Page 60 of Konstantin
“Don’t you worry sometimes?” I go on, watching him closely, wanting to know the man inside, wanting every bit of him.
“About?” His thick brows furrow.
“That you’re next in line…to die?”
That makes him pause. “All the time.”
The honesty in his answer knocks me off-balance. I expected arrogance. Invincibility. Not this brutal, quiet truth. And it shakes me more than I want to admit.
Because maybe he’s not just a monster wrapped in expensive suits and bloodstained power. Maybe he’s just a man, one who walks with death at his back just like I do. And somehow, that makes him even more dangerous.
Not because he kills without thought. But because, if I’m not careful, I might start seeing the man beneath it all.
And that…would be the most dangerous thing of all.
KONSTANTIN
I didn’t intend for her to see that side of me this quickly, but it was bound to come out sooner than later. Better for her to get used to it now. I am who I am, and there’s nothing she can do to change that.
The lights are low, the hum of the city barely reaching the penthouse as I step out of the bathroom in nothing but boxers and a white T-shirt.
She’s already in bed, back propped against the pillows, legs curled under the sheets. But her gaze lifts when she sees me. It flickers over my chest, my arms, then down. Subtle, but not subtle enough.
Her mouth parts. “You’re not going to put on pants?”
I shrug. “This is what I normally wear to bed. You’ll have to get used to it.”
She mutters something, turning away with a roll of her eyes, but the flush on her cheeks betrays her. Irritating this woman and turning her on are my current favorite pastimes.
I cross to my side of the bed, making sure my gun is right on the nightstand before flicking the bedside lamp off and settling beside her.
The silence lingers, both of us on opposite sides of the bed. But all I can think about is holding her close, chasing the rhythm my heart only finds when she’s beside me.
I lean in, mouth brushing her bare shoulder, unable to stand another second without touching her.
“Goodnight, katyonak.” My lips stay pressed a second too long, desperate to hold on to something I shouldn’t want.
She inhales sharply, almost imperceptibly, but I hear it. Feel it in my bones. She’s trying not to react, but her body always gives her away.
I roll onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. But sleep doesn’t come. Every hour that ticks by is torture. All I can think about is her. How she tastes. How she sounds when she comes. What it would be like to have a woman in my life.
Then a soft rustle of fabric catches my attention, followed by a sharp hitch in her breath.
I turn toward her silhouette in the dark. She’s on her side, but her legs shift, the softest whimper escaping.
Blyat.
She freezes when I slide closer as though I didn’t just catch her. My arm wraps around her waist, hand gliding down until I grip herwrist inside her shorts.
My mouth finds her ear. “You need help?”
“I—”
“You should’ve told me you were aching for it.”
“I-I’m not…” Every syllable is a blatant lie.
“Shh.” I press a kiss to the pulse beating in her throat. “Let me help you.”
