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She chose me and now my heart belongs to her. Too bad she doesn’t feel the same way, at all. To her I’ll forever be her stalker, her captor, the man she loves to hate.
“You’re right,” I finally say. “I did buy you. I treated you like a commodity.” I’m sorry. The words linger on the tip of my tongue, but refuse to be spoken. My throat closes around them, keeping them trapped inside.
My fingers itch to touch her, even though I know I’m not worthy. I’ve treated her terribly, like a prisoner, an object, bringing her worst fears to life. As much as I wish I could put an end to this here and now, I can’t. I’m not that good of a man—which makes me even more unworthy of her love.
She’ll never love me the way I want, but I can’t give up just yet. If all I have with her is this slice of time between now and when I find Boris, then I’ll take it. I’ll drink up every moment with her until I can’t make her stay any longer.
Do I hope to win her heart? Yes. Do I think it’s going to happen? No. Not in this lifetime.
“Thank you for admitting to it.” Her hands land on my chest. Fuck, the way she touches me, even this innocently, sets me on fire. I set out determined to make her burn for me, but I’m the one engulfed in flame.
I cover her hands with my own. “I haven’t been completely honest with you. The truth is, I don’t care about the broken agreement between our families. I could hunt down my uncle’s killer without your father’s help, without having forced you to marry me.” My grip tightens. “I’ve been obsessed with you since the first moment I saw you. All I want is a chance. This was the only way I figured I’d get that chance with you.”
Her eyes widen, the whites sparkling in the firelight.
Before I lose my nerve, I plow ahead. “I knew a woman like you—no, that’s not right,” I mumble and start again. “I knew you wouldn’t look twice at me. You admitted that I don’t stand a chance and never have. So I forced you into this, and I’m not sorry. Because this is the only way I could get your attention.”
“That’s really messed up, Dimitri.” She frowns, concerned. “Maybe it was too harsh of me to say I’d never give you a chance.”
“No. You were honest. But, kisa, I’m on my knees right now begging you to just look at me. To just see me. Not the dangerous world we’re part of, or all the preconceived ideas we both have.” I heave a frustrated sigh. I don’t have the words to tell her what I want or make a good enough argument for her to understand my desperation.
She leans in. “I do see you, Dima. And honestly, what I see terrifies me.”
I cringe. I’m an idiot. Of course trying to lay my soul bare to her she’d find disgusting. There’s nothing pretty underneath my exterior.
“You’ve been more honest with me in the last ten minutes than you have in weeks.” She cups my cheek, and my gaze darts to hers. “When I see you like this it scares me because you break through my defenses. I don’t know what to do with this version of you.”
“What do you want to do with it?” I ask, swallowing hard.
“This.” Arianna brushes her lips against mine, once, twice. “But I know I shouldn’t want you.”
She wants me? She wants me.
I claim her mouth in a kiss full of longing. Our tongues tangle, licking and tasting, needing more. I pull her toward me and her legs part, instinctively wrapping around my hips. If only our minds could be as in tune with each other as our bodies are.
Pushing her thighs down and pinning her in the chair, I ease back. “Stay with me this weekend.”
Slowly, I lift her skirt, bunching it around her waist, then slide her underwear down her shapely legs. She obediently steps out of them.
“Please,” I beg. I don’t think I’ve craved anything more in my entire life. Not even food when I was starving on the brutal winter streets of Moscow. No, this is the moment when I will shamelessly beg.
She nods. “I’ll stay.”
The tightness in my chest eases. “Good girl.” I lower my face to her pussy. “Now it’s time for my favorite dessert.”
My brass knuckles smash into the Russian’s face, his teeth fly across the room in a spray of blood, but my mind is a million miles away reliving the days Arianna and I spent together on my island.
Something changed between us after that first night. The crystal clear waters, passionate nights, and isolation seemed to strip away every wrong that was between us. Until there was nothing left but our carefree souls, our true selves, gazing back at each other. We spent the days snorkeling, lazing on the beach, and making love in the tranquil water.
We hiked to my favorite waterfall—where I learned that Arianna’s not a hiker, she’s a city girl through and through. She developed blisters and I fucking grinned like a love-sick fool as I carried her all the way back to the villa.
For those few days I wasn’t a Bratva boss, or a club owner, or a man grieving the loss of his uncle. I felt light and free. Like a man who’d found the love of his life.
And Arianna allowed me to indulge in that fantasy.
Since we’ve been back, some of that easy energy between us has remained. I’ll catch her secretly smiling at me when she thinks I’m not looking. She comes willingly when I reach for her, and I can’t seem to stop touching her, whether it’s having her hand in mine or my cock buried deep inside her hot cunt.
She’s pure heaven. A fucking angel who lights up my dark existence.
