“I told you not to tell her.”

  Laughing, the moment I pressed my hand against his arm, electric sensations trickled all the way down to my hand and further, igniting a fire in my core. The man had a way of doing that even when we were facing a crisis.

  Or men with guns.

  Carlos shrugged just as the small band began to play a slower song. “Why don’t you show the lady your fine moves, Vissarian?” He nodded toward the dance floor.

  “I doubt he can dance.” I did love teasing Vissarian. He would not be a good poker player.

  Vissarian tossed his napkin, immediately jerking to his feet. “Come with me, wicked woman, and I’ll show you who can and cannot dance.”

  He refused to take no for an answer, whisking me onto my feet and toward the small and already crowded dance floor. When he defiantly snapped me into his arms, one strong arm around my back, butterflies suddenly appeared in my stomach.

  He also had that level of control over my body.

  The very bad man that I found impossible not to adore.

  His eyes never left mine as he twirled me around the dance floor, his moves more sensual that I thought he was capable of. In his light trousers and stunning ice blue shirt, he was even more handsome than in his more formal attire.

  I placed my hand on his shoulder, shifting my hips back and forth. He pulled me more tightly against his body until his throbbing cock was pressed between my legs.

  As always, just being this close to him left me breathless.

  “What do you think?” he asked. “Can I dance?”

  “Eh.” I giggled seeing his expression and he decided to kick up his game a notch. Suddenly, we were doing the cha-cha, his moves either practiced or taught. Yes, I was impressed.

  I was also breathless, my nipples aching. Being in his arms felt so right, even if everything I knew and believed in continued screaming our connection was wrong.

  Yet, I doubted my sister would mind. In fact, I had a feeling she was looking down from heaven, smiling. And I could also hear her whisper in my ear, telling me to take care of him.

  Was it possible that I could? Or should?

  Maybe my mind needed a little more of a fantasy and less of a reality. Whatever the case, I was alive and our adventure continued.

  This time he pulled me so tightly against him I could barely breathe. As he slowly lowered his head, our lips almost touching, the moment of sheer intoxication became exhilarating. He twirled us around several times on the makeshift dance floor, keeping the close position, his hot breath caressing my skin.

  My pussy ached, the deep and intense throb even more powerful than before.

  As he brushed his lips across mine, a series of tiny tremors skated all the way to the floor.

  “Tak ocharovatel’no.” His whisper was as soft as his lips.

  “What did you say?”

  “It was something my father has always said to my mother. So enchanting.”

  As he captured my mouth, I felt as if I’d drifted into suspended animation. The rough pads of his fingertips seared my skin and the way he held me against him was seductive, sinful in a way that left little to the imagination. The taste of him was so sweet, the tang of lime mixing with the kiss of powerful domination.

  The vibrant music seemed to fade, giving way to the thrumming of my heart. Everything about his touch kept me engaged, lost in the moment. He swept his tongue inside, dominating my mouth the way he’d done with my body.

  I slipped both arms around his shoulders, running my fingers along the nape of his neck. While he was controlling the moment, I’d never felt so adored.

  Or so safe.

  When the last crescendo of the song began to ebb, he broke the moment of intimacy, lifting my chin and dragging his tongue from one side of his jaw to the other.

  “I need you.” The three simple words were ones I’d heard before, yet they held much more of a meaning and heavy presence with what we’d gone through.

  “I need you.” My whisper was barely audible.

  “Ahem,” the deep voice said from only a few inches away.

  We pulled away from each other given the interruption, yet Vissarian continued to hold me as possessively if not more than before.

  “What is it, Carlos?” Vissarian wasn’t thrilled our dance had ended abruptly.

  “Why don’t the two of you return to the house. You’ll have it all to yourselves for a few hours. I’ll spend my time checking with my contacts.”

  While I hadn’t been privy to the brief conversation the two men had just before we’d left for dinner, I’d gathered a sense then as I did now that Vissarian trusted the man implicitly.

  “Do you need anything from me?” my lover asked.

  Carlos gave me a slight nod. “Nothing at this point. I have my ways of discovering information. You know that.”

  Vissarian chuckled. “Yes, I do. You know where to find us.” He gripped my hand, pulling me from the dance floor.

  As we left the restaurant, he squeezed my fingers.

  “Carlos considers you a close friend and here I thought you were awful.”

  He rubbed his thumb across my skin and I realized I was swooning. “I’ve been called worse.” After releasing my fingers, he pressed his hand against my back, stroking casually and I suddenly felt like putty in his hands, malleable in a way I’d never allowed before.

  Except with him.

  The moon lit up the sky, stars shimmering against the backdrop of the last dim rays of sun. In so many ways he remained a stranger, yet I’d finally realized what he was capable of. Complete destruction.

  Only he hadn’t acted on anger, but the need to protect me.

  The moment I’d met Vissarian, everything about him painted a vivid picture of dominance and control from his tattoos to the way he carried himself.

  Yet he remained an enigma. As light as Carlos had insisted the dinner conversation remain, both men had been on edge, clearly capable of reacting at a moment’s notice. In those moments, all sense of the woman I’d been had disappeared. This was my new reality, a norm that I’d never believed possible.

