I can still feel his mouth on me.
Even as I sit here, catching my breath, adjusting the hem of my dress over my trembling thighs, the ghost of his tongue lingers. The warmth of his breath, the roughness of his fingers. Every part of me feels wrung out, but it isn’t exhaustion. It’s adrenaline. A high I never expected.
I liked it. More than I should have. And I liked knowing he was watching when Veronika touched me. Knowing it made him jealous, that it made him want me more.
I can use this. Use him.
That’s all this is. All it’s ever going to be.
Konstantin stands, adjusting his cuffs, the picture of control despite what just happened between us. He stalks toward the bar in the corner of his office, and as he turns his back to me, I finally take a moment to really look at him.
His shirt molds to his body, emphasizing broad shoulders and a powerful frame. The muscles in his back shift beneath the fabric as he pours himself a drink, every movement precise. Even from here, I can see the strength in his hands, the thick veins running through them.
He’s built like a predator, coiled and ready, but for this moment, he’s letting his guard down.
If he was anyone else, if he hadn’t destroyed my brother’s life, maybe I’d actually want him.
But I can’t afford to think that way. Not when I know what kind of man he is. Konstantin Marinov will always be an enemy.
He turns around, ss in hand, his dark eyes locking on to me as if he can hear my thoughts. “I have a proposition for you.”
A humorlessugh escapes me. “No, I won’t sleep with you just because you’re good with your mouth, even if you offer me the job.”
His smirk is infuriating. “Fucking me? That’s inevitable, malyshka. But no, that’s not what I meant. I’m offering you a job.”
Relief washes over me. “So I can work at the club?”
“Not exactly.” He takes a slow sip of his drink, watching me over the rim. “I want you as my personal assistant.”
I blink, sure I misheard. “Your what?”
“My secretary, whatever you want to call it. But you will be at my every beck and call.” He steps closer, his presence suffocating in the best and worst way. “Anything I want. Anything I need. At whatever hour I need it.”
Shit, that’s not what I had in mind.
“Isn’t that Tanya’s job?”
His lips quirk as he approaches his desk and presses a button on his inte. “Tanya,e in.”
Within seconds, the door opens, and the short brte steps in, her eyes bright and eager. “Yes, sir?”
Konstantin doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t even nce at me, before looking her directly in the face and saying, “You’re fired.”
Tanya’s breath stutters, her eyes widening. “W-w-what?”
“Gather your things and go. You can collect your severance check from Veronika.”
She stares at him, horror creeping into her features. “Did I…do something wrong?”
“No.” His voice is as cold as the drink in his hand. “But I won’t be needing you anymore.”
The girl blinks rapidly, eyes ssy as she nods. “I-I understand.”
She tries hard not to cry, tears gathering in her lowershes before she walks out of the office with stiff, robotic steps.
I stare at him, mouth slightly open. “You’re insane.”
He shrugs, unbothered. “So, will you take the job?”
“You fired her just like that?” I’m still in shock. “She probably worked for you for years?—”
“She was receable,” he says simply, as if that exins everything. “I don’t want someone receable, Tessa. I want you.”
I swallow hard. “I…I don’t…”
“I’d pay you well,” he continues, as if I hadn’t spoken. “More than you could ever imagine. But there are conditions.”
Of course there are.
“You’re mine. Understand?” His voice dips, bing something darker, heavier.
His? What the hell does that mean?
As though he heard my question, he says, “You’ll do what I say. When I say it. Exactly how I want it.”
I should say no. I should stand up and walk out of this office and never look back.
But my brother’s face shes in my mind. Trapped. Helpless. Innocent.
He’s gonna die in prison if I don’t get him out, and I’m running out of options. Being this close to Konstantin gives me the best shot at finding what I need to save my brother.
Konstantin’s dark eyes gleam with satisfaction. He knows he has me where he wants me. But I have him too; he just doesn’t know it yet.
“Do we have a deal?” He waits for me to answer.
I force my chin up. “When do I start?”
“Tomorrow at eight a.m. sharp. I will send a car to pick you up.”
Shit. I don’t want this man anywhere near my ce, even if the ce I’m renting is a front for Tessa.
“No, thanks. I can get there myself.”
I won’t let him think he can make all the decisions.
His lips twitch in the faintest of smirks, as though he’s expecting this. “No need to argue, Tessa. It’s not up for discussion. You’ll do as I say.”
Augh’s trapped in my lungs. I’m not willing to let him push me around, but I feel the pressure of his words, like invisible chains around my wrists.
“Is that so?” I snap back. “I didn’t realize you ran a dictatorship. I thought this was a job, not a prison sentence.”
His smile is slow, deliberate, and almost predatory. “Obeying isn’t hard. I expect you to follow orders without question. You’ll find it’s easier that way.”
Themand in his tone makes my teeth gnaw. He thinks he can control me. Thinks that just because he has power, I’ll be a puppet. Maybe he’s used to people bowing down to him, but I’m not like that.
“So, what? You want me to just jump into the back of your car like some trained dog?”
The silence between us thickens. He doesn’t flinch. His gaze holds steady—cold and unyielding, like a stone wall.
“Yes.” Amusement nks his features, as if he’s not only expecting this, but enjoying it.
That one word hangs in the air, and there’s no mistaking the intent behind it. This isn’t a request. It’s an order.
I hate the way my pulse quickens at the thought of his control over me. And yet there’s a part of me that almost wants to challenge him more, to keep pushing back. But I can’t deny the way his presence fills the room, like a force of nature.
He’s not just in charge here. He is the charge.
“Yes, sir,” I spit out.
The smile that stretches across his face only enrages me further. It’s not one of triumph. It’s a look that says he knew how this was going to y out all along. That he already saw my answer written all over my face before I even said it.
“Very good.” That timbre is smooth, almost soothing, like he’s pleased with mypliance, and it drives me mad.
But I have no choice. This is what I have to do.
Even if it means making a deal with Satan.<hr>
KONSTANTIN
Her scent still clings to the air—sex and soft vani, something far too delicate for a ce like this.
She doesn’t belong in my world. But that doesn’t matter. I’m keeping her anyway.
I lean back, watching her tug at the hem of her dress with nervous, fluttering fingers. A few minutes ago, all I could think about was the way her mouth shaped around those broken moans.
Now? Now, I can’t stop thinking about the faint scars beneath her arms. Subtle, almost hidden. The kind most men wouldn’t notice. Or wouldn’t give a damn about.
But I noticed. And I care.
Once we’re finished here, she’s going to tell me exactly where they came from.
I pull out my phone and tap the screen, loading a contract temte. No one works for me without one. Silently, I enter her name, then hand it to her. I don’t need her ID; I already found her info.
Her brow twitches slightly as she scans the text. “Nondisclosure agreement. So I can’t talk about anything with anyone?”
“Of course not, dorogaya.” My mouth tilts. “That would make me a terrible businessman.”
She lets out a dryugh. “Fine.”
Smart girl. Or maybe just reckless.
Her gaze drops back to the screen, until it suddenly snaps up. “Wait. This says my sry is one hundred thousand a month. That has to be a typo.” She tries to hand the phone back to me. “Here, you can fix it.”
I simply chuckle. “It’s not a mistake.”
“You’re serious?”
“I’m always serious.” My hand drops to her knee, fingers grazing her skin. I want her in my arms, in my bed, mine in every way. “I pay well. And in return, I expect loyalty without question.”
She nods.
Ms. Monroe continues to impress me.
I could end it here. Let her walk out. Pretend this is just another transaction.
But I can’t. She’s already under my skin. Crawling through my veins like poison. And I won’t rest until I have answers. Until I own every piece of her, even the ones she hides.
“Part of this arrangement requires yourplete honesty,” I say, even though it’s a lie.
I don’t care about my employees’ pasts. Never have. Unless it concerns me or my business.
Her brows pinch slightly. “About what?”
“Everything.” My hand drifts along the top of her leg, and I watch her skin twitch, goose bumps chasing my touch.
She straightens, trying to mask the shift in her breathing. “Alright. What do you want to know?”
I drag in a breath, steadying the violent hum in my chest. I don’t want to scare her. But I need the truth. No one has a right to hurt something so perfect. I want to tear this world apart for her, but I can’t show her that side of me. Not yet.
“Those marks,” I say, not giving away the madness in me. “Under your arms. How did you get them?”
Her eyes drop to herp, shoulders tightening. She’sposed, but only on the surface. I can practically feel her lock up.
“I don’t know how that’s any of your business.” She lifts her gaze to meet mine. Her voice is sharper now, but I catch the edge beneath it. The sh of shame and anger.
And it destroys me.
“If someone hurt one of my employees…” I growl, leaning forward until our faces are just inches apart. “It bes my business, Tessa.” My hand curls around her thigh. “You are my business.”
She freezes, her breath stuttering for a single heartbeat. But it’s enough. It’s the proof I needed. She’s not used to anyone protecting her. Not used to anyone giving a damn whether she bled or healed.
She’s used to pain. Used to being discarded. Used to silence.
That ends now.
She doesn’t know it yet, but I’ll find out what those scars are. I’ll drag the truth from her inch by inch, scream by scream if I have to.
And whoever left them? They won’t walk again. Breathe again. I’ll tear them apart, bone by bone, nerve by nerve, until they’re nothing but a memory.
Because she’s my property now. And I protect what’s mine. With blood, with fire, with fucking war.
She turns her head, jaw clenched, like she’s holding herself together with sheer force. Like if she breathes the wrong way, she’ll break.
“All you have to do is give me a name. That’s all it takes.”
She lets out augh—sharp, bitter, and broken. It sounds like it wed its way up from somece dark.
“You’d be running through the whole damn state. There’s a long list.”
My body locks so tight I feel the crack in my bones. A long list. A whole fucking state’s worth of people who think they could hurt her and walk away?
No.
I picture them. Each one. Cowards hiding behind silence, behind her pain. I wasn’t there to stop them then, but now I will be.
I don’t care if it takes years. If I have to peel her past apart piece by piece. The moment she gives me one name, just one, I’ll rip through that list like a goddamn gue.
One by one, I’ll wipe them from existence. Painfully. Slowly. With no one to hear their screams but me.
Because death is a gift. And I’m not in the business of giving mercy.
I take her hand in mine—small, warm, and fragile in my palm. The size difference alone makes something ugly churn in my chest. I want to shield her. Lock her away. Hide her from the world that’s already taken too many pieces of her. I want to make it so no one ever touches her again without bleeding for it.
“Who did that to you?” The words scrape my throat raw and I fight to keep my voice softer, even as it goes against everything I am.
But for her? I’ll bend. I’ll break. I’ll be whoever she needs me to be.
She doesn’t answer immediately. Her eyes flick down to our joined hands, then back up to mine. Her chin lifts—stubborn, proud—but I see it. That flicker beneath the surface. Pain. Humiliation.
“No one,” she says. “I did it to myself.”
Time stops. And I freeze, my thoughts fractured into static.
She hurt herself? Why?!
My fingers twitch like they don’t know whether to hold her tighter or tear the room apart.
She shrugs, like it’s nothing. “It was a long time ago. I had a lot to process when I was young. And it didn’t help that I was alone. At least until my brother saved me eventually.”
A brother. So someone was there. But clearly he wasn’t enough.
“Is he still around?” Myposure is barely restrained.
“Yes. We’re close.”
“Good.” My reply is short. Cold. But it barely covers what’s happening under my skin.
I want to smash something. Destroy something. For the fact that I wasn’t there. That someone broke her so deeply she turned on herself.
I force myself to inhale. Then I let the next words fall like a de.
“You will never hurt yourself again.” My eyes pin hers. “Do you understand me?”
Her brow lifts, surprised by the force in my tone. But I don’t waver.
“If you’re in pain…” I bring her hand to my lips and press a kiss to her knuckles like it’s a vow etched in blood. “Youe to me. I’ll take it. All of it. I’ll fucking rip it out of you if I have to and make it mine.”
My hand finds her jaw, thumb grazing her bottom lip. I feel her breath stutter.
“Whatever you need, whatever it costs, I’ll carry it. But you never turn that pain inward again. That’s mine now. Do you hear me?”
She nods, barely.
“Okay,” she whispers.
It’s not just a word. It’s a crack in her armor. A tiny, splintered opening in the walls she’s spent her whole life hiding behind.
And something shifts. In her. In me.
“I know what it feels like to lose control, malyshka.” My knuckles brush her cheek. “To need something, anything, to anchor you when the world won’t stop spinning. I’ve been there. And I’ll be your anchor. Just let me.”
Our eyes collide, and what I see nearly knocks the air from my lungs.
It’s me. Reflected in her. Same fire. Same buried rage. Same aching need for something real, even if neither of us knows what the hell to do with it.
I don’t know what she’s done to me. How she cracked every wall I’ve built. Why I want to wreck her and worship her in the same breath.
But I know this: I will protect her. And anyone who tries to take her from me will learn just how far I’m willing to go to keep her.