I’ve realized something tonight—when it comes to Maksim Belov, I am completely and hopelessly insatiable.
I tilt my head back, losing myself in his touch and in the starless sky above us.
“Thank you for tonight?” I say, my tone soft.
“For fucking you in your car?”
Laughing, I shake my head and rake my nails into his hair, reveling in the way that particular gesture makes him shudder.
“Well, certainly that…But—for being you. For being here for me. For handling Casper. For everything, Maksim.”
His lips still against my neck. And slowly, he lifts his head, those pretty blue eyes locking onto mine with a seriousness that makes my stomach flip-flop.
“You don’t need to thank me for any of that. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I love you.
The words burn in my chest and claw their way up my throat, nearly choking me. But maybe on the hood of my car, horny, and still high on adrenaline, probably isn’t the best time for love confessions.
“Callum,” he says suddenly. I don’t recognize the name, so I let him continue. “Casper is Callum.”
That has my full attention. I shove lightly at his chest, and he lets me sit up.
“Callum? What else did he say?”
“I didn’t want to ruin tonight for you,” he admits. “But we need to talk about something.”
My heart begins to accelerate. I run through possibilities, unable to land on one serious enough that he wouldn’t tell me right away.
“Callum is a bottom-of-the-barrel lackey. A yes-man. He put up a good fight, though. I’ll give him that.” Maksim cups my face,his eyes laser-focused on mine. “Have you ever heard of The Architect?”
I must look completely lost, because he nods once, pulls away, and begins pacing in tight, controlled strides.
“I need to run this by my mom and Derek.”
He wants to talk to my dad. Fuck. This is serious.
“Who is that?” I ask.
“All I got out of him was something about searching for a ledger.”
The more he says, the less any of it makes sense.
“What ledger?” I press, confusion twisting tighter. “Maksim, what does that mean?”
He stops pacing and looks at me with a heaviness that makes my heart drop.
“We’re going to find out. But whatever this is…it’s bigger than Callum. Bigger than Balterra. It reeks of The Six and Ares.”
The close call with AJ flashes through my mind, and a wave of protectiveness slams into me. For her, my parents. For everyone I love. I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to them.
Maksim steps in, sliding his body between my legs, arms wrapping around my waist. “None of it will touch you. I promise you that.”
I offer him a faint smile. “Sometimes things happen beyond our control.”
“Not you. Not while I’m still breathing.”
It’s my turn to cup his face, to pull him close and hold his gaze even as tears sting the edges of my eyes. “Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that. Because I won’t allow it.”
