“Hear what?” He grinds his hips down, reaching a part of me that sends shockwaves of pleasure over me.

“I need your permission.”

I can hear the smile in his voice as he responds. “Then be my good girl and come for me. Now.”

And I do.

No sound escapes me as my orgasm ripples through me. The intensity of it steals my breath away.

Mikhail thrusts once more into me before he comes next. I wonder when I’ll end up pregnant and if I even want that. I’ve always wanted to become a mom. I just don’t know how comfortable I’ll feel having a child with Mikhail if he doesn’t open up to me. Especially since his son is the reason he’s not.

I gasp as he pulls out of me.

“Stay there,” he instructs, walking away for a moment before returning with a towel he uses between my legs. I sigh and melt into the bed. This afterglow, where he comforts me and makes sure my body is all right, fills me with a sense of calm I’ve never felt before.

But then he pulls away again.

“Can you hold me in the bed?” I ask.

He pushes my dress back down and sits me up before laying me down on the bed. “Get some rest. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“The last time you left, Irina tried to hurt me.”

“Irina is dead. No one can hurt you again.” He kisses my forehead and then leaves the room. I avert my gaze from the people still looking at me through the window. This is not what I want. I want Mikhail to snuggle with me. I want to fall asleep in his arms, something we’ve never done before.

He’s using BDSM to keep me at a distance.

And I don’t know how to change that.

MIKHAIL

I grab a drink from the bar and down it in one swig.

Sofiya is getting to me. She clearly wants us to be closer, but to do that, I’d have to tell her everything. Alexei’s death. Nastasha’s suicide. Ivan Petrov, the man who did it and got away because of his damn heart attack. I’d have to tell her how I cried in my car after it happened. No one has ever seen me cry before.

I put my heart to stone after Alexei’s death, but Sofiya has slowly been cracking away at it. I care deeply for her. But can I give her love? Especially the type of love she wants.

“Looking for a sub?” a woman asks me. She’s cute in a girl-next-door kind of way, but her outfit says otherwise. “Because I’m looking for a man who can make me submit.” She trails her fingers down my chest.

I make a point of taking her hand and placing it on the bar. “Not interested.”

She pouts. “Fine.” Quickly, she sets her eyes on another dom and runs over to him.

I shake my head as I order another drink and gulp that one down just as fast as the first one.

SOFIYA

The door opens, and I sit up, unsure what I’m going to say to Mikhail.

But it’s not Mikhail who enters.

It’s Andrei.

His eyes flick down toward my legs, and I draw the blankets around me, pulling them up to my chin.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. “Mikhail will hurt you if he sees you in here.”

“I just want to talk.” He raises his hands in surrender. “I swear. Just talk.”

“Fine. Just say what you have to say and go.”

He shoves his hands in his pockets and looks around the room. “Where’s Mikhail?”

“Coming back.”

“Oh, I’m sure. But isn’t that interesting? He leaves you alone after what you two shared.”

My blood turns to ice. “You saw us?”

“I saw you.” The smile on his face is wicked. “I saw Mikhail fuck you like a caveman.”

I flush. “Get out. Go.”

“You shouldn’t be with him. Look. He leaves you alone, giving me the space to come in here and talk to you. What kind of husband is that?”

“So … what? You want me to leave with you?”

“Preferably. I want you, Sofiya. I think I’ve made that clear. Come with me.”

I stare at him for a minute before laughing. “You’re delusional. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Andrei’s smile slowly turns dark. “You’re going to regret saying that.”

The door opens again, and Mikhail walks into the room. “What’s going on in here?”

“Sofiya and I were just talking,” Andrei says.

Mikhail keeps his eyes on Andrei but speaks to me. “Sofiya?”

“He said he wanted to talk, but he just wanted me to run away with him.”

“Is that so?” A muscle twitches in Mikhail’s forehead. “Well, Andrei, you can’t seem to learn your lesson either. I told you to stay away from Sofiya. I told you to never lay your eyes on her again.”

“You know I’ve never been one to listen. Besides, Mikhail, we’ve always been so close. Sharing women. It’s nothing new.”

“It is this time,” he growls …

… right before he lunges at Andrei. I gasp and scramble back on the bed. The two men fight and grapple with each other until Andrei ends up on his back. Mikhail gets on top of him and jams his thumbs into Andrei’s eyes.