PROLOGUE

THE AIR inside the central study was suffocatingly hot and heavy. Elena Petrova leaned back against the edge of the massive mahogany desk, her fingers gripping the smooth, polished wood behind her. Her heart hammered against her ribs as Aditya Volkov stepped slowly between her parted thighs, trapping her completely against the cold surface of the desk. “You're supposed to be analyzing Viktor's encrypted algorithms, Elena," Aditya murmured. "I was," Elena gasped, her breath catching as his broad hands came up to rest on her waist. "I was... until you walked into the room." Aditya let out a dark, amused chuckle. He stepped closer and reached out, the back of his knuckles slowly tracing the sensitive line of her throat down to the low neckline of her dress. "Is the great Pakhan of the Volkov Syndicate distracting you?" he asked smoothly. "You know you are," she whispered, tilting her head back to give him better access. Aditya lowered his head, his warm lips brushing against the sensitive skin just beneath her jaw. Elena let out a soft sigh, her eyes fluttering shut as he kissed his way down to her collarbone, nipping gently at the soft flesh before soothing the spot with his hot tongue. "Aditya..." she breathed, her hands sliding up his chest to claw at his tailored black shirt. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons, popping two of them free in her impatience to feel his bare skin beneath her palms. "Patience, moya zvezda," he growled against her skin. His broad hands slid slowly down her sides, capturing the hem of her silk dress and gathering the fabric upward until it rested above her waist. He took his time, his hands slowly moving up the warm skin of her inner thighs, pushing her knees further apart. Elena’s hips lifted off the desk instinctively, seeking his touch, but Aditya held her still with a firm grip on her hip. "Look at me," he commanded softly. Elena opened her eyes, her brown gaze locking onto his stormy gray ones. Slowly, Aditya slid two fingers beneath the thin satin strap of her underwear. He didn't tear them away just yet. Instead, he pressed the back of his hand flat against her core, feeling the intense heat already radiating through the fabric. "You're already wet for me," he rasped, a dark, satisfied smile touching the corner of his lips. "Before I've even touched you properly." "Whose fault is that?" Elena countered, her voice husky as she bit her lower lip. Without taking his eyes off hers, Aditya slipped his fingers inside the elastic band of her silk panties and slid them down her legs. He let the scrap of black fabric fall to the floor before reaching back up to cup her intimately. Elena let out a loud gasp, her hands flying to his shoulders, her nails digging into the heavy muscle beneath his shirt as his warm thumb brushed over her swollen, sensitive center. He began rubbing slow, deliberate circles over her peak, making her hips arch wildly off the desk. "You like this, don't you?" Aditya murmured, leaning down to capture her mouth in a heavy, bruising kiss. He slipped one finger deep inside her drenched heat, then another, stretching her effortlessly while his tongue tangled with hers slowly that wiped every thought from her mind. He worked his fingers in and out of her until she was breathlessly slick, whimpering into his mouth, her inner walls pulsing helplessly around his touch. "Aditya—please," she sobbed into the kiss, breaking away to catch her breath. "Stop torturing me." "I'm not torturing you, Elena," he purred possessively, his fingers working faster, driving her closer and closer to the edge. "I'm reminding you who you belong to." Unable to take it longer, Aditya withdrew his wet hand and reached down to unbuckle his belt. He freed his heavy, thick length, the broad head gleaming in the dim light of the computer monitors. He guided himself to her entrance, rubbing his broad tip through her slick fold once, twice, making her squirm beneath him. “f**k, Elena... look at you, taking all of me on this desk,” Aditya growled as he pounded into her. Elena’s thighs were pinned wide against the edges of the polished wood, her fingers wildly gripping the leather blotter beneath her head. Every brutal, deep thrust of his hips pushed her higher up the desk, scattering financial ledgers and encrypted drives to the floor. The sound of their slick, frantic skin colliding echoed loudly through the dim, rain-slicked room. “Say it,” Aditya demanded, his thumb crushing against her swollen, soaked c**t while his thick length filled her to the hilt. “Tell me who this sweet, tight p***y belongs to.” “Yours,” Elena sobbed out, her head rolling back as an intense wave of pleasure shot through her spine. “It’s yours, Aditya. f**k—harder!” “That’s it, my little thief,” he purred possessively as he moved faster inside her that made the heavy mahogany desk groan under their weight. “Drive me out of my f*****g mind. Show me how much you want your captor inside you.” “I want you—I want all of it!” she gasped, arching her back, her nails digging into the broad muscles of his shoulders. She pulled him down, and kissed him as his heavy hips slammed against her, hitting that deep, electric spot over and over until her vision blurred with red. “You’re so f*****g wet for me, moya zvezda,” he rasped against her lips. “You’re tight as a vice. I’m going to come so deep inside you that you’ll never forget who owns you.” Elena’s breath hitched as the friction built into an unbearable heat low in her belly. “Aditya—I’m coming! Right now—f**k!” “Come for me,” he commanded, sinking his shaft all the way in and holding it tight against her wall. “Let it tear you apart.” Elena screamed his name into the quiet room as her inner walls clamped violently around him with a prolonged orgasm. Watching her shatter drove Aditya over the edge. With a low roar, he slammed into her one last time, his thick body shaking as he filled her completely with his hot seed. They lay tangled together on the ruined desk. Aditya kept his weight pressed against her, his lips tracing her flushed neck while his hands gently held her waist, still buried deep inside her trembling body. Then, a sharp, high-pitched electronic chime shattered the silence. Aditya froze instantly. He pulled back, his icy gray eyes sharpening as he turned his head toward the central monitor on the desk. The screen, which had been decoding her father's encrypted system, was flashing bright red. A live video feed automatically hijacked the display, cutting through the firewalls. Elena sat up quickly, pulling her dress down over her chest as she stared at the glowing monitor. The live feed showed a cold, concrete basement. Tied to a metal chair, battered, bloody, but breathing, was her father, Viktor Petrova. Standing directly behind him, resting a gleaming steel blade against his throat, was Katarina—a ruthless, triumphant smile spreading across her face. A distorted voice echoed from the laptop speakers: “Did you really think the thief was acting alone, Pakhan? Look behind you.” Before Elena could turn her head, the heavy study door clicked open, and the freezing metal barrel of a silenced handgun pressed directly into the back of Aditya’s neck.