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“In this new scenario, you have limited mobility and are in close quarters with your attacker. This—” she smacks the back of the mat-covered cabinet—“is the front seat of the car. You’ll have to hit this asshole here—” she jabs the side of her fist into the punching bag above my shoulder, — “in his shoulder or chest to do any damage because he’s leaning in for you, so his body is further back. Capisci ?”

I nod as I gauge the limited space around me. My mind places a car seat beside me. I haven’t met Zoya yet, but the thought of a miniature, feminine version of Dimitri relying on me fills me with determination.

The punching bag rocks from the force of my blow, but my grip slips and the dummy blade pinches my hand. I hiss, drop the knife, and cradle my wrist to my chest.

Dimitri’s gigantic hands encompass mine. He pulls my forearm away from my body and uncurls my fist with his thick digits. The red, welted line across my palm stings, but the plastic didn’t cut my skin.

“You are done with the blade today,” he murmurs.

When I inhale, the smell wafting from him scrambles my brain and fills my blood with heat. His subtle cologne mingles with the hint of sweat and man. I swallow as yearning fills me. I want to taste him again.

“I don’t want to stop,” I hear myself say, but I’m not sure if I mean the self-defense lessons or something more intimate.

He caresses my palm with his thumb.

“No more today, Camilla. Save your strength,” he says.

My clit pulses. I shift in my seat. His gaze narrows on my face.

He mutters something to Loretta, but my mind refuses to compute the words. His soft lips and hard jawline hold my attention captive.

The door closes behind Loretta. My heart pounds against my sternum and a matching rhythm thrums through my clit.

Dimitri tosses his tie onto the floor and opens a few more buttons on his shirt as he leans his face down to mine.

“You look hungry, so?lnyshka , but you have already eaten. It is my turn to feast,” he murmurs.

His breath ghosts over my face as his lips brush against mine. It’s too much but not enough. I need more.

Despite my arms feeling like a million pounds from exertion, I close my fists in his hair and tug him closer.

Our lips meet and tongues duel in a desperate kiss, and I moan into his mouth, eager for so much more.

When he cups my head as though I’m the most precious and delicate person in the world, tears sting my eyes and need zaps straight to my intimates.

He pulls back and licks my bottom lip when I whimper.

“Tell me no and I’ll stop, but I need to taste you. da, so?lnyshka ?” he growls.

Although fear wraps around my spine, it’s nothing compared to what I expect. My heart recognizes Dimitri beyond my five senses, making it easy to push away the panic swirling in the back of my mind.

“Yes, please. More,” I demand.

He chuckles and licks the corner of my mouth before leaving a trail of kisses and licks to the shell of my ear.

“Unbutton your shirts, Camilla,” he rumbles.

I gasp as he takes my earlobe into his mouth and flicks the tip of his tongue back and forth over the sensitive flesh. Goosebumps travel across my nape and down my arms.

As he finds more erogenous zones than I thought could exist in my ear alone, I fumble through opening my coat and working it off my arms. By the time I finish unbuttoning my undershirt, he expands his sensual exploration to the side of my throat and swirls his tongue in teasingly light patterns on my sensitive jugular.

“Touch yourself,” he demands.

Worms crawl in my belly. I shake my head and tighten my grip in his hair. He closes his mouth on a particularly sensitive spot on the side of my throat and sucks with just enough pressure to scramble my thoughts.

“Not this time, then. Follow my lead , da? ”

With a gentle nip, he moves to the other side of my throat and slowly lifts me to my feet using his hands in my hair. I scratch his scalp and shudder as cool air sneaks in through the opening of my shirt and brushes over my breasts.

He shuffles us over to the bench press and licks along my collarbone before lifting his head and stealing my breath with the hunger in his piercing blue eyes.

As he sits at the end of the bench, he caresses my head and face before releasing me and lying on his back.

His shirt falls open and dangles toward the floor while his pants tent from his massive, hard cock.

My core gives a desperate squeeze, and although nightmares and misery lurk in the recesses of my mind, the sight of him splayed out before me makes my entire body throb in want.

“Put your breasts to my mouth,” he demands.

My nipples harden in anticipation. I swallow and inch toward his side. He overflows the bench so much it looks like he’s floating in the air.

The bulge in his pants is too much of a temptation. I reach out and feel his impressive girth through the fabric. He groans and grips the edge of the bench underneath his ass as his cock jerks at my touch.

“Let me taste you first, so?lnyshka , then you can have your way with me. Come here, to my mouth. Give me whatever part you want me to lick and suck. I need to watch you fly apart on my tongue.”

Every thought in my head turns to mush. Normally a terse man, his dirty talk hits even harder with how raw and unfiltered it is.

Impatience steals the air from my lungs. I force my hand away from his cock, strip my shirt off, brace one palm on his bare chest and the other on the bench above his head before bending at the hips.

