Page 104 of Cinderella and the Daddy

"I love you," I whisper against his mouth. "I love you so much it scares me sometimes."

"Good," he murmurs, positioning himself at my entrance. "You should be scared. What we have—it's everything. It's worth killing for."

He slides into me slowly, letting me feel every inch as he fills me. The stretch is perfect, familiar yet somehow new every time. When he's fully seated inside me, we both go still, just breathing in the sensation of being joined so completely.

"Move," I beg, my nails digging into his shoulders. "Please, Luka. I need?—"

"I know what you need." His hips pull back before surging forward, setting a rhythm that's both tender and possessive. "I'll always give you what you need."

The angle is perfect, hitting spots inside me that make my vision blur with each thrust. I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him deeper, needing to feel all of him.

"You're everything," he pants against my ear, his accent thicker with arousal. "My woman. My family. Mine."

The word sends heat spiraling through me. Yes, I'm his. Completely, utterly his. And he's mine in return—this dangerous, complicated man who would burn the world for me.

The tension builds again, coiling tight in my belly as he drives into me with increasing urgency.

"Come with me," he demands, his voice strained with the effort of holding back. "Now,dikaya. Come now."

The command in his voice is my undoing. I fly apart with a cry that he swallows with his mouth, my inner walls clamping down around him. He follows me over the edge with a groan that rumbles through his chest, spilling himself deep inside me as his body goes rigid with release.

We collapse together in a tangle of sweaty limbs, both breathing hard. His hand immediately goes to my stomach, fingers splaying protectively over our child.

"Are you okay?" he asks, concern replacing the hunger in his voice. "Did I hurt you?"

"I'm perfect," I assure him, turning in his arms so I can see his face. "We're perfect."

He presses a kiss to my temple, his arms tightening around me possessively. "Sleep now. Tomorrow we finish this with Kozlov."

I want to ask what that means, what he's planning. But exhaustion is pulling me under. He'll keep us safe. He'll end the threat that's been hanging over our heads.

And then maybe, finally, we can start planning our future instead of just surviving our present.

As I drift off to sleep in his arms, I allow myself to imagine it—a world where our biggest worry is whether the baby will have his eyes or mine. Where Leo can play outside without armed guards.

It's a beautiful dream. And thanks to the man holding me, it might even come true.

30

LUKA

The pier stretches into the dark waters of the harbor. It’s dark out. Only the occasional clanking sound of a bell in the distance and the water brushing against the boats moored nearby. It's three in the morning, the kind of hour when honest people are asleep and the rest of us conduct our business in shadows. Perfect for ending a war that's dragged on too long.

Charles stands beside me at the warehouse entrance, his hands shaking slightly as he checks his phone for the third time in five minutes.

"He'll be here," I tell him quietly. "Yuri's too arrogant to pass up what he thinks is a sure thing."

"And if he brings an army?"

"I’m ready." My hand rests casually on the Glock holstered beneath my jacket. Viktor and eight of my best men are positioned throughout the warehouse, invisible but ready. Yuri can bring whoever he wants. He's still walking into my web.

I’m still going to kill him.

I leave Charles and take my position out of sight.

The sound of approaching vehicles cuts through the night air. Three black SUVs, just like Charles said there would be. Yuri Kozlov doesn't do anything small, including his own destruction.

"Showtime," I murmur.