“And what are you willing to do for it?”
His voice didn’t leer, taunt, or demand anything indecent. I could sense that it was nothing but a test. A question that had nothing to do with payment. But the tension between us was thick, hot, and undeniable, twisting the question into something else entirely. Something I could not comprehend at all. Something that crawled under my skin. Something that made my pulse tremble with fear and delight.
I looked up at him.
And for one second, just one tiny second, I stopped fighting myself. Stopped denying it. Stopped pretending I didn’t feel what I felt. Without waiting anymore or stopping to think, I closed the distance between us and kissed him. For one breathless second, nothing existed but the feel of my mouth pressed to his. A pulse of something wild in my chest. I’d meantit to be quick. A reckless, impulsive kiss that would buy me time, buy me a message, buy me space to breathe.
But Avgust wasn’t the kind of man you touched without consequences.
“Ilana,” he whispered the moment I pulled back, and his hand slid behind my waist, strong and deliberate, pulling me right back into him.
A low sound rumbled from his chest, and he kissed me back, as if he had been waiting for it. His mouth was hot against mine, decisive, deep, turning my soft attempt into something fierce and all-consuming. My fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, gripping tight as if that could anchor the rush of heat flooding through my body. His other hand found the side of my face, thumb brushing my cheek with startling tenderness right before his lips claimed mine harder.
I gasped.
He swallowed the sound with his mouth.
As the kiss changed into something warmed and hungrier, I found myself kissing him back against reason and every logical argument I’d rehearsed. My hands slid up to his shoulders, gripping tight, letting myself feel the strength coiled beneath his suit, the heat of his skin through fabric. His tongue brushed mine, and I nearly melted.
And then suddenly—
He stopped. Just like that. It wasn’t cold or abrupt, but it felt as if something was being torn away from me. Something I desperately wanted, especially since I could still taste him on my lips. He placed his forehead against mine, breathing heavily as he still held me, but before I knew it, he withdrew touch as if I had scalded him.
“One text,” he said. “Just one.”
My breath caught. “You mean—”
“Yes,” he replied, cutting me off.
I swallowed, pulse hammering in my throat. “Thank you.”
He pulled back, eyes darker than before, sharper, heated with something I didn’t dare name.
“Don’t thank me,” he said, voice still tight. “I’m not doing this for your freedom.”
“Then why?”
“I’m doing this because you clearly want it, and lately it is becoming difficult for me to deny you things.”
“Thank you anyway.”
He extended his hand. “Give me the number.”
I did. He typed the message slowly, each word considered, each punctuation intentional.
I’m safe. Don’t worry. I will remain off-grid for a few days because I am going on a mini vacation. Will call soon. Ilana.
He held the screen in front of me. “Appropriate?”
“Yes,” I breathed. “Perfect. It’s perfect.” It was cryptic enough to alert Kliment that something was wrong. I never talked like this, and I never went on mini vacations without informing someone in person. This was my only hope. If he got this message, he would immediately know that something was definitely wrong and might come looking.
Avgust hit send, keeping the phone back in his pocket without another word. Before I could say anything else or thankhim for what he had just done, he turned around and walked towards the door.
His voice came low, controlled, a command wrapped in restraint.
“Don’t kiss me again unless you are ready for what comes after.”
My heartbeat stuttered painfully.
