There's no way I'm staying here. No way I'm becoming Andrey Melnikov's pawn, his prisoner wife. He can't just decide we're getting married and expect me to go along with it. I don't care how dangerous it is out there or how many other families are looking for me. I'll take my chances on my own.
I reach the top of the grand staircase and pause, scanning the foyer below. It's empty, the front door tantalizingly close. Just down these stairs, across the marble floor, and I'm free. My hands shake as I grip the banister, and I force myself to take the first step.
The wood doesn't creak. Neither does the second step. Or the third.
I'm halfway down when I see him.
Andrey steps out from the shadows beneath the staircase, his blue eyes fixed on me with an intensity that freezes me in my tracks. He's wearing black jeans and a black T-shirt, his arms crossed over his chest, and there's a smile playing at his lips. Not a friendly smile. The smile of someone who's been waiting for exactly this moment.
"Going somewhere?" he asks, his voice calm and almost amused.
"Shit," I breathe.
I spin around, ready to run back up the stairