“No, you’re not.”
She stares at me in disbelief for a moment. “You’re really going to leave me behind?”
“Yes.”
“You bastard,” she snaps. “He is my son. Pasha is my son. I won’t be left behind.”
“There’s no point fighting me on this, Willow,” I say. “You won’t win.”
I move towards the cabin. She runs ahead of me and blocks me before I can reach the door. “Oh, no, you fucking don’t,” she hisses. “You can’t just walk away from me.”
“Go to your room. The session is over.”
“Like hell it is. Why can’t I be there?”
“Because my job is to keep you safe.”
I try to push her out of the way, but she clings to me. Her limbs are tangled up with mine so I don’t even know where to start peeling her off.
“Since when?” she asks. “You used me as bait before. Let me go with you.”
“That was different.”
“How was that—”
“You ran off,” I remind her. “You got captured and put me in a bind. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Well, now you do. And I want you to choose to take me with you.”
“No.”
“Why not?!”
“Because I can’t lose you both!”
Her eyes go wide as the words settle between us like fresh snowfall. Her anger doesn’t exactly melt away, but it shifts. Her eyes narrow in on me. My mouth.
Then, without another word, she kisses me.
It’s a vicious, crushing kiss, and I give back in kind. I walk forward until her back is pressed against the wall, and then we’re ripping each other’s clothes off. Even against a wall, we’re still out in the open. But I’m not in a position to stop this. And Willow doesn’t seem to care anymore than I do.
Her fingers slide into the waistband of my pants. She pulls my cock free and starts rubbing her hips against mine.
“I want you inside me now,” she breathes.
This request, I see no reason to deny.
She wraps her legs around my waist, and we slide together in one thrust. “Blyat’,” I curse in Russian as I sink into her.
She’s wet and only getting wetter by the minute.
“Yeah,” she moans as I press deeper inside her. “Fuck me, Leo.”
I pound into her until it feels like the whole cabin might collapse around us. Her pussy tightens around me as her orgasm quickly crests and then breaks around me.
She screams my name as she comes, and it's so hot that I don't want to hold back. I erupt inside of her, driving into her until I'm completely spent.
Breathing heavily, I lean my forehead against the wall with Willow trapped between my arms.
Her hands smooth up and down my naked chest. Steam rises off our bare skin in spiraling columns.
“That was fast,” she says, eyes flashing with laughter.
I narrow my eyes at her. “I got the job done, didn’t I?”
Then she pushes at my chest to give herself a little more breathing room. She zips herself up again.
“You can’t always control everything, Leo,” she says softly. “You know that, right?”
The moment has passed. We're back to business, back to the endless chess game that is my life.
“I’ve managed so far.”
“We can’t trust Belov. If he’s called this meeting, it’s because he’s got something up his sleeve.”
“And you think I don’t know that?”
“I’m just saying we could be a team, you and I.”
“If we are a team, then putting ourselves in danger at the same time isn’t the smartest move, is it?”
“Now isn’t the time to pull punches. We should both be there.”
I smile. “Believe me, I’m not pulling any punches. I’ve got the knockout blow in my back pocket ready to go.”
“Ariel,” she whispers.
“Exactly.”
“I know you trust her, but I’m not sure anyone can be as ruthless as Belov.”
“Maybe not,” I admit, “but he doesn’t suspect her. She’s the secret weapon and as long as her identity remains hidden, we don’t have anything to be worried about. She will protect our boy.”
She lets that sink in for a moment. Then her face softens. “Our boy.” Her eyes lift and she meets my gaze. “You haven’t even held him… you haven’t even seen his face.”
I brush a strand of hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear. “I don’t have to hold him or see him to know he’s mine.”
“Are you sure Belov won’t hurt him?”
“Yes. Whatever the fucker says, he’s scared. The last time he underestimated me, he paid for it. I took down half his empire with the with push of a button. He won’t make that mistake again.”
She bites her lower lip and looks up at me from beneath long lashes. “You’re ready, aren’t you?”
I take her hand. It’s cold and clammy. She is even more nervous than she’s letting on. “Do you know how long I’ve been planning this take down?”
“Since Pavel?
I nod. “Eight years, I’ve been waiting for my revenge. You better fucking believe I’m ready.”
27
WILLOW
Leo thinks he knows me. At this point, I can’t deny that he does.
But I know him, too. And I know that arguing with him is pointless.
So how do you get your way with a man who always gets his?
Easy.
You lie.
I’m reaching for my sports bra when Leo walks into the bathroom. We’re back to sleeping in his bedroom. In his bed. Together. Almost like a real life couple.
Except that it still doesn’t feel quite right. We both have too many secrets we’re protecting.
“Excuse me,” I say. “Changing here.”
“Like I haven’t seen it all before,” he says with a raised brow. “Back at it again so soon?”
I shrug. “I wasn’t satisfied with my last round. I need to work on my upper body strength.”
“You’re pushing yourself too far.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Willow—”
“I hate it when you say my name like that,” I snap. “I’m not a child, Leo. Stop treating me like one.”
“There is such a thing as burn-out, you know? But if you can’t restrain yourself, then I’ll have to do it for you.” He snatches my sports bra out of my hand.
I whirl around to face him, venom in my glare. “Oh, very mature. Give that back.”
He doesn’t move an inch.
“Fine. I guess I’ll just train without one,” I say. “That should give your men a real show.”
His eyes flash, his knuckles whiten, and the next thing I know, I’m pinned against the bathroom wall with his breath in my face.
I push on his chest and try to keep a brave expression. “You’re the reason I need stronger arms, always pinning me against walls.”
“Only because you ask for it.”
I push him off me again, successfully this time, but only because he lets me. “You’re infuriating, you know that?”
“I have your best interests at heart. You’re going to injure yourself if you keep this pace. It’s not healthy.”
“I can handle myself.”
“Why do you have to be so damn stubborn all the time?”
“Probably the same reason you are,” I retort.
He rolls his eyes. “Life would be easier if you’d admit that sometimes I know better than you do.”
“Leo,” I say, my voice dropping, “I have to do something, okay? If I don’t train, I think. And when I think, I keep dreaming… I imagine the worst possible scenarios.”