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The man falls backwards, his friend catching him and helping him to sit down as I stare in disbelief. Nestor is calm and attentive in taking care of the guy. He crouches in front of him.

“Let me see the damage,” he says, and fully trusting him, Plato holds out his injured hand, letting Nestor carefully turn it to get a good look.

“Definitely a few bones broken in there. I’m going to have to sign you out for the rest of the week, and we can see how you feel after that.”

“I don’t have any more sick leave, sir. I can still work.”

“Don’t be a moron. I won’t dock your pay, but I swear, you are the clumsiest guy on this floor,” Nestor huffs, standing up. “Jim, what are you busy with now?”

“Inventory, sir.”

“Okay, that can wait, take this fool to the hospital and get him sorted. I’ll call ahead and tell them to put it on my account.”

“Thank you, sir,” Plato says as Jim pulls him to his feet.

We wait for the two guys to make their way past us, giving them space to move safely.

The crowd slowly disperses, and another man comes to talk to Nestor.

“Why do you keep that kid on, boss? He’s a walking trainwreck. Last week, he almost crashed the forklift.”

“I know, that’s why he isn’t allowed on the forklift anymore,” Nestor huffs.

“I don’t think he should be on any heavy machinery.”

“I agree.”

“So then, he’s useless to you.”

“He’s got two kids, Reggie. I can’t just fire him. He means well. He’s always at work early, never complains about overtime. He’s just—"

“A moron?” Reggie grumbles.

“Yeah,” Nestor chuckles. “You’re the floor manager, Reg. Find him something safe to do. His family needs him to have this job. You know if I fire him, no one else will hire him.”

“Alright, I’ll figure it out. But honestly—I think you’re becoming a softie,” Reggie teases Nestor.

“If you tell anyone…” Nestor smirks.

“I know, I know. Swimming with them fishes at the docks.” He cracks up laughing.

They talk a bit more about a new guy who can start working the press, and my thoughts start drifting.

He genuinely cares for these people. And the longer I stand here taking it all in, the more I realize they’re all just normal people, trying to earn money for their families.

Families that Nestor clearly cares about as well.

It sounds like Plato should have been fired ages ago, and Nestor is just worried about his family and his life, shifting him from position to position until he can find something where the guy does well.

He cares.

And the way the floor manager is teasing Nestor, it seems that the workers have a soft spot and a lot of respect for Nestor, too.

But he’s a freaking crime boss. The leader of the Russian mafia.

My hands twist and knot in front of me.

How the hell did I end up entangled in this world? How is it that I’m standing in a warehouse run by the mafia and listening to two guys joking and having a chat as though it’s all normal?

To them, it is normal.

They’re just regular people doing regular jobs.

Nestor was so calm. He’s calm now, in this crisis, and he was calm when he took care of me during the car crash. Even though he was injured, he carried me all that way. He’s compassionate. And the way he treats his mom and his sister, he doesn’t seem like a crime boss.

He glances at me and smiles, a gentle smile, reassuring me that he won’t be much longer. I can see the words in his eyes that he’s sorry, somehow.

I bite my lip, his eyes on me, making my heart race.

I can’t stop thinking about how he took care of me, so gentle, so powerful.

He’s so beautifully masculine. Everything he does has made me feel safe, not worried.

He’s taken care of me and made sure I’m alright.

If he were a bad person, he could have done terrifying things to me already.

A dark thought flickers through my mind.

I would love for him to do dark things to me.

Reggie leaves, and it’s just Nestor and me standing near the machine.

Nestor turns towards me. “You ready? We can go.”

I nod, my body pulsing with desire because my thoughts run away from me. Why does it turn me on even more, knowing who he is?

The way he conducts himself makes sense now.

The power isn’t just about his wealth. It’s genuine power. Power and respect he has earned by being the man he is.

Nestor narrows his eyes at me as we walk towards the car. “Is something on your mind?”

Oh my word, if he knew what was on my mind. I shake my head. “No.” I can’t exactly tell him I want him to bend me over the hood of his car and do intimate things to me.

“You sure? I’ll answer any questions you have,” he says, opening my door for me.

“I’m sure, for now,” I say, my words sounding abrupt because I’m annoyed with myself. How can I be thinking that? How can I be lusting after him when I should be furious with him for hiding things from me?

All the way home, I’m tense, heat pooling between my legs, frustration growing by the minute. I lecture myself every time I look across at him to admire how gorgeous he is.

It’s just—I’ve never been around a man who is so capable, so darkly dangerous, and yet so gentle towards me at the same time.

As soon as the car stops outside his mansion, I climb out, not waiting for him, and storm towards the front door.

“Hey, Lara, wait up, talk to me,” he calls after me, jogging to catch up.

I burst through the door, into the house, spinning to confront him, no longer able to hold back the rage of emotions surging through me.

“You lied to me,” I shout.

“I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell you everything. I wasn’t sure if you were ready,” he says cautiously.

“No wonder you were fine kidnapping me and forcing me to marry you.”

“Lara, that wouldn’t have happened with just anyone,” he says, confusing me for a moment.

“What do you mean?” I snap.

“You took my breath away the moment I saw you.”

My body goes weak. He really thought that about me? No. He’s trying to distract me.

“It has nothing to do with that,” I say, trying to focus on what I was angry about. “It’s because you’re a criminal and—and—and—"

He steps closer to me, his scent washing over me. Everything I wanted to say fuzzes in my head, and I can’t get my brain to put together a clear sentence.

“And?” he asks, reaching his hand up, he wraps it around my jaw, forcing my eyes to his. “And you’re furious?” he asks, his voice a deep growl, vibrating through me.

“Yes,” I whisper with barely any force at all. My legs want to collapse, my body wants to melt into him.

“And—you think I’m dangerous?” he asks, his tone rich with his own desire, his eyes flooding with it as they trace over my lips and he leans even closer to me.

“You are dangerous,” I breathe.

“But I think you might like it, Lara,” he says, his fingers tightening over my jaw as he pulls my face upward. His lips are hovering above mine, the heat of his breath teasing my skin.

“I…” Am I that obvious?

He closes the gap between us, and his lips press over mine, his mouth moving against me. His hand slips around my back, and he pulls me roughly against him, our bodies locked together.

Half of my mind is screaming to stop—less than half.

Almost no part of me wants to stop.

I gasp against his mouth as he slips his hand beneath my top. Reaching up, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him even tighter against me, deepening the kiss. He growls, and it makes me wild with lust.

Nestor’s hand slips from my jaw to my throat as he pushes me backwards until I’m pinned against a wall in the entranceway of his mansion.

His cock is throbbing, rock-hard, trying to tear through the zipper of his pants.

I can’t take this anymore.

I’ve been so controlled, so careful around him—but I can’t do it anymore.

My fingers find the first button of his shirt, and I tug it free, and his deep moan of satisfaction, knowing that I’m now encouraging this, rumbles through me like an earthquake.

I tug the next button free, and the next.

He stops kissing me, but only long enough to unclip his handgun, setting it on the nearby shelf.

He shrugs his shirt and his jacket off his shoulders, letting them fall to the floor.

When he steps close to me again, both hands slip beneath the front of my shirt, and he lifts it over my body, off me, throwing it aside.

His eyes savor the delicate lace bra I’m wearing, and a satisfied smile touches his lips.

“You are exquisite, Lara,” his voice growls.

I bite my lip as my fingers trace over his belt. His eyes darken, staring down at me. I tug it free, then pull at the button of his pants.

He grabs my wrists and pins them both behind my back with one hand. My heart races when he slowly undoes my jeans and pushes them over my hips down to the floor, letting his massive hand brush all the way over my leg. I step out of my jeans and stand there in my panties.

Nestor shakes his head and closes his eyes, and I see a tremble running through him.

“What’s wrong?” I ask nervously.

“I don’t want to hurt you, little one,” he says dangerously.

I gasp in surprise, my panties getting wetter at the thought of him taking me by force.

A small giggle spills from my lips, and he knits his brows in surprise at my reaction.

“I don’t think I’m as delicate as you seem to believe,” I say, in a whisper, a dare almost.

He lets out a grunt of mischief as he shoves me back against the wall and reaches down to lift me in his arms.

His kiss is much more forceful this time, claiming me roughly, no longer worried about holding back his desire.

He reaches between us and rip his jeans open, shoving them down far enough to free his cock.

It stands rock-hard against my pussy and I whimper, desperate to have him. There is nothing but the soft lace of my panties between us.

Nestor rocks back and forth, teasing me as he slips his tongue into my mouth. With one hand holding me up, his other hand finds my breast, tugging my bra aside and exposing my hard nipple to his fingertips.

I cry out when he squeezes it, shooting pain through me.

He rubs his teeth over my lower lip, and I tense, waiting for him to bite me. But he doesn’t.

The hand wrapped around my ass shifts forward and he slips his fingers beneath my panties, dipping them inside my pussy.

I shudder with pleasure as he teases me, letting his cock rub over my clit while his fingers slide in and out of me.

But he’s teasing himself, too, and his desperate moans are giving him away. His fingers slip out of me and something much bigger pushes against my pussy.

He thrusts forward and his cock spreads me open to the point where I can barely take a breath.

He pushes deeper, my muscles twitching, his throbbing desire pulsing through every cell in my body.

He buries his cock all the way inside me, penetrating deep. Both of his hands are around my ass now, pulling my legs wide as he begins to fuck me, his fingers brushing against the edge of my clit as his cock slams into me, over and over again.

My back is pinned against the wall, and my hands are wrapped around his thick neck. The pleasure is indescribable, as though his cock was made perfectly for me.

It reaches every curve, every spot inside me that shoots ecstasy through my body.

Nestor fucks me until my legs are shaking and I’m moaning so loudly my throat has gone dry.

He pulls me from the wall and carries me into the living room, still inside me until the moment he pulls out and throws me face-first over the back of the sofa. I squeal in fright, wiggling forward, but he grabs my leg and pulls me back where he wants me.

He stands with his thick, muscular thighs locked on either side of my legs as I bend far forward over the sofa.

My pussy is exposed to him. He brushes his fingers across it, a satisfied sound rumbling through him. He pushes his cock against me again and then slams his hips forward, shoving himself into me.

I gasp, but pleasure cuts my breath off. My fingers dig into the pillows, and he wraps his hands around my hips to hold me still.

He fucks me so hard I can’t think straight.

His cock reaches so deep inside me it feels like he wants to tear me apart, but I can’t seem to get enough of him.

His hands wrap around my ass and his thumbs pull my cheeks apart. He slips his hands lower and spreads my pussy as I bend forward, stretching my pussy open so that each time he thrusts into me the base of his cock rubs against my clit.

My moans get louder and louder as the pleasure builds. I can’t bear it anymore.

The orgasm slams into me, blinding me to anything else. Wave after wave of pleasure steals me away as he continues to fuck me with deep, steady thrusts until he explodes as well, shoving himself deep inside me so that I can feel every throb of his cock.