I adjust my glasses with my thumb and forefinger to stop myself from choking the fuck out of her.

I adjust my glasses with my thumb and forefinger to stop myself from choking the fuck out of her.

"Where do you think you're going?" I ask in a collected, completely detached tone.
"I'm going back to bury Nadia and Nicholas, and if I'm ambushed, I'll kill every last one of those fuckers. I'll spill their blood and crush their hearts."

"I will be your boss, and I will demand complete obedience."
"I understand"
"I'm not joking, Sasha. Out of here, it's not martial law. It's my law. Your life will be mine."

"Not only did they help me, but they also helped you and offered you warmth and shelter from a deadly storm. How are you supposed to protect your soldiers if you can't display gratitude to your benefactors?"
Kirill lifts his hand. "You little-"
I close my eyes, waiting for him to punch me for the insolence. I wait and wait. And wait... But the impact doesn't come.

When he's within touching distance, I slip in front of Kirill, hold up a hand against his chest, and say in my deepest, manliest tone, "Step back."
The man's deadly expression falls on my hand. "Why, aren't you a tough little shit?"
He starts to twist my hand with ease, but I slip it out and manage to grab his and then twist it to his back.
Before I can pin it, though, he whirls around and punches me in the face, sending me flying against the pillar."

“If you find solace in these delusions, then, by all means, keep believing them, but the reality is the following: you are mine to do with whatever I please. You’re my fucking property, Sasha. Is that clear?” Hot moisture stings the corners of my eyes, but I refuse to show him the damage his words inflict on me. While I’ve always known Kirill to be a methodical, cold-hearted monster, this is the first time I’ve witnessed it firsthand.

I'll trap her so deeply. She'll have no way out. Sooner or later, she'll have no choice but to forget about her lover and be with me

We really should've brought more men with us. And is Yuri really supposed to stay in the car-"
My words come to a halt when he does something that stuns me into silence.
Kirill leans down and bites my ear.
[...]
"What...what was that for?"
Your silence."

“Will you accept the honor of my hand?”
Marry this prideful, haggard monstrosity? If Warrick’s joy at seeing the Stars of Anhera on her fingers had not already bled into fury, he would have laughed in her golden horror of a face.

“Will you accept the honor of my hand?”
Marry this prideful, haggard monstrosity? If Warrick’s joy at seeing the Stars of Anhera on her fingers had not already bled into fury, he would have laughed in her golden horror of a face.

Even as she watched, his every muscle seemed to flex and harden, as if to steel himself against her touch.
Did he fear losing control? Did he want her so much?
She laid her palm over his heart. His pounding heart. Happiness bubbled through her veins at the evidence that her nearness affected him in equal measure to her own racing heart.

“I think I shall like having you in my bed.”
His muscles went rigid. Had he heard the husky note in her voice? Was he stopping himself from ravishing her now?

There was only bare skin beneath the water. And a thick —
Oh.
It was not as she expected. Elina had thought his appendage was supposed to stiffen when she came near. Yet hadn’t she also overheard jests from the knights about how frigid water could shrivel a prick?
The pool must be too cold for it to harden.