Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 45957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Igor was at work and refused to take the day off to keep me entertained. Mark had asked for days off to visit his mother, and I wouldn’t bother him. Aside from those two, I had no one else I truly trusted to allow into my personal space and keep me company.
Which meant I was going fucking crazy waiting to see what move Adrian would make, if any.
A throat cleared behind me. Gritting my teeth, ready to lash out at whoever thought they could step foot inside my home without my permission, I spun around, my hand already reaching for my gun. But then, I halted, blinking in surprise at the man standing before me.
He’d come home to me.
Adrian was standing a few feet from me in front of the closed front door, his brown hair a mess like he’d run his fingers through it too many times, and there were bags under his eyes, showing he wasn’t resting like he should have been. Dressed in his usual attire of dark jeans and steel-toed boots, this time paired with a plain black hoodie, he looked even fucking better than I’d remembered.
Fuck, had it only been a week since I’d seen him last?
“Kotik,” I growled, taking a step closer to him.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Then, he slowly lowered himself to his knees, his head bowed in submission as he placed his palms flat on his thighs. My cock throbbed at the beautiful sight he made.
“You promised you’d collar me if I came home,” he rasped, not lifting his head.
I quickly erased the distance between us, then tipped his chin up so he was looking at me with those mesmerizing, dark eyes I adored so damn much.
“I did,” I confirmed. “Get up and come with me, kotik.”
I released his chin, then turned on my heel and headed for the stairs. I heard his boots softly thudding behind me as he followed, and when I stepped into my room, I heard him pause for just a moment before he continued inside behind me.
I pressed in the code to my safe, then swung the door open. Reaching inside, I grabbed the long, black velvet box that housed his collar—the piece of jewelry that would mark him as mine for the rest of his life. Turning to face him, I flipped open the lid, showing him the black leather collar with a ring at the front and diamond studs along the leather length.
“The only thing I request is that if you are on a job,” I said, “you don’t wear this. I don’t want anyone using it to choke you and kill you. Understand?”
“Understood,” he rasped, his voice sounding strangled.
I lifted the leather from the case, then tossed the case onto the bed. Stepping toward him, I lifted the collar, then fitted it around his throat. It fit perfectly, just as I knew it would, and God, it looked fucking perfect on him. It made him mine.
As soon as I had it locked into place around his throat, I hooked my finger in the loop and dragged him toward me, crashing our mouths together. He moaned and sank into me, allowing me to take control and lead him. He tasted like mint, expensive liquor, and home. Growling, I sucked at his tongue before sinking my teeth into his bottom lip hard enough to make him bleed.
His whimper was musical.
“Welcome home, kotik,” I rasped before I lapped the blood up from his chin and lower lip.
“I missed you,” he confessed.
I grinned at him. “Did you?”
He nodded. “I told James I’m in love with you.”
I paused for a moment, running my eyes over his face. Then, in a surprising moment of tenderness from me, I cupped his cheek, stroking my thumb over the stubble on his face. “You do know I can’t return that, right? I can only obsess over you and want to possess you. That’s the only way I know how to… love you.”
He nodded again. “I know, and I’m okay with that, Ivan.” He wrapped those thickly muscled arms around me, drawing me even closer and molding our bodies together. “Just know that if you ever decide you’re no longer obsessed with me, you’ll need to put a bullet through my skull. This past week has been hell. I was coming unglued. I won’t survive without you.”
I wrapped my hand around his throat, then crushed my mouth to his in a hot, aggressive kiss that had him mewling into my mouth like the needy fucking kitten he truly was. “My obsession with you knows no bounds, and certainly has no end,” I swore. “That’s a promise you can count on.” Stepping back, I pointed to the floor. “Now kneel, kotik. You made me wait for you long enough. It’s time to put that pretty fucking mouth to work.”