Page 25 of The Russian's Forced Bride
Not now, when she was broken inside.
So I gently pulled her hands away and broke our kiss, resting my forehead against hers so our breaths mingled.
Her eyes were innocent yet passionate.
“I promise.”
“You do?” she choked out, and I nodded, all the while caressing her cheeks.
“Till death do us part.”
Her eyes searched mine for a moment, as if she didn’t believe who was holding her, but then, with a sigh, she hugged me tight—taking me by surprise. Though the action felt foreign, I placed my hands behind her back and rubbed it soothingly until she fell asleep in my arms.
***
I was awoken by a tickling sensation on my nose. Whatever it was, it felt soft on my skin and smelled heavenly. A vanilla-like scent that worked like a charm on my senses. It made me calm and relaxed, and I hadn’t felt like that in a while.
Ginger hair resembling the blazing sun spread across my face, and I could feel my arms wrapped around a body pressed against mine.
We weren’t naked, but our bodies, molded together even with the obstruction of our clothes, felt more intimate.
Arlette Kamarov…Arlette…myArlette.
I had never held a woman so tightly before in my arms. I had never craved one the way I craved Arlette.
She was mine. A drug I was already addicted to. A drug I couldn’t live without.
As my eyes roamed her delicate face, I knew then and at that moment that she would be the end of me.
Her eyes were still puffy from crying so much, and it made my jaw tighten just thinking about how scared and frightened she must have been to cry herself to sleep.
Not wanting to wake her, I gently removed my hands from her body. She shifted, a soft sigh of dissatisfaction escaping her lips, which made me smile.
Not a lopsided smile or a mischievous one, but a genuine smile.
She was beautiful. My Arlette was beautiful.
I wished I could have my arms around her forever, but I had work to do. I had to do everything in my power to keep hersafe. I slipped off the bed, and after one last look at her sleeping form, I retreated to my room to take a shower and get ready for work.
I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the timeframe Oskar gave me. I had to act quickly. I needed to find Joaquin, shut down his nonsense, and figure out how to make him come out of hiding.
A gunshot to his head wasn’t going to do the trick for the bastard. He had to be killed slowly, the life snuffed out of him.
My office in Chicago was a far cry from the one back in New York. Since I was primarily based in New York, I hardly ever came over to the Chicago base—not until now.
I arrived an hour after leaving the house and asked Maxim to meet me at the office.
Cassandra had flown in too; since she was my personal assistant, she had to follow me everywhere.
She’d gotten her own place in Chicago and settled in fast.
Just as I was about to settle in, a knock sounded on my office door before Cassandra entered, holding a cup of coffee.
Her heels echoed through the empty office as she glanced around, and I could tell she was already thinking about renovations.
She placed the coffee on my desk while I took a seat.
“You look well rested.” She smiled, raising a brow. “And unsatisfied. Imagine my surprise when Maxim said we had to come into work. I thought you were still on your honeymoon.”
