Chapter 48: : Chapter 48

My head is spinning fast.

My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest.

He’s got my leg hitched up around his waist and I can feel his cock, rock-solid and possessive, pushing at my panties, demanding entrance.

When he pulls his lips from mine, I’m pretty sure he’s wiped the lipstick clean off. I gasp for air, trembling as he leaves a trail of kisses down my neck.

“R-Ruslan—stop!”

He just growls. “There’s no stopping this now, kiska.” He pushes his hand through the slit in my dress and rips my panties right off. The fabric gives way beneath his brutish hands.

“No, we… we’re out in the… ahh… open…!”

“I don’t give two fucks.” His lips sweep over the tops of my breasts. I hear the screech of his zipper and my heart stops for a moment. “Ruslan—”

He plunges himself into me and just like that, all conversation comes to a screeching halt.

“Did you enjoy dancing with him?” he snarls as he drives all the way in. I’m pressed between the wall and him. I can barely breathe, much less move, and I’m so lost in the feel of him filling me to the max that I can barely register what he’s saying, either. My answer is lost in a sea of moans and gasps.

“Do you think he could ever make you feel like this?”

“Mmm, Ruslan… fuuuck!”

“I didn’t think so. Only I can make you feel like this. Only I can make you come like this. Isn’t that right, my naughty little kiska?”

“Yes,” I gasp. I don’t have any earthly idea what I’m yessing, but I tell him what he wants to hear. I’d do anything he wants me to do. All my anger and hurt has turned to pleasure and passion.

At this point, I’m completely his.

He pulls at my earlobe with his lips and sucks on my neck, his thrusts getting more and more frantic. Every one bucks me back into the wall. A shower of dust rains on us from the ceiling tiles above. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took the whole damn building down. I doubt he’d care.

“You’re mine, Ms. Carson. You know that.”

“Yes,” I gasp. “Yes.”

“Tell me.”

“I’m yours… ahh!”

I cling to his broad shoulders as the orgasm tears through my body. He releases himself inside me at the exact same moment, our bodies fusing together in a whole new way, unleashing delicious new sensations.

Coming down from the high is both sobering and completely terrifying.

While I grip the textured walls to hold myself up, he zips himself up and slips my torn panties into the pocket of his pants. “A little memento,” he murmurs to himself.

I’m pretty sure my hair’s a hot mess, as is the rest of me. But before I can retreat to the ladies’ room to compose myself and process what just happened, I hear a sob from the open door of the Onyx Ballroom.

“I cannot fucking believe this!”

I jolt with shock when I realize that Jessica Allens is standing a few feet away from us, her eyes wide with hurt, her mouth curled in anger.

How long has she been standing there?

“You—you bastard!” she turns her fury on Ruslan. “Everyone in there heard the two of you rutting out here like animals!”

I cringe, embarrassment flooding through me.

“Good.”

My jaw drops as I turn to Ruslan. Did he just say “good”?

Apparently, that’s exactly what he said, if the way Jessica’s jaw hits the floor is anything to go by. “Y-you’re not even going to apologize?” she screeches.

Ruslan takes a small, possessive half-step towards me. “I was always honest with you, Jessica. Our arrangement was simple and we both got something out of it. I got a plus-one I wasn’t required to fuck. And you got the reputational boost of being seen with Ruslan Oryolov. It’s not my fault you decided you wanted more.”

I cringe internally. It’s not my fault you decided you wanted more. That one hits a little close to home.

Jessica turns her blazing eyes on me. “You may think you’re special, but you’re just his latest whore.” She gestures towards the door of the Onyx Room. “And now, the whole world knows it, too. At least I never compromised my dignity.”

Ruslan’s expression turns ice-cold. “Not for lack of trying.”

Jessica rears back as though she’s been slapped. “I can’t believe I ever wasted my time on you. You’re just a… a—”

The second set of doors to the Onyx Room open and Hiram Allens exits with his plus-one and his bodyguards.

I wonder if it’s possible for me to blend into the wallpaper.

“Jessica!” her father snarls. “Don’t waste your time on that bastard. Let’s go.”

Jessica sniffs in Ruslan’s direction, throws me a withering glare, and then storms off to join her father. I’ve never been very clued in to all the social circles that Ruslan runs with. But I know enough to know that Hiram Allens is a very powerful man with very powerful connections.

The moment they disappear into the elevators, I turn to Ruslan. “Oh, God—I’m so sorry.”

He looks amused. “Why are you apologizing? I’m the one who followed you out here and fucked you against that wall.”

He’s not wrong. Add that to the list of inexplicable decisions I’ve made tonight. I’m convinced that I’m slowly blending into my dress at this point.

“And—” Ruslan walks right up to me until his lips tickle my ear— “I don’t regret it.”

I stare at him in disbelief. “How can you say that? You just pissed off Hiram Allens! Even I know that man controls half of New York.”

I can’t detect even a modicum of panic in Ruslan’s unwavering gaze. “You know who controls the other half of New York?” His eyes gleam. “I do.”

He moves in and I’m forced to take a step back. He keeps going until my back is flush against the wall, right back in the position we started in. Pretty sure I’ve left indents in the wallpaper with my nails.

“Ruslan—”

“You’ve been introduced to only one side of my life, Emma. You know the businessman, the CEO. What you don’t know is the other part of my life. The dangerous part.”

My palms are sweating now. All those rumors floating around about mob ties, cartels, and illegal underground dealings start floating to the forefront of my mind. “H-how dangerous?”

“Dangerous enough that bringing you as my date to an event like this would have been foolish.”

My mouth pops open. “That’s why you chose Jessica?”

He nods, running a delicate finger along my bottom lip. “I don’t give a shit about Jessica Allens. She’s merely a prop. But you—you are different.”

I’m trying to resist his honeyed eyes, his hypnotizing words. But there’s a swoon on the horizon that’s every bit as dangerous as Ruslan is saying he is. I’m falling in all the wrong ways. The smart thing to do would be to tell him to leave me alone forever. I open my mouth to do exactly that. What comes out instead is:

“How am I different?”

“I wanted to hide you before. For your own good. But now… fuck that. You’re different because you’re mine.” His breath is sweet in my face. “And since you’re mine, you will never again accept a dance with any man. Especially not that man.”

My eyebrows pull together as I try to remember anything beyond the last couple minutes. “Are you talking about the blonde guy I danced with?”

“His name is Adrik Makarov.”

From the bite in his voice, I can tell there’s no love lost there. “What is he, your mortal enemy or something?”

I’m mostly kidding but Ruslan doesn’t crack a smile. “I wouldn’t call him my mortal enemy. But ‘enemy’ is pretty damn close. Especially after tonight.”

“I am beyond confused right now. Who is he?”

He sighs and strokes his chin, eyes going hazy with memory. “Way back when, Adrik and I used to be friends. Things changed when I took over the family business. We went from friends to rivals and there have been moments over the years when that rivalry has gotten out of hand. He was here tonight to piss me off.”

I run my fingers along his jaw. “It seems like he succeeded.”

“Fuck him.” Ruslan shakes his head angrily. “The next time he bothers you, come straight to me. Promise me that.”

I nod because what other choice do I have? I knew from the start that getting involved with Ruslan meant playing dangerous games. Now that he’s showing me just how dangerous, I can either try to figure it out on my own…

Or I can choose to trust him.

“I’d like a promise of my own,” I blurt suddenly. He raises an eyebrow and waits for me to elaborate. “I understand why I couldn’t be your date tonight. I get why you brought Jessica. But… I still don’t like it. I’m not sure I can handle another night like this one.”

Both his eyebrows lift this time and I hold my breath. What I’m asking for isn’t exactly part of our contract. In fact, I’m pretty sure most of this conversation breaks at least one of his intractable rules.

“Okay.”

My eyes go wide. “Okay?”

Ruslan nods. “No more superficial plus-ones. No more fake dates with other women. Just you.”

Have sweeter words ever been spoken?