Her hold grew tighter on me before she eventually pulled away to look into my face. Her eyes were red and puffy. Her expression was hollow—I hated this look…this look of utter brokenness on her face. I wanted nothing more than to erase it all.
She moved in my arms until her thighs were straddling me on either side. Maria cupped my cheeks in her hands, and her lips twitched with a sad smile. “Why do you look like this, Lyov?”
Bringing my hand up, I held her touch there. “Look like what?”
“As if you are in pain. I don’t like it,” she expressed with a small whisper. The tip of her fingers caressed my rough stubble. “I don’t like this look on your face. It hurts me more than I am already hurting.”
Fuck. She was going to be the death of me.
My Angel was going to kill me one day. Slowly. With a fucking dagger slowly cutting through my open heart and I would be powerless to stop her.
“The Lyov I am used to, he is strong. He is powerful. He is not broken. Not this Lyov in front of me.”
“I am a bad man, Angel,” I finally said.
“A bad man with a big heart,” she cut off before I could continue.
I laughed humorlessly. What a fucking joke.
“Sweet Angel, how wrong you are.”
Maria moved closer, until our chests were touching. She laid her forehead against mine, and I took in a slow breath, my body shuddering with the effort to keep the swirling emotions at bay.
“If you were truly a bad man…your eyes would not be filled with tears right now, Master.”
I blinked, shock coursing through me. And that was when I felt it. A single fucking tear sliding down my cheek.
Maria quickly kissed it away, her lips lingering on my cheek for what felt like the longest time.
One of her hands released my cheek, and it came down to rest over her naked chest. Her fingers splayed out. Her words were whispered against my cheek, her lips caressing my skin. “Your heart is pounding. Just like mine. I am in pain. So are you. A bad man with bad intentions would not be feeling that.”
I gripped her hips, my fingers digging into her skin. She didn’t flinch. No, she moved more into my body, plastering herself against my embrace. Maria sunk into me, and I held her there.
My jaw clenched and my teeth grinded together. I was angry at myself. “I see you’re trying to find goodness in everyone. But some people are just plain ugly in the inside.”
“Lyov,” Maria breathed. Her lips met mine in a feather kiss. “People are not born bad. It is the world that turns us ugly, but somehow in a deep corner…there is something beautiful hidden. Not everyone has that corner. But sometimes, even the ugliest soul has it.”
I am the Devil from hell, Angel.
She kissed me again, and I tasted her tears. My Angel was still hurting. And it fucking gutted me from deep inside.
“Angel, I am not a man who just happened to be there that night,” I started.
She pulled away, her brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Her eyes focused on me as she waited for me to continue. “I own the Royalist. I own that damn place, Maria.”
I waited for a reaction, but I got none. Maria cocked her head to the side, and a moment later, she nodded. “I know.”
I reared back in surprise. There were dark parts of my life that I had been trying to hide from her. I had been trying to be her Prince Charming…yet all along she knew I was the monster.
“I heard the people talking that night. Valentin too. I knew who you were since the beginning. I am not as gullible or naïve as you think, Lyov. I am well aware of who and what type of man you are.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but I couldn’t really form any words. Maria placed a finger on my lips, silencing me. “I know I should hate you. But I can’t bring myself to do so when you have saved me from that place. You gave me something beautiful, Master. And I can’t hate you for that.”
My hands shook, and I fisted them against her sides. Before I could stop myself, I slammed my lips against hers. She kissed me back without hesitation. When I demanded control, she gave it to me. Her lips were plump under mine, and they parted as my tongue traced their seams.
“Maria. I’m going to end this,” I growled into our kiss.
“How?” she asked when we pulled apart. “How will you end this game?”
“I own it. I can take it down whenever I fucking want,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
Maria looked sad at my confession. Her shoulders slumped. “Is it that easy?”