“Your brother—” Benedikt takes that moment to thrust himself inside me, stealing my question, and it being my business.
He fucks me like he’s pissed at me again, gripping my hips and grounding me against the countertop. His control. A broken mewl breaks from my lips, and Benedikt feeds on it. He propels even harder inside me, causing a bit of pain but also a thrill to course through my veins.
He’s dangerous and powerful, and he’s addictive. When we’re like this, it’s raw emotion. I feel everything he feels, and we’re connected.
It doesn’t matter how many times I tell myself that our agreement is insane. It doesn’t matter that I used help to force him out of my life.
Benedikt remains.
Clear and vivid in my brain.
“I’m your main focus, princess,” he growls, gently biting my lower lip. “You’renotgoing to be worrying about your otherboyfriend.”
I scowl. “He’s not?—”
Benedikt glowers at me, agitated again. “Stop.”
“No,youstop. It wasn’t like that. I wanted mylifeback.”
“So you betrayed me?”
“Yeah,” I admit again. “I betrayed you. I was given an option, and I took it. I weighed my options and turned against you. And I’d do it again?—”
Benedikt clamps his hand around my jaw before I can finish. Not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to make me stop talking.
His eyes burn into mine, wild and sharp and full of something I can’t name.
“Don’t,” he warns. “Don’t finish that sentence unless you’re ready for what comes next.”
“You wanted the truth.”
“I wanted loyalty. You gave me betrayal and excuses.” My breath stutters when he slows his pace, but still goes as deep as he can go. “You think you’re the only one who wanted out? The only one who’s drowning in this shit? You’re not. But the difference between us, princess, is I don’t run.”
“I wanted peace.”
“Then you shouldn’t have chosen me.”
I stare back at him because he doesn’t get it. I didn’t choosethis; I was forced into it. “You don’t get it, do you.”
“Oh, I get it,” he confirms, “but this was a deal. Make the best of it, princess.”
“You threatened my family.”
He rolls his hips and suddenly appears more interested in fucking me than addressing the issue. But then he says, “How else was I going to get you to be mine? Dating takes too long, and I wanted you. You needed something, your father had a debt, so I took you. I’ll be everything you need, princess. But you keep looking at this like a prison and not like it could be one of the best things that ever happened to you.”
His hand drops from my jaw. The distance between us feels heavier than when we were miles apart, and suddenly, he stops with his cock buried deep inside me.
“You think this is about the empire? About Nikolai? It’s not. It’s about you not understanding what happens when you stand next to a man like me. You either stay and face it, or you don’t survive it. I gave you everything: your bakery, your grandmother’s rent, your father’s life, and your safety. I gave you a deal most people would kill for.”
“You also gave me a leash.”
“Maybe. But it kept you alive.”
“You don’t get to decide that for me.”
“I already did.” His cock twitches joyfully about that fact, and my pussy clenches around it.
“You still owe me, Sienna. The deal doesn’t disappear just because you no longer like it. Miami has run its course. My father’s making moves I want back. If I stay, it becomes war.”
