Page 65 of Lethal Devotion
His smile is taut, without any humor in it. “You’re braver than I would have ever expected.”
I manage a faint one of my own. “I’m not, really. I just don’t want to die.”
“I won’t let you die.” Damian’s voice is low and fierce. “I said I’d protect you, Sienna, even from myself. I can’t keep that last part, not right now… but Iwillprotect you. I’ll find a way out of this, even if…”
“Even if this is the way out,” I finish. “They said they’d let us go if we did this. Were they telling the truth?”
Damian swallows hard. “I think so. It’s not in Russo’s best interest to start a war. He’s sending a message. How Konstantin takes it, after…” He presses his lips together. “I don’t know. ButIwon’t let this slide. I won’t?—”
“This is taking too long,” Giovanni snaps from the back of the room. “Get on with it, Kutnezsov. I said to fuck her, not talk to her.”
Damian’s jaw tightens. I can see the war happening behind his eyes. He's calculating odds, looking for weaknesses, trying to find a way out of this that doesn't involve what Giovanni is demanding. But we're outnumbered, outgunned, and trapped.
"It's okay," I whisper, stepping closer so our bodies are almost touching. "I can handle this. It’s… it’s okay."
"Sienna—" His jaw works, and I can see the pain in his eyes, the resistance. He doesn’t want this, either. He doesn’t want to hurt me.
I wish I could touch him. I wish I could do anything at all to make this better. “I can handle it,” I repeat, putting as much sincerity as I can into my voice. “Whatever you need to do, it’s okay. We’ll get through this.”
The anguish in his eyes nearly breaks me. This man who I've seen be ruthlessly violent, who kills without hesitation when protecting what's his, looks like he's being torn apart from the inside.
"This isn't how I wanted..." he starts, then stops, his jaw clenching. “If we had… if I’d given in, I never would have… this isn’t…”
"I know." I rise up on my toes, bringing my lips close to his ear. "But it's still you. It's still us."
Giovanni clears his throat impatiently. "Touching as this is, I'm getting bored. Start the show, or I’ll take that as a refusal, and have you chained up again, Kutnezsov. You can watch my men enjoy what you don’t want.”
The threat sends ice through my veins, but I don't let it show. Instead, I look directly at Damian.
“It’s okay,” I whisper again.
Damian’s jaw works, the muscle there ticking as he looks at me. “I don’t—” he clears his throat. “I don’t know if I can?—”
I step one inch closer to him, close enough that our bodies are touching now, brushing against each other. I watch him breathe in, nostrils flaring, and the look in his eyes as I lean up against him is almost enough to make me forget what’s happening, enough to narrow the room down to just the two of us.
Almost.
I let out a soft, shuddering breath as I brush my lips against his. “It’s me, Damian,” I whisper. “I know you want me. I’ve seen how much you want me. You pretend like you don’t, but?—”
His hands drop to my waist. He pulls me against him, his head tilting as he presses his lips to mine, but there’s no fire in it, no passion. It’s not like the kiss in my bedroom, when he devoured me like I was his last meal, like he’d never taste something he wanted so much again. I can feel in every fiber of his body that he doesn’t want to do this.
“Fuck.” Damian breaks the kiss, stepping back an inch. He stands there for a long moment, as if he doesn’t know what to do, and I can see what the problem is.
I don’t have to be aroused to get fucked. But Damiandoeshave to be aroused. And this situation, clearly, is not turning him on.
It only takes a second for Giovanni to catch on to what’s happening.
“What did I say about taking too long, Kutnezsov?” he calls from the other side of the room. “Can’t get it up for your wife?” He chuckles, as if this entire thing is highly amusing for him. “Get on your knees for him, girl. Use your mouth. Do I need to tell you how to fuck your ‘husband’?” He laughs again. “Must not be a real marriage after all, if your wife won’t even take your cock in her mouth to get you hard.”
Damian’s jaw is so tight I’m worried his teeth might crack. His eyes are dark with rage, every muscle wound tight, but I know we can’t keep pushing this. I don’t want to do this, but I also don’t want Giovanni to put a stop to it and give me to his men instead.
Biting my lip, I drop to my knees on the hard concrete floor. I look up at Damian, who suddenly has a panicked look on his face.
“Sienna—”
“Help me,” I whisper, looking up at him wide-eyed. “My hands are cuffed. I need you to—I need you to get your cock out for me.”
Damian’s jaw twitches. I can see him thinking through the options, looking for a way out. And I can see something else, too—guilt lurking in his eyes, as they darken for a different reason.
