Page 68 of Captured Solace

“Sienna is mine,” I said, my tone glacial. “Don’t tell me how to manage her or any of my women.”

Duran stepped out of the doorway. “I’ll back Lucien up on this one,” he said. “If I hear you fucked her up, if I see bruises on her, I’ll fucking kill you. If there’s anything left of you when Lucien’s done.”

I swept an impassive gaze over them. “I don’t know what kind of organization you run, but in mine, we don’t fuck up our women.”

Turning on my heel, I left them there on the porch. I still had a cigarette between my fingers and I didn’t bother to put it out as I strode down the hall. When I got to my bedroom door, it was open and there was a faint sniffling sound coming from the other side.

I paused, unsure of my next move. Lucien had confirmed that it was Sienna who had betrayed me, putting the nail in the coffin of our growing relationship. I couldn’t keep going with her the way I had. She’d broken my trust and proved that her loyalty still lay with other men. But I couldn’t divorce her unless I wanted to ruin what was left of the alliance.

As I stood on the other side of the door from my wife, it sunk in what had to happen. We would remain married, but I couldn’t live with her, not after what she’d done. Not while I still loved her. I’d fuck her when I needed to get her pregnant and she would have my heirs, but I wouldn’t fuck her like I had last weekend. I’d never make love to her, never bury myself body and soul into her again.

No, I would shut her out and starve what I felt for her until there was nothing left. I’d push her face into the bed and fuck her like that so I didn’t have to look into her eyes.

My second great love was over before it had barely begun.

Chapter Fifteen

Sienna

Viktor didn’t speak while we packed our bags and it terrified me. He just gathered his things up and carried our luggage to the car. I said goodbye quickly to Olivia and Iris, who were both still shaken from the fight, and we drove away. Lucien and Duran never appeared and I knew they were somewhere doing damage control.

My stomach was ice cold and twisted. The minute I’d opened my eyes, I’d regretted sending that text to Lucien. Yes, I was still furious with Viktor. He had showed his true colors, the violent desires he’d kept hidden so effectively up until now. But seeing my husband and my cousin fighting like that had terrified me, had shaken me to my core.

I’d learned quickly living in a world of made men that when men fought, things could go from bad to worse in seconds and there was nothing women could do about it. I’d seen fistfights, shattered glasses stabbed through flesh, men who got up in each other’s faces and roared until it felt like the ground shook. In our world, the days that followed scenes like that always involved a purple bruise on their women’s throat or arm, carefully powdered in an effort to conceal the damage.

Men fought and schemed and made war and women paid for it. Living in this world had taught me that, but for a fleeting few weeks, I’d hoped Viktor was different.

As I sat beside him, staring at his clenched jaw and tense grip on the steering wheel, I still hoped he was different.

Because if he wasn’t, I was in trouble when we got home.

The pit of my stomach remained knotted and cold for nine hours straight. Viktor kept quiet, not speaking except when we stopped briefly for lunch. I wanted to be out of this car and end the eternal waiting and guessing what he was feeling. But I also didn’t want to be home and have to face whatever consequences he had in mind for me.

It was warm and darkness had fallen when we reached the house. Viktor opened my door and I stepped out of the car, moving to get out of his way. He laid a hand on my arm and I jumped, looking up at him. His brow was drawn and his expressive mouth was a thin line.

“Are you alright?” he said.

Surprised, I nodded quickly. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Good,” he said. “We should get some sleep.”

Too stunned to argue, I followed him into the house. Up in our bedroom, he unpacked his things in silence and I sat on the bed in my panties and his t-shirt. Then he went in the bathroom and I heard him in the shower, the water running for a long time.

I lay on my side, facing the open window. The stars were bright and frogs chirped loudly in the marsh. How I wished I could be one of them, anonymous and free, wrapped up in water and warm earth. Not worrying about anything except calling up to the moon and stars overhead.

Viktor’s weight shifted the bed and his hand came around my waist, pulling me back against his hard, warm body. A sick sensation welled in me and I blinked rapidly, trying not to sniffle loud enough he could hear. He must not know it was me, Lucien must not have told him. Somehow that made everything worse and I found myself wishing he knew.

Screaming, slamming doors, accusations. They would all be better than listening to him sleep behind me, his hand resting on my thigh.

I woke to his touch on my lower back, kneading my hips in slow strokes. For a moment, I forgot about everything except his big, hard hands on my body and I lay in blissful quiet and let him touch me.

He rolled from the pillow, pushing me onto my stomach. My cheek pressed against the sheet and I kept my eyes closed. His fingertips skimmed down my spine, tracing every line and curve of my body. Moving down to the sensitive place where my ass met my thighs. His mouth fluttered over it and his teeth scraped me, the hot tip of his tongue grazing the curve of my ass. Then his hand moved between my legs and removed my tampon with gentle fingers.

I arced my back to give him access, but he kept me down with a hand on my lower back. His mouth moved up, kissing and licking, until his body covered me fully. God, he was so warm and strong.

Why had I done this? Why had he done this? I could have spent an eternity in bed with this man and now it was all ruined. Even if he didn’t know what I’d done now, there was no way I could live without telling him.

He pressed my head down, his palm covering my cheek and his fingers curled in my hair. The hard head of his cock pressed between my thighs, slipping over my pussy until it found entry. I was wet and I stretched to accommodate him as he slid inside with aching slowness until he was buried to the hilt.