Page 70 of Vow to Corrupt You
I barely have time to take it all in before he pulls away, and the look he gives me locks me in place like a command I dare not disobey. Slowly, he slides off his gloves, one finger at a time, letting each fall to the floor without care. “I want you to feel my touch,” he murmurs, “I want to imprint it on your skin, in your mind, so you never forget again that you’re mine.”
I’m taken aback by this move because he’s never done that before. Yes, he would take off his gloves to touch me intimately, my private areas, but not to touch me. All of me. To imprint his touch on my skin, as he said.
With a firm grip, he leads me toward a chair that looks like a king’s throne made of gold, easing me onto it. He lowers himself, kneeling before me as his eyes hold me captive. The raw hunger flickering in his intense gaze sends a chill down my spine. I can barely breathe when he rids himself of his black shirt, feeling a pull, as if he’s luring me deeper and deeper under his dark spell. His hands glide up my thighs, parting my legs before lifting them over his shoulders. One of my heels digs into his collarbone, and he leans in, pressing his lips to my ankle, his gaze never leaving mine. The sight steals my breath—him, bare-chested and on his knees before me on the throne, worshiping me as if I’m his goddess. As if I’m the one in control.
A soft moan escapes my lips as his mouth trails upward, leaving a hot path along my calf. Each kiss ignites my skin until he reaches the apex of my thigh, and his breath against me makes me shudder. Every move he makes, I can see in the mirrors—my face flushed, his hands claiming every inch of me, his tongue tasting me, working me with a fierce, possessive intensity that leaves me trembling. He’s relentless, drinking in every sound I make, and when I’m nearly undone, he stops, lifting his head just enough to look directly into my eyes.
“Tell me you don’t want this, and I’ll stop,” he growls, daring me to deny the pleasure only he can give me, and I crave it like someone who’s tasted forbidden poison and can’t resist another sip. Like I’m the sinner drawn back to their sweetest sin.
That’s the thing. He is my poison, my sin, my sickening desire I can’t resist.
“I crave this more than anything,” I breathe out.
A dark smile crosses his face as he rises to his feet, positioning me on all fours so I’m facing my reflection. I grip the throne’s backrest, my knees on its seat, while his hand presses firmly against my back, arching me toward him. I meet his commanding gaze in the mirror. He slowly licks his lower lip before sucking on the sensitive skin of my neck, leaving a hickey like the very first time we met. He then grabs my hips and enters me with one strong thrust, filling me. Claiming me.
“Now, look at me. Look what you’ve done to me,” he growls, his voice rough with a hunger that borders on madness. “Do you see that? You’ve ruined me. You’ve turned me into a man who can’t think, can’t breathe without you. I need you like this, beneath me, losing yourself in me, because it’s the only time I feel alive. You’ve made me your prisoner as much as I’ve made you mine.”
His grip tightens, and his gaze burns into mine through the reflection, aflame with all the feelings he denies. “You’ve become my obsession, my salvation, and my damnation all at once. You own me, whether you realize it or not.”
Now, I see it. He owns me as much as I, him.
If not more…
“You’re mine.” He thrusts deep, his voice rough and gaze smoldering with the darkest of intent. “No one else can have you.” He pushes deeper, each word a vow that seeps into my bones, imprinting his touch, his claim, his dominance into my very core like he wanted to, and leaving a mark that nothing can ever erase. I know this level of desire is dangerous. I know it borders on a sick kind of obsession and is driven by depravity. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way because all I see is the man consumed by fierce, almost forbidden passion that is so intoxicating that he can’t (and doesn’t want to) control it. And only now do I realize that that’s all I’ve ever wanted too.
Chapter 37
Nikos
I zip my pants, breathing hard as I look at her, or rather, the mess we’ve made. My cum and her arousal dripping down her thighs, the taste of her still on my tongue. She tries to fix her hair, the strands clinging to her sweat-slicked face. Her chest heaves, her gaze questioning.
“I’m taking you home,” I say, my voice rough.
She blinks, almost as if I slapped her. “That’s it?” she shrieks. “You brought me here, said all those things, made sure I’d remember every second of it… and then, just like that, you push me away again?”
My jaw clenches beyond my control. “You’re the one who betrayed me,” I bite out. “Just because we had a good fuck doesn’t mean everything between us is fine.”
I know those words hit her like a punch, but I can’t knock down the walls I’ve built around myself, even if I wanted to. So, I do what I do best. I’m a heartless motherfucker.
But she catches me off guard with a defiant spark lighting in her eyes. “I know what you’re doing. You think if you push me hard enough, I’ll break. Give up. But I’m not going anywhere. If you want me to stay, if you demand I spend my life by your side as your queen—like you say—then you have to start treating me as that. I’m done playing games, Nikos.”
I glare down at her, hissing darkly. “What more do you want from me? Haven’t I proven enough that you’re my equal?”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “Your equal? That’s the last thing I feel like. You treat me like I’m your possession. A prize you traded my brother’s life for. Part of some contract. A deal.”
Anger flares, and I step closer. With each of my steps, she takes one back until I cage her in against the mirror wall. My fists clench as I lean down, my face inches from hers.
“Don’t you see?” The words scrape up my throat. “I’m doing things I never imagined I’d do—for you. I’ve spared your brother’s life. Twice. I’ve shown mercy, something I’ve never shown anyone. And every time you defy me, I let it go. I forgive you. You think that’s easy for me? I’m used to obedience without question, something you don’t offer. And yet, despite all that, for you, I’d burn the world if you asked.” My voice drops to a harsh grunt, my towering frustration bleeding through.
This woman, seemingly so shy and innocent, and yet she stirs something feral in me—something even my worst enemies couldn’t awaken. I know, one day, she might be my downfall, my destruction, my undoing, and still, I can’t help but crave her more than my next breath. She’s like a bullet I don’t want to dodge. How can she not see that?
I lean down, our foreheads touching and gasps syncing like our bodies know each other better than we do. “Does that feel like a contract to you? Like you’re just a possession? Does it really, Serena?”
“Does that mean…” she hesitates, her gaze flickering between mine with as much fear as hope. “Do you… love me, Nikos? Is that why you can’t let me go?”
Her question hits me like a goddamn blow. It freezes me, tears me apart, and leaves me scrambling for answers I’ve never considered. I step back and look at her, seeing the vulnerability etched on her, and something inside me shifts. Something I’ve been trying to bury for far too long. I feel a cold sweat prick my skin as I stare at her, unsure of what to say, unsure of what love even means.
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. All the reflections of me—distorted and broken—stare back at me, reminding me of every shade of who I was, every version of myself I used to be. I’ve never been given the luxury of love. Never been taught it. Never been shown it. On the contrary. My whole life, I’ve been denied the feeling of so-called love. I was taught it’s a destructive thing I must never feel. A weakness. How could I ever give it to her?
