Page 78 of Sinner's Sacrifice

She stepped back a couple of paces. “I’ve met your kind of asshole before.”

Yvgeny’s smile had dropped off his face not long into her explanation, but as she finished, she saw something new. At least, something that had never been aimed at her before. Rage. Not the hot flash that was here and gone between one second and the next. No, this was bitterly cold. The kind of anger that built up into a glacier, rolling across the landscape of a person’s life, crushing everything beneath it.

He took her by the shoulders and carefully held her in place while he asked, “Who was he?”

She tried to break out of his hold, but she couldn’t even move him. “Why, so you can go and kill him?”

“Yes.” The threat, the killer underneath the suit, was very real and on the surface. His weird sharp teeth were displayed, and he looked ready to break something, or someone, with his bare hands.

“He didn’t—” she groaned, her anger and frustration draining away. “He’s already dead, and we didn’t...he got arrested before he could hurt me.”

“Explain?”

“He died in prison two years ago.” Yvgeny looked so damn disappointed she almost laughed. “I got lucky. We’d only gone on two dates when the cops arrested him.”

“What did he do?”

“He murdered two of his wives. He got away with the first murder, but the second one led the police to take a closer look at the first one, and they got him for both. I dodged a bullet.” She sighed. “I thought I knew him. I thought he was a good man. It turns out he was an extremely good actor.”

Yvgeny stared at her, frustration, determination, and something she’d never seen before crossing his face, one after the other.

“I could have you every day for a thousand years and it wouldn’t be enough.” His voice was low and full of a growl that made her stomach weightless. “You drive me crazy with your stubborn insistence to help people. Some of whom could be a danger to you.” He leaned down so their noses almost touched. “And whenever you boss me around, my cock is hard for hours.”

She blinked. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?” she asked. “I’m not the type of woman you used to date, the type that sometimes comes to the hotel to chat you up.”

He smiled. “Keeping tabs on me?”

She wrinkled her nose and dropped her gaze. “Well, the four-inch heels, fake boobs, and tiny waists were hard to miss.” She tried to back out of his hold, but, again, he didn’t let her go. “Those women, they’re glamorous, beautiful, and sophisticated. I’m none of those things.”

“You are beautiful, and they have none of your other attributes.” He put a hand under her chin and lifted her face, so she’d look at him again. “Since the moment I met you, I haven’t wanted anyone else. Only you.” He shifted closer, one hand behind her back to pull her into his body.

She gasped at the heat of him, at the firm muscle she could feel under his clothes. If only she could believe him.

“I know who you are,” he said.

She jerked her head away from his hand. “Oh, really?”

He smiled again. “I know that you care about other people far too much. You can’t stand injustice, prejudice, or even rudeness. And when you get angry, you’re like a ballistic missile—on target and devastating once you hit it.”

She snorted, but his words melted the icy ball that had been in the center of her gut for a very long time. Some people wouldn’t think that was a compliment, but it was her truth, and he was the only man who’d ever seen it.

He continued, “I know that when you care for someone, you support them without question.” He swallowed hard. “I know that you’re too good for me, that I should keep my hands off you, but you’re so damned beautiful and good I—” His hands clenched on her, pulling her even closer.

The heat rolled over her, setting fire to her blood. Her body.

The muscles in his jaw flexed and his body shook. He rested his forehead against hers. “Please don’t leave me. Please, stay. Please—”

This was not a man who was trying to manipulate her. He was laying his heart bare and handing her a knife, fully expecting her to stab him with it.

She kissed him. She couldn’t help it. He wasn’t making a lot of sense, but it was the way he looked at her, like she was his entire world. She’d never seen that expression on his face until this moment.

And despite knowing this was probably a mistake, she didn’t care. For once in her life, she was going to take what she wanted. She was going to say yes to pleasure. Yes to Yvgeny Breznik, for as long as it lasted. She doubted it would last all that long, but she was going to enjoy it while it did.

She expected him to take over the kiss, to dominate her, but he was surprisingly gentle. Exploring her lips like he’d never kissed anyone before. His hands slid around her, one up to cradle her nape, the other around her waist.