The Deadliest Sin Series Complete Collection, page 137
Lust.
That’s all it is.
That’s what I’ll keep telling myself.
Because though it’s one of the deadliest sins, it’s less dangerous than love.
“I do mean it, Valerian.” I hold his gaze, trying my damnedest not to cry. “You have to stop doing this to me; stop invading my heart the way you do. We won’t survive this if you think or say what we’re both feeling.”
He leans closer until we’re sharing breath and rolls his hips, driving himself impossibly deeper. “I won’t survive if I lose you. That’s the truth, kotyonok. Whether you want to accept it or not, you’re mine now. You wanted my help, to become my partner. Well, you’ve got me, and you won’t run away or push me away to protect yourself from needing me. I won’t allow it.”
The slow drag of the head of his cock as he retreats ignites a burn deep in my core that threatens to fully consume me.
“Please…” My plea comes on a thready breath, my head spinning too wildly with his words and his touch to make sense of anything.
“Tell me again, Sofia.” He grinds his pelvis down, applying pressure straight onto my clit, sending that same heat out through my limbs. “Do you really want me to stop?”
“No.” I thrash my head from side to side, fighting to need to move while being pinned beneath him, with him completely in control of my body and heart. “God, no. Don’t stop.”
I know what I’m doing.
I’m giving Valerian permission to destroy me and becoming the thing that could destroy him.
But I’m too far gone to care.
He lowers his head until his lips brush against my ear. “I love you, kotyonok. You are mine.”
“Yes. Yours…”
It’s the only permission he needs to unleash the monster he’s been restraining. He pulls his hips back and plunges into me, and I drop my head back on a gasp at the pleasure coursing through me.
Every drive forward and retreat pulls me closer to the release he promised me. He hammers into me like a madman intent on claiming what’s his and making it clear who I belong to, and when he sinks his teeth into my collarbone, I cry out with the crashing wave of my orgasm rushing over me.
He rams into me again and again. Dragging it out. Forcing me to keep coming, to keep accepting the ecstasy he’s giving me.
Enemies are forgotten. Reality disappears on the cloud of lust. The only thing that can hurt us now is this feeling. The only thing that can bring us down is the fact that we care.
It could kill us.
But sometimes, pain is the price for sin.
And we just might pay it.
VALERIAN
Bylad!
And I thought the last time we all got together was tense…
Scanning the long table, not a single friendly face stares back. They only offer hard glares and twisted expressions of barely restrained rage. Especially from Valentina and Cutter…
If looks could kill.
I thought I understood that saying, but this gives it a whole new meaning. Though she has every reason to be angry with me after my betrayal, she’s somehow managed to keep Cutter leashed enough that he hasn’t attacked me.
Yet…
There’s no telling what he might—and more than likely will—do when this is over. When I tell them everything, when I reveal my deception and the moves I’ve been making behind their backs, it will unleash a torrent of wrath unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and it may not be stoppable, even with what I am going to propose.
My only hope is that they give me a chance to explain myself and refocus everyone’s ire where it truly belongs—our common enemy.
It might be easier with Sofia at my side, her strength united with mine, but the time hasn’t come for that. Not when wounds are fresh and bleeding with Valentina and Cutter, the closest things I had to allies besides Galen. And even he appears annoyed. His green eyes hold trepidation as he watches all the people here carefully, especially me.
He didn’t fully buy my explanation when he came to see me and Sofia appeared. That much was readily evident. But he didn’t push the issue at the time, likely giving me a chance to either come clean on my own terms or to hang myself in a noose of my own making.
What I’m about to do may be the latter.
Given what happened the last time we all sat around a table like this, everyone had their people scan the entire private room at the abandoned restaurant to ensure there wouldn’t be any “surprises” like the explosion that rocked us before and left Sofia with her scars.
I called this meeting to try to cut off our enemy at the knees before another massive attack happens that no one can survive, but the tension in here doesn’t bode well for the potential of the five families working together on this—or them giving me a chance to give an explanation that will keep their guns from being trained on me.
Still, I have to try.
There isn’t any other way to do this.
Rising to my feet at the head of the table, I clear my throat, letting my eyes meet those of each head of family before finally getting to the point. “Thank you, everyone, for coming.” I button my suit coat and square my shoulders, preparing to absorb the onslaught from the people who could destroy me so easily. “I know no one wants to be here, but it’s important we all meet together instead of everyone talking behind each other’s backs. We need to share information and get to the bottom of what’s been happening in this city, and we need to do it now.”
Kat’s blue gaze cuts through me like ice. As much as I despise the woman and want to see her buried six feet under along with the Rose brothers, that’s a battle for another day—one that will be fought with Sofia at my side. Today is about addressing our shared adversary and ensuring we don’t all go down. Losing the five families would decimate this city, sending it spiraling into a lawlessness it hasn’t ever seen the likes of before.
No one wants that. We’ve all worked too hard, built up our territories, our empires, to let them be destroyed by an outside opponent.
“I want to start by saying…”
Everyone tenses, Kat’s gaze narrowing on me.
“I have confirmed Kat isn’t involved with the hit squad we’ve been facing.”
She releases a heavy breath, her shoulders relaxing slightly, and Rose shifts in the seat next to her, resting his forearms on the table. Now knowing what I do about the brothers, it’s hard to look at either the same way.
One killed his own parents while the other single-handedly wiped out a major cartel at the age of fifteen, and both allowed the world to believe they were something else, something and someone they are not.
They’ve both become formidable enemies, though. Neither to be crossed. Which is precisely why I had to keep Sofia away from this meeting.
Beside him, Felipe raises a suspicious brow. “How was this confirmed?”
His brother and Kat both offer him a dirty look, and Valentina and Cutter assess me coolly. Galen leans back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, clearly perturbed he wasn’t the first one to hear whatever it is I have to say—privately.
I press my palms flat on the table and lean forward slightly. “We’ve all had people attempting to track this group, attempting to figure out who is behind all this mayhem. And our assailants did a good job of trying to make it look like it was Kat, but one of my trusted sources has confirmed that at least one of the men who is part of the crew is a loyal member of the Dragusha fis.”
“The Dragushas?” Kat sits forward slightly. “We don’t even know if Kreshnik Dragusha survived the shootout I had with him on that tarmac, yet you’re claiming he has the power to organize something like this?” She shakes her head. “I don’t buy it. Even if he were healthy and had the power, he doesn’t have the balls.”
Valentina glances at Cutter before turning her attention back to us. “It would explain what we’ve heard rumblings about—activity with some of the older crew members, like someone is trying to rebuild using former Syla and Morina men.”
Cutter stares at me from behind the shades. “Who is your source, Valerian?”
“Someone I trust.”
One of his eyebrows rises over the frame. “You don’t trust anyone but yourself.”
Bylad!
I knew Cutter caught on to what happened last night, that I fired that shot not just to get her back but to silence the man holding her before he could keep talking. If he reveals anything about Sofia, any chance I have of walking out of here alive will disappear.
Leveling my gaze on him, I nod. “You’re right. I am the only person I trust, and that’s why I know this information is accurate. I personally saw this man with Dragusha in the past, and while I didn’t initially recognize him in the photos on the documents they used to fly that Cutter’s man found for us, I had my own people do some digging and locate additional photos confirming his identity and affiliation.”
Cutter’s jaw hardens. “And how was it you personally saw this man with Dragusha?”
Bylad!
This is where things get dangerous, but sometimes, it’s necessary to step into the lion’s den rather than be chased by them and mauled in the open.
I stand to my full height, squaring my shoulders to absorb the coming wrath and locking gazes with Cutter when I respond to his question. “I know this man works for Dragusha because I have been working with the Dragushas and the Berishas for years.”
Kat slams her fists on the tables and leaps to her heeled feet. “What the hell? You’ve been working with them? They tried to kill me!”
I meet her icy-cold blue glare. “I know. I’m the one who told them you were coming to Albania so they could meet you at the airport. After we grabbed Rose and Genti, I had one of my men trying to track your plane. Eventually, he found it and realized where you were headed. I just gave my friends a little warning of what was coming their way.”
“You motherfucker!”
She lurches around the table, reaching for what is undoubtedly a weapon in the purse at her side, but Genti steps forward and presses a hand to her chest, stopping her in her tracks.
He turns his head toward me, giving me a look that says he didn’t stop her for my benefit but to help stop an all-out gun battle in here that no one would walk away from. It’s precisely what we discussed when I took him—the second time—that cooler heads need to prevail.
Valentina twists her lips, her annoyance evident, too. “I flat out asked you if you were behind this, if you were working with them, and you said no.”
I shake my head. “Because I’m not behind these attacks. My agreement with the Dragushas and Berishas began when they started making waves in Albania a few years back. That part of the world is very important to my business, and Vlorë is an important port. I had to ensure I maintained access to it. But I never discussed any sort of moves being made here.”
At least, not yet.
The plan had always been to have my Albanian friends take out Kat and—if I was lucky—Rose since they were attached at the hip. But that was before we knew there were two of them to contend with. Discovering Felipe and Andres’ deception complicated things, and that’s when all hell broke loose.
“I never authorized or had any knowledge of their intent to send men to Chicago to come after anyone. If I had known, I sure as hell wouldn’t have been in that church that night. I haven’t been able to speak with Dragusha or Berisha for weeks. They are either dead, and their men are coming after us for it, or they’ve gone into hiding and are operating somewhere I can’t find them.”
The Rose brothers maintain stoic expressions, concealing their anger behind impassive masks that hide true fury—especially from Rose. Considering I tortured him and Genti and tried to kill his woman, I can understand his fury.
Galen sits ominously still, jaw locked, body tense. He’s on the verge of letting loose, and it will all be directed at me when he does. “You expect any of us to believe anything you say?”
“You don’t have a choice, comrade. These men are determined to take us out, and now that we have some idea who is pulling the strings, we can cut them and hopefully save ourselves from another attack.”
Cutter issues a low growl, stepping forward aggressively until Valentina places a hand on his abdomen and stops him in his tracks. “I should fucking kill you right here and now. You—”
The shrill ring of my phone cuts him off, and I reach to my inside coat pocket to grab it. Anyone who would be calling me is here—the men all wait outside except for Aleksei, who I left with Sofia.
An unknown number flashes on the screen, and bile climbs my throat as I swipe to accept the call.
“Hello?”
“Get out of there. Now. All of you. They’re coming.”
SOFIA
Pacing the worn floorboards of the safehouse, I keep glancing toward the door, clenching the phone so tightly in my hand that it almost hurts. Aleksei watches out the front window, periodically pulling back the drapes to check for any sign of Valerian and the rest of the men.
“Where the hell are they?”
My question goes unanswered for the hundredth time because he doesn’t know, either.
I peek at the phone and try dialing him again, but I know what the result will be—nothing. He hasn’t answered a single call or text from Aleksei or me. None of the men have since they left.
Anything could have happened at that meeting.
They could all be dead—
No.
I refuse to even think that. If something had happened, I would know. I return to the computer on the coffee table and check the screen again.
Still nothing on the police scanners.
It should be a relief, but instead, my stomach tightens and I swallow back the urge to throw up all over the device that is the only thing keeping me connected to the outside world at this moment.
Aleksei glances over at me. “Anything on the police scanners?”
I shake my head. “No.”
He releases a heavy breath and checks the street again. “Wait…there’s the SUV.”
My heart finally starts beating again. I jump to my feet and race over to him to see for myself. “Thank God.”
The vehicle pulls into the alley that runs behind the house, and I rush toward the back door and throw it open just as Valerian climbs from the passenger side.
His cool gaze locks with mine and warms instantly. He hurries up the steps, apparently unscathed, his men following closely behind, scanning the area for any threats.
He wraps his arm around me and drags me against him, clutching me to his warm, hard body as Dmitri fills in Aleksei on what happened.
Aleksei’s gaze darts to Valerian. “You were working with the Albanians?”
Valerian stiffens and pulls away from me, keeping one hand possessively around me. “We’ll discuss that later.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and tosses it to him. “See if you can find out where the last call on that came from. It was an unknown number.”
That should be easy for me, and I start to offer to do it, “I can track that down—”
“No.” Valerian cuts me off instantly, shaking his head. “You and I need to talk privately first.”
Without another word to his men, he leads me to the bedroom with a firm hand on my lower back. He closes and locks the door behind him, then grabs me and spins us to press me against the solid wood. His mouth hits mine before I can question him, and his demanding kiss robs me of any ability to speak.
He devours my mouth like a man who hasn’t eaten in years, frantic hands working at his waist to free his hard cock and then shoving down my pants with an aggression that instantly makes heat pool at my core.
I manage to kick off my pants as he continues to kiss me with reckless abandon. Whatever happened at that meeting got him worked up, pent up, on the verge of snapping. He’s always been so in control with me, taking what he wants—demanding it. But this is different. This is a wild animal unleashed, and I am helpless to save myself from being savaged by him.
Valerian lifts me easily, pinning me to the door, and I wrap my legs around his waist. Frantic fingers pull my thong to the side, and he shoves into me in one powerful thrust.
A gasp falls from my open mouth, and my eyes drift closed at the feeling of suddenly being full. Complete. Grounded and locked to this moment.
He pumps into me harshly. His strokes unrelenting. His rhythm as severe and ruthless as the man himself.
With the door behind me and Valerian’s hard body keeping me pinned in place, I’m helpless against him. He takes what he needs and what I’m more than willing to give him.
He takes everything.
All of me.
Releasing whatever built up and was threatening to tear him to shreds while we were apart.
Each thrust grinds the base of his cock against my clit, sending flashes of heat and pulses of pleasure reverberating through me until I finally come on a strangled moan that he captures in his mouth in another searing kiss.
He pounds into me again and again. His fingers dig into my hips hard enough to bruise, but he’s already marked me, already ensured everyone will know I’m his—including me.
His orgasm stiffens his body, his cock growing impossibly harder inside me for a brief moment before he comes and releases a long, low groan, pressing his face against my neck.
We stay like this for a moment, hung between the two worlds—one of chaos and death, the other of ignorance and bliss.
When he finally lifts his head and meets my gaze, a fog lays over the blue in his eyes.
I take his face in my palms and kiss him softly. “What happened at the meeting?”
He shakes his head as if to clear it and grits his teeth. “I told them the truth, and they likely would have torn me apart for it, but we were interrupted.”
“Interrupted? By who?”
His grip tightens on me. “That’s just it…I don’t know. Whoever called me warned us all to get out, but I have no idea who it was.”
“You didn’t recognize the voice?”
Valerian shakes his head again. “No, and I can’t figure out who the hell would warn us. Who would want to protect the five families from an outside threat? It doesn’t make any sense.”
