The night

The deafening bass of the nightclub throbbed relentlessly through the sticky floorboards, reverberating deep inside Kaelen’s chest like a second heartbeat. Voktor’s iron grip clamped around her fragile wrist, refusing to yield a single fraction of an inch as he hauled her away from the restroom. She stumbled in her high heels, her ankles twisting as she struggled to keep up with his massive, purposeful strides. The frantic flashing of the strobe lights cast monstrous, jagged shadows across his broad back. He moved like a man possessed, a lethal predator tearing through a flock of startled sheep. Onlookers parted hastily, their eyes wide with confusion and alarm. Kaelen felt their judgment burning into her flushed skin. She twisted her arm, digging her manicured nails into the back of his hand in a desperate bid for freedom.

He did not even flinch. The fierce, deeply ingrained possessive instinct radiating from his rigid posture suffocated her.

Just hours ago, Kaelen had wanted to find him. She had wanted to look straight into those dark eyes and demand answers for the sudden divorce, to force him to explain the cold abandonment that had shattered her world. Now, staring at the uncompromising line of his shoulders, the only thought consuming her mind was escape. The lava of pure, unadulterated anger boiling beneath his skin was palpable, a physical heat radiating from his large frame. He shoved his way past the final cluster of patrons blocking the exit, his free hand shoving a burly bouncer aside with terrifying ease. The heavy metal doors burst open.

The frigid night air slammed into Kaelen, stealing the breath from her lungs. The stark contrast from the humid, sweat-drenched club made her shiver instantly. The parking lot stretched out before them, a desolate expanse of cracked asphalt illuminated by flickering, dying streetlamps. Voktor marched her away from the building, hauling her toward the far, shadowed edge of the lot where the noise of the club faded into a muffled thud. Kaelen frantically scanned the area, her dark eyes darting in every direction for a sliver of hope. She spotted a couple making out against a brick wall near the dumpsters. Further down, two young men sat on the hood of a rusted sedan, passing a cigarette between them.

She opened her mouth, her lungs expanding to scream for help.

Before the first syllable could leave her throat, Voktor spun her around and pinned her hard against the side of a concrete pillar. His towering frame caged her in, blocking out the sparse light. The heat radiating from his massive chest scorched her exposed skin through the thin lace of her beige dress. He leaned in, closing the distance until his face was mere millimeters from hers. His hot, heavy breath ghosted against the sensitive shell of her ear, sending a terrifying shiver down her spine.

"Call out for help, and I would shove that tiny piece of cloth up to your ass and take you in front of them."

The venomous threat hissed directly into her skin froze the blood in her veins. Kaelen clamped her jaw shut, swallowing the scream before it could form. The sheer predatory dominance rolling off him in waves paralyzed her. She knew this man intimately. She knew the terrifying lengths he would go to when the red mist of rage descended upon him. A tremor wracked her delicate frame as she stared up at his sharp jawline. She gave a stiff, minute nod, her throat bobbing with a hard swallow.

Voktor sneered, his dark eyes glinting with a dangerous edge. His hand slid down from the concrete pillar to shackle her forearm once more. He forced her forward, leading her deeper into the gloom. A sleek, heavily modified black Mustang loomed out of the shadows like a slumbering beast. The matte finish absorbed the dim ambient light, giving the car a menacing aura. Kaelen recognized the vehicle type instantly. During their brief, happy moments, he had always lusted after a car like this, a raw machine of power and speed. He shoved her roughly toward the passenger side.

"Get in."

The command cracked through the cold air like a physical blow. Kaelen grabbed the edge of the side mirror to steady herself, her knuckles turning white from the strain. Her survival instinct waged a brutal war against her fading compliance. She could not let him dictate her life, not anymore. Not after he had walked away without a single backward glance. She mustered every ounce of trembling courage she possessed, straightened her spine, and glared straight into his pitch-black, furious orbs.

"No."

The single syllable hung heavily in the freezing air. Voktor's jaw ticked, the muscle jumping beneath his taut skin. The glint of raw defiance in her eyes snapped the last frayed thread of his patience. In a terrifying display of raw aggression, he wound his right arm back and slammed his bare fist into the heavy glass of the car’s roof window.

The deafening crack echoed across the empty lot like a gunshot. The heavy glass shattered into a thousand glittering shards, exploding inward and raining down onto the dark leather seats. Kaelen shrieked, throwing her hands over her head to shield her face. A pathetic whimper tore from her throat. Tears of pure terror welled in her eyes, spilling over her pale cheeks in hot, rapid streams. She cupped her trembling hand over her mouth to muffle her own sobs. The brute force, the sheer physical intimidation of the act, crushed her fragile rebellion into dust.

