I told myself I’d signed the paper for Mateo. That I gave my body to Aleksei because it was the price of my brother’s life. That every time his mouth claims mine, every time he presses me down into the sheets, it’s just duty. A bargain.
But I’m lying to myself.
Because my body doesn’t act like it’s a bargain. My body lights up when he’s near. It aches for him in ways I don’t understand, in ways that scare me.
And now, sitting in his lap in his office, his arm heavy around my waist, his hand resting on my stomach like he owns the future inside it, I know the truth: I want him.
Even if my brain is screaming. Even if the whole situation is insane. Even if love feels like the most dangerous word of all.
I swallow hard, shifting on his knee. His cock is hard against me through his trousers, thick and insistent, and heat pools low in my belly.
He looks at me, calm and certain, like he already knows what I’m thinking. Maybe he does. Aleksei always knows.
My breath shudders out. My hands move before I can talk myself out of it, sliding between us, fumbling at his belt.
His eyes darken. “Isabella.” My name is a warning and a prayer all at once.
“I told you I’d give you a child,” I whisper. My voice shakes, but I keep going. “I need to hold up my end of the bargain.”
His hand tightens on my waist, but he doesn’t stop me. He lets me work the buckle loose, lets me tug the zipper down with clumsy, trembling fingers.
“You’re sure?” he murmurs, and his voice is softer than I expect.
I nod, cheeks burning. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“You’re doing perfectly,” he growls, and the praise makes me shiver. “Good girl. You were made for me.”
I free him, thick and hard in my hand. My throat goes dry. He’s too big, too intimidating, but my body pulses with want anyway. I shift my hips awkwardly, trying to guide myself over him.
He helps by steadying me as I lift up my skirt, angling me as I pull my panties to one side, but he doesn’t take over. He lets me lower myself slowly, inch by inch, until the head pushes inside and I gasp at the stretch.
“That’s it,” he rasps. “Take me, wife. Take all of me.”
I sink down, whimpering at the burn, the fullness. My body resists and yields at the same time, trembling with the effort. His praise keeps me moving.
“Good girl. You’re so tight. So perfect. Every inch of you has been made for me.”
When I finally settle all the way, seated deep on his cock, my whole body shakes. His hands grip my hips, holding me steady. My lips part on a broken sound.
“You did it,” he says, voice rough with pride. “You put yourself all the way on me.”
The words unravel me. I move, just a little, rocking uncertainly. He groans, low and raw, and I feel it vibrate through his chest.
“That’s it. Just like that. Ride me, Isabella. Let me feel how much you want me.”
I find a rhythm, awkward but desperate, sliding up and down his length as his praise washes over me. Every stroke makes me fuller, makes the heat coil tighter inside me.
“You’re beautiful. Look at you, taking me in my office like a queen. My queen.”
My nails dig into his shoulders. My head falls back. The pleasure builds too fast, too sharp, and when it breaks, I cry out his name, trembling apart in his arms.
He doesn’t let me stop. He thrusts up into me now, hard and deep, driving me through the aftershocks.
“I’ll fill you again,” he growls against my ear. “I’ll fill you until you’re swollen with my child. Until you can’t think of anything but me.”
“Yes—” The word tears from my throat before I can stop it.
That’s all it takes. He surges up, holding me tight, and buries himself deep as he spills inside me, his voice breaking on a groan that sounds like victory.