Page 67 of Konstantin

There were no witnesses either, not that it matters. I own this place. If I want silence, I get it, no matter what.

And just as I suspected, the men I had stationed outside the suite were taken out before they could call for backup.

But those svolichy who came for me made one fatal mistake: they revealed their connection. DeLuca crew, just as I thought. Their tattoos gave them away, like a signature on a death warrant.

Once I told my brothers what happened, they went straight for DeLuca’s last known hideout. But just like cowards, they’d already vanished.

Not to worry, though. They will be found. And once they are, I won’t just give them the mercy of a clean death. I’ll tear them apart,bone by fucking bone until they’re begging to die.

Tessa shifts, her bare body warm against me, her breathing steady, but she’s not asleep. I can feel the thoughts racing in her head as clearly as if she was speaking them out loud.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”

Her gaze lifts to meet mine, shadowed with worry. “I was just wondering why we’re still here and not on the plane going back home.”

“You trying to run from me that fast?” My fingers draw a slow path up and down her spine, trying to memorize the feeling of her. To make this moment last as long as I can.

Her body fits against mine like it was made for this. Made for me. I never thought a man like me would ever find this. Someone who makes me feel…something. But she does.

“What if more come?” Tessa exhales sharply.

At that, I cup her chin. My thumb drags gently across her bottom lip, and her breaths stutter.

“Are you afraid?”

Doesn’t she realize I’d protect her with my own life? Kill any man or woman who dares to even wish her harm?

“Yes,” she whispers, and the sound of it guts me.

Not because she’s weak. Because she’s trusting me enough to admit it.

But no one should’ve ever made her feel this way in the first place.

I swallow the anger that surges up at the thought of her in danger, push it down, and let my touch speak what I already know. I’d die before I let anything touch her or scare her again.

I kiss her forehead, slow and soft. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Not now. Not ever.”

She closes her eyes like my vow does something to her. Like maybe she needs to believe in something or someone. And maybeshe’s starting to believe in me.

But then she pulls back just enough to break the spell.

“You don’t know that. You don’t even know me,” she whispers.

My fingers tighten on her jaw, just enough for her to feel the steel beneath the softness. “Maybe that’s true. But I know enough. Enough to destroy anyone who touches you. And I’ll burn the world down before I let it take you from me.”

Her breath hitches, and I know it’s not from fear. It’s the war inside her. The one she’s losing.

“You may be scared of the monsters out there.” I grip the back of her head and press my forehead to hers, letting the darkness rise between us like smoke. “But they’re the ones who should be terrified of what I’ll do once I get my hands on them.”

She pushes back to look at me, her brows drawn tight, and I know she feels this.

In a flash, I flip her beneath me, pinning her there with the heaviness of my stare and the pressure of my hips. I brace myself on one forearm, while the knuckles of my free hand drift down her cheek, soft enough to make her lashes flutter.

“Though maybe I should thank them too. After all, if they hadn’t come for me, I wouldn’t have had you against the wall with my cock buried so deep you’ll feel me for days.”

She groans when my lips brush hers.

“And you definitely wouldn’t have let me kiss you either.”