Page 61 of Unregrettable

“And if you still give me problems, I have this…”

His hand slips between my ass cheeks, thumbing my dark hole.

“No,” I rasp, although I’m skating on the edge of my orgasm. And the instant he plunges past my resistance, I come with a shriek. It’s a sound the likes of which I’ve never made. So much pleasure, spurred on hard by touches of pain. I pitch forward, laying my cheek on the slick white floor, water pelting the side of my face from above.

Witnessing my surrender goads him on. He pummels my limp form from behind as I shudder through my ongoing climax. Marku thrusts a few more times before flooding my core, jerking above me as he comes.

Our ragged breaths bounce off the marble, loud enough to hear over the rush of water. I lick my wet lips, sucking on the moisture, and look across the expanse of white-on-white marble in my vision. With a sigh of satisfaction, I melt into the shower floor.

Marku pulls out of me and lifts me up slowly. He settles down on the bench and drags me over his lap, caressing my hair and cooing at me. And the instant he senses that I’ve recovered, he kneels in front of me, spreads my legs open, and spears my swollen pussy with his tongue.

“Are you trying to kill me with orgasms?”

“Not kill.” He winks at me. “Just subdue.”

Little does he know, he doesn’t have to resort to anything.

I will never be subdued, but there’s no denying that Iamsmitten with my husband.

CHAPTER 18

MARKU

Islap the blood-stained scrap that I carved out of my bed sheet onto mysef’sdesk. He may not technically be the reigningsefsince his father, Nelu, hasn’t officially retired, but he’s the one we recognize as our leader. In a clan, respect matters more than titles ever could.

Lucian, Anton, and I showed up at the downstairs office of his family home unannounced. For as long as I can remember, and that’s going as far back as hanging on to my father’s coattails at the age of three, the office has been dominated by two heavy oak desks facing each other. One for Nelu and one for Cristo.

Nelu is nowhere to be found. Another clue that he’ll retire soon and Cristo will take over full time. Lucian has been working hard to prove himself as the nextconsilier, and the way he waltzed in, with Anton behind him, is a sign of his confidence. It seems he and Cristo have ironed out their issues. Lucian must have raised his grades high enough to graduate since Star started tutoring him—a point of contention with Cristo. Lucian and Anton settle on the ornate, ruby-colored velvet couch at the far wall, silently supportive in their presence.

Cristo arches an eyebrow at the cloth I dropped in front of him. “And this is…”

“Crina’s virginity.”

Cristo smirks at me and leans back against the chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “So the deed is finally done. Wondered how long it would take you to get that wildcat under control.”

He flicks his wrist to check his grandfather’s watch, a Vostok Amphibian. The story goes that his grandfather won it in a bet for killing a Russian in the ring while working the boxing circuit in Moldova. “Fifteen days since your wedding day. Not the fastest time to date. Traditionally, it’s the night of.”

The muscles in my jaw flex. He’s bustin’ my balls. It took the time it took. It’s not like Crina and I had the prince-charming romance or the picture-perfect wedding, the kind of wedding a woman like her deserves.

He nods for me to take the proof back, which I do straight away, slipping it back into my pocket for safekeeping. There’s an old tradition with my people of waving the sheet the morning after, but Crina and the Lupu clan view that custom as barbaric. She’d have my head if she knew what I’d done. She’d most likely go for my eyes first. I smile internally, thinking of our early morning marathon fucking. I’d relish the opportunity to take control and punish her.

Snapping out of my reverie, I reply, “It’s done. That’s the only thing that matters.” I look him in the eye. “No matter what happens to me, she’s clan property. You protect her with your life, if necessary.”

Cristo inclines his head in agreement. I dart a glance at my clan brothers and get a solemn nod from each of them as well. Anton looks especially grave. He’s notorious for taking oaths regarding women the most seriously. It’s no wonder after what happened to his mother.

I may not live long, certainly not a whole life’s worth. I don’t deserve that. But I do need to stay alive long enough to avenge Cristian’s death and make sure any immediate threat toward Crina is neutralized. It’s the most I can expect out of life.

We’ve been playing hide and seek for years, me and my nemesis. I was onto him so many times. I was so close to discovering his identity, but each time I was on the cusp of catching him, he’d slip between my fingers again. For the past four years, every April 25th—the Feast of St. Mark—I’ve prayed all day and all night to my patron saint. To remember the fucker’s face, just once. If I’d been focused enough on him that fateful night, my task would’ve been a helluva lot easier.

But I don’t deserve easy.

There was a new moon the night of Cristian’s murder. It was pitch-dark in that alley, and anyway, all those Russians look alike. He wasn’t a kid, like the rest of us. He was a full-grown adult. That brawl was set up forus, Romanian and Russian initiates, to get our kills. What was a grown made man doing among us? Why did he intervene? And why, for fuck’s sake, did he kill my brother?

My normal prayer goes something likePlease give me the guidance to find him and let me live long enough to kill him. This year’s Feast Day was a bit different. I prayed for Crina instead. I prayed that I’d burst through her hymen and show proof to mysefbefore I died. And now that it’s come to pass, I pray that He hasn’t forgotten my older prayers.

“So have you found anything on the other front?” asks Cristo, speaking of my never-ending quest.

My head drops, eyes burning with fury. I shake my head in frustration, rubbing the soft cotton in my pocket to calm down.

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