Page 118 of Captive Prize

I was boneless, somewhere between exhausted and triumphant. So many endorphins raced through my veins that I couldn’t help but close my eyes and ride the high.

And somehow, I knew. I knew that being in his arms afterward was what made this so damn good.

I wasn’t sure how long we lay there, catching our breaths while slowly floating back down to earth.

“Is it always going to be like that?” I asked, breaking the silence. “Is it always going to be chaos, rage, and unrelenting need?”

“Yes,” he said, with no hesitation. “Between us, it will always be like that. It can’t be anything else.”

He leaned up and kissed me again.

This time it wasn’t a battle, but it wasn’t soft.

It was still firm, still claiming.

He didn’t know how to be anything else, and I didn’t want him to be.

This—whatever this was between us—was the only real thing I had ever experienced.

It wasn’t a calculated move to get a desired outcome.

He wasn’t pretending.

These moments between us were genuine.

He was still inside me. He hadn’t pulled out, just moved us together as one to rest and recover.

I knew I should’ve pushed him out of me. I should have gone right back to fighting him, but I just didn’t have the strength.

He had taken my strength from me, and I couldn’t even be upset about it.

Blame the hormones, blame the endorphins. I didn’t care. I was where I belonged.

“Then it’s settled,”

“What’s settled?” I asked, losing the fight against sleep as my eyes slid closed.

“We will be married as soon as possible.”

CHAPTER 28

ZOYA

The heat of the sauna was nothing compared to the tension radiating through the room.

Since agreeing to Roman’s proposal, or at least not fighting him when he informed me of our impending marriage, I’d been granted a little more freedom.

I still wasn’t allowed anywhere without a guard. The only place I could be alone was in my room, and I was locked in unless Roman was with me.

Which he usually was.

I was still very much a prisoner, but one afforded a little more leeway as I was soon going to be an Ivanov. Gregor would no doubt have his accountants at the ceremony and right after I signed the marriage license and lost my last name, I’d be forced to sign other documents taking away my money, my empire, and my power.

The thought didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.

I was getting a lot in return.

The way Roman fucked me was earth shattering. He lit me on fire and then smiled while I burned.

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