“And that isn’t exactly what you intend to do to me?” she demands, looking pointedly between us at my erection pressing firmly into her stomach.
Busted.Clearing my throat, I shift my grip to hold her upper arms so I can put some distance between us. “No, it’s not,” I growl. “Now, let’s go.”
“Where?” she asks, her voice suddenly breathy with fear.
“I’m taking you back to your room.”
Anika casts a glance up at me from the corner of her eye, and I can see the anxiety written across her face.
It was a poor choice of words, I suppose, since she knows how achingly hard I am for her right now. But I’m wound too tightly to try explaining myself right now.
Turning toward the house, I pull her along beside me, slowing down to a more reasonable pace when she stumbles in her struggle to keep up.
I can’t bring myself to meet her eye as we walk, and I grit my teeth, lacking the words to apologize for my body’s reaction to her or further try to convince her that I’m somehow different from the men she’s so desperate to seek help from.
Am I that different in the end?
I can’t stop the burning guilt that builds inside me, because I can’t deny just how desperately I want Anika.
She’s beautiful, regal, and so full of spirit, it’s driving me insane.
I want to taste that fire—to possess it, tame it—and that makes me just as bad as the rest of the men who might force themselves on her.
The only difference is, I’mtryingto protect her.
I don’t just want her for myself. I want to make sure no other man can have her—hurt her.
And I’m confident that’s what would happen if any number of other men got their hands on her right now. She just doesn’t seem willing to accept that.
As we reach the door to her temporary prison, I grunt with frustration as I push her back into the room where I’ve been keeping her.
Without another word, I close her inside, my last glimpse of her burning into my brain as she watches me with guarded eyes.
Taking a moment to compose myself, I stop the nearest soldier I can find to guard her door.
In the confusion of the skirmish at the south gate, her former guard must have left his station. I’ll need to be more articulate about my expectations in the future.
But right now, it’s all I can do to keep my sanity as I leave Anika in his custody and make my way toward the room where I’ve been staying.
I need some time alone to manage the ravenous need pounding through my veins.
I consider a cold shower to get my body back under control, but it’s been weeks since I’ve been to Portentia’s, the club my family owns and frequents to deal with our bachelor needs.
That combined with the stress of these past few days—and then having Anika trapped against me, her perfect body awakening dark desires within me—is more than I can suppress.
A cold shower won’t be enough.
Undoing my suit pants as soon as I reach the bathroom sink, I pull out my throbbing cock.
The tip is already weeping with the memory of Anika’s petite frame molded against mine, her sky-blue eyes fierce in her defiance.
Before the guilt can consume me, I give my rock-hard length a stroke, and I groan as sweet relief washes through me.
Bracing one hand against the counter, I close my eyes, my vision filling with the beautiful young Russian widow who’s soon to be my wife.
Every time I’m near her, the air feels electrified. I’ve never wanted a woman so badly, and feeling her warm and soft and squirming against me awakens an animal desire inside me that I’ve never tried to contain.
I shouldn’t want her like I do. I’ve never wanted a woman like that before.
