Page 17 of Claimed By the Masked BRATVA
“Yes.”
She takes a deep breath. “It’s a hybridization study. Orchids. I’ve been working on creating strains that can survive harsher climates without losing their ability to bloom. If it works, it could change how we conserve endangered species.”
Her voice warms as she speaks, gaining rhythm, passion threading through every word. She forgets the ruined dress, forgets me standing half-naked across the room, and for a moment I get to see the fire inside her.
I move closer, drawn in. “So you’re saving beauty from extinction.”
Her cheeks flush. “It’s not that dramatic.”
“Yes, it is,” I counter. “Most people in this city spend their days scheming for more money, more power, more blood. And you? You’re creating life. Protecting it.”
She blinks at me, stunned, as if no one has ever put it in those terms before.
“Don’t look so surprised,” I murmur, reaching to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I meant it last night. I see you. All of you. The scientist. The woman. The passion. And I won’t let you go back to a life where you pretend you’re alone.”
“I am alone,” she whispers.
“Not anymore.”
Her eyes shine, torn between disbelief and the dangerous hope I want to plant.
I tip her chin up, kissing her softly this time, coaxing rather than claiming. When I pull back, her lips are parted, her breath trembling.
“Come with me,” I say. “Don’t run back to your lab and pretend last night was an accident. Spend the weekend with me. Let me show you what it feels like to live, not just survive.”
She hesitates, logic flickering in her gaze. “Sebastian… my work—”
“Will still be there on Monday. And maybe you’ll see it differently then. Maybe you’ll see yourself differently. You deserve that, Caitlyn.”
I press my forehead to hers, my voice a low growl. “You gave yourself to me. Don’t insult us both by walking away now.”
Her lips tremble, and then she exhales, the resistance draining out of her. “Just the weekend,” she whispers.
My chest tightens with triumph. I kiss her again, harder this time, sliding my hands down her back to cup her ass. “That’s all I need. By the time it’s over, you’ll never want to leave.”
She shivers, and I know I’ve won.
As she gathers her things, I watch her with a satisfaction that borders on feral. She thinks she’s agreed to two days. But I know she’s agreed to forever.
Caitlyn
I keep waiting for reality to crash down on me.
The silk dress is wrinkled, the zipper fragile, my hair a wild mess I can’t fix with my fingers. I should look ridiculous walking through the hotel lobby with Sebastian’s hand firm at the small of my back. Instead, people part for us without hesitation, eyes flicking once toward him before sliding away. It’s like an invisible shield follows him, made of authority and fear.
And I’m inside it.
The rational part of me whispers that this is madness. I don’t belong at his side. I belong in my lab, with orchids and test tubes and quiet. My sister only gave me the ticket so I’d have an excuse to get out of the lab for one night, and somehow I ended up here; claimed, undone, agreeing to follow a stranger home for the weekend.
No, not a stranger.
Sebastian.
The name alone makes my chest tight.
He guides me into a sleek black car waiting at the curb. The driver doesn’t ask questions, just opens the door and dips his head like he’s greeting royalty. The interior smells of leather and pine. I slide into the backseat, pulse racing, as Sebastian settles beside me, his thigh pressed firmly to mine.
“Relax,” he says softly, his hand covering mine where it twists in my lap. “No one will touch you. Not while you’re with me.”
