Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(29)

“I knew you weren’t her and that you had some kind of relationship with the real person before you assumed her name. Other than that, I figure you’ll share when you’re ready.” He paused, his mouth hardening to the point a muscle near his jaw twitched. “You don’t like the way we operate, then now’s your chance to bail.”

And there it was. The honor she’d sensed in him from the beginning. Laying out who he was in the simplest terms. Take it or leave it. Maybe for someone else it would have been frightening, but after her years with Yefim—living and working with insanely powerful men capable of staring down a gun without so much as a wince—it was strangely comforting. A way of life she not only understood, but navigated easily. “Knowledge is power.”

“Knowledge is everything. Especially when it comes to keeping the people I love safe.”

She took a cautious step forward, anchoring herself in the moment with a loose grip on the doorjamb beside her. “Then you’ll understand my question.”

A wariness moved across his face, but he squared his shoulders just the same. “What question?”

She licked her lower lip. Need blossomed through her and blood rushed wild and frantic through her veins. To cover it, she stepped fully into the room and leaned her shoulders against the wall, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. “Why won’t you let yourself go with me?”

His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Don’t go there.”

“Why not? You’re attracted to me. I felt it. You intercepted another man’s advances, not just with words but with touch.”

“I wasn’t stopping him.”

“Really? In Russia, a man only intercedes and lays his hands on a woman as both a challenge and a claim.”

“I was giving you a choice.”

“And I made it. I want you.” She pushed off the wall and strolled toward him, channeling all the longing and desire she’d fought from the first day she’d seen him into the gentle sway of her hips. Excitement and certainty sparked hot beneath her skin.

“No, you don’t. As choices go, I’m a worse bet than Seth.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t do monogamy and I damned sure don’t do relationships.”

“What do you do?”

He held his ground, the gray of his eyes deepening with every step. “I fuck and make sure the women I’m with get off as much or more than I do.”

She stopped just an arm’s reach away, the impact of his carnal claim slicing straight to her core. Her answer came out ragged and breathless. “Okay.”

Tension radiated off him, bonfire quality heat pouring into her and stoking her courage. “You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do.” She pressed her shoulders back, drawing his attention to her breasts. Beneath his ravenous gaze they grew heavier, craving his touch. “Relationships aren’t a good idea for me either.”

“Because you’re running.”

“Was running. For now, I’m living. Every moment to the fullest.”

His gaze shot to hers, the keen awareness behind his eyes piercing through her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I made someone a promise. Promised them I’d live enough for both of us.”

“You mean JJ.”

Darya nodded, a slow confirmation and reaffirmation of her vow all at once. She took his hand and guided it to her heart. Beneath his palm her heart thrummed a demanding beat. “Any day—in a second—that rhythm could stop. I want to live. To feel. I don’t want a single regret chasing me into the grave. Especially not this one.”

She flattened her hand over his and inched closer, pressing her free hand against his chest and savoring the matching beat she found. His warm breath fluttered against her skin and his wine and woodsmoke scent coiled around her in a daring embrace. This was right. Worth every risk. “I’ve made my choice. Now you need to make yours.”





Chapter Eleven

This was a bad idea. The worst. He’d already hurt more women than he could count, every damned cut he’d given them slicing un-healable scars into his own soul. Hurting Darya, dealing the inevitable blow that always came when lines were crossed, would kill what little good was left in him.

But he still couldn’t pull his hand away. Her heart pounded beneath his palm. Fast, yes, but strong and steady. Unable to help himself, he spread his fingers wider and skimmed the soft inner swell of her breast with his thumb.

She sucked in a shaky breath and arched into the touch, her eyelids slipping closed. “You want this as much as I do. You feel it.”

Hell yes, he felt it. Had done absolutely nothing but rerun a host of fantasies since the day she’d walked into his office, a fact that made dialing up anyone else for relief and a shot at quality sleep unpalatable.

The smart thing to do was walk away. Get his ass on his bike and find someone, anyone else but her, to take the edge off. He braced himself for the disconnect, an act he was pretty damned sure was going to sting as much as a severed hand.

Her eyes opened, the pure cloudless blue nearly consumed by her dilated pupils. “Please.” A whisper, thick with need, spoken with perfect soft pink lips. Exactly what he wanted to hear when he sunk into her wet heat.

The image popped all too vividly in his head. Darya splayed out on her bed, those creamy thighs of hers spread wide while she took his cock.