Page 16 of Devious Truth (Vicious Sinners #3)

C alling off for my shift had been stupid. Of course, Ivan was going to come over to check on me if he thought I was sick.

But he’s not here because he thought I wasn’t feeling well, he’s here because he knows I was lying. He’s here because he wants to be.

“Ivan. No.” I shove at his chest, but it’s no use.

No one will convince me this man was ever a baby, innocent and sweet and dependent on another human being for anything. Ivan was chiseled out of a block of marble and put on the earth to rule.

“Tell me you lied.”

“Fine! I lied. I’m not sick.” Obviously.

He raises his eyebrow. “Tell me why you want to avoid me.”

Ugh. The last thing I want to tell him is that. He scares me, but not because of what happened with Kaz, or the obvious injuries he’s given himself from beating a man to death.

But because none of those things bother me. Because the fierce protective nature he has makes me forget how alone I am. It makes the grief fade so much into the background, I almost forget.

“You walked out on me last night. You just turned around and left.” It’s such bullshit, I’m not at all surprised when his expression darkens even more.

“And the lies continue.” He reaches behind me, turning the knob of my bedroom door and pushing it open.

If he didn’t have a grip on me, I’d fall backward. But he holds tight, pulling me even closer to him.

“Do you want to try again?”

I don’t. I really don’t.

“Should I be afraid of you?” I answer him with my own question.

His brow lowers. “No.”

The answer comes hard and fast. It’s easy to believe him.

“You beat a man to death last night, didn’t you? With your bare hands?”

“Men like him need to fear me. Men who touch you should shake in their skin when I catch them. Anyone who brings pain and hurt to you should fear for their life. But you?”

He walks me backward, into my bedroom.

“You have nothing to fear.”

I want desperately to believe him. To find solace in the firmness of his tone, the harshness of his gaze.

“Tell me you want me, Vee. Be honest with yourself and me, and do it now.” He kicks my bedroom door shut. The wall shakes from the force of it.

Suddenly, I’m tired. So fucking tired of fighting off the desire he stokes in me.

For the past year, I’ve told myself any lie that I could think of that would shove my attraction to him away.

The last few months, when he’s been bolder in his own desire for me, I’ve lied to him, to anyone who questioned me.

I can’t hold the flood back anymore.

The dam is bursting.

“I do.” It comes out on a breath: my confession, my claim.

“Say it.” His grip loosens, and he drags his hand along my face. The roughness of his swollen knuckles skates across my cheekbone.

“I want you, Ivan.”

His demeanor shifts, and the darkness that hovers at the edge rolls over us like a dense fog. The tension in his jaw slackens, but it’s replaced with something else. Frustration morphs into control.

Domination.

“Look at me,” he demands when my gaze slips away. “Keep your eyes on me, don’t look at the floor, don’t look at the ceiling, don’t look anywhere else but me. Do you understand?”

I swallow around the bowling ball of trepidation rolling up my throat. Sharp tingles dance over my skin, resulting solely from his voice, his words. Those eyes.

“Yes.”

“Yes, Sir.” He corrects me, sliding his hand to my chin and gripping it tight. “Answer again.”

I wet my dry lips. “Yes…sir.”

Approval dances across his face. The darkness lingers, but there’s a lightness to it now.

I’m safe here, in the shadow of his dominance.

“Good girl.” It comes out in a low growl, yet it caresses me like the finest silk. “Now we need to address your misdeeds, don’t we?”

I’m speechless. Or rather, my brain has fried.

“Answer when I ask a question.” His grip tightens on my chin, and he shoves my head back until I’m having to look down my nose to keep my eyes on him.

“Yes.” It comes out meek, so I try again. “Yes, sir.”

Ivan’s always been intense, but the fire in his gaze when I say the words he wants steals my breath.

My brain skitters as the connections begin firing again. “No, wait.”

What am I saying? This is Ivan Volkov. Addressing misdeeds could mean anything.

“Wait.” I yank away from him, stepping back.

Unfortunately, my room is a shoebox and all I do is get myself backed into a wall with no escape. He’s blocking the exit to my left, and to the right is nothing but a closet.

“No? You don’t think you deserve to be punished?” He tilts his head, like he’s trying to understand me.

I’m doing the same.

One moment, I’m swept away in his current, and the next I’m free falling over a cliff. How can I trust myself when the sound of his voice can annihilate me so easily?

“No. I mean, I’m sorry I lied; I shouldn’t have. But no, you don’t get to punish me, Ivan.”

There. Firm. Reasonable.

Logical sense has returned.

He runs his tongue over his lips, deep in thought. Maybe he’s unsure how to proceed with me. Maybe he’ll give up and finally leave me alone.

The idea of him turning his back on me makes my stomach hurt. A burning ache fills my chest when I imagine him stalking out of my apartment, giving up on me.

He shucks out of his suit jacket, folds it in half, and drapes it over the pillows as though he plans to stay awhile.

With his attention focused on me, he opens the cuffs of his sleeves. He drops the gold cufflinks onto my tiny bedside table, their polished shine at odds with the inelegance of my room.

My mouth goes dry as he rolls his sleeves up to his elbows, flexing his forearms with quiet authority. His demeanor shifts—calm, final, impenetrable.

“Ivan—”

He cuts off my objection with a small shake of his head, and I know.

There will be no more discussion. No more questions. Only control. Dominance.

“I’m not going to let you…”

He smirks when he catches me eyeing my bedroom door.

“Do you want to try to and run? I’ll catch you before you get to the door. And when I do, I’ll take off my belt.”

That shouldn’t make my insides melt the way it does. Obviously, I’m broken.

It’s only five steps to the door. But Goliath stands in my way. And I’m all out of rocks.

“You say the most outrageous things.” I try to make it sound like an accusation. “You can’t just say stuff like that! I’m an adult. I’m not a child.”

Finally, my voice returns, and my spine has come back, too.

It doesn’t matter if his molten eyes soak my panties. I will not allow him to come into my home and dictate to me. He won’t treat me like some disobedient little girl.

“No?” He cocks his head to the side as though to study me.

“No. I want you to leave.” I have to stop lying to him.

He’s a human lie detector, and by the flicker in his eyes I’ve failed to fool him again.

“Fine. We’ll do this the hard way. Maybe you’ll learn, for next time, to be honest.”

“Next time? There’s isn’t going even be a first time!” I reach out to the side, scrambling to find something on the dresser to use to protect myself from him.

All I find is an empty glass. It’s thin, cheap glass and would probably crack if I squeezed it too hard, but it’s all I have.

“Stay back.”

I raise my ‘weapon,’ which makes him arch an eyebrow.

“You’ll only make it worse,” he warns as he takes a step forward.

I don’t have a choice. I hurl the glass at him, striking him in the chest. It lands with a muted thud—a useless attack—then falls to the floor, splitting cleanly in two.

There’s a low growl, then he attacks. Lunging forward, he grabs hold of my wrist and yanks me toward him.

With agility a man of his size shouldn’t possess, he drops onto the edge of my bed and drags me over his knee. He maneuvers me until my torso sinks into the bed and my legs trail off the edge of his lap.

“No!” Kicking my feet, I try to wiggle from his grasp while shoving at the bed to gain some leverage.

The first smack across my legging-covered ass stills me. Shock freezes me.

He uses my surprise to his advantage, wrapping his arm around my waist and anchoring me to his body.

“This all has to go.”

He shoves my shirt up over my hips, then grabs the elastic of my leggings, tearing them down over my ass and then continues until they’re at my ankles.

Kicking only seems to aid him, as the leggings fly free.

“Fuck.” His single word comes out pained. “No panties?”

I swing my arm back, trying to cover my bare ass with my splayed hand.

“Move your hand, Vee.” He rests his palm on the back of my thigh, the sizzle instant.

His ability to stoke a fire inside the very core of me with a simple touch only irritates me. As much as my body wants him, and as tired I am of fighting it, I have to try.

“No. Let me up!” I kick my legs again, which he easily stops by lifting his leg and trapping mine beneath.

“Fine. Your way it is.” He grasps my wrist and bends my arm until he has it pinned at the small of my back.

Moving our positioning, I slide from the bed and end up dangling over his knee. I have to use my free hand to keep from falling on my face.

The smacks come fast. There’s no reprieve between swats to catch my breath.

“Stop!” I scream when air finally comes to me.

He doesn’t.

He continues in a steady, patient cadence making sure to leave no area untouched.

Pain shocks my system as he continues to spank my ass. Squeezing me against his torso, the swats come in a quick, vicious rhythm.

He’s oblivious to my screams, to my pleas for him to stop.

“There won’t be any more lies.” He finally speaks, slowing his pace.

My ass is on fire. Tears burn my eyes, but it’s nothing compared to the white-hot flames licking the inside of my soul. Desire…unadulterated need courses through my veins.

“Understood?” He squeezes my ass cheek, a silent promise the spanking will restart if I don’t answer correctly.

“Yes, sir.” I moan my response, pressing my cheek against his leg, needing more contact with him.

“Good girl.” The praise runs wild over my electric skin, soothing away the burns of his hand, and stoking the arousal deeper within.