  Even though I’d sensed my parents had been running from something.

  Just like I’d done.

  Only I’d been lucky to run into the arms of a man who would die to keep me safe.

  The moment we were on the front deck of Carlos’ house, he took a deep breath, tugging me close as he’d done before. As he cupped the side of my face, another few seconds of his hot breath tickling my senses, I felt the difference in the man.

  What we were about to share was no longer just about the heat of passion, but something much deeper.

  “I’m going to fuck you until you can’t breathe, sweet baby girl. I’m going to ensure you know how fucking beautiful you are.”

  The terms of endearment should surprise me, but they didn’t. Maybe because the change I’d felt in both of us was so overwhelming.

  Or so incredible.

  His eyes were riveted on me. As if the rest of the world had faded into nothing but an annoyance. Dark and stormy, full of the same danger that no longer created fear, but something much more intense.

  “Yes.” The single word I managed was either an admittance or a weak moment of begging. I wanted the man to consume every inch. To break and possess, to mold into what we both knew existed.

  Something entirely electric.

  Once inside, he fumbled to lock the door before cupping my face with both hands, licking across the seam of my mouth. For some reason, I felt the need to try to push away what I knew was inevitable one last time.

  Bella was happy to see us, tumbling forward from where she’d been napping on her dog’s bed. Carlos had been kind enough to make her feel right at home, even playing ball while I’d been getting changed.

  I quickly let her out to pee, making certain I locked the door behind me when we returned. When I swaggered toward him, the gorgeous Russian shook his head.

  “You’re a tease.”

  “Not usually. Around you I’m different.”

  “I’m glad to hear that I bring out the worst in you.” Vissarian chuckled as he reached down, stroking Bella’s head. “Hiya, pretty girl. I’m going to need to ask you to be patient. Your mommy and I have things to do.”

  “Things to do, huh?” I asked in a hushed tone as I leaned over, cuddling Bella’s soft head.

  “Yes. Bad things.”

  “What constitutes them as being bad?”

  He took his time hunkering down, allowing the pup to jump all over him. My sister had been right. You could tell everything you needed to know about a man and his character by how he treated animals. I was falling way too fast and hard for the man.

  There was no such thing as love at first sight. The proper thing to do was to spend weeks if not months getting to know each other before entertaining emotions.

  He rose to his feet, nodding toward the dog’s bed and I’d be damned if Bella didn’t dutifully trot toward her fluffy bed, harrumphing when she lay down.

  “Anything I deem as so.”

  “So powerful. So demanding. Tell me something. Do you always get what you want?”

  “Always.”

  The moment I pressed my hands against his chest, taking a step away, I knew the thought was foolish.

  But I went through with my moment of conviction if for no other reason than to try to resolve the fledgling feeling of guilt.

  “This, what we’re doing is…”

  “Wrong?” he asked, finishing my awkward sentence.

  “Yes. No.” I laughed nervously. “Maybe. I’m not my sister. I know you want her, not me. If you haven’t figured that out by now, you will very quickly. Like you, she commanded every room she walked into. I settled into the shadows, praying no one would notice me. She was graceful where I’m forceful. She was beautiful where I’m just… ordinary. She was perfect where I’m about as imperfect as you can get and⁠—”

  “Ssshhh…” he whispered as he placed his finger over my lips, stopping me from continuing. “We need to get something straight right here, right now and I don’t want to talk about this again. I adored Megan. I never lied to you about that. However, there is no comparison in the two of you.”

  A sudden horrible feeling pooled into my stomach. He’d realized I was a terrible imposter. Why did it hurt so much? “Then we⁠—”

  “We will need to work on your obedience, Fallon. You’re going to let me finish. It’s obvious to me you have no understanding of just how beautiful you are. There is no possibility that you could enter a room whether filled with monsters or kings where you wouldn’t outshine the lot of them. Yes, you’re forceful, refusing to back down to any act of danger or anyone who dares get in your way. Does that infuriate the hell out of me? Yes, it does, but your determination, your utter defiance to work against all the odds is something I admire. In fact, everything about you from the look in your eyes to the way you carry yourself leaves me breathless, filled with such desperate need I can’t think clearly.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, baby. Hear me. You’re the one I want and if you dare think you’ll ever be allowed to run away from me, you’ll learn exactly what I’m capable of. You are mine, Fallon Zimmerman. Mine.”

  There were no additional words needed. The air between us crackled with the very desperate need he’d mentioned.

  As he consumed my mouth, he pushed me backwards, catching me with such ease I almost stumbled. Suddenly, I could no longer feel my feet. I could no longer think clearly and in truth, that was exactly the way I wanted to feel.

  If only for tonight.

  We were suddenly inside a bedroom, Vissarian kicking the door shut. The massive exterior doors were open, allowing the ocean breeze to drift through the sheer curtains. Every scent heightened the moment. His explosive testosterone and deep musk, the salty grit of the ocean, and the fragrance of dozens of blooms from species I’d never seen before.

  Another perfect setting. Another breathless moment.

  Yet we only had eyes for each other.

