Page 68 of Toxic Temptation (Krayev Bratva #1)

VESPER

He stares at me with dark, searching eyes, his mouth slightly parted. For a moment, I wonder if he heard me correctly or if the music drowned out my confession.

Then I realize what actually happened.

I’ve rendered Kovan Krayev speechless.

The thought makes me feel drunk with power. If I can do this to him, what else am I capable of?

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he finally says.

“Give me credit for knowing my own mind.” I lift my chin, meeting his stare. “I know what I want. I want you. All of you.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Vesper.” His thumb touches my bottom lip. “Even on my best day, I’m not an easy man. And I don’t live an easy life.”

“We met during a hospital shootout, Kovan. I knew that from day one.”

“And you still want in?”

Around us, couples continue dancing, oblivious to the fact that my entire future is balanced on this moment.

“I’ve been alone most of my adult life,” I tell him quietly. “I thought that’s what I wanted. But after meeting you and Luka, I realized how empty everything was before. I wasn’t single for the right reasons.”

His eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”

“I was hiding. From the possibility of loss, from getting hurt again.” I swallow hard. “I suspect you might be doing the same thing.”

He doesn’t smile. “There are things you don’t know about my life, my work. Things you might not be able to accept.”

“I’m sure the same is true for me.” I step closer, close enough to feel the heat radiating from his chest. “Listen, I’m not walking into this blindly. I know it won’t be easy. You’re stubborn and arrogant and possessive. You’re going to challenge me every single day we’re together?—”

“Is this your idea of wooing me?” A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “I’m not sure it’s the right strategy.”

I laugh despite my nerves. “Well, tough, because there’s more where that came from.

Want to know what else? I’m stubborn, too.

I work a lot, I don’t eat enough, and I drink way too much coffee.

I’m a work in progress, Kovan. Guess what?

So are you.” I take a shaky breath. “All I’m saying is maybe we could progress together. ”

“That’s quite a speech.”

“Thanks. I practiced. Now, are you going to leave me hanging?”

His hand slides to the small of my back, tugging me closer. “Is there anything else you want to say before I give you my answer?”

I feel sick and dizzy and high and happy all at once. Is this what it’s like to care?

“Actually, yes. I love Luka,” I whisper. “And there’s a good and growing chance I could love you, too. I think we could be incredible together if we just try.” I tuck my fingers beneath the lapel of his tuxedo jacket to hide how bad they’re shaking. “So I think you should say yes. To me. To us.”

“You make a compelling case.” His voice drops to a growl as he pulls me flush against him. I can feel his arousal through the layers of fabric between us.

“If I weren’t a doctor, I would’ve been a lawyer.”

He chuckles, the sound vibrating through his chest and into me where I’m touching him. “Are you sure about this, Vesper? Really sure?”

I don’t have to hesitate. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

He studies my face for what feels like an eternity. I can see the war happening behind his eyes—want battling with caution, desire fighting with fear.

Then something shifts. His grip tightens on my waist.

“Come on.” He spins me off the dance floor, his hand firm on the small of my back as he guides me toward one of the ballroom’s exit doors.

“Where are we going?”

“We just renegotiated our terms.” His breath is hot against my ear. “Now, it’s time to seal the deal.”

We sweep past a cluster of surgical interns who watch us leave with their mouths hanging open. I catch fragments of their whispers as we pass.

“… can’t believe that dress…”

“… handling her like a caveman…”

“… you see the way he was looking at her?”

For once in my life, I don’t care what they’re saying. Let them talk. I no longer give a shit.

Kovan pulls me into the elevator and presses the button for the penthouse. The doors slide shut, cocooning us in sudden silence.

“What’s your plan?” I ask breathlessly. “Break into one of the rooms and scribble a new contract down on a cocktail napkin?”

He backs me against the elevator wall, his hands braced on either side of my head. “That’s always an option. But I have a better idea.”

Then his mouth crashes against mine.

I melt against him, my hands fisting in his shirt as he devours my mouth.

We’ve gone from sweet to savage in the blink of an eye.

It’s a messy kiss, a fumbling kiss, a kiss so full of love and broken pieces that we’re cutting ourselves wide open on all the sharp ends—and it feels so fucking good. I never want it to end.

The elevator climbs toward the top floor, but I’m only dimly aware of our ascent. All my focus has narrowed to the heat of his mouth, the possessive dig of his hands gripping my waist.

