Page 86 of Maksym

Relief moved through it like a fist uncurling beneath my ribs. Not mine. His. Or both. It was becoming harder to separate where his feeling ended and my body’s response to it began.

“Thank you,” he said.

“For yelling at you?”

“For your trust.”

I looked down at where my hand still rested against his shirt. My fingers had left creases in fine cotton. “Don’t make it sound prettier than it is.”

“I will try.”

“You will fail.”

“Likely.”

Silence settled again, but it no longer had nightmare teeth.

Maksym’s hand moved once against my back, not a stroke this time, more a question. I did not move away. His palm remained there, broad and cool through the sleep shirt.

“You need to feed before the day ahead,” he said.

I let my forehead drop briefly against his chest.

“There it is,” I muttered. “Vampire breakfast.”

“It is necessary.”

“I know.”

“And after what you endured while sleeping, your body will need more than the glass Millie left.”

I lifted my head. “You just want to see me cum.”

The words left my mouth with all the caution of a prosecutor throwing evidence into a ceiling fan.

I froze. Then clapped my fingers over my lips.

Maksym went very still beneath me.

Not offended. Not shocked. Still in the way predators became still when a door opened unexpectedly, and the thing on the other side was not prey but revelation.

My face heated so fast I resented my restored circulation.

“I did not mean to say that out loud.”

His eyes had darkened. A low sound moved in his chest. Not quite laughter. More dangerous. He did not deny it. That, somehow, made my skin tighten.

“There is nothing I have seen more beautiful,” he said, voice lowering, “than you losing yourself in pleasure.”

My fingers slid slowly from my mouth. His gaze held mine.

“You have endured enough pain for several lifetimes,” he continued. “I cannot undo what was done. I cannot make you forget. Perhaps no one can. But I can give pleasure where pain was forced. I can give abundance where you were starved. I can give you a choice every time. And I intend to deliver as much pleasure as I am able, Grace.”

The room seemed to grow smaller around us. Not trapping. Concentrated. My pulse should not have mattered anymore, but something beat hard inside me, anyway.

“You say things like that very calmly,” I whispered.

“If I said them less calmly, I might frighten you.”