My control snaps.
I slam into her with a growl, one hand gripping her thigh, the other tangled in her hair as I thrust hard, deep, claiming her. Her cries echo off the walls, desperate, hungry, pleading.
She’s mine.
She’salwaysbeen mine.
And now the world will know it.
Chapter 29
Audrey
It happens in the early hours of the morning. A slow, curling pressure wakes me—not pain exactly, just something deeper than discomfort. Like my body is a bell being rung gently from within. I sit up slowly, holding my breath, and wait for it to pass.
Konstantin sleeps like the dead next to me, his large body stretched across the bed. The blackout curtains paint the bedroom black, but I sense him there—my protector.
The pain passes, eventually. A slow tide easing back.
I glance at the clock.
3:14 a.m.
The penthouse is dark, quiet except for the faint hum of the security system and the soft rhythm of Konstantin’s breathing beside me. I’m too awake to sleep now, alert for—what? Standing, I walk to the windows and gently shift one of the heavy shades. The city glitters far below, a frozen sea of golds and silvers stretching to the horizon.
Another wave rolls through me. This one a little firmer. A little sharper.
I inhale. Exhale.
Okay.
I think… this is it.
And weirdly, I’m not panicking. Not even a little. Maybe it’s the hours of breathing techniques I practiced. Or the fact that I packed the hospital bag two weeks ago and triple-checked it last night. Or maybe it’s just that the man sleeping beside me has made me feel safer in the last three months than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.
I reach out and place a hand on his bare shoulder.
“Konstantin,” I whisper.
He doesn’t stir.
I lean in closer, pressing a kiss to the space behind his ear. “Konstantin. Wake up.”
His body tenses immediately—habit. That instinct to protect hardwired into every nerve. His eyes open. Alert. Dangerous.
Then they soften the moment they meet mine.
“What’s wrong?”
I smile gently. “It’s time.”
His expression doesn’t change at first. Then he blinks.
“Time for what?”
I wait.
His eyes widen slowly as the words register.
