Page 58 of Surrender: XXX Maxim
“Go!” He shrugs me off so violently that throwing my arms out is the only way I can keep my balance. “Don’t be a fucking fool, Francesca.” He toys with the syllables in my name to inflict the harshest sting. “I need you in the sense that I require the use of your cunt at my discretion. Now go into the fucking house—”
“You need me now.” This time I step into him, lacing my arms around his neck. Before he can react, I feel along his jaw. It’s a reckless move—he could bite me; he looks so fucking unstable. Lost. But he doesn’t, and the slightest contact is enough to keep me talking. “You need to talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
His hands fall to his sides, but he’s still staring into the distance, far beyond here.
So I stand on tiptoe, bringing my lips near his ear, so it’s harder for him to ignore me. “If you need to leave, fine, but you owe me—us—the chance to hear why. Do I worry about the kids? Maybe. But they trust you.Ainsleytrusts you…” Emotion thickens my throat. I swallow hard and choke out each confession one by one. “Don’t you dare forsake that.Ever.We don’t deserve to be tossed around like objects. I won’t let you throw them away, either. I can’t. So talk to me, if you want us to work. This is what real families do. Talk—”
“Family?” he echoes gruffly.
“Yes… That is what I need from you if you want me to stay. More than protection. I need stability. I need myfamily.”
One word, and it’s like a candle being blown out. The stiffness leaves him all at once, and he sways, nearly bringing me down with him. At the last second, his hands cinch my waist to the point of pain, but we remain standing. I endure the discomfort, smoothing my fingers over any part of him I can reach. He holds me so tightly I know I’ll bruise in the aftermath. At the same time, I savor this pain more than any other agony he could ever inflict.
It’shiminflicting it, not the monster living in his head.
Cautiously, his fingers creep into my hair, parting the strands as if memorizing every one, using me as an anchor to ground himself. His breathing eases first, and then his stability returns, and I can let myself relax into him fully without fear of falling.
“A family with you…” Soft, his lips nudge my throat, coaxing me to meet his gaze. He’s here again, his expression hollowed, but here. His lips brush mine almost in apology before he devours them, demolishing my defenses with his tongue.
We kiss hungrily, heedless of the heat and the chirping insects around us. I don’t resist as he shoves me down, pressing my body to the ground.
He slams into me from behind, his mouth at my throat, his thrusts frenzied. Desperate. I don’t move when he finally collapses against me, breathless and dripping sweat.
His hands smooth the hair from my face, his lips feathering over my shoulder. “You will marry me,” he murmurs, but he sounds crazed. Russian words mingle with more broken bits of English. I doubt he even knows what he’s saying. “Marry me. You will. I need you to marry me…”
His hand captures mine, forcing our fingers together.
“I won’t lose you,” he grates in between pants. “I can’t.”
It’s minutes before he’s coherent again, nudging me to face him as darkness fully descends, drenching us in shadow. “We will leave tomorrow,” he says. “Your siblings can stay here for a week, long enough to make arrangements for them. But then…” He fingers my chin, ensuring I can’t turn away. Visible even in the faint moonlight, his eyes glow. “We stay together. You have your normalcy, but we stay. Like this…”
I nod, unsure if he can even see me or not. “We’ll stay together.”
