“I don’t understand,” Jaya whispered.

She was standing in a gorgeous hotel room in Bangkok, wrapped in a big fluffy bathrobe, the horror of the past day having finally been washed from her skin. She gazed blindly out into the waking dawn of the city below not really seeing the splendor. Her brain was still frozen on the terrors of her kidnapping at Father’s hands, his death and their wild ride back through the rainy jungle at night. Ivan hadn’t wanted to linger in Father’s encampment after dispatching him. Though he hadn’t listened to her plea in regard to Father, Ivan had allowed some of her fellow disciples to live. The ones that had dropped arms and walked away from the conflict, agreed to train with Ivan and his men. Ivan had told Jaya if they survived training and he was convinced they weren’t brainwashed by Borjan, he would give them the same choice he’d once given Keane, employment or freedom.

Ivan came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and drawing her against his solid heat. She closed her eyes and breathed deep, taking in his familiar, comforting scent.

“What don’t you understand, sweetheart?” he asked, gently sweeping the wet strands of her hair aside and kissing the skin behind her ear.

A shiver ran through her in response and her breath caught. She forced herself to step away from his seductive touch so she wouldn’t be distracted. She needed an answer. She turned to look at him. He was so tall, so solid. He was dressed in only his combat pants, having taken his shirt off and thrown it over a chair. Her chest ached with the knowledge that this beautiful, hard man loved her. That he would do anything to keep her safe. Except… would he?

“If you always knew who Borjan was… why didn’t you go after him when you realized you l-loved me?” she had to force the words past stiff lips. She knew this conversation was important, but at the same time, part of her didn’t want to know. Not if he gave her the wrong answer. “Was playing with him, making him suffer just a little longer, that important? That you were willing to put my life in danger?”

Pain blossomed in her chest. Two men had been willing to use her in revenge against each other. The thought was awful, untenable. She didn’t think she could survive knowing Ivan was willing to let her get hurt, or possibly even sacrifice her to Borjan. She’d wanted so badly to believe in all of Ivan’s words of love. But they meant nothing if he’d been willing to allow his enemy to live, putting her life at risk at the same time.

Ivan turned Jaya in his arms. His grey eyes liquid as they looked down at her. “There is a very simple answer to your question, my love. I may have known who he was, but I didn’t know where he was.”

“You didn’t?” she asked, surprised. “All these years, and you couldn’t find him?”

Ivan shrugged. “He would come across my radar once in awhile, but no, for the most part, I had no idea. He kept himself well hidden. Who set up the electronic perimeter defences around Borjan’s encampment? Who installed his state-of-the-art security system? Who ensured that every time an interested enemy of Borjan’s went looking for him, they would think he lived first in China, then in Canada, then Australia… you get the picture.”

“Oh!” she said, her eyes rounding. “I did that.”

“Yes, you did,” he said, admiration clear in his voice. “And you did such an excellent job of his security that you frustrated my every attempt to discover his whereabouts over the years. About two years ago I’d decided that Borjan had become enough of a nuisance, that I was done keeping him alive for my amusement. I tried hunting him, but every time I turned around, I hit a digital roadblock. Then I became curious about the person setting up the blocks. Sweetheart, I didn’t know where to find him. If I knew, then the moment he became a threat to your life, I would’ve taken him out.”

“Ivan…” she whispered.

“I’m so sorry, Jaya.” His deep voice held a wealth of sincerity. “If I’d known you were going to get tangled up in my vendetta, if I’d known what you would come to mean to me, I would find a way to turn back time and change my decision to murder those people. I would have walked away from my burned-out village and dead family and found another way to survive the pain.”

Jaya stepped forward, wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed a kiss against his chest. “Thank you for saying that. I believe if anyone could turn back time through sheer strength of will, it’s you.” She turned her head and listened to his heart beating against her ear. “I’m so sorry about your family, Ivan. If I’d known Borjan’s history, I probably would’ve handed him over myself.”

Ivan hugged her close, tucking her into his body and enveloping her in his naked warmth. She sighed and pressed herself against him. Jaya had never felt safer in her life. She turned her face up and ran her lips along his jawline, kissing him whisper soft. She felt the clench of his biceps against her as he crushed her into his body, holding her so impossibly close she could barely breathe. She wasn’t going to complain. She loved his possessive need to keep her close. She’d grown up without a family, without connection and love. She trusted Ivan to give those things to her.

“I need you, sweetheart,” he growled against the top of her head. “Need to feel you under me, around me.”

Jaya’s body responded instantly, softening for his possession with wet heat. She licked him where she’d been kissing him. His fist clenched in the bathrobe at her back and he yanked, pulling it from her body. She started to stumble backwards at the force he used, but he grabbed her before she could fall and lifted her off her feet. Jaya gasped and gripped him tight around the neck.

“Legs around my waist,” he ordered.

“Okay,” she said breathlessly, wrapping her legs tight around him.

She stared in helpless fascination at the way his arms bulged as they held her up. He backed her right up until her ass hit the window behind her. She squealed as the cold touched her bare skin and tried to arch away from it. He held her up with an arm around her waist, reached between them with his other hand and unzipped his pants. Jaya’s mouth began to water and she tried to lean forward so she could see his cock. He pushed her back with a hand between her breasts.

“Don’t move,” he growled. His steely grey eyes burned into hers as he lined himself up with her dripping pussy and slammed himself home.

Jaya cried out and arched her back, gasping at the sudden fullness inside her. He slid his hands underneath her, holding her up by the ass and giving himself leverage to slide even deeper. He growled and pushed her further into the unyielding window, not moving, just enjoying the feel of her sex clamped around his cock, taking him deep.

“So fucking good, Jaya,” he said against the side of her head. “Could stay here forever.”

She slid her fingers into his hair, touching the dark strands, caressing the skin of his neck. This man belonged to her, nothing could change that. He wouldn’t allow them to be separated.

He began moving inside her, taking her with long, deep strokes that sent her senses reeling. Pleasure rocketed through her body as each stroke brushed against her clit and struck her g-spot. She dug her nails into his back and held on for the ride, giving herself up to him.

Desire swamped her and she cried out. “I’m coming!”

“Good girl,” he grunted, squeezing her tight.

He slammed into her, taking her over the edge, revelling in her cries, praising her beauty, the way she looked as she came and everything about her. Jaya floated on a cloud of bliss as he continued to stroke himself within her dripping pussy. His cock flared hot and wide inside her and she screamed as another orgasmic wave took her.

“Love you so fucking much,” Ivan growled against her, biting her shoulder. He came seconds later, his hot semen bathing the walls of her pussy while he held her tight in his arms. Before she could respond, he took a fistful of her hair, turned her face to his and kissed her hard, bruising her lips in a passionate kiss.