He breaks the kiss to trail his lips down my throat and latch onto the sensitive spot where my neck meets my shoulder. I gasp, my head falling back against the wall.

“Kovan,” I breathe.

“I’ve been thinking about this all night,” he murmurs against my skin. “How you’d taste. How you’d feel. I think I still managed to underestimate it.”

His words send heat gushing through me. I’m about to respond when the elevator dings softly.

We spring apart just as the doors slide open. An elderly couple in formal wear stands waiting—she’s dripping in pearls; he’s wearing a bow tie that looks like it belongs in a museum.

On any other night, I would have smiled politely and made small talk. Instead, I drop my gaze and hurry past them after Kovan, my cheeks burning.

“Oh, God,” I whisper as soon as we’re alone in the hallway. “That was mortifying. They knew exactly what we were doing.”

“They suspected,” Kovan corrects, pulling me against his side. “But they didn’t see anything incriminating. Unless they want to check the security cameras.”

I clap a hand over my mouth. “The security cameras! I completely forgot?—”

“Relax.” He chuckles as he leads me down the plush carpeted hallway. “No one’s going to review footage of an elevator.”

He stops in front of an ornate door marked “Diamond Suite.” I wait for him to pick the lock or jimmy the handle, but instead, he produces a sleek silver keycard.

“You have a key,” I say in confusion.

“Would you look at that?” His grin is infectious.

“You booked a room here?”

“I keep suites at several hotels in the city.” He slides the keycard through the reader. “They tend to come in handy. Now more than ever, I’d say.”

The door clicks open, and he pulls me inside. The suite is gorgeous—rich fabrics and antique furniture as far as the eye can see—but I barely register the details. My attention is consumed entirely by the man in front of me as he shrugs out of his tuxedo jacket.

“Come here,” he orders.

The command sends electricity shooting through my veins. I kick off my heels and cross to him on unsteady legs.

He’s so impossibly tall, so broad and intimidating and beautiful. The white dress shirt stretches across his chest, and I can see the outline of his tattoos beneath the thin fabric.

Without thinking, I drop to my knees in front of him.

His sharp inhale tells me he wasn’t expecting this. Neither was I, honestly. I’ve never particularly enjoyed this aspect of intimacy before. It always felt obligatory rather than desired. To-do lists are not sexy.

But with Kovan, everything is different. I want to taste him, to make him lose control the way he makes me lose control.

My fingers work at his belt desperately. When I free him from the confines of his pants, he’s already hard and ready for me.

I take him into my mouth slowly, savoring the weight of him on my tongue. The groan that rumbles from his chest makes me bold. I experiment with depth and pressure, learning as I go what makes his breathing hitch, what makes his hands tighten in my hair.

“Fuck, baby,” he growls, his hips jerking involuntarily.

I hum around him in satisfaction and take him deeper. The sound he makes in response is almost feral.

Just when I think I’m getting the upper hand, he pulls me back by my hair. I whimper at the loss.

“I wasn’t finished,” I protest, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“Trust me—neither am I.” His smile is wicked as he pulls me to my feet. “But if we’re doing this, we’re doing it properly.”

He backs me toward the marble-topped console table that dominates one wall of the suite. The stone is cold against my bare thighs as he lifts me onto its surface.

“You’re extremely sexy, you know that?” His hands skim up my legs, teasing the silk of my dress higher. “Sexy and brave—and completely unaware of your own power.”

I cock my head. “Is that a problem?”

“The exact opposite.” His fingers flirt with the edge of my underwear. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you, Vesper. It’s fucking terrifying.”

Before I can respond, he pushes the lace aside and touches me where I need him most.

The moan that escapes me is embarrassing in its intensity, but I’m long past caring about dignity. His fingers know exactly what they’re doing, and within moments, I’m trembling on the edge of release.

“That’s it,” he murmurs, his mouth against my throat. “Let go for me.”

I shatter around his fingers and arch up off the cold marble. But before the orgasm is even halfway done with me, he’s spinning me around, bending me over the table’s surface, pressing me flat against it.

I feel him behind me, hot and ready. When he enters me in one smooth thrust as I’m still cumming, we both groan at the sensation.

“Yes,” I gasp as he sets a rhythm that has me seeing stars. “Kovan, please?—”

I don’t even know what I’m begging for. More, harder, forever—all of it seems inadequate to express what I need from him.

He gives me everything anyway.