Satisfied with her horrified submission, Voktor reached past her trembling form and yanked the passenger door open. The metallic groan of the hinges sounded like a death knell in the quiet night. Kaelen slid into the low seat without another word of protest, her limbs shaking uncontrollably as she curled into a tight ball, careful to avoid the glittering shards of glass on the center console.

Voktor rounded the hood and dropped heavily into the driver's seat. He slammed his door shut with enough force to rock the heavy chassis. The engine roared to life with a deafening, guttural snarl, the tires squealing against the asphalt as he tore out of the parking lot and merged aggressively onto the slick, dark highway.

The drive was an agonizing stretch of suffocating silence. The streetlights flashed rhythmically over Kaelen’s tear-stained face, casting alternating bands of stark light and deep shadow across her frightened features. She clutched the edge of her leather seat with a death grip, her nails digging deep into the expensive seams. The speedometer needle climbed higher and higher, the engine pushing its limits. The roaring mechanical sound drowned out the frantic beating of her heart. Every breath she took shuddered painfully through her chest. She kept her gaze fixed blindly on the blur of the road ahead, too petrified to look at the massive, brooding figure gripping the steering wheel beside her.

Voktor stared straight ahead, his jaw locked in a rigid, unforgiving line. His knuckles were bone-white against the leather wrap of the wheel. Small cuts littered his right hand, the broken glass having bitten deeply into his flesh, but he did not seem to feel the sting of the wounds. The ragged, frantic sound of Kaelen's breathing filled the tense cabin, grating on his raw nerves. He reached down and hit the console button. The side windows rolled down, allowing the freezing night wind to whip violently through the interior.

The icy blast slammed into Kaelen, biting at the exposed skin of her arms and shoulders. She leaned her head back against the headrest, closing her tear-filled eyes, letting the harsh chill soothe the burning panic in her veins. Her messy bun unraveled, dark strands of hair whipping wildly across her heated cheeks. The freezing air began to clear the fog of terror clouding her mind, allowing rational thought to seep back in. She needed answers. She needed to know why he had discarded her like yesterday's trash, why he had left her alone and broken when she needed him most. She rehearsed the questions in her head, preparing for the inevitable confrontation.

The Mustang’s tires screeched as Voktor took a sharp, aggressive turn, plunging them into the parking lot of an isolated, dark apartment complex on the industrial outskirts of the city. The towering concrete structures loomed above them, devoid of life, the windows dark and unwelcoming. The car jerked to a sudden, harsh halt.

Before Kaelen could unbuckle her seatbelt, Voktor was out of the car. He wrenched her door open, reached across her lap, and unclicked the buckle himself. He hauled her out by her forearm, his grip bruising as he pulled her to her feet.

"Move."

He dragged her toward the nearest building, bypassing the flickering lights of the lobby to hit the exterior concrete stairs. Kaelen's high heels clicked frantically against the unforgiving stone as she scrambled to keep her footing, her lungs burning with the sheer effort of climbing. They reached the third floor landing. Voktor kicked open a heavy wooden door, dragging her forcefully into the pitch-black apartment.

He marched her straight down a short, narrow hallway and into a large bedroom illuminated only by the pale moonlight filtering through the bare window blinds. Without a word of warning, he picked her up by her waist and aggressively tossed her forward.

Kaelen hit the large mattress in the center of the room with a heavy thud, bouncing twice on the thick, responsive springs. The remaining pins fell from her hair, dark locks cascading in a chaotic mess over her bare shoulders. She scrambled backward, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her back hit the cold wooden headboard. She pulled her knees tight to her chest, her wide, terrified eyes locked on his towering silhouette outlined against the window.

Voktor stood motionless at the edge of the bed. He closed his eyes, his broad chest heaving as he forced himself to take a deep, ragged breath. The silence in the room was thick and suffocating. He needed to calm the boiling rage roaring in his ears, needed to reign in the primal instinct demanding he lock her away from the world. He opened his dark eyes and slowly dropped to one knee on the mattress, sinking into the plush comforter beside her trembling form. He reached out and wrapped his large, calloused hand over her delicate shoulder.

"What were you doing in the club wearing this?" he asked, his harsh voice vibrating in the quiet room.

Kaelen frowned, bewildered by the sudden drop in his volume. She pressed her hands flat against his solid chest, shoving against muscle as hard as stone, trying to put distance between them. Her frantic, defensive movements caused the short, beige lace dress to ride far up her thighs. The soft fabric pooled around her hips, leaving the creamy swell of her bare legs starkly exposed in the pale moonlight.

Voktor’s gaze snapped down. His harsh voice trailed off into a deadly, heavy silence. The rest of his question died on his tongue. His dark eyes remained magnetically caught by the expanse of soft skin, the smooth line of her inner thigh leading up to the shadowy apex hidden only by a thin strip of delicate lace.