  When he broke the kiss, he whispered words in Russian and I honestly didn’t care what he’d said. Just hearing him speak, the deep inflections as he kissed my cheek and jaw, rolling his lips to my neck was the only thing that mattered.

  Even though I wanted nothing more than to rip off his clothes, he wasn’t having any of it. Or of me trying to take control.

  He kissed me passionately, darting his tongue inside and where I was used to him taking full control, tonight he was gently exploring. Maybe he believed me breakable. Maybe he’d expected I would fall apart as I had in the beginning. When he took a step away, I reached for him.

  “I need to see you, Fallon. All of you.”

  “You’ve seen all of me.”

  “No, I need you to show me all of you. Don’t hold anything back. You’re safe with me. And you are so goddamn wanted.”

  Perhaps his words allowed me to feel the final jolt of freedom that I’d wished for my entire life. The perfect boyfriend. The perfect house. The perfect life. Maybe there was no such thing, but when I was with Vissarian, nothing else mattered. Isn’t that what all love stories were made of?

  No longer was I shaking, unsure of myself. I held my head high as I peeled away the straps of my dress, gently guiding the material to the floor. He stood with his heated gaze and labored breathing creating a dense fog of lust.

  The music from only a hundred yards away floated into the room. If I’d ever believed in a perfect moment, this was it.

  “Finish it,” he commanded. The low thrum of his voice was deep and penetrating. As I slipped my fingers underneath the thin lace of my thong, I never blinked. I didn’t want to miss a single thing.

  Only when I stood completely naked, even kicking off my sandals, did he finally acquiesce, unbuttoning his shirt. As much as I wanted to do it for him, this moment was one we both wanted frozen in time.

  He remained so quiet as he undressed, yet his eyes never left mine. They never blinked once, their reflection deep pools of something that I could barely comprehend. Something that looked a lot like utter possession.

  Being breathless around him had become a sport and as I allowed my heated gaze to fall to his marble-like abs, all I wanted to do was to drag my tongue from one to another.

  I could do nothing but look at him for hours, enjoying the sculpted magnificence that God had created. Yet as he stepped toward me, my fingers tingled the way my pussy was throbbing.

  All from anticipation of his cock being buried deep inside.

  As he closed the distance, I held my breath.

  It was all so overwhelming; he wielded a power over me that I hadn’t known existed.

  Just like before, when he cupped my face, rubbing his thumb across my skin as if painting a picture, his words were defiant. Decisive.

  And permanent.

  “This is no joke, Fallon. As of right now, you belong to me. Not only for tonight or until you’re no longer in danger, but until the end of time.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Fallon

  “I saw that you were perfect and I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more.”

  Angelita Lim

  There was no such thing as a perfect relationship. Even moments of raw passion were often conflicted with anxiety or denial. Fantasies were amazing in their depth and breadth, ignoring reality and even common sense.

  Often no matter how much we wanted to believe in heroes, they simply didn’t exist, at least in the way we’d hoped for.

  Vissarian was both perfect and imperfect, a man who allowed his emotion to war with his plans. As much as I’d wanted to hate his arrogance and brutal acts of power, everything combined had ignited the woman deep inside.

  Somewhere I’d read that it took a woman a hundred and twenty-five days to fall in love. That made the way I was feeling even more ridiculous, but the difference was I felt as if I’d known him all my life.

  Maybe because he’d cared so deeply for my sister.

  As he rubbed his lips against my cheek, brushing the softest kiss so far against my neck, I shuddered. The tips of his fingers scaled my skin as he trailed them down my arms to my thighs. Every inch of me was on fire, the anticipation of feeling the heavy weight of his body crushed against mine leaving me breathless.

  Vissarian slowly dropped to his knees, his fingers dancing across my skin. Awash in tingles, quiet moans slipped past my lips. He was being so tender, so passionate that I was in awe of his control.

  He pressed my legs apart, taking a deep inhale and holding it. With his long eyelashes skimming across his cheeks, I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off him. I gripped his shoulder, my body already swaying and the night was young.

  His smile was almost menacing, but I knew him well enough to realize that he was doing nothing more than teasing me. He wanted me to beg him for his cock.

  Not yet.

  When he shifted my hips forward, I was forced to grip his shoulders for fear of falling. He blew across my already aching pussy, barely darting his tongue around my clit.

  Even the light touch was enough I tossed my head back, smiling as I studied the way the ceiling fan created shadows. His hot breath was exciting, my pulse racing, and the moment he darted his tongue around my clit in several slow and easy circles, I knew my usual refusal to beg would be gone.

  Vissarian knew exactly what he was doing, driving me crazy, building the anticipation.

  The man wanted me incapable of saying no to him.

  As if I could or he’d allow that to matter.

  He pulled my tender tissue into his mouth, sucking in a way that I could hear his teeth grinding together. The man was going to turn me into a pile of mush.

  I bit back a cry, still worried Carlos and his friends would hear, but as stars floated in front of my eyes, I sensed a losing battle.

  Somehow, Vissarian managed to pull me even closer, his tongue finding the length of my wetness. My legs continued to tremble, my mind incapable of processing anything but the extreme pleasure he was providing.