Page 64 of Bound in Possession

"Where is he?" I ask, my voice sharp, crossing my arms over my chest.

Dmitri pauses, setting the decanter down, his face as unreadable as ever. "Maksim went up to the bedroom a short while ago, Camilla," he replies smoothly. "He’s had a long afternoon with the elders."

I don't wait for him to finish. I turn on my heel, my jaw set, and march up the grand staircase toward the master suite, annoyance fueling every single step.

I throw the heavy wooden doors open without knocking. The loud bang against the wall echoes through the room.

Maksim is standing near the edge of the bed, his dark suit jacket already discarded, his tie loosened around his collar. He’s holding a glass of amber whiskey halfway to his lips. He freezes at the sudden intrusion, his dark brows drawing together as a deep, tired frown settles onto his sharp face.

"What's wrong, princess?" he asks, his voice low. Hearing the endearment almost derails me, but I stand my ground.

"What's wrong?" I echo, storming into the center of the room and shoving the door shut behind me. "I am losing my mind, Maksim! It’s been two weeks. Two weeks of standing at windows, watching armed guards walk the perimeter like I’m a high-security prisoner!"

"It's a lockdown for your safety," he says calmly, taking a slow sip of his drink and setting the crystal glass on the nightstand. "Viktor and your father are waiting for a single mistake. My job is to make sure they don't get one."

"Nastya gets to leave!" I snap, crossing my arms, my breathing quick and ragged. "Dmitri takes her out. She gets air. She gets to exist outside these four walls. But me? I can't even step out onto the patio without three snipers adjusting their scopes. Protection without trust is still a cage!"

Maksim steps into my space, his towering frame casting a long shadow over me, his gray-blue eyes flashing with a dark, dangerous intensity.

"I am keeping you alive!" he growls, his voice echoing off the high ceilings. "Do you have any idea what they will do to you if they catch you outside these gates? They won't just kill you, Camilla. They will use you to tear everything I've built to the ground. I am not locking you up out of spite; I am doing it because I refuse to put you in a fucking ground!"

"And I refuse to live like a ghost!" I yell right back, stepping flush against his chest, refusing to back down an inch. "I didn't escape my father's prison just to be kept in a more expensive one by you! You taught me how to shoot down in that range. You saw what I can do. But when it comes down to it, you still view me as something fragile that needs to be locked in a box!"

"You are not fragile!" he roars, his large hands coming up to grip my shoulders, his pulse hammering beneath his warm skin.

"Then stop treating me like a prisoner!" I shout, my eyes blazing into his. "If I have no freedom, if I have no say, then this isn't a partnership. It's just another auction, and you're just the man who bought me!"

The words hit him like a physical blow.

Maksim flinches, his grip on my shoulders tightening for a fraction of a second before he abruptly lets go, stepping back as if I had burned him. A heavy, suffocating silence settles over the room. His chest heaves as he stares down at me, his jaw clenching and unclenching, a storm of fierce emotion crashing behind his eyes.

For a long moment, I think he's going to turn around and walk out.

Instead, Maksim reaches into his pocket, pulls out a sleek, black keycard, and strides over to the hidden digital terminal near the suite's private exit. His thick fingers quickly punch in a complex, seven-digit security override sequence.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Click.

The green light on the panel flashes, signaling the master lock disengaging.

He turns back to me, his voice dropping into a rough, quiet rumble that vibrates straight through my chest.

"Four-eight-two-nine-zero-one," he says, staring directly into my eyes. "That is the master security code for the estate perimeter, the armory, and the garage doors. It overrides the main gate locks."

I freeze, my chest heaving, completely caught off guard as I stare at the keypad, then back at him.

"Why are you giving me this?" I ask quietly, my anger suddenly wavering.

"Because I am trying, Camilla," Maksim murmurs, taking a slow step toward me, his hand coming up to gently cupped the side of my face, his thumb tracing my cheekbone with an incredible tenderness. "I have spent my entire life controlling every single variable around me to survive. Controlling everything is the only way I know how to keep people alive. But if keeping you safe means making you feel like my captive..."

He pauses, his dark eyes vulnerable in a way I have never seen before.

"The code is yours," he finishes softly. "You can leave whenever you want. Just... let me send Dmitri with you when you do. Not as a guard to control you, but as a shadow to protect you."

His words are so soft, so completely stripped of the ruthless Pakhan persona, that I feel my heart squeeze tight in my chest. All the hot anger that was burning through my veins seconds ago completely evaporates, leaving behind a deep, aching warmth.

Without a word, I rise onto the tips of my toes, sliding my hand around the back of his neck, and slant my lips over his.

Maksim lets out a low, ragged groan, his arms instantly wrapping around my waist like iron bands to drag me flush against his hard body. He deepens the kiss instantly, taking my mouth with a fierce, demanding hunger that burns straight down to my toes. He pulls back just an inch, his tongue sliding out to lick the seam of my wet lips, his breath hot and ragged against my skin.