Page 59 of Control: XXX Vadim 1
He leans back and meets my gaze, an eyebrow raised. “Is this your way of telling me that you plan on escaping after tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow?” Belatedly I remember dinner with his brother, my supposed reason for staying this long. “I guess our arrangement will be over, then.”
“Will it?” That dangerous gleam ignites in his gaze, setting the hairs on the back of my neck on end. “You’ve been so intent on leaving that you have yet to ask yourself—will I let you go? I think you might very much enjoy bondage play.”
Excitement bubbles in my belly at the mere thought of having him shackle me.Snap out of it, Tiffy.
“You won’t want me around for very long,” I say, shifting my position to nuzzle his neck. “One month of my spending, and you’ll cancel your fancy card and send my ass right back to California.”
“I doubt that.” His voice deepens into a richer, thicker baritone and my toes curl in response. “I’ve had more entertainment watching you squeal in excitement over a few dresses than I’ve ever experienced through my wealth.
“Mmm.” I purr, wiggling against him. “Keep talking dirty to me, and I may let you play with that damn toy again.” I spare a glance at the hated object, resting on his nightstand, freshly cleaned.
“Dirty?” he echoes, pressing me against him. “Stay with me after tomorrow night, and I will show you the world I could offer you.”
My breath catches as my brain spins with a million possibilities. More shopping sprees. More carefree mornings. More impromptu horse rides and casual dinners. An abundance of kinky sex.
“You are considering it,” he accuses while laughing that buttery laugh.
“I am,” I confess. “But you shouldn’t want me to. I think I might be…bad for you.” I frown, even as I say it. A selfish part of me wants to immediately take the words back. Why can’t I chase him, even if our ultimate aims aren’t compatible? Maybe I could change my mind. Maybe…
“Bad for me?” He laughs in that sinful way, and his hands creep up my ribcage, cupping my breasts. He groans as my nipples harden and traces their peeks through the fabric of my negligee. “You have been terrible for me—” He flicks his gaze up to mine, watching my reaction. Something in his heated expression makes me suspect he didn’t intend the confession as an insult. “I’ve been distracted from my work. Rather than just a few hours at a time, I find that I’ve been sleeping through the night these past few days. Not to mention, I’m considering meeting Maximwithoutthe aid of an armed guard. You have thoroughly demolished my routine. I’m sure you are pleased with yourself.”
My grin returns wider than ever. “So pleased.” I brush my lips over his, relishing the feel of him. He’s so soft, but so dominating the second he pushes back, urging my lips apart for his tongue to slip between.
The kiss is sweet at first. Then hungrier until I’m lying naked beneath him, and he’s palming his cock, his eyes unfocused, our breathing labored.
I part my legs, and he easily sinks inside me.
One thrust takes me so high I go right past cloud nine and straight up to ten.
And even as I quake amid the aftermath, I know that I’m already well past the danger zone of becoming addicted to him.
Chapter Twenty
Iwake up in his arms, and we spend most of the morning lying in bed, talking about nothing in particular. It’s surprisingly easy to share his space and enjoy his nearness. I could never pass time like this with Jim. Not that he would give me the time of day regardless.
Vadim? He acts as though his business and unknown meetings can wait. As if letting me nuzzle at his throat is worth more than anything else. And the giddy, childish joy goes straight to my head.
“When will you pierce me?” I wonder, nestling against his chest.
A low, shocked grunt resonates from his throat. “You are eager for it?”
I purr and nod, surprised by that fact almost as much as he seems to be. “I’msoeager for it. I’m sure you have it all planned out, and I like where your brain goes when you ‘research.’”
He chuckles, his gaze thoughtful. “I think you will enjoy the ultimate result, but I am not quite ready yet.”
I pout. Then I remember the looming deadline that is tonight, and some of my giddiness diminishes. “Ena warned me about you,” I admit. “He said that your brother makes you crazy, and that I am just a toy in whatever is going on between you two.”
“Is that so?” His tired sigh ruffles my hair, and he gently smooths the stray strands back into place. “Ena is…let’s just say, protective of me. He has earned that right. But I have learned that eighty-percent of the time, he’s as overzealous as a worrisome mother.”
“And the other twenty percent?” I ask.
His mouth twitches into a reluctant frown. “While he may be overzealous, he is usually never wrong. In this case, I believe precedent may be coloring his perception—” He runs his hand down my back as if in reassurance. “Maxim brings out the worst in me, and Ena knows that better than most.”
“How did you meet him?” I inquire next as I trace a path from one perfect nipple to the other. “He doesn’t strike me as the type to stroll into one of your offices wearing a suit with a resume tucked under his arm.”
“No.” His second sigh resonates through my skin, more wistful than the first. “He saved my life. And I don’t mean it in the sense that he stopped a bullet for me, or prevented my murder—which he has, many times. I mean it in the most primal sense of the phrase. He saved my life. I met him at a time when I had nothing. Was nothing. For that reason, I will always humor his quirks. Though I may have to remind him that not everyone is so tolerant of his bluntness.”
