she been in love with you?”
Andrei takes a deep drink, buying time from the looks of it, and sets the glass down. “Katarina isn’t in love with me. She’s loyal to my organization and grateful for the opportunities I’ve provided.Whatever else you think you see is projection based on your insecurities.”
“She touches you like she has the right to, and she compares me unfavorably to her dead sister. Don’t you dare blame this on my insecurities.” I sit up and pull the sheet around myself. “Tell me about Elena, Andrei. Tell me what made her so perfect that Katarina thinks I’ll never measure up.”
“Elena was…” He pauses and stares at something beyond my shoulder. “Elena was everything good about the world before it was poisoned by violence and betrayal. She was gentle, kind, and innocent of the darkness that surrounds this life. Elena died eighteen months after our wedding. Car bomb in our driveway, intended for me but triggered when she started the ignition.”
His voice becomes mechanical, like he’s reciting facts from someone else’s tragedy. “She was three months pregnant with our first child.”
My stomach drops to my toes as the full horror of his loss becomes clear. “She died instantly?”
“No,” he replies with the smallest shake of his head. “She lived long enough to make me promise to take care of Katarina. Elena knew her sister had nowhere else to go and no other family to depend on. I’ve honored that promise for eight years.”
“By giving her a place in your organization.”
“By giving her purpose, protection, and a sense of belonging in a world that had taken everything else from her. Katarina lost her only sister because of my enemies. The least I could do was ensure she never wanted for anything.”
