Chapter 74

ANASTASIA’S POV

It had been a week.

Seven whole days since I let Ivan touch me.

Seven days since we both quenched our desires. 

And every day since then, I've been running.

Not physically, but I haven’t been able to hold his gaze or stay in the room too long with him. 

He noticed also but didn’t press for anything. 

But I could feel him watching.

Every time we were in the same space, that heavy silence would hang between us. His gaze was always fixed on me at every time, and I’d pretend I didn’t feel it like a burn on my skin.

I’d lied to myself, thinking I could handle it. That it was just a one-time thing. 

Except, it wasn’t. 

Because every time I closed my eyes, I remembered the way he touched me. The way his mouth worshiped every part of me. 

And worse?

I wanted more.

And that terrified me.

“Ma'am?”

My head snapped up. I hadn’t realized I’d zoned out in the middle of the operations meeting. My fingers tightened around the pen in my hand as I turned to face the manager who was speaking.

“Yeah?” I cleared my throat, adjusting my posture. “Repeat the last part.”

“This is the final clearance checklist,” he said. “We’ve made most of the changes. The inspector will come by again next Monday, but he sounded satisfied with the updates. I’ve flagged all outstanding requests with deadlines and assigned the right personnel to monitor them.”

I skimmed through the document, my pen hovering as I checked off the last box. “Good. That should keep us from appearing in any more government bulletins.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, still visibly afraid of slipping up.

“I’ll be heading back today,” I said, closing the file. “You’ll handle the rest?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll follow up on the inspection and send you daily reports. If anything escalates, I’ll call immediately.”

“Make sure nothing escalates. I don’t want to see your call on my phone.”

Felix nodded quickly. “And… Thank you. For coming down yourself. I know you didn’t have to.”

I met his gaze, “You’re right. If only you had done your job the right way.” I said in a cold tone.

With that, I carried my bag and made my way outside the building. Ivan was already seated in the car, waiting for me. 

I settled into the backseat. “We’re heading back home today. I just need to pack my bags and then we will be on the road.” I said avoiding his gaze.

“Okay ma’am,” he said as he drove us back home. 

The ride back home was quiet. The kind of silence that wasn’t peaceful, just… charged. I kept my gaze fixed on the window the entire ride.

Immediately he parked in the compound. I muttered a quick “Thanks” and stepped out of the car without waiting for a response.

The second I got inside, I kicked off my heels and headed straight for my room. I pulled my suitcase onto the bed and started shoving clothes inside. I zipped up the case when I finished packing. 

I looked around one last time to make sure I got everything and reached for the handle and turned toward the door.

As I stepped out the door, I walked straight into a wall.

Or so I thought. 

I looked up to see Ivan standing in my way. He didn’t move. Didn’t say a word. Just stood there, blocking the hallway so I couldn’t sidestep.

His eyes locked onto mine. “I need to talk to you,” he said quietly.

“I’m busy,” I replied, trying to brush past him.

But his hand shot out, catching my wrist firmly to stop me.

“You’ve been ‘busy’ all week.”

I stared at the point where his fingers touched my skin, then slowly pulled my hand away. “Because I am busy, and I don’t have time to talk about things that don’t matter.”

“Things that don’t matter?” he repeated, voice low, almost hurt. “What happened between us doesn’t matter?”

I closed my eyes. Damn it.

“You knew what that was, Ivan,” I said, swallowing hard. “It wasn’t supposed to mean anything.”

His jaw clenched. “Maybe not to you.”

I took a deep breath. “Can you not do this? We should be on the road right now.”

“I asked you if you wanted it.”

“And I did.” My voice wavered. 

“So, why are you acting like you didn’t?”

“Because I’m married, Ivan.”

“That didn’t seem to stop you the other night,” he said, taking a step closer to abc me against the door. 

My breath hitched as I felt the wooden frame press into my back. 

“Maybe that night shouldn’t have happened,” I whispered. “It was a mistake.”

“Bullshit,” he said, eyes burning into mine. “Don’t call it a mistake just because you’re scared of how it made you feel.”

“I’m not scared," I said quietly.

“Then look at me and say that again.”

I tried. I really did. But the moment our eyes met, my guard fell. I could still feel the warmth of where he touched and I knew I wanted more.

He stepped in even closer, his hands planted on either side of the doorframe behind me. “You’ve been avoiding me like hell, acting like you didn’t want it just as much as I did. But I was there. I felt you.”

“Ivan—”

“You think I didn’t feel it too?” he said softly as he leaned in, his breath brushing against my cheek. “You think I don’t replay every second of that night, every sound you made, the way your walls felt around me?”

“Ivan, please—”

His mouth was dangerously close now. “Tell me to stop, and I will.”

I didn’t.

Because I couldn’t.

Instead, I closed the distance.

I crashed my lips into his, delivering every hunger I had repressed from the past seven days. He let out a low groan as he buried one hand into my hair while the other gripped my waist like he’d been dying to touch me again.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer as his tongue slid against mine, deepening the kiss. 

“I hate you,” I breathed against his lips, clinging to him.

“No, you don’t,” he muttered, as his lips trailed down to my neck. “You hate that you want this.”

I gasped as his teeth grazed the sensitive spot on my neck. His hand skimmed under the hem of my top, trailing upwards.

“Ivan,” I whispered, unsure whether it was a warning or a plea.

But his mouth was back on mine before I could decide. His hands slid down to the backs of my thighs picking me up effortlessly, my legs wrapping around his waist. 

A broken moan slipped from my lips as he rolled his hips into mine. He thrust against me firmly, letting the friction build between our clothes. I could feel how badly he wanted me, making the ache inside me worse.

“I missed this,” he growled against my mouth. “Missed the way you feel.”

He kicked the bedroom door open and carried me across the room, laying me on the bed, his body following mine down, hurriedly undressing us both.

His fingers lightly trailed up the inside of my thigh. I let out a soft moan as he dragged one finger through my wet folds.

“Still so wet for me,” he whispered against my thigh, brushing his lips there while he slid a finger inside. I clenched around his finger immediately, my body reacting to him like it had never forgotten.

He let out a low groan, kissing my hip before adding a second finger, curling them deep as he began to move slowly. My back arched as he hit the spot inside me, making me tremble. 

“Ivan,” I moaned, gripping the sheets beside me as his thumb circled my clit slowly.

“Say it,” he panted, as his fingers stroked me harder.

I closed my eyes. “I want you.”

“No,” he murmured, “Say you need me,” he said, taking one of my nipples in his mouth. 

My body tightened around his fingers and I dragged my nails down his back. “I need you,” I gasped. “God, Ivan… I need you.”

With that, he put his throbbing member into my wet fold, slow and deep. And I let go of everything.

All the guilt. All the fear. All the lies I’d told myself.