Even the sound of his husky, sexy voice threatened to set me on fire. I cleared my throat, set the bottle of lotion aside, and fanned myself. I was burning up. “You know, I was thinking... about those photographs. What if I get something to do a little work on them before we frame them, huh? What do you think?”

In my head, I successfully said all those words without a glitch. But in reality, each word lost more strength than the previous one. Why?My husbandhovered above me now, stark naked, with a sinister look in his eyes.

He grabbed my hips and gently edged me deeper on the bed. The robe rose even higher and his glare intensified.

“Fuck the photographs.”

Before I could murmur, he pressed his lips to my throat and slowly kissed his way up. His teeth grazed my jawline before his lips settled on mine. Heat erupted between my naked legs. I parted my lips, deepening the kiss, and slid my tongue into his mouth.

He pressed himself between my legs. His cock was sofuckinghard. His fingers sunk in my hair and he pulled back. I moaned, wanting more of him...wantinghim to fill me up.

“More?” He caught on fast. I whimpered and nodded.

“More.”

He hooked a finger under the belt and let the robe loose. Cold air rushed against my skin and my tits turned hard as pebbles. He swooped down and took one in his mouth. I threw my head back and slid my fingers in his hair.

He nestled between my legs, parting mine with his knees. Then, with one firm grasp, he put one of my legs over his, so that we spooned. It was a different position. And he slid into me just fine.

I cried out, feeling all of him in one stretch. His pelvis ground against my clit, and pressure slowly built. Heat and pressure. He kept me pinned to the side, groped my ass, and thrust. He went up and I came down. Fast. Hard. The perfect synchrony.

More pressure began to build and my nails dug into his skin.

“Fuck!” I heard him curse, and my legs wound tighter around him. I moaned in his hair. He kissed my chest and my tits and nipped at my jaw. And I saw the star-lit sky. My lungs constricted and his body tensed between mine.

His hand tightened on my waist as he fucked me. I whimpered when he pressed his face against my throat and released a deep groan that made me shudder. Shudder hard enough to come between his legs and on the purple robe we hadn’t completely removed from the picture.

We lay like that, twisted together with our legs sprawled over each other’s. It was clumsy and very un-Vlad-like. Which gave me an idea.

I slid my fingers into his hair and he kissed my chest. “Vlad?”

“Mm?”

“How do you feel about babe?”

He bent his neck backwards and frowned. “Babe?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “While you call me princess, I’ll call you babe.”

He was quiet for a while and I thought he had fallen asleep. I kissed his temple and played with his hair. I wasn’t going to push it. Then, I heard.

“Let’s keep it indoors.”

Epilogue - Mariana

Three years later

Soft music played in the background, and the rich mellifluous voice of Vibes blended perfectly with the warm ambiance in the hall. There were people seated on the round tables, each with numbered boards in their hands.

I managed my art gallery with grace in the public eye, curating beauty, while the brothers and I continued their money laundering business behind closed doors. The gallery was a haven, a sanctuary

But today we had an auction and, before the event proper, my presentation was due.

Cheers and applauses rang out as I finished the presentation and I beamed, raising my glass of sparkling wine in the air to toast. It was a new year and a new beginning; and I finally launched the photograph of the year.

I’d named itHeart.

It was a black and white photograph of me and Vlad, and it was taken on the day of our wedding. In the photo, he wasn’t smiling. His blue eyes stared at the camera like an enemy to destroy. But I was elated. I had my arms wound tightly around him and my head laid on his chest.