“Let’s get one thing straight.”
Eve sucked in a breath when he tightened his hold on the barrel. She almost thought he could bend the metal, an impossible human feat she knew, but he’d thrown her easily over his broad shoulder like a sack of floor. Eve wasn’t exactly a light weight ether.
“I took you for myself, and I’m not about to let you go.”
****
The truth of his words sank in. Vadim watched the different emotions cross her face—horror, fear, but also a hint of excitement. Eve had never struck him as a good liar, could never contain her feelings like her sister or mother. He knew, because Vadim had watched her for years.
Vadim knew her daily routine, the people she met on a daily basis. He knew her, or thought he did anyway. It didn’t matter. He meant every word. He’d offer her a choice, because Vadim wouldn’t strip her choices away from her, but only for Eve to realize she had nowhere to go, no one to turn to.
Save him.
Eve wouldn’t want for anything else. She need only utter the names of her enemies and he’d strike them down, create an entire graveyard for her. First though, they needed to move past this little misunderstanding.
“You hate me so much? Pull the trigger. It’s that easy,” he said, angling the barrel higher, right over his left pectoral. Buried under flesh, blood and bone, lay a heart that beat solely for her.
“Tell me. Do you want to die so badly?” she retorted, blue eyes fiery, like hard gemstones.
Vadim would give for anything to see her face turn soft, vulnerable, those long eyelashes fluttering, her lips parted, swollen from his kiss. He eyed her. Eve hadn’t bothered with clothes. The survivor in her hadn’t screamed, wept, or curled into a corner. She’d taken his gun and had the balls to point it at him.
Doubt clouded her vision though. Her hands still shook. Vadim decided there and then he never wanted her to hold a weapon of murder. Once this ugly business had been dealt with, he’d make it his life’s mission to give her a new world devoid of guns, violence, and politics.
Since she looked so undecided, Vadim took that opportunity to devour her.
Even battered, she looked like a goddess, skin creamy as he remembered, and fuck him, those curves, the generous swell of her breasts and that tempting valley between her legs that hid moist folds—he yearned to put his mouth and hands everywhere. Find the secret places that made her moan, tickle, and laugh. Vadim didn’t just crave her body, but wanted possession of her heart and soul as well. That would come later, he knew. Trust needed to be built in layers, and yet he’d betrayed hers in one single swoop. There was no helping it.
Gustav Petrovich had her entire family in his sights, would want nothing more than to see all of the Valentins dead or suffering, reduced to broken shells.
“Answer me,” she demanded. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like how exactly?”
Eve bit her bottom lip.
So tempting to wrench the gun away. It would be too easy. He could have disarmed her right from the start, but he wanted her to believe she had the power over him. Right now, that deception had been necessary, but not for long. Eve didn’t understand. She probably assigned them roles, him her captor, she the victim, but five years ago, she’d already captivated him, cursed him. Vadim couldn't look at any other woman, didn’t want anyone else.
“Like you want to devour me inside and out.”
“And you’re scared of that?”
“I’m frightened that I’ll let you, that there’s truth to your words, but everyone has a choice.”
“Choices can be limiting. I might be a made man in my own right, but I trust few and have no family backing me. I can only save one person. That’s you.”
Vadim didn’t mention Eve had only been the one worth saving. None of her kin appreciated her, saw her for the treasure she was. He pried the gun from her fingers. She let him fling it aside, until it clattered on the wooden floor. Vadim had only one last use for it anyway.
She surprised him yet again, clenching her fists against his chest. Vadim wrapped his arms around her frame by instinct, and didn’t comment when she started slamming her hands against his chest. It tore him to pieces, seeing her crack, his proud, brave princess. Eve probably held everything in to get by, to pick up his weapon and point it at him.
That day, Vadim discovered Eve wept silently. Exhausted, she buried her face into his chest. He tangled fingers into her hair, holding her close, giving her what she needed. Vadim moved his hand to her lower waist.
He didn’t know how long they stood like that. It didn’t matter. Time became irrelevant, once he’d spirited her away from the city to his isolated cabin in the woods, far from civilization. No one would find them here. He made sure of that a long time ago.
Eve lifted her head, hatred burning bright in her eyes. That was all right, too. Rage, he could deal with. At least it hadn’t been defeat.
“I hate you with every fiber of my being.” She hissed, pushing him away.
He let her go, because she needed the distance. Even if she ran, Eve wouldn’t be able to go far.