He nods, understanding in his eyes. "Tomorrow, then."
The beast escorts me back to my room, and I collapse onto the bed the moment the door locks behind me. My mind races with possibilities, with questions that have no answers. What will we find at the cabin? Will it be the heirlooms Andrey is looking for, or something else entirely?
I'm still lying there, staring at the ceiling, when I hear the key in the lock again. I sit up, confused. It's late, well past midnight. Who would be coming to my room now?
The door opens, and Andrey steps inside. He's still wearing the same clothes, but his hair is disheveled, like he's been running his hands through it. His expression is serious, almost grim.
"What's wrong?" I ask, my pulse quickening.
He closes the door behind him and leans against it, his blue eyes fixed on me. "There's something I need to tell you."
My stomach drops. "What?"
He's silent for a long moment, and I can see him choosing his words carefully. Finally, he speaks.
"We're getting married on Friday."
16
ANDREY
The words hang in the air between us, heavy and final. Mariya stares at me like I've just told her I'm planning to throw her off a cliff.
"We're getting married on Friday."
Her green eyes widen, and for a moment, she's completely still. Then she explodes.
"No." She stands from the bed, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Absolutely not. I'm not marrying you."
I push off the door and take a step toward her. "It's not a request."
"I don't care." Her voice rises, sharp with fury. "You can't just decide we're getting married. That's not how this works."
"Actually, it is." I move closer, and she backs up until she hits the wall. "It's for your protection."
She lifts her chin, defiant even though I can see the pulse racing in her throat. "You mean, it's foryouso that you have access to me and whatever information youthinkI have about my father."
"That's part of it." I place my hands on the wall on either side of her head, caging her in. "But other families are finding out about you. Soon, they'll be coming after you, and they won't be as nice as I have been."
She laughs, but the sound is dark, disbelieving. "Nice? I wouldn't call kidnapping and locking me in a roomnice."
I lean in closer, close enough that I can smell that floral shampoo that's been driving me crazy. "Do you really think you'd be treated better by another Pakhan? Do you think they'd bother to take you with them as they follow the clues your father left behind?"
My mouth finds hers before she can protest. She fights me, her hands pushing against my chest, but it's a token resistance. I can feel the way her body responds, the way she melts against me, even as she tries to push me away.
"Do you think they'd kiss you like this?" I murmur against her mouth.
I deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding against hers, and she makes a small sound in the back of her throat that goes straight to my cock. Her fingers curl into my sweater, pulling me closer even as she tries to maintain some semblance of control.
"Stop," she gasps when I break the kiss to trail my lips down her neck.
"You don't want me to stop." I bite down gently on the sensitive spot where her neck meets her shoulder, and she shudders. "ButI will." I raise my head and lean toward her ear. "Just imagine these kisses, and much more, when we're married," I whisper, then walk away and leave her room without a word.
I make it three steps down the hallway before I stop. The image of her flushed face, her parted lips, the way her chest heaved with each breath burns in my mind. Fuck it.
I turn around and stride back into her room, locking the door behind me.
"What are you?—"