The blatant, hungry stare ignited a spark of defensive fury deep in Kaelen's chest, overriding her lingering fear. She glared up at him, unadulterated disdain twisting her beautiful features.

"The last time I checked, I don’t owe you any explanation."

The raw defiance in her tone severed his thin patience. Voktor surged forward, closing the space between them in a heartbeat. He loomed over her, his face a mask of furious accusation, his large hands bracketing her hips on the mattress.

"Do you even know what that bastard was saying about you?" he growled, the rumble starting deep in his throat. "He was talking about how you move on the dance floor. He was bragging to the whole booth about taking you back to a stall to fuck you. What the hell were you thinking, putting on a show for those pigs? Were you trying to seduce some random guy? Is that what you are now?"

Kaelen’s dark eyes instantly glossed over with hot, furious tears of indignation. The blatant insult slashed through her like a serrated blade. All the fear she harbored evaporated, replaced by a scorching, explosive rage that demanded to be heard.

"How dare you?" She surged upward, bringing her face mere inches from his. "What I am, or I was, is none of your concern now. Where were you when I begged you to talk to me?"

She formed her small hands into tight fists and furiously pounded them against his broad chest. The thud of her knuckles against his solid muscle echoed in the dark room. She hit him again and again, unleashing two years of pent-up agony, crushing betrayal, and unhealed resentment.

"Where were you when I was calling you? You left me! You left me alone!"

She struck his shoulder, her voice breaking on a loud, gut-wrenching sob. Voktor remained perfectly motionless. He did not raise a hand to stop her physical assault. He absorbed every frantic strike, his furious expression slowly faltering into a stunned, blank stare as the raw pain in her voice hit him.

Kaelen stopped hitting him, her fists resting against his shirt. Her chest heaved with exertion, hot tears streaming freely down her flushed cheeks. She wiped her face with the back of her trembling hand, smearing her makeup, and leveled a glare filled with pure hatred at him.

"You left me. And now you are pretending as if what that guy said still affects you, whereas the truth is you don't give a fuck."

Voktor stared at her, the heavy accusation ringing loudly in his ears. His momentary, stunned silence was all the opening Kaelen needed. Taking immediate advantage of his frozen state, she planted both hands squarely on his chest and shoved him backward with all the desperate strength she possessed. He lost his balance on the soft mattress, falling back on his haunches.

Kaelen scrambled off the opposite side of the bed. Her bare feet hit the cold hardwood floor with a soft slap. She bolted desperately for the heavy bedroom door, her breath tearing through her throat in ragged gasps. The dark hallway loomed ahead, an open promise of escape. She crossed the threshold, her fingers stretching out toward the front door at the end of the corridor.

"Oh yeah, I don't have any right over you? Then explain this to me?"

His commanding voice stopped her dead in her tracks. Before Kaelen could take another step, a massive hand clamped down on her delicate shoulder. Voktor lunged forward, spinning her around with terrifying speed. He shoved her backward, physically pinning her flat against the hard wood of the hallway door. The forceful impact knocked the wind from her lungs.

Before she could gasp for air, he leaned down and smashed his lips over hers in a bruising, dominant kiss.

Kaelen groaned loudly in furious protest. She squeezed her eyes shut, tossing her head to the side to break the intimate contact. He followed her movement, bringing his large hand up to cup the back of her head, locking her firmly in place. His other arm wrapped tightly around her narrow waist, crushing her delicate body against the hard, unyielding wall of his chest. She physically fought his suffocating hold, bringing her hands up to push against his shoulders, twisting her hips in a desperate bid to escape the heavy weight of his body.

But the brutal two-year deprivation of physical intimacy began to betray her sanity. The familiar, intoxicating scent of his musky cologne, the harsh, desperate pressure of his mouth, the intense heat radiating from his skin—it all crashed down on her like a massive tidal wave. Voktor forced his tongue past her lips, tasting her, consuming her resistance. His dark, all-consuming gaze burned into her closed eyelids, stripping away her defenses.

The taste of his mouth overpowered her mental resistance. Her furious pushes slowed, her palms flattening against the firm muscles of his chest. The fight drained from her limbs, replaced by a dark, overpowering mutual desire that pooled heavily in her belly. She opened her mouth wider, welcoming the deep invasion. Her hands slid up his chest, her fingers curling tight into the fabric of his shirt. She kissed him back with an equal, desperate ferocity, their tongues tangling in a messy, frantic duel of dominance and submission.

