Page 40 of Bought By the Ruthless Pakhan

He looked at me. His gaze heavy, dark—like a pool soaked in night. Calm on the surface. Currents churning beneath.

For a moment, I was back at The Ember Room. The night he bought me.

Spotlight on half his face. Intent. Intense.

This time, I didn't look away.

Chapter Eleven

Anna

I should leave.

At least right now, I shouldn't be here.

But my legs took root the second I saw him, nailed to the spot. I couldn't even lift them.

"We need to talk."

His voice hadn't changed much from years ago—low, rough, magnetic, wrapped in emotions I couldn't read. It made everything inside me tremble.

I opened my mouth, barely finding my voice. "We have nothing to talk about."

I clenched my hands at my sides, nails digging deep into my palms. The sharp pain pulled my scattering thoughts back together.

I moved to leave. One step, and his hand caught my wrist.

His palm was scorching hot, the heat searing through my thin skin like I'd been thrown into fire. I yanked back. He gripped tighter, his knuckles pressing against my wrist bone with enough force to crush it.

"Anna."

He said my name again, so low it seemed to crawl up from the back of his throat.

He took another step forward. This time his scent hit me full force—cedarwood, tobacco, clean soap. Exactly the same as years ago. Not a single note different.

All those memories I'd buried deep came flooding back. Candlelight in the garden, violin music, his hand in mine as we turned clumsy circles. Late-night sheets, the weight of him above me, his arm still wrapped around my waist when I woke.

God, what am I thinking?

Two voices fought in my head. One screaming at me to push him away, leave now. The other one gagged with cotton, frozen in place, staring at his face.

Ivan looked at Nadia. "Sweetheart, you should go upstairs and get your textbooks ready for your teacher."

Nadia nodded solemnly and headed upstairs with the housekeeper.

Just the two of us were left in the living room.

"Ivan..." My voice shook.

He lowered his head, his massive frame bearing down on me, swallowing all my air. His burning lips landed at the corner of my mouth, the pressure so heavy it felt like he wanted to grind me to pieces and embed me in his bones.

I couldn't stand.

I was going to collapse.

My back hit the cold marble wall. All my struggling turned into weak resistance. I turned my head to dodge his kiss. He got more frantic, trailing down from my mouth to bite my neck.

"Ah—"