But his crystal blue eyes stood out like stars in a night sky.
And he watched me.
He never took his intense gaze off me.
I blushed under his attention, until he lowered his hand to run his fingers down my cheek. I waited for him to speak, I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, with his finger under my chin, he tipped my head up and fused his lips to mine.
This kiss was slow and unhurried. This kiss was soft and consuming. And this kiss told me without words how this beautiful monster was feeling inside—content.
His tongue invaded my mouth, and as it gently slipped against mine I tasted myself. My body simmered in the aftermath, at the effect of this sweet kiss. We kissed and kissed for I don’t know how long. When Valentin finally broke away, I knew something between us had switched.
He was no longer the torturer.
I was no longer his victim.
Valentin’s forehead rested against mine, and inhaling a shaky breath he confessed, “I feel alive.” I stilled at these heartbreaking words; then he added, “I feel like yours.”
My eyes pricked with water and I encased him in my embrace. “Valentin,” I said in a hushed voice. “Not only have you claimed my first kiss; you have claimed my innocence.” I took a deep breath knowing I needed to say the words waiting on the tip of my tongue and whispered directly into his ear, “And you have claimed my soul.”
“Zoya,” Valentin groaned in response, and reared back to look at my face. There was a momentary expression of happiness; then it faded to be defeated by an expression of pain. “I’m not worthy of this. I’m a killer.”
As I tilted my head, my heart sank at these expressions of self-deprecation. “No, Valentin, you’re simply … you,” I countered.
Valentin pushed his lips against mine in a searing kiss, then slid to the side, his length falling from within me. I gasped at the sudden loss of fullness but felt replete when Valentin scooped me into his strong arms and pulled me to his chest.
A happy silence passed between us, until my finger traced the tattooed “194” emblazoned on his chest. I stared at the tattoo, and our reality came crashing back. Feeling a stab of dread piercing through my heart, I said, “As much as I hate this chamber of hell, right now I think I would trade my soul if we could stay in here forever.”
Valentin stiffened beside me and, holding me closer to his side, confided, “For the first time in my life, I have no idea what to do next. I’ve wished to never be commanded again. Now I have freedom, I have no idea what to do with it.”
Sadness filled me when I knew he was thinking about the safety of his sister. About what would be her fate if he didn’t capture my brother. Throat tightening, I said, “I cannot let you hurt Zaal. But by the same token, I cannot bear for you to lose your Inessa.”
A pained sound came from Valentin, and holding me close, he replied, “I do not know what to do, kotyonok. My entire existence has been to save my sister, but now…,” he trailed off.
“But now there is me,” I finished for him. I felt him nod and said, “My entire life, I have waited to see my brothers again…” This time I trailed off my sentence.
“And now there is me,” Valentin finished for me.
“Yes.”
Shifting on the bed, I lifted to lie over Valentin’s huge body and glanced at the floor, lost in thought. But then my eyes found the collar, still abandoned on the black tiled floor. I saw Zaal in my mind. I saw him smiling with the Tolstaia girl and hope sprang in my chest.
“Valentin,” I said, the names Tolstaia and Volkov circling my head. When I looked back to Valentin, he was waiting for me to speak. Pushing my hair back from my face, I said, “My brother, Zaal.” I paused, staring into Valentin’s blue eyes, searching for the reassurance that I could tell him this in his face. All I saw was sincerity and his heart staring back. Edging closer, I said, “My brother, Zaal Kostava, is marrying a Tolstaia. My brother, the Lideri of the Kostava Clan, is marrying into the Volkov Bratva.”
Valentin’s eyes flared; then his eyebrows pulled down in confusion. His lips pulled tight, and when he looked at me again he said, “I think I