Logic desperately dictated that they should pull away. Her mind screamed at her to push him back, to force him to talk, to resolve the immense trauma and the painful mysteries surrounding their broken marriage. Voktor broke the kiss for a fraction of a second, resting his damp forehead against hers. They both panted heavily, exchanging hot, erratic breaths in the dark hallway.

Kaelen looked up at him through half-lidded eyes. Innocently, unconsciously, she caught her swollen lower lip between her teeth, biting down on the plush flesh.

That tiny, inadvertent movement shattered the last fragile remnants of Voktor's restraint.

A primal, guttural growl rumbled deep in Voktor's chest. He reached behind her back, his large fingers finding the metal tab of the zipper on her beige dress. He ripped it down in one fluid, desperate motion. He grabbed the thin straps and yanked the fabric down her arms. The dress fell away, pooling softly at her feet, leaving her standing against the door in nothing but a matching set of sheer panties and a bra.

He did not hesitate. He grabbed her by her bare thighs and lifted her clean off the ground.

Kaelen instinctively wrapped her long legs tightly around his waist to secure her balance. She locked her ankles behind his back, throwing her arms around his thick neck as she surrendered to another devouring, wet kiss. He carried her back into the bedroom, her back never leaving his chest, their mouths fused together in a hungry clash of teeth and tongues.

He let her fall onto the center of the large mattress, following her down without breaking the kiss. They tore at each other with frantic, explosive urgency. A mutual burst of raw carnal desire erupted between them, burning away all the bitterness and betrayal. Kaelen reached for the buckle of his belt, her trembling fingers fumbling with the metal clasp before yanking it loose. She shoved his trousers down his narrow hips. He kicked them off, along with his shoes, leaving him bare.

Voktor tore her bra away, snapping the delicate clasp and tossing the useless garment into the darkness. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her sheer panties and dragged them down her long legs, leaving her exposed on the bed.

He hovered over her bare, trembling body. His pitch-black eyes raked over her flushed skin, pausing to stare hungrily at her full, exposed breasts. The nipples were already pebble-hard, peaking eagerly under his heated gaze. He lowered his head and began to relentlessly torment her highly sensitive skin. He trailed slick, wet kisses down the column of her neck, biting gently at her collarbone before moving lower. He opened his mouth and closed it over her right nipple, sucking hard while his large hand moved to knead and squeeze her other breast.

"Voktor..."

The name slipped from Kaelen's lips as a loud, breathless chant. She writhed uncontrollably into the tangled sheets, her hands diving into his thick dark hair, holding his head firmly against her chest in pure, unadulterated ecstasy. His burning hot touches mapped the curves of her hips and waist. He traced his fingers down the flat plain of her stomach, delving straight between her parted thighs.

He found her wet pussy slick with thick, dripping arousal. He stroked her deeply, pressing his long fingers into the slippery folds, spreading her wide. Kaelen arched her back off the mattress, a sharp gasp tearing through the quiet room. Her hips chased his hand, begging for more. She rubbed her wetness against his palm, desperate for the intense friction.

Unable to hold back his primal urge any longer, Voktor pulled his hand away and positioned his large body between her spread legs. He grasped his thick, hard cock, aligning the blunt head with her dripping opening. He leaned down, capturing her mouth in another bruising kiss to swallow her cries, and pushed his hard cock directly into her wet pussy in one incredibly forceful, deep thrust.

The sudden, intense penetration stretched her tight walls to their absolute limit. The deep invasion drew a sharp, breathless gasp from Kaelen's lips against his mouth. The initial sting quickly and inevitably melted into a loud, delighted moan of pure pleasure as her inner muscles clamped down hard around his thick girth.

Voktor squeezed his eyes shut, a rough groan vibrating through his massive chest as he buried himself to the hilt. He held perfectly still for a few agonizing seconds, letting her body adjust to the overwhelming stretch of his immense size. Kaelen wrapped her arms around his broad, sweaty shoulders, her fingernails digging deep half-moons into his skin.

Gradually, he pulled back, dragging his thick length almost all the way out before plunging back in. He found his punishing, deep rhythm. Flesh slapped wetly against flesh. The bed frame groaned in rhythmic protest under their combined weight. He pulled her sweaty body incredibly close, wrapping his strong arms underneath her back to lock her against his chest in a passionate, desperate embrace.

Kaelen threw her head back into the pillows, her sultry, high-pitched moans echoing off the bedroom walls. Every brutal upward thrust hit her deepest spots, sending electrifying waves of raw pleasure crashing through her nerve endings. Voktor drove his hard cock in and out of her wet pussy with relentless, desperate ferocity, chasing the high of reclaiming his estranged wife. The cold, suffocating silence of the night surrendered completely to the heavy, intoxicating, wet sounds of their intense lovemaking, binding them together in the dark until neither of them could remember why they had ever been apart.