Page 35

CHAPTER 35

CILLIAN

Days later, and her words keep echoing in my head, haunting me. The look she gave me, full of hurt and anger…it hit harder than anything else. That was the moment I realized the depth of the damage I’ve done and how much I’ll have to work to fix it.

The hum of the engine dies down as I pull up to the industrial building, slipping the black mask over my face. I didn’t plan on returning to the club, but it’s the anniversary party, and there’s a gut feeling she might be here. Can’t let her show up without me keeping watch.

Fionn slides his mask on next to me. He invited himself when he caught wind of my plans. Said he didn’t want me doing something reckless and ending up dead. Fair enough. But if he gets in my way tonight, he won’t be able to stop me. No one will.

We move into the elevator, and Fionn chuckles. “You look like you could use a drink.”

I throw him a cold glare, the doors sliding open as he continues to laugh behind me. The moment we step into the party, my eyes are scanning, darting from room to room.

She’s here somewhere; I know it. If she’s with another man, it’s not going to end well for anyone.

The place is packed, more so than usual and it’s harder to find her. My patience is close to thinning.

Then I see her. That mask she always wears on her beautiful face.

My chest tightens. She’s stunning, as always. A sheer white gown that clings to her curves, hair pulled high into a ponytail with a few strands loose, framing her face. She’s the kind of beauty that makes everything else fade in comparison.

Time’s changed a lot of things, but not much has changed for me. I’m still crazy about her. Always will be.

She doesn’t notice my presence at first as she talks to some women. A few men stand around her, listening. If they don’t walk away, they’re gonna end up dead.

I slip behind her, tension coiling tighter in my chest. But then one of them reaches out, fingers brushing her back. The next moment is a blur. One second, he's laughing; the next, he's howling in pain as I twist his fingers backward.

“Keep your damn hands to yourself,” I growl, my face inches from his.

Dinara’s voice rises in the chaos, shouting my name. But there’s no stopping this.

“You don’t touch her. You don’t even look at her. Understand?”

“Yes, yes!” He’s nodding frantically, wincing through the pain.

When I shove him off, he staggers back, then rushes off. The others quickly retreat as well, leaving only Natalia and Alisa behind.

But my focus is locked on her .

Dinara stands there, gaze icy, contempt dripping off of her in waves. The sharp edge of her silence cuts through the air between us.

“Can we talk alone?” I ask her.

Her chest rises and falls heavily before she nods, her gaze flicking toward the girls.

“Are you sure you’re okay with him alone?” Natalia’s voice slices through.

“I’ll be fine,” Dinara snaps, never breaking eye contact with me.

“Just…be careful.” Natalia’s words lace with concern.

“I’d never hurt her.” My tone is steady, my gaze intense, hoping Dinara understands the truth in my words.

“You already have,” Natalia mutters under her breath as she walks away, leaving me to face the woman I can’t stop wanting. The one I’m trying to win back.

“What the hell are you doing?” Her words cut like a blade, but I close the distance between us with a single step.

“What the hell were you about to do with him?” My hands reach for her jaw, gripping it with an almost desperate urgency, my lips hovering dangerously close to hers.

Every inch of me begs to kiss her, to make her mine again.

“That’s none of your business.” Every syllable is defiant, but I can see the flicker of something beneath the surface.

“Dinara…” I tighten my grip just enough to make her feel it. “Don’t do that. You’ll always be my business.”

I drag my mouth down her neck, pressing a slow, possessive kiss against her skin. She fists my hair, holding me to her like she doesn’t want to let go.

That’s right, baby. You own me.

She can fight it all she wants, but we both know the truth: what we are together is inevitable. Unstoppable.

My fingers thread into her hair, twisting her ponytail around my wrist before I snap her head back, forcing her to meet my gaze. The fire in her eyes only fuels me. Her breath comes in ragged waves, her chest rising and falling in sync with the tension crackling between us.

I can’t resist her. I don’t even try.

“You’re mine,” I groan before slamming my mouth to hers, and she doesn’t even fight it.

Desire surges through me, that same familiar fire—the one that’s only ever burned for her.

My Dinara.

Hooking my arms around her, I lift her effortlessly as her legs wrap around my waist. Every step I take pulls us deeper into the haze of need, the noise around us fading into nothing. All I want is her.

Her mouth takes mine with wild urgency, fingers threading through my hair, nails clawing down my back like she’s desperate to get closer—like even this isn’t enough.

I push into the first empty room I find, kicking the door shut and locking it behind us. The music outside dulls to a distant hum, drowned out by the tattered sound of her breathing and the pounding of my pulse in my ears.

Then she stops, pulling back just enough to look at me. Her gaze cuts through me, deeper than I can take, sharp with something unspoken. Something that makes my chest ache. Slowly, she traces a finger along my jaw, her touch featherlight, before leaning in and pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my lips.

“Dinara…” Her name leaves me like a prayer, like a plea—one that doesn’t need words to be understood.

I fucked up. And I don’t know what to do or say to fix it.

“Don’t say my name like that.” Her voice breaks, her forehead falling against mine, her arms gripping me tight.

“There hasn’t been anyone since you. There never will be,” I whisper against her throat, mouth grazing up her soft skin while she holds me even tighter.

“Don’t do that.” She snaps her head back. “Don’t fucking say that. You don’t have that right.”

Raw pain seeps from her gaze.

I did that. Me.

I hurt her so damn bad, and I don’t even have a right to ask for her forgiveness.

“I’ve spent all these years without you, and I can’t do it anymore.” The confession slips free.

“I’m leaving.” She sounds strong, but I see the crack beneath it—the flicker of pain, the war between resolve and longing. “I’m done with you.”

My fingers curl around her throat, lips hovering just above hers. “But I’m not done with you. I never will be.”

For a fleeting moment, emotions flash in her gaze—anger, longing, and heartbreak crashing together like a storm.

When my mouth captures hers, she fights it, pushing at my chest, resisting the connection she swore she didn’t need. But the fight in her starts to fade until it shatters completely. And all that’s left is the fire between us, burning too hot to ignore.

I walk us to the bed and throw her on top of it, my body lowering to hers, refusing to let her walk out of this room. Out of my life. Out of my head.

I want her everywhere. Permanently.

I devour her lips with a brutal kiss, yanking up her dress as my fingers find her clit, stroking with relentless intensity. She cries out, grabbing my cock and squeezing it painfully tight through my trousers.

“Let me go,” she hisses while my fingers sink inside her, then back out, toying with her.

“You don’t want to go, baby. You’re just lying to the both of us because you hate it, don’t you?” I thrust deeper, and her eyes roll back. “You hate knowing how good I make you feel. How in charge of your body I really am. That no man will ever make you do the kinds of things I can.”

Her face strains with both pleasure and rage. “I hate you.”

I let out a dry laugh, adding another finger, her walls rippling in waves around me. “No, you don’t. You only wish you could. But no matter how hard you try, sweetheart, you’ll never hate me.”

Before she can say anything else, I flip her on her stomach and lift her ass in the air, dragging up her dress until the hem slips over and around her neck. I pull back both sides and choke her with it, working my palm over her wet core.

“Look at how soaked you are, and I haven’t even fucked you yet.”

“You’re a bastard,” she practically sobs, unable to stop herself from moaning.

“And you’ll always be my whore, Dinara.” My mouth drops to her ear as I work her deeper with my fingers. “Your heart may not belong to me anymore, but your body always will.”

When I brush over her clit this time, her release crashes down hard and fast, her nails sinking into the bed beneath her. Undoing my belt, I work my zipper down, unable to stop myself from taking her with the savagery that fills my veins.

Breathlessly, she peers over behind her shoulder, her eyes turning to slits. “This changes nothing.”

“Just a good fuck, right?” I work my crown into her opening, and she squeezes around me.

“Oh God, yes!”

“Then that’s what I’ll give you.” I slam into her with a single vicious thrust, a strangled cry dying in her throat as she struggles to adjust to me.

But I don’t give her the chance. I take her with unrelenting madness, our bodies colliding in a frenzy until the lines between us blur, until I can’t tell where she ends and I begin. My hips drive harder, the sharp slap of skin against skin echoing through the space.

If this is all she’s willing to give me, I’ll take it. For now.

When she shatters around me, my own release tears through me, a guttural roar ripping from my chest as I spill inside her. The feeling of her bare, the way she molds so perfectly to me…it’s something I’ll never fucking get over.

“You feel too good in my arms,” I whisper against her ear, pulling her closer, my cock still buried deep, refusing to let her go.

Not yet. Not even as she tries to slip out of my grasp.

Because whatever this is, it’s not over. Not by a long shot.

And I’m not gonna let her forget it.