The water sloshed around us as I shifted to straddle him fully, my body pressing against his with barely anything between us.
He pressed his arousal, long and hard, against the apex of my thighs, but he made no move to take things further than that. His hand remained respectfully at my waist while the other was still wrapped around my neck.
“Ivan,” I murmured against his mouth, pushing my core against him until my body trembled with need rather than cold.
He pulled back slightly, his eyes searching mine. “You’re still recovering,” he reminded me though the strain in his voice betrayed how much he was holding back. “We should stop.”
“I don’t want to stop,” I admitted, surprising myself with my boldness.
A groan escaped him, and his hand tightened on my waist. “Shorty,” he said, the nickname a warning and a plea. “If we don’t stop now…”
I silenced him with another kiss, pouring everything I couldn’t say into the kiss. I wasn’t naive. I knew this would complicate everything. He’d kidnapped me. We were fundamentally not on the same side; we both had our fair share of shit going on. And my brothers hated him. But in this moment, with his arms around me and his heart beating against mine, none of that mattered.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to feel safe with him, wasn’t supposed to trust him or crave the touch of the man who’d kidnapped me and my sister.
Yet here I was, making the conscious choice to surrender to whatever this was between us.
I wanted to experience this, wanted to see just how good this thing between us would be.
Tomorrow, I would face the consequences. Tomorrow, I would remember all the reasons this was a terrible idea. But tonight—tonight I would allow myself this one moment of connection in a world that had been completely turned upside down in a matter of days.
I hugged his face with both of my hands. “I want this. My brain is clear enough to know I want this,” I said while locking eyes with him.
And as if that was all he needed, he tightened his arms around me, and his kisses grew more urgent, more fierce.
I’d crossed a line from which there was no return. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t care about the consequences.
I only cared about him, us, this, right now.
20
IVAN
Ipulled back from our kiss though every instinct in my body screamed to continue. The warm bathwater lapped around us, creating gentle ripples that matched the racing of my pulse.
Shorty’s eyes fluttered open, confusion and desire mingling in their depths. Her lips, still swollen from our kisses, parted slightly as if to ask a question.
“That’s as far as we go,” I said, my voice rougher than intended. “Until you’re fully recovered.”
A flash of disappointment crossed her face before she masked it—that and her defiant, “I’m fine,” flooded my body with heat and desire.
My little Shorty wasn’t fine, but she was definitely adorable on top of hot and sexy.
“You were drugged and unconscious less than twenty-four hours ago,” I reminded her, keeping my arms around herwaist to maintain our connection. “Your body is still metabolizing whatever Grey pumped into you. You’re not fine.”
She huffed but didn’t pull away. Her skin was warm against mine, the curves of her body fitting perfectly against the hard planes of my chest. I’d never held anyone like this before—with tenderness, with restraint. Sex had always been straightforward for me—a purely physical thing and nothing more.
But this—this was different.Shewas different.
“Since when are you so noble?” she asked, her breath tickling my collarbone.
“I’m not,” I mumbled against her forehead. “But I want you to be sure. I want you clear-headed when you decide, and I want you at 100% when I fuck you.”
Her sharp inhale was music to my ears.
The truth was, I’d never declined sex before. Never cared enough about a partner’s state of mind to hesitate or even demand clear consent. But the thought of taking advantage of Shorty’s vulnerability made me physically ill. I wanted her—God, how I wanted her—but not like this. Not when there was any chance she wasn’t completely sure or might regret it later.
She settled against my chest, settled her head against the hollow beneath my chin as if she’d always belonged there. We sat in silence for a while, the water cooling around us, neither willing to break the fragile peace we’d found.
