Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 125368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
“You looked so peaceful,” I whispered before kissing her forehead. My lips lingered there, and Valerie released a soft sigh.
“So, you decided to stare at me while I was sleeping? Not creepy at all,” she teased. I felt her lips on my chest through my shirt. She placed a kiss there before tucking her face into my neck once again. A soft…sweet kiss, almost like she did it unknowingly.
Valerie and I had found a comfortable pattern. We had settled with what we had now, living in the moment, stealing little pieces of happiness. It was dangerous, forbidden, but my soul craved danger. It craved the darkness that came along with it.
Valerie was part of it, the danger…she was the fucking center of it. And I kept crawling to her on my knees, like a damn sinner at church, begging for mercy. Yet I wasn’t begging for mercy. I was begging for every kind of wrong that existed in this world.
I was begging for corruption, for blood, and fucking passion.
Valerie played with the buttons of my shirt, her fingers rubbing circles over my chest. My heart thumped. When she placed another kiss against the side of my neck over my throbbing vein, I smiled. I loved the way she couldn’t stop touching me. Almost like she had to remind herself I was here, real…and hers.
My arm tightened around her waist, and she hummed in response. In my arms, she was happy. I wished I could keep it that way. Forever.
I wished I could steal her away right fucking now. Throw her over my shoulders and march out of this goddamn estate. Fuck everyone who would come into my way, I’d put a bullet into their skulls.
Valerie lifted her head up and stared into my face. Her brows were knitted together, looking thoughtful as she searched my face. “You are silent. Your face has hardened and you lost your smile. What are you thinking about?”
“I am thinking of stealing you away. Right now,” I admitted. I cupped her face in my hands and swiped my thumb over her lips. They parted with a tiny breath, and Valerie shivered at my touch. I felt it against me.
“If I steal you away, then you will never lose your smile.” My whispered confession hung heavy into the room.
Valerie squeezed her eyes shut for a second, as if she were in pain, before opening them again. My gaze met her hazel ones. She leaned down and pressed her forehead against mine.
“One day…one day you’ll steal me away. Our day will come, Viktor. Right?” she murmured.
She looked at me for confirmation. Almost as if her sanity depended on my agreement.
I nodded. A simple nod and that was all she needed. “I will be yours. And you will be mine,” she confessed.
At her words, I gripped the back of her head. Her eyes widened and she stared into my face, curious and suddenly nervous.
“You are mine, Valerie,” I growled. My rough, angry voice sounded grating and unfamiliar even to my own ears. I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to claim her right now…to show her she was really mine.
I gripped the back of her neck tighter, bringing our faces really close. I knew my hold wouldn’t hurt her or cause any discomfort. It kept Valerie grounded. It kept the fucking beast inside of me grounded.
Her eyes went to my lips. She watched with rapt attention as I spoke, taking in every single word.
“These lips are mine, aren’t they?” I muttered. Valerie swallowed and shuddered on top of me. Her eyes held a hint of heat and a hidden need. Her eyes had the power to bring me to my knees.
“My lips to kiss,” I continued, my lips feathering over hers. “Right?”
She nodded, but it wasn’t enough for me.
“I want to hear you say it.”
She jolted at my demand. “Yes,” she breathed.
I grinned. And then I pressed the softest kiss to her mouth. It wasn’t a hard kiss. It was sweet, like her. She seemed surprised at first, but then she returned the kiss, just as sweetly.
I could feel her heart beating against mine. Loud, and a little out of control. Just like mine.
“Viktor.” She said my name like a whispered prayer.
This crazed obsession could get me killed. But my heart was just too dark to care. I was a bad man and I did all the wrong things…all the wrong, forbidden things. They pulled me in, like a moth attracted to a red, shining flame. They made me sin.
And for Valerie, I would gladly sin.
“Valerie, say it,” I growled, possessive of her words, hungry for her, begging for her to say it.
“Yours. I am yours, Viktor.”
I grunted in response. This time, I devoured her lips. She moaned into the kiss. When we pulled away, we were both breathless.