Page 57 of Brutal Monster
"Try harder." He presses his lips to my shoulder, the touch sending heat spiraling through me. "The water is perfect this morning."
I pull away before I can change my mind about leaving the bedroom. "Race you."
The villa sits on its own private slice of paradise—white sand beach, crystalline water stretching to the horizon. No prying eyes, no security concerns. Just us and the staff who know better than to ask questions about the newly married couple who arrived via private jet in the middle of the night.
I hit the sand running, feeling it shift beneath my feet. The sun beats down, already fierce despite the early hour. Behind me, I hear Vanya's footsteps, deliberately unhurried. He's letting me win. It should irritate me. Instead, I laugh, the sound strange in my throat.
The water welcomes me, cool against sun-heated skin. I dive beneath a wave, letting it carry me before surfacing with a gasp. Salt water streams down my face, and I push wet hair back, treading water as I turn to face the shore.
Vanya stands at the water's edge, watching me. The intensity in his gaze makes my breath catch. He sees me—all of me—and still looks at me like that. Like I'm something precious yet dangerous.
I float onto my back, letting the gentle waves rock me. The sky above is impossibly blue and there isn't a single cloud above me. From this angle, I can see our villa, perched on the small hill, with its white walls gleaming in the sunlight. A fortress disguised as a paradise retreat.
"You look like a mermaid." Vanya's voice comes from closer than I expected. He's entered the water silently, moving through it with the same predatory grace he brings to everything.
"Do mermaids carry knives?" I ask, letting my feet drop so I'm vertical again.
His laugh is low, private. "You would." His hands find my waist underwater, drawing me to him. "Even here, you're armed?"
"Always." I wrap my legs around his waist, feel his hands slide down to support my thighs. "Does that bother you?"
"It reassures me." He kisses me, salt water mingling on our lips. "My warrior wife."
The possessiveness in his tone should chafe. Instead, it sends a thrill through me. I am his, as he is mine. A partnership forged in blood and sealed with gold bands.
"What are you thinking about?" he asks, echoing his question from the car.
This time, I answer honestly. "Adan."
Vanya's expression doesn't change, but I feel the slight tension in his shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." I rest my forehead against his, close my eyes. "Not yet."
"When you're ready."
The waves lap around us, creating our own private world. Vanya's hands tighten on my thighs, and I feel him harden against me. Even here, surrounded by beauty, we are who we are—predators playing at being normal.
"We should go back to the villa."
"Why?" His teeth graze my lower lip. "No one can see us here."
The realization hits me hard. He's right. For once in my life, I don't need to watch my back. Don't need to calculate angles and exit strategies. Here, with him, I can simply be.
I kiss him fiercely, tasting salt and sun and Vanya. His hands move up my back, fingers tangling in the strings of my bikini top. One tug and it loosens, floating away on the current.
"That was expensive," I gasp as his mouth moves to my neck.
"I'll buy you another." His voice is rough with want. "A hundred others."
I laugh, the sound swallowed by his kiss. The water supports us, makes me weightless in his arms as he walks us deeper, until the waves lap at his shoulders. My bare breasts press against his chest, the friction delicious against my sensitive skin.
His hands move lower, sliding beneath the thin fabric of my bikini bottom. I arch into his touch, all thoughts of Adan and Emilio and nameless enemies dissolving like mist in the morning sun.
For now, there is only this—Vanya and me, surrounded by endless blue. The rest of the world can wait.
His mouth finds mine again, hungry and demanding. I'm floating, weightless in his arms, my body his to command.
"Let's go back," Vanya says, voice rough with need.
