Page 42 of Jewel of the Assassin

She lifts her chin, teeth bared, lips curling in a taunt. “You wouldn’t dare.”

I flash her a shit-eating smile. “You don’t get to challenge your king without consequences. Test me, and you’ll spend the night begging for mercy I won’t give.”

At first, she tests me. Eyes blazing. Vowing feminine retribution, but she’s exhausted—on the verge of breaking. Of surrendering everything.

“Valentina…” I summon her. My voice low. Lethal. She’s no longer just my woman—she’s the center of my universe. “Valentina Makarova.”

She releases a shattered sigh. All her limbs soften. Her lips part with need, not rebellion. Surrender. Beautiful surrender in her gaze. The kind that’s earned. Worshipped. Feared.

I don’t let her go.

Withdrawing to my tip, I savor her quickened breaths and how the tiny mouth of her bleeding opening touches my crown in a tender, longing kiss…

And then, I lunge forward, slamming my hips against hers, tearing her open just as I vowed.

15

I am his queen. And only he is strong enough to rule me.

VALENTINA

He’s everywhere.

Roman Makarova is inside me in every way a man can claim a woman—body, mind, and soul.

I can’t think. I can’t breathe. I can onlyfeel. His name beats in my very blood. Every stroke, every breath, every command carves him deeper into me.

He drives his cock into me like a steel battering ram. My clitoris is fat and slippery, reaping every hypersensitive sensation.

But his eyes…the dark green orbs fuck my mind as much, turning every sweet dream into a beautiful nightmare.

And my pussy? It’s on fire. Liquid fire pulsing through every inch of my flesh.

But as he picks up his pace, locking me in the prison of his eyes, something else happens. Something all-consuming.

“So fucking beautiful!” he growls, snaps, and erupts, shooting ropes of hot seed in me. He seals me closed so hard and tight, therubbing of my clit sends me over the edge until I’m burning with him, squeezing and spasming around his cock, milking all of his release.

But he’s not finished with me.

When he releases my wrists and works the shibari knots, unbinding my arms, I’m relieved. But I have no strength to fight him. My arms hang loose and limp until he lifts me onto his lap, forcing me to straddle him and positioning my arms on his broad shoulders. He’s still hard as steel, teasing my opening. And now, we’re closer than ever. Chest to chest. Skin to skin.

“Fucking can’t get enough of you,” he says before claiming my mouth.

His mouth still raids mine when he pushes into me again, fully seating me on his member. My body clenches around him, spilling more of my fluids. He doesn’t stop kissing me, mutilating my mouth in a fatal vow.

At first, he moves slowly—deep, forced, and penetrating.

He’s so hot. Unyielding as a fortress, and my fingers can’t help but roam the bulk of him. A deep groan leaves his throat as I explore the sculpted ridges of his chest and then shoulders until I finally sink my fingers into his flawless gold hair, the locks escaped from his ponytail.

He explores, too. I whimper as he scoops my breasts into his hands, palming, testing their weight, and rubbing the pads of his thumbs over the reddened nipples. Then, his hands lower to my ass. I wince from the angry welts there. Most of the blood has slowed, but tiny, thin rivulets still drip down my back. The inside of my anus is sensitive from the figging, but it feels like a delicious burn now.

The flaming points across my chest still throb—an angry, holy fire kissed into my skin, branded into my soul. A crown, seared in blood. Like he branded his entire empire on my heart. This is him saying:you are mine, and everything I’ve built is yours, too.

Not just a mark. A coronation. I am his queen. And only he is strong enough to rule me.

Fingers digging into the flesh, Roman works me up and down on his cock. My lips are swollen, but he still feeds on me, devouring me with his raw power.

How can he have so much stamina? And control? Subtle tremors rack his body, but he doesn’t falter. Unlike me. I’m too overwhelmed, too worn. I barely have anything left. But he vowed to fuck me all night long. How will my pussy exist at dawn?