With his eyes transfixed on my breasts, I feel more beautiful than ever before. Even when I was modeling, I never saw myself as someone lustworthy, but his sensual eyes caress my flesh and fill me with pride.

I pause with my nipple an inch away from his lips and shiver as his breath ghosts over my skin. When he lifts his head, I spear my fingers into his hair and pin the back of his head to the bench.

He shifts his gaze to mine and sucks his bottom lip into his mouth, tormenting me as I realize it could be my nipple instead.

I suck down a steadying breath and twist my fist in his hair.

“Give me your breast, so?lnyshka ,” he murmurs.

His low command washes away my defiance. Instead of losing myself to fear and anguish, I slip into a submission with no boundaries because even though he’s prone underneath me, he dominates my mind with his stern words.

I lower my breast the last inch and moan as he curls his tongue around my nipple. Electricity zaps from my chest to my core before branching out and zinging all the way to the tips of my fingers and toes.

With soft sucks and smooth flicks of his tongue, he explores every inch of my chest, guiding me in whichever direction he wishes to taste next, and before I know it, the pressure in my core threatens to burst.

He sheathes his teeth with his lips and bites my left nipple.

I squeak and jerk back, both annoyed and relieved when my orgasm slips away.

“Come back, so?lnyshka . I’m not done,” he growls.

My insides pulse, but as his eyes roam over my torso, unease creeps up my spine. The harsh lighting reveals every horrible scar left on my skin.

“Look at me, Camilla,” he demands.

I do.

“Who am I?”

I blink at his odd question, but the answer slips from my lips with ease.

“ Mio marito and angel of death, Dimitri Volkov.”

He smiles in pleasure and shifts on the bench.

“Give me more, so?lnyshka ,” he growls.

Madness sweeps through me, and I unbuckle my belt and unfasten my pants before doubt creeps through me, but I’ve come too far. I push my trousers to the ground and step out of them.

I hook my fingers into my panties but can’t force myself to slip them off my hips.

“Leave them on. I can make you come through the fabric.”

The surety in his voice erases the angst in my soul. I push aside my worries and use the bar to maintain my balance as I swing a leg to straddle the bench. His nostrils flare and pupils dilate as I hover a few inches above his face.

“You smell so sweet. Give me a taste, so?lnyshka .”

My thighs already burn and my hip aches, but the urgent pulsing of my clit demands satisfaction, so I lower myself a little more and gasp when sneaks his tongue out to flick over my sex.

His low groan fulfills a part of me I didn’t know existed. I inch closer to his mouth and tremble in anticipation.

Between his sensual licks and my arousal, my panties soon become sopping wet. The fabric clings to my folds and creates delicious friction as he swirls, licks, and flicks his tongue over every inch of my pussy.

He worships me so thoroughly I forget how to speak. Soft sounds of need bubble up from my chest, and I tremble as the pressure in my womb grows unbearable.

It hurts. I need more.

When I jerk away, instinctively avoiding my orgasm, he hums a disapproving note and sneaks his fingers under my hands. With a gentleness that makes my heart squeeze in wonder, he peels my digits off the bar and weaves our fingers together.

Alarm spears through me as he uses our joined hands to settle me more firmly onto his face. I squeak and wriggle as he opens his mouth wide and runs the flat of his tongue over the whole of my sex. My thighs jump. I teeter on the edge of bursting.

“Wait, Dimitri, I—”

He lightly scrapes his teeth over my clit.

I shatter. Waves of pleasure crash over me, dragging me into the most tumultuous orgasm of my life.

Sweaty and shaking through the aftershocks, I suck down a breath only to exhale on a sob. Emotions barrel through me. I can’t separate them to identify why I need to cry.

My Russian bratva man needs no further prompting. Between one blink and the next, I stand wrapped in his arms with the side of my face pressed over his heart as he cups the back of my head.

“You are magnificent, so?lnyshka . So brave. So gorgeous. I don’t deserve you, but I’ll never let you go,” he murmurs.

His chest vibrates against my face as he continues to praise and support me.

I wrap my arms around him and give myself to the fresh tide of emotions sweeping through me.

I don’t know how I survived without him, but now that I have him, I’ll never go back. I need him by my side. No one else will do.

I float through the next few minutes in a cloud of euphoria, and when the cheerful buzz lingers in my veins, I put my trust in my husband and allow my brain to switch off for a little while.

As capable as ever, he maneuvers me through several tasks—including returning to our townhouse for a clean pair of panties—and settles me into the car before my mind clicks back on.

I can’t even be mad at him when I realize he blitzed me out so thoroughly I didn’t register when he saw me fully naked for the first time.

We have countless other firsts to experience together.

Starting with meeting his children at the airport.

Nervous energy skitters up my spine.