Dangerous Husbands, Broken Wives [18+]

FIFTY SEVEN: HEARTLESS MONSTER

[IVAN]

I knock on Ana's hotel room door for the third time in the last five hours and yet get no response.

Since the moment we returned from school, Ana has been oddly quiet.

And distant.

She refuses to even look at me. When I tried to coax her into joining me for lunch before heading to our rooms, she blatantly declined and walked away.

It's been five hours now, and she has neither ordered anything for lunch nor picked up any of my calls, or answered any of my knocks. I want to know what the matter is with her, if there's anything she didn't like about school. But I can't do that if she won't even open her door—if she won't let me in.

So far, I gave her the space she needed and occupied myself with work, dropping by every once in a while. Igor stayed in my room for as long as he was required. We discussed a few new technologies he wanted to try to make our security system more airtight. I gave him the go for most of the things, but there were some I wasn't so sure about. Igor assured me that after I watched the demo, I might change my mind.

But that was for later. Focusing on anything for more than a certain time was getting harder and harder without getting even the smallest glance of my wife.

Once Igor left my room, I was back to obsessing over Ana, wondering how did I offend her this time.

She was fine by this morning, excited even, but now I can't even guess what's wrong with her. I'll be honest, I'm worried, which makes me much more anxious.

So, I decide to put everything on hold, leave my room and knock on her door, again.

She doesn't answer.

"Is she even in there?" I think to myself, but that's a stupid thought. If she did leave her room, I would know. The guards would have filled me in a long time ago.

I sigh, and take out my phone. I call her number.

It's ringing. I can hear it. A faint sound, but it's there.

"Pick up the phone, Ana," I frown at the door. The call goes to the voicemail.

Alright, I'm officially worried and cannot wait. I step away from the door and signal the guards standing attentive on either side of her door, to break it down.

I stand in the back and watch the guards do the job. Within seconds, they force it open and the door barely hangs on one of its hinges. The guards step away and I storm inside, frantically searching for Ana in every room in my sight.

"Ana!" I call for her, but get no response, my heart rate picks up.

I check the dining room, the pool area, and the playroom, but there's no sign of her. The bedroom is my last stop, but the moment I step in and feel my throat tighten with the fear of losing her again, the door to the bathroom swings open, and Ana appears, wearing a thick scowl that I don't let get to me.

I don't even realize when I reach over and press her hard against the bathroom door.

"What the hell?" She struggles with her hands on my chest, but my heartbeat booming in my ears and throat is too loud and aggressive for me to make out anything she's saying.

I grab her face with both hands and kiss her on the lips, hard. I close my eyes and just kiss her. I kiss her because that's the only way for me to know that she's here. That she hasn't left me once again without a word.

When her hands try to push me away, I don't like it. I grab them both and pin her hands over her head, leaning my head to the side to kiss her deeper.

"Ivan..." Words leave her mouth, and she bites my lip when she gets the chance, but nothing she does makes me back off. If anything, I want her more than ever. A sick part of me even likes the metallic taste being exchanged between our mouths.

"Back off—" She manages to push me off a bit and slaps me hard.

But that only makes me crazier for her.

"Shut up!" I growl and tug her bottom lip hard.

She gasps, her eyes wide open and glaring at me as I briefly open mine. I drop my hands and slide them from her waist to her ass, pulling her more and more towards me. She moans and groans into my mouth, and I love every second of it. Every fucking second of it.

In the back of my head, I'm aware that this is the stupidest mistake I could make. But maybe the argument isn't strong enough because instead of pulling away and giving this whole thing a rest, I let my need for her take over my head and push my tongue into her mouth.

"You can't just... Ivan!" She says, but the words get drowned in my mouth.

The warmth of want continues to grow in the pit of my stomach, lifting its head and nudging my chest for more of her taste. I oblige without a single doubt. I break the kiss, yank her towards the bed, and push her so she lands on the mattress on her hands and knees. I jump on the bed and hover over her from behind, grabbing her ass and squeezing it hard.

"Ivan!" She tries to get away, but I grab her ankle and pull her back. I kiss her nape, forcing her down with the weight of my body. When her chest growls with another retort, I grab her hand and move it palm-down in front of her face.

She doesn't know what she's looking at so I decide to help her out.

"You forgot," I growl into her ear, sucking on her shoulder. "...to wear the ring."

"No no no no," she starts shaking her head, but when I bite her at the crook of her neck, she throws her head back and lets out a sharp gasp. "I was in the... in the shower. It's a... it's a misunderstanding, Ivan."

"I don't fucking care," I kiss my way down her back and slip my large hands under her top. She gasps again, probably because my hands are ice-cold on her warm skin. It feels fucking nice to touch her so intimately again. It feels fucking great. "I warned you, malysh. This is not my fault."

She should have known that I would never pass up a chance to taste her again. I had barely held myself back on the plane earlier, but now, now my patience has snapped, and nothing can stop me. Not even her.

I know I sound like some heartless monster, forcing her to give me what she doesn't want to give. But I have seen the hunger in her eyes—I have seen the lust when she kissed me on the plane, wanting more than just my lips.

As I trail kisses along her spine, I can sense her resistance weakening, her breath hitching with every caress. I revel in the power I have over her, in the way she responds to me with such raw vulnerability.

"You can't resist me, Ana," I whisper against her skin, my voice thick with desire. "You never could."

She trembles beneath me, caught between the conflicting desires of her heart and her mind. I know she's fighting a war with herself, trying to decide what she wants.

But there is no room for doubt or hesitation. I can't let there be. I want her right now. And I want her with every fucking breath that leaves me tonight.