The Darkest Temptation

“The next time I fuck you, I need to know you’re mine. And I need you tonight.”

“Because you’re coming home with me.”

I raised a brow. “As your captive?”

That villainous look so akin to him touched his eyes, and then he said three words that stopped my heart dead in its tracks.

“Kak moya zhena.” As my wife.

can’t imagine a world where you and all your fucking yellow doesn’t exist. So if you die, you’ll take me with you. Your sacrifice would mean nothing, kotyonok. NOTHING.”

You don’t get to sacrifice yourself for me.” He clenched his teeth. “You DON’T get to die for me, kotyonok.” His eyes crucified me. “If anyone dies between us, it will be ME. Do you understand?”

I didn’t understand, so I shook my head.

I found another weakness.

He was weak for me.

His gaze narrowed. “You pull a trigger on me, and I can’t even leave you out in the cold for fifteen fucking minutes. So you tell me, Mila, who cares more here?”

A shiver wracked her, and the pressure in my throat expanded, compelling me to skim a kiss across her cold thigh and roughly say, “Izvini.” I’m sorry.

I pulled back to say, “I’ll get Yulia to find some candles.”

I’m twenty, by the way, not nineteen.”

He looked amused by the admission, like I was a child announcing I was now eight while proudly displaying a hand and three fingers.

“Are you?”

I swallowed. “My birthday was a few days ago.”

“I’m thirty-two, kotyonok.”

Oh.

Ronan appeared beside me. “I don’t think that’s quite your style, Mila.”

“It’s not. It’s for you.”

“I figured that. But you need to pick something for yourself, or I will.”

I gave him a brilliant smile. “I have a better idea than a ring.”

A stare-off ensued for at least thirty seconds before Ronan gave in, bought the ring I picked out, and followed me down the street.

I stopped in front of a tattoo parlor’s window.

“Nyet.” It was a hard “no.”

I frowned. “You don’t even know what I want yet.”

His eyes narrowed. “You want a tattoo, and it’s not happening.”

“You have a million, and I can’t have one?”

“Yes.”

With a sigh, I grabbed his hand and ran my finger over the inked raven. “I want this. On my ring finger.”

I thought he liked the idea, but I didn’t stick around to find out. I opened the door and waltzed in. Ronan took over from there. I didn’t have to say a word as he spoke with the tattoo artist and showed him what I wanted