Page 114 of Vendetta Vows

A voice in the back of my mind screams that this is reckless, that our marriage isn't real, that it's just a convenient arrangement born of necessity.

But another part of me, stronger and more insistent, shouts it down.

This connection between us is real. Our shared pain, the way we understand and comfort each other when no one else can. That's real too.

What I feel when he's inside me, when his eyes meet mine, when his hands cradle me like I'm the most precious thing he's ever held, that's more real than anything I've ever felt in my life.

As long as we're together, we can face whatever horrors might be coming our way.

Whether it's Semyon, Gregor, Tamara, or even Kristofer. We'll face them together.

Maybe there's more to this than a simple marriage of convenience. Maybe what started as protection has bloomed into something neither of us expected to find again.

I kiss him deeply, pouring everything I'm feeling into it. My hips move to meet his thrusts, fucking him back as he fucks me. Our bodies move in perfect synchrony like we were made for this.

Made for each other.

I feel his whole body go taut against mine, muscles straining beneath my fingers. His breathing turns ragged, hot against my neck.

"Aurora, I'm going to cum," Ruslan groans, his voice pitched low and desperate in a way I've never heard before. His hips stutter against mine, losing that perfect rhythm as he fights to hold back.

"Yes," I breathe, pressing my forehead against his. "Fill me, Ruslan. I want to feel you."

I squeeze around him deliberately, drawing a strangled moan from deep in his chest.

"Cum for me," I whisper against his ear, my lips brushing the sensitive skin there. "Please."

His control snaps. With a guttural sound that's almost a roar, his hips slam into mine one final time. I feel the hot pulse of him emptying inside me, each throb of his cock sending waves of pleasure ricocheting through my body.

The sensation of his release topples me over the edge that I'd been unknowingly riding.

A final orgasm crashes through me without warning, more intense than the last. My entire body convulses around him as stars explode behind my eyelids.

"That's it," I gasp, my nails digging into his shoulders as I ride the wave. "Oh God, Ruslan, yes."

My pussy clenches rhythmically around him, milking every last drop as if my body is determined to claim all of him. I quiver and shudder around him, prolonging both our pleasure as his hands grip my hips with bruising intensity.

When our lips meet again, it's different from any kiss we've shared before. There's a desperation, yes, but something else as well.

His tongue slides against mine, stealing what little breath I have left until I'm dizzy with need and satisfaction all at once.

We're pressed so tightly together that I can't tell where my body ends and his begins. His heartbeat thunders against my chest, matching my own frantic rhythm. I swallow his gasps as he drinks down mine, our breaths mingling in this intimate space we've created.

Even as our kiss deepens, I feel him still twitching inside me, little aftershocks of his release that make me shudder with renewed bursts of pleasure. Each pulse sends a fresh wave of warmth through me, marking me from the inside in the most intimate way possible.

When we finally break apart, I look into his golden eyes and something passes between us.

A smile spreads across his face, so genuine it makes my heart flip, and I feel my own lips curving in response.

Then we're both laughing. It starts soft but quickly grows until we're giggling, our bodies still joined. God it feels good to laugh like this, unreservedly, and without either fear or hesitation.

"You were incredible," Ruslan murmurs, his voice husky as he presses soft kisses along my jaw. "You did so good."

His lips find my earlobe, teeth grazing the sensitive skin there.

My heart skips one beat after another while he continues to whisper praise against my skin. Each word sinks into me like a balm I didn't know I needed.

I shiver at his words, at the way his breath tickles my skin. Slowly, he shifts beneath me, and I feel him slip out of me.

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