Chapter Six
Fuck, but Eve felt incredibly tight around his dick. Vadim wanted to rut her, fuck her hard and good, but this was Eve’s first time. He pulled his dick out, sliding back in slowly, until her nails scored his back, marking him as hers, too.
He thrust in and out of her, gritting his teeth, settling on a rhythm that suited them both. Eve locked her hands behind his neck, one hand in his hair, pulling him down for a kiss. She’d gotten bold, but he liked how she knew what she wanted. Crushing her lips, he moved faster, sweat-slicked body sliding against hers. Deep and deeper, he breached her most intimate places.
He changed the angle of his thrust and must have found her G-spot, because she arched her back.
When Vadim released her mouth, she mewled for him. He decided he liked that sound. He aimed for her sweet spot repeatedly. She held on, fingers on his shoulders, spurring him on. Vadim reduced them both to grunts and pants. Words had flown out the window a long time ago.
He reached for her left breast, pinching her nipple, and she cried out, eyes widening. Then every tense muscle in her body went slack. Eve’s eyelids fluttered shut as bliss swept her under. Seeing her in orgasm, his own crashed into him a second later. A few thrusts and the pressure building inside him broke.
The forest, the river, all of it fell away from his line of sight. He growled out his pleasure, emptying his balls into the condom. When he was done, he pulled out of her, disposed of the condom and lay next to Eve.
Vadim waited a few seconds for both of them to recover their breathing. Now that the hunger had been sated, would Eve regret her decision? She cuddled close, resting her face on his chest, her glorious, brown curls fanning out. Like silk, he remembered thinking, twirling one lazy finger into a loose strand.
“I didn’t know,” she began. “That sex could be that amazing. The initial pain seemed like nothing.”
She rested a palm over his left pectoral, over the heart that beat and bled for her alone.
“It wouldn’t have been like that,” she murmured, “if you didn’t pull those men off me.”
He closed his fingers over hers. Vadim wasn’t a fool. He knew sex hadn’t been the cure for anything, but they’d come to an understanding.
“I hate you a little. I know it’s childish and you saved my life. I’m grateful, but it’s still there, but with time, thatwillfade,” she said.
If he did possess the ability to rewind time, he’d change nothing. Only Eve mattered, and trying to save anyone else could have ended in her death or his. Vadim had been ready to die a long time ago, but this fiery young woman had stirred the dead ashes of his heart back to life.
“What’s going to happen next?” she finally asked.
“I have no intention of going back to that life.”
She tightened her grip on his fingers. “Can we really escape? Since I was a little girl, I always imagined what it would be like, if I wasn’t Charles Valentin’s daughter.”
“It’s possible.” He sat up, gathering her in his arms. She looked up at him with eyes far too old for her, but that had been unavoidable. He’d seen his share of violence, and she understood the world didn’t come in clear shades of black and white, too.
“I’m frightened,” Eve admitted. “My heart knows what it wants, but—”
Vadim pressed a finger to her lips. “That’s all that matters. You know I’m not the most decent man, but I’ll make sure no one can fucking hurt you again.”
“You’re all I have now,” she whispered. His parched soul, devoid of any emotion save what he felt for Eve, cracked a little at those words. If Vadim loved her enough, he’d set her free despite his claims to keep her, but her next words stumped him most.
“I think,” Eve murmured, “that’s okay. You’re the only one that mattered, the only person who ever saw me and didn’t think I was flawed or imperfect.”
Good days, bad days. Those were inevitable, but as long as he had his woman by his side, then Vadim wasn’t worried. There might be light at the end of the tunnel after all. First though, Vadim had to throw out the trash, paving the road to their future so Eve would stop having those nightmares.
****
Eve couldn’t sleep, not with the knowledge Vadim might be bleeding or dead somewhere. She flung the comforters aside, staring at the empty space where he usually lay. Her chest constricted, making it difficult to breathe. Padding to the nearest window, she opened it, letting the wind in.
Since they’d made love by the riverbank a week ago, it seemed foolish to stick to separate rooms. Once that one barrier between them had been crossed, it was easier. Eve didn’t regret her decision to stay with Vadim one bit, the thought of escape never entering her mind once. After all, she was always free to leave.
Vadim left the car keys in the bowl on the table near the front door. She had access to their shared bank account if she needed funds, and wherever she went, she knew he’d be watching her from the shadows.
Too bad Eve didn’t want to be anywhere but here. Why would she want to travel out of the country, to see the world, alone? Grabbing a robe from the bathroom, she tied it around her waist and padded outside with her cellphone.
Seeing zero messages, her worry intensified. Vadim had left that morning, telling her he’d be back in a couple of hours. She shivered despite the thick material of the robe. Vadim told her he planned on taking out the trash.
Eve was no fool. She understood what he meant, what he planned on doing. Vadim planned to take the head of the snake and kill Gustav, and yet she didn’t stop him from leaving. Part of her still thirsted for vengeance against the man who murdered her kin, had planned on eliminating them all for years.