Page 120 of Ripped Veil (Ripped Bratva)

This place Elyssa grew up in, it’s starting to sound less like a town and more like a cult. The desert is full of them. Creepy communes of deluded people who think they can purify their way to salvation.

They’re wrong, every last one of them.

Salvation doesn’t fucking exist.

I’m reluctant to use the word “cult” out loud, though. She’s finally talking, and I don’t want to do anything that will shut her down again.

“The man you mentioned you were going to marry, Josiah… Was this an arranged marriage?”

The words sound strange coming out of my mouth, but I have a strong feeling I’m right on this one.

She looks at me guiltily. “I agreed to it.”

Fucking hell.“Why?”

“Because he was a good man. And because he’d helped my family out so many times. And because… because I was told it was what was best for me.”

“Clearly, you disagreed,” I point out.

I notice a tremor run along her body.

“You know, it can be hard to change behavior after a lifetime of conformity,” I tell her. “But there’s no time like the present to start.”

I glance down at her dessert pointedly. She does the same.

After a quiet moment of contemplation, she picks her spoon up and takes a mouth of the silky chocolate mousse.

“Oh my God…” she sighs as it hits her tongue.

“Good?”

“That’s the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

I have a sudden image of my cock sliding slowly down her throat. I tense as I try to stop my erection in its tracks. But it’s a fucking lost cause. One look at Elyssa’s full pink lips and all I want to do is take her right here on this table.

Somehow, I manage to control myself. It helps that one bite of the mousse is all she takes.

It’s enough, though. It’s progress.

I don’t throw any more questions at her. She deserves this moment to enjoy a piece of something that had been denied her for so long.

When our meal is over, everything is cleared away by silent waiters. My erection is still throbbing painfully behind my zipper.

Which is exactly why I need to end the night now.

I scrape my chair backwards as I rise. She watches me with curious eyes. “We’re leaving?”

“Yes.”

“But I never got to ask you any questions.”

“This night wasn’t meant to be about me.”

“Did you get what you wanted?” she asks.

I stare at those big brown doe eyes as my body aches with desire. Then I shake my head. “No,krasotka.Not even close.”

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