Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
I try to hide my reaction, try to keep my voice calm.
“What sort of deal?” I say, , hoping he can’t read my resentment. Resentment is probably an understatement. I don’t know this woman, and yet I hate her for taking my man. My man? Get a grip, girl!
After everything that just happened, this should be at the bottom of my list of concerns.
“If I don’t marry her in just over two weeks, her father will take over the city. He’s going to flood it with drugs. He’ll kidnap women and sell them into sex slavery. He’s an evil bastard, but mostly, he’s kept that shit in LA, but apparently, not anymore.”
“So it’s either marry her… or sacrifice the city?”
Dimitri nods grimly. “Like I said, I’m trying to get out of it.”
“What if you can’t?”
He frowns, and that tells me everything I need to know. But I still need him to say it.
“Well?” I snap.
He flinches, like my anger is surprising to him, which just makes me want to snap at him all over again. How can he pretend to be shocked that I’m mad, that I’m… jealous? As crazy as that sounds, that’s the only word I can think of.
“I can’t let this city burn,” he growls. “But I can’t marry her either.”
“But if you had to choose?”
He looks at me with clear misery in his intense, captivating eyes. “I’ve spent my whole life ignoring what I want. Putting the city first. I can’t change that now just because…”
He trails off, leaving me to imagine. Just because he cares about me? Just because he’d choose me if he had a choice? But he doesn’t go on. I feel too deflated to keep snapping at him. I made a mistake—let myself care, let myself think maybe I could have a slice of happiness.
Now, for a little while, I just want to forget, disappear into my art, the only place the world makes any sense.
“We have to be careful,” Dimitri says after a pause. “If my men see us getting too close and word gets back to Nikolai...”
“Nikolai?”
“My…” He swallows. “Mila’s father.”
“Your future wife’s dad, you mean?”
“It would be bad,” Dimitri grunts.
I almost tell him he doesn’t need to worry. Our getting-close days are over. But I just can’t force myself to cross that line.
CHAPTER 9
DIMITRI
As the gates slowly open, I know nothing between Lia and me will ever be the same. Maybe that’s not saying a lot. We flirted in her secret painting room, took a trip, and shared some intimacy. That was it, but somehow, I’ll always look back on those days warmly. It will always separate the time when Lia could look at me without confusion from now on when confusion is all there is.
I drive Lia toward the second house. It’s the one I would prefer to stay in with her, but I need to be careful. What if it wasn’t Nikolai behind the attack? What if it was somebody else? In that case, Nikolai still needs to believe that I’m going to marry his daughter.
“This is the guesthouse,” I tell Lia when I see her staring.
“The guest mansion, you mean,” she murmurs. “Is this where the security stays?”
“They have a place offsite,” I explain. “This is for guests. For you.”
“I guess I should say thanks?”
She looks at me with that sassiness in her eyes. I can tell it’s a shield to hide how panicked she is. Even now, as her chest rises and falls, there’s a savage part of me that wants to claim those big, juicy tits. The adrenaline from the gunfight seems to add to it.
“Sorry,” she says a moment later, reaching over and laying her hand on mine. “Without you—”
“They never would’ve attacked you,” I tell her. “You’re right to be pissed at me. You’re right to hate me.”
“I never said I hate you,” she snaps.
“Lia, I need to talk with my brother. I need to make arrangements. Are you okay getting settled in yourself? If you give me the key, I can send somebody to your apartment to get your things. I can also get you anything you need—new clothes, whatever food you like, anything.”
Maybe she can tell I’m making an effort because she leans forward and softly kisses my cheek. I know I’ve ruined it when I try to claim her lips. She pulls away, looking like she wants to get as far from me as possible, and then she reaches into the zip pocket of her jacket and takes out her key.
“What should I do now, then? Just wait for you?”
“You can explore the house. There’s a game room and a library. Hell, pick any room in the house, and we’ll turn it into your studio. I want you to be comfortable.”
“So this is a happy prison, then?” she says, folding her arms.