A choked groan was my response and Valentin held me closer, his hips now frantic and out of control as he slammed within me. “Valentin,” I whispered again, and again, and again, until a wave crested within me, suspending me in the moment, before crashing through my body holding me captive to the pleasure possessing me. I distantly heard myself screaming out, clutching on to Valentin as if my body feared I would fall were I not to hold him close.

Valentin stiffened. With a thunderous cry, he came within me, the feeling of his seed filling my channel, causing yet another moan to escape my mouth. Glancing up, I watched Valentin’s face. His eyes were squeezed shut, his lips were pulled tight, and his jaw was clenched shut. His fair skin was flushed with the force of his release. As if feeling my stare, he snapped his eyes open and set free his held breath.

Panting, his hot skin glistening with sweat, he fell forward, tucking his face into the crook of my neck. Tipping my head back, to allow myself to breathe, my hands ran down to Valentin’s broad back, my palm and fingers sliding on his slick skin.

At my touch, his length jerked within me, his skin twitching as it did.

I felt full. I felt so full and complete. So complete that tears burned in my eyes. This man above me. This man, inhaling my scent and possessing my body, was also possessing my heart.

I relaxed into the mattress, just holding Valentin close. Eventually, when he lifted his head, his dark features appeared sinful against his flushed skin. But his crystal blue eyes stood out like stars in a night sky.

And he watched me.

He never took his intense gaze off me.

I blushed under his attention, until he lowered his hand to run his fingers down my cheek. I waited for him to speak, I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, with his finger under my chin, he tipped my head up and fused his lips to mine.

This kiss was slow and unhurried. This kiss was soft and consuming. And this kiss told me without words how this beautiful monster was feeling inside—content.

His tongue invaded my mouth, and as it gently slipped against mine I tasted myself. My body simmered in the aftermath, at the effect of this sweet kiss. We kissed and kissed for I don’t know how long. When Valentin finally broke away, I knew something between us had switched.

He was no longer the torturer.

I was no longer his victim.

Valentin’s forehead rested against mine, and inhaling a shaky breath he confessed, “I feel alive.” I stilled at these heartbreaking words; then he added, “I feel like yours.”

My eyes pricked with water and I encased him in my embrace. “Valentin,” I said in a hushed voice. “Not only have you claimed my first kiss; you have claimed my innocence.” I took a deep breath knowing I needed to say the words waiting on the tip of my tongue and whispered directly into his ear, “And you have claimed my soul.”

“Zoya,” Valentin groaned in response, and reared back to look at my face. There was a momentary expression of happiness; then it faded to be defeated by an expression of pain. “I’m not worthy of this. I’m a killer.”

As I tilted my head, my heart sank at these expressions of self-deprecation. “No, Valentin, you’re simply … you,” I countered.

Valentin pushed his lips against mine in a searing kiss, then slid to the side, his length falling from within me. I gasped at the sudden loss of fullness but felt replete when Valentin scooped me into his strong arms and pulled me to his chest.

A happy silence passed between us, until my finger traced the tattooed “194” emblazoned on his chest. I stared at the tattoo, and our reality came crashing back. Feeling a stab of dread piercing through my heart, I said, “As much as I hate this chamber of hell, right now I think I would trade my soul if we could stay in here forever.”

Valentin stiffened beside me and, holding me closer to his side, confided, “For the first time in my life, I have no idea what to do next. I’ve wished to never be commanded again. Now I have freedom, I have no idea what to do with it.”

Sadness filled me when I knew he was thinking about the safety of his sister. About what would be her fate if he didn’t capture my brother. Throat tightening, I said, “I cannot let you hurt Zaal. But by the same token, I cannot bear for you to lose your Inessa.”

A pained sound came from Valentin, and holding me close, he replied, “I do not know what to do, kotyonok. My entire existence has been to save my sister, but now…,” he trailed off.

“But now there is me,” I finished for him. I felt him nod and said, “My entire life, I have waited to see my brothers again…” This time I trailed off my sentence.

“And now there is me,” Valentin finished for me.

“Yes.”

Shifting on the bed, I lifted to lie over Valentin’s huge body and glanced at the floor, lost in thought. But then my eyes found the collar, still abandoned on the black tiled floor. I saw Zaal in my mind. I saw him smiling with the Tolstaia girl and hope sprang in my chest.

“Valentin,” I said, the names Tolstaia and Volkov circling my head. When I looked back to Valentin, he was waiting for me to speak. Pushing my hair back from my face, I said, “My brother, Zaal.” I paused, staring into Valentin’s blue eyes, searching for the reassurance that I could tell him this in his face. All I saw was sincerity and his heart staring back. Edging closer, I said, “My brother, Zaal Kostava, is marrying a Tolstaia. My brother, the Lideri of the Kostava Clan, is marrying into the Volkov Bratva.”

Valentin’s eyes flared; then his eyebrows pulled down in confusion. His lips pulled tight, and when he looked at me again he said, “I think I know this name, Volkov. They are Russian? The crime family?”

I nodded and sat up further, excitement taking hold. “My brother, my sykhaara, he could help us. With the collar no longer causing you to black out if we left this place, he could help us. They could help us rescue your Inessa.”

Valentin’s expression didn’t change, until he exhaled a breath and asked dubiously, “You think he would help us?”

Taking hold of Valentin’s hand, I said, “I know he will. He is a good man, and he is living among the most powerful family on the East Coast.”

I paused and asked, “Is your Mistress here in New York? Is Inessa here, too?”

Valentin nodded. “Mistress brings her everywhere with us but keeps her separate from me. The only time Inessa was away was this past year when Mistress gave her to the man that she was a slave to for years. They had a strange relationship. Mistress would fuck me and he wouldn’t care. He would fuck my sister; she wouldn’t care. Mistress would tie me to a chair and make me watch. That is why we are here in New York. He was recently killed. Mistress ordered a hit on Zaal Kostava in revenge for her losing her true love.”