Page 170 of Toxic Salvation
“I mean your security team wouldn’t let her through the gate.” I arch up and run my tongue along the edge of his ear. “Want to guess why?”
He groans and grabs my ass with both hands. “Fuck, Vesper…”
“Because apparently…” I bite his earlobe hard to get his attention. “… you decided I’m a prisoner now.”
I release his dick and step back so fast he nearly falls forward.
The change from pleasure to confusion is instant. He stares at me like I just slapped him. “What the hell just happened?”
“Youhappened!” I throw my hands up. “Your stupid new security rules happened! Charity couldn’t even get past the front gate because you’ve decreed that no one gets in or out without your personal approval.”
He’s still sitting there with his cock out, looking completely lost. “I didn’t know she was coming over.”
“I shouldn’t have to clear my best friend with you, Kovan.”
“The new team has strict protocols?—”
“Where’s my old team?” I cross my arms. “Where are Aleksei and Filipp?”
He won’t meet my eyes. “Reassigned.”
“To where?”
“Other duties.”
“What ‘other duties,’ Kovan? Because last I checked, keeping me safe was their only job.”
He runs his hands through his hair. “The new team is better trained.”
“The new team won’t let me leave the house!” My control is starting to crack. “I wanted to pick up Luka from school today, and they refused. Refused! I’m supposed to be his mother, and your goons wouldn’t let me pick up my own son.”
“It’s temporary?—”
“I don’t care if it’s temporary! I care that you made this decision without talking to me. I care that you’ve turned our home into a prison and I’m the only one who doesn’t get a say in it.”
He finally tucks himself back into his pants and stands up. “Vesper, you almost died at the clinic.”
“But I didn’t.” I step closer to him. “I didn’t die, Kovan. I fought back, and I survived, and now, you’re acting like I’m made of glass.”
“I can’t go through that again.” His face is raw with anguish. “I thought you were dead. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but imagine my life without you in it.”
The fight goes out of me all at once. I climb back onto his lap and frame his face with my hands. “I know you’re scared. I know you want to keep me safe.”
“Thenlet me,”he begs.
“Do you trust your men?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then let them do their jobs. Let them keep me safe while I live my life.”
He pulls me closer, and I can feel him getting hard again despite our argument. “I don’t like having this conversation when you’re half-naked.”
“Then we better finish it fast.” I grind against him just enough to make him hiss. “What happened at the clinic was bad luck. Lightning doesn’t strike twice.”
“It might.”
“Or it might not. And I can’t live my entire life waiting for the might-nots.” I cup his face again. “This marriage is supposed to be a partnership. Partners don’t make unilateral decisions about each other’s lives.”
