Page 199 of Toxic Temptation
The validation sends heat spiraling through me. I’ve spent my entire career feeling helpless, watching corruption and incompetence destroy everything I care about.
But tonight, I took control.
Tonight, I won.
“I want to do this more,” I confess as his mouth finds my neck. “I want to help you fix things.Reallyfix them.”
“Dangerous territory,krasavitsa.” But his hands are already sliding under my shirt, and his warning lacks conviction.
“I don’t care about dangerous.” I fumble with his belt, desperate to feel more of him. “I care about this. About making them pay for what they’ve done.”
He captures my mouth in a kiss. When we break apart, both of us breathing hard, he studies my face.
“You’re sure about this? Because once we cross this line, there’s no going back to being just a doctor. You’ll be part of my world for real.”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” I reach between us and free him from his jeans. “I want to be part of your world, Kovan. I want to be part of this.”
His answer is a wordless growl against my throat as I sink down onto him, taking all of him inside me in one smooth motion. The angle is perfect. The feeling is exquisite.
“You’re mine,” he murmurs as we move together in the cramped space. “My partner. My equal.”
“Yours,” I agree. “Always yours.”
We come apart and back together in the darkness, sealing our pact with sweat and whispered promises and the knowledge that everything has changed between us.
I’m not just Vesper Fairfax anymore—dedicated doctor, rule-follower, woman who plays it safe.
For better and for worse…
I’m Kovan Krayev’s woman now.
69
VESPER
A FEW DAYS LATER
“We should have said something!” I slap my palm against the kitchen counter hard enough to rattle the coffee mugs. “Objected, or fought it, or, or—something.”
Kovan leans against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me slowly lose my mind. “Getting worked up isn’t going to bring Luka home faster.”
“It’s been four hours.” I start pacing again, resuming today’s arts-and-crafts project of wearing the deepest possible groove in the hardwood between the island and the sink. “Four hours, Kovan! What could they possibly be doing with him for so long?”
“Maybe they took him to a park. Or to lunch. Or maybe they’re fattening him up so they can turn him into a fucking lampshade.”
“That’s not funny,” I snap.
Kovan sighs. He’s been defusing my anger for a long time, ever since Yana and Ihor showed up to pick up Luka for their court-mandated visitation this morning, so it’s only fair that he’sgetting irritated. “It’s his birthday and she’s his mother and Ihor is his—well, whatever the fuck he is, the courts say they have the right.”
I whip around to face him. “Don’t you dare defend them.”
“I’m not defending anyone.” His voice stays maddeningly level. “I’m trying to keep you from having a complete breakdown in my kitchen.”
“Well, maybe I want to have a breakdown,” I retort. “Maybe I’m entitled to lose my shit when our kid is spending his birthday with people who treat him like a chess piece.”
Our kid.
Shit. I didn’t mean to say that. It just slipped out, natural as breathing.
