Page 39 of Sinful Union

This is supposed to be about sex, power, control. Not this. Not him whispering sweet things that make me melt like a stick of butter. I lift my chin, narrowing my eyes. “I’m not yours.”

Pavel’s eyes darken into something dangerous. He leans in, his voice a quiet murmur as his nose skims mine. “No?”

I open my mouth to argue but he moves again, a slow, deep thrust that leaves me breathless. He watches me, drinking in my reaction, smug and knowing. Then, with a wicked smirk, he rolls his hips again. “Feels like you are.”

His arms stay tight against my sides, strong and solid, anchoring me in a way I didn’t expect. His breath is slow and steady, like a feather against my temple. His fingers stroke my cheek, a lazy, soothing motion that makes my eyelids grow heavy. I can feel his heartbeat against my own. Strong. Certain. Unshaken.

He murmurs something in Russian, then chuckles, low and rough, the sound rumbling through his chest.

I frown, lifting my head just enough to look at him. “What did you just say?”

His lips twitch, the corners lifting in an amused, knowing smirk. Smug. Teasing.

I narrow my eyes. “Pavel.”

He hums, dragging his fingers through my hair, twirling a loose strand around his finger as he studies me. “I said you look beautiful when you’re completely ruined.”

Heat licks up my spine, pooling low in my stomach. I swat at his arm, scowling. “You are insufferable.”

He grins. “I can tell you’re thinking too much,” he replies after a few seconds.

“You don’t think enough.”

His smirk fades slightly, replaced by something more serious. “I think about a lot of things, Kat.” His voice is softer now, and when his fingers slide back up in my hair, I lean into his touch without hesitation. “I think about you.”

I swallow hard, my throat tightening at his words. I know I shouldn’t ask the next question, but I do anyway. “What exactly do you think about?”

His fingers tighten ever so slightly, his jaw clenching before he answers. “I think about the way you feel in my arms. I think about how good you taste. How fucking perfect you are when you come for me.”

I inhale sharply, my pulse racing, but he isn’t finished.

“I think about the way you look at me when you don’t think I see it.” His thumb brushes over my lips, slow and deliberate. “Like you want this just as much as I do.”

I do.

Good God, I do.

But I can’t say it. I won’t say it. Because this wasn’t supposed to happen. I shift, pressing my face against his chest, closing my eyes. “You’re so full of yourself.”

He chuckles as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me closer. “I meant every word.”

I don’t know what to say to that. Suddenly, the room feels too small, the weight of everything said, as well as everything unsaid, pressing down on me. He moves again, and I let myself go. I lock my legs around his hips, pulling him deeper inside. A few more thrusts, and I’m tipping over the edge again, with him right alongside me.

I’m taken back to the night we made Ana.

I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I’d never left.

Chapter 18

Pavel

Iroll my sleeves up, then push aside the paperwork in front of me. My mind isn’t on numbers or business. It’s on Kat.

Manhattan stretches into the distance beyond the tall windows of my office. The sky is a sheet of slate-gray clouds. I know there’s a war brewing. But all I can think about is my wife. She’s in my home, in my bed, but I don’t know if she’s truly mine.

I try to keep my Bratva dealings separate from her. I don’t want her involved in that part of my world any more than she needs to be. But sheisBratva. Whether she likes it or not, whether sheadmitsit or not, her allegiance is still tied to the Andreev name. And while I can tell she cares for me, I also know that loyalty in our world is never simple.

She’s been visiting her brothers’ house regularly. Too regularly. And though my men report nothing suspicious, I can’t shake the feeling that something is off. I want to trust her, but I don’t.

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