“Insistent,” I whisper. “Frighteningly remorseless.”
“I’m sorry.”
I open my eyes and cup his face. “No, don’t be sorry. The fucked up thing is that I didn’t realize how much I craved your control until that moment.”
Fire sparks in his eyes. I see the way it intensifies as his gaze drifts to my chest. He’s imbibing every inch of me without moving a muscle.
And I’m eating up the attention. “And then the other side of it. I wanted to see if I wanted that, too. That’s why I went to find you last night.”
“You went looking for me?” He’s smirking without smirking. I know because his eyes are glowing. “Even while I was drunk?”
“I knew we were both hurting. I knew we needed to be with each other. And I…”
My eyelids flutter the more I try to push the words out of my mouth. It’s the hardest thing I’ve had to do.
Not to admit the truth.
But to admit the truthto him.
“I took advantage of you, Pavel,” I blurted. “I did to you what you did to me. I used you, and I’m—”
He shushes me before I can finish. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
It’s the conviction in his voice that makes me tremble.
“Things are changing between us,” he says. “We’ve crossed over into territory that neither of us has experience in.”
“I know. I’m scared.”
He runs his fingers through my hair. “I’m scared, too.” His brows pinch together suddenly. “That fear has made me want to control you even more.”
“You’ve been pushing me away.”
He nods.
“I hate the way it feels.”
He bows his head toward me. “I don’t like doing it.”
“So, why do you still do it?”
“Because that’s the only way I know how I can reassert control.” His eyes darken. “By making you submit to my authority and by stripping away all power from you.”
A shiver races down my spine. I can’t tell if it’s fear or arousal—or both.
“Is that what happened at Blaczak’s?”
A moment passes before he nods. “I almost gave in to that darkness.”
“What would have happened if you did?”
“I don’t think we would be having pillow talk right now.”
I shudder to think of where I would be sleeping.
In the basement?
In the yard?