Page 109 of Lust and Honor

“Then I’m giving you an order. Protect what’s mine. Never again risk what belongs to me in some goddamn ring. Never touch another woman. Never condemn me without giving me a chance to defend myself. I command you to forgive yourself for what you’ve done. And I’m begging you—tonight, take me and our daughter home.”

With every command, his eyes soften, his hands lower, until he finally wraps his arms around me and crashes his lips onto mine. The gun slips from my hand and hits the floor as I rise on my toes, arms winding around his neck, kissing him back with all the hunger and hurt in me.

Our faces are bruised and swollen, but not even the sting of pain or the taste of blood on his lips can stop me. His mouth burns against mine, heat flooding through me, loosening everything inside. I want him, completely, desperately.

He moves forward, driving me back with every step until my spine hits the cold metal locker. Then he kisses me again, deeper, rougher, wetter, owning every inch of me with his lips. I don’t know how long we kiss, seconds, minutes, before we both break for air, foreheads pressed together, fighting to breathe, hearts pounding in unison.

“I love you, Ava. I love you so fucking much.”

The confession slips out between his ragged breaths, and my heart cracks wide open. I’ve known for so long that I love this bullying brute, and now hearing the words I thought impossible from him fills me with a sudden fear of all this happiness. Not so long ago, I was a lonely woman terrified of life itself. I’d drawn a thick red line around every joy, retreating into the shadows like a hermit, letting my days and nights pass in solitude. But today, I have everything I ever dreamed of. So many nights, Sister Maria would talk of miracles, and I’d smile to myself inside, never saying a word, convinced miracles no longer happened to people like me. But today, I understand: God’s eyes are wide open.

My eyelids flutter shut, and I press my forehead harder against his.

“I love you too, Maxim. I’ve loved you since the first day I saw you.”

He pulls my body flush against his, his voice low and husky:

“I should’ve claimed you that very day. One time in my life I played the gentleman, and look how that turned out.”

When his hard length presses into me, I clench instinctively, a soft gasp escaping. I lift his hand and hurriedly unwind the bloody tape from his fingers. As the stained strips fall to the floor, he slides his palm under my blouse, peeling it off my skin. The same fate befalls the rest of my clothes. His eyes fixed on my body, he shucks off his shorts.

The sight of his cock, hard as steel, makes my knees buckle, but luck is on my side, he catches me around the waist, lifting me into his arms. I wrap my arms and legs around him, and without a word, we head for the door at the far end of the locker room, where I realize the shower waits.

He doesn’t set me down, just steps under the spray and turns it on. Warm droplets cascade over our heads and faces, like rain washing away not just the blood and grime, but every lingering resentment between us, sending it swirling down the drain. I raise my hand and gently wipe the dried blood from his temple. When my gaze meets his piercing stare, I can’t help grinding my lower body harder against his stomach, capturing his lips in a kiss.

He slides his fingers between my ass cheeks, moving them up and down, sending tremors through my entire frame. I trail my kisses to his stubble, my lips brushing his skin down to his neck, nipping lightly at the flesh. He kisses my shoulder while easing a finger into my ass. I let out a long moan that echoes off the tiles, amplifying tenfold in my ears.

With the arm wrapped around my waist, he lifts me a little higher against his body, and with his other hand, he lines up the velvety tip of his cock at my entrance. I’m braced every second for him to fill me when his voice cuts through, barely scraping past his throat.

“Did they hurt you, baby?”

At first, I don’t even register it. I’m so focused on his cock that my brain’s short-circuiting. I lift my head from his neck, panting in confusion.

“What?”

I’m trying to sink down onto him at the same time, but his firm grip on my waist holds me back. His eyes, brimming with sorrow, bleed raw pain.

“Those bastards, did they hurt you?”

It clicks then, and I get what he’s fretting over. I cup his face in my hands and whisper right into his mouth. “No. You got there in time, Maxim. Right on time, my love.”

He exhales like a broken man teetering on tears.

“You promise?”

“I promise. You always show up just in time to save me.”

Staring into his eyes, I push myself down again, and this time he lets me. As our eyes narrow in bliss, I take him deep inside me.

“I swear, babe. No one touched me.”

I rock gently up and down on him, his strong hands steadying my hips.

“You’re mine.”

The bully, the beast, he’s back. I close my eyes and moan. “I’m yours. Only yours.”

“Only me, Ava. You’ll stay mine. I’ll kill any fucker who lays a hand on you. I’ll kill them.”