Page 126 of Blood & Snow

"Have to?" she asks, turning to look at me with terror in her eyes.

It undoes me.

I reach for her, pulling on her arm until she yields and climbs onto my lap.

"Ptichka, I never want to harm you."

I can't control her any more than I can control any other human being.

It's just that my way of getting what I want typically involves bloodshed.

But I won't hurt her.

I can't.

My conscience won't allow it now.

I want this woman and I want her to want me back.

"Then let me go,Khishchnik. Let me be with my family… please. I love you."

Her hands toy with the buttons on my coat and the only thing I can think is how badly I need to control this situation, to make the spiral stop.

To force her somehow to see my worth so she won't do this, because pulling away from me is like marking her for death.

But I can't force her to do anything, and I can't control her.

But I can show her what I want.

So I reach up and grip her face in both hands and pull her down, crushing my lips to hers.

Nadya melts against me, hands splayed on my chest as she lets me devour her mouth.

She clings to me, not sure if she wants to escape or sink deeper.

I make that decision for her.

My hand slides down the line of her back and grips her ass through the denim.

She jerks when I grind her down against the hard length straining at my zipper.

A small gasp slips past her lips.

I swallow it, then take her bottom lipbetween my teeth and bite just hard enough to make her flinch.

I shove my hand between us, fingers working at the button of her jeans.

She stiffens but doesn’t stop me.

The metal gives with a snap, and I drag the zipper down.

"Lift," I order.

My voice is rough, unfamiliar even to me.

She obeys, hips shifting, and I peel the denim down, shoving the stubborn fabric past her thighs until I can get my hands where I need them.

She’s hot under my touch, wet enough that my fingers slide easily across the mess under her panties as she tugs the jeans the rest of the way off.