Page 30 of Owned By the Russian

“Everyone’s a fucking critic,” he muttered to himself as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the highway.

Valentina being the object of his thoughts had become his new normal, so he wasn’t at all surprised that she was all he could think about during his drive back to the cabin.

Ilya entered through the front door with heavy bags of supplies stacked on his arms, the door creaking slightly as he pushed it open. The air was thick with the quiet of the lodge, and the faint scent of wood and fire lingered in the stillness.

“Valentina?” he called out her name, his voice echoing softly in the empty space, but there was no response. “Princess?”

The silence was all too familiar?an unsettling kind of quiet that settled over him as he placed the bags down near the entryway. He wasn’t surprised to find the lodge empty.

In fact, he expected it, and an amused chuckle left him as his brother’s words from earlier chimed in his ears.

Valentina had always been stubborn, and the moment Ilya turned his back, he was sure she’d try something.

Walking through the lodge, his boots thudding heavily on the wooden floor, Ilya’s eyes scanned for any sign of her. The kitchen was undisturbed, the living room just as he left it. But then, near the back door, he saw it?a discarded jacket on the floor, a half-empty mug with a trace of cold coffee, and a hastily thrown bag she had snagged from his closet. His gaze narrowed.

Of course, she had tried to leave.

Ilya’s lips curled into a small, knowing smile. As he moved toward the door, he spotted her tracks in the fresh dust by the back entrance leading toward the woods. But as he followed the trail, it quickly became clear. She hadn’t gotten far and had given up halfway.

There was no way she would have anyway. Without a car and the lodge being miles away from the nearest town, it would have been impossible for anyone to leave on foot.

A quiet chuckle left his lips. She’d figured it out. He could already imagine her frustration, realizing that the car was the only real way off the mountain.

Ilya stepped out into the woods, his boots crunching over the dried leaves and soft dirt as he followed the trail of Valentina’s footsteps. The faint marks in the earth made it clear she had been in a rush, likely realizing her escape was futile without a car.

A smirk stayed on his lips as he walked deeper into the woods, amused by her defiance, though he knew it would be short-lived.

However, his amusement faltered when the path cleared to reveal a vast lake that he was familiar with. There, scattered across the ground, were pieces of clothes that belonged to him, clothes he was sure she’d worn before leaving the cabin?a jacket, boots, and the remnants of the hurried escape she had tried.

The sight of his belongings sent a chill down his spine. He glanced around, his eyes narrowing as the stillness of the lake matched the quiet around him. The air was crisp, and the water’s surface was a perfect mirror, untouched and undisturbed.

He had just taken a step forward when a slight rustle broke the silence. Before he could process what was happening, Valentina emerged from the water. Her skin gleamed against the sunlight that filtered through the trees, the only visible parts of her being her face and shoulders.

The rest of her was hidden beneath the dark water, but that did little to shield the temptation she embodied. Her wet hair clung to her neck, droplets catching in the light, while the rest of her body, barely concealed, exuded a raw sensuality that sent a wave of heat surging through Ilya.

She tilted her head back, her eyes closed, with the faintest of smiles on her lips, unaware that a man stood several meters away, watching her like she had just fallen from the sky.

Ilya stood motionless at the edge of the woods, his gaze locked on her as she moved gracefully through the water. Valentina hadn’t noticed him yet, and for a long moment, he couldn’t tear his eyes away despite the growing unfamiliar tension in his chest.

His mind was hazy with thoughts he didn’t want to acknowledge, watching as the water clung to her skin, tracing the curve of her back and slipping down her exposed shoulders.

The longer he stared, the more he found himself mesmerized, caught in the frail balance between awe and desire. Her natural beauty?untamed and unapologetic?struck him like a physical blow, raw and intoxicating.

It was like the sight of her was feeding him. And the more he hungered, the more he stared. The more he stared, the more he yearned. And the more he yearned, the more he hungered yet again.

He wanted to look away, to act like he wasn’t affected, but he was trapped in a spell he couldn’t break. The sight of her naked skin against the shimmering water, her every motion seeming deliberate yet effortless, pulled at something deep inside him.

The temptation was almost unbearable, his pulse quickening as his body responded despite his better judgment. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to indulge, his eyes following every subtle play of light and shadow across her form, unable?or unwilling?to look away.

He could hear the faint lapping of the water, the sound like a distant whisper in his ear, but it was her that held his full attention.

Chapter 11 - Valentina

Valentina hadn’t realized just how long it had been since she last swam until she stepped into the lake. As soon as her feet hit the cool, smooth surface, she felt the water’s embrace?refreshing and comforting?curling around her body like a well-deserved hug.

The coolness seeped into her skin, chasing away the heat that had built up from fruitlessly trying to run away from the cabin, and for a moment, she could almost forget everything. The ambush, the fact that she would probably not be alive right now if Ilya hadn’t intervened, and then everything else that happened with him after that?everything felt distant as the water swirled around her.

She sank deeper, relishing the sensation of the lake wrapping around her, its depth offering both serendipity and anonymity. The silence of the woods, broken only by the gentle lapping of water against the shore, allowed her to breathe deeply, collecting her thoughts, even if only for a brief, fleeting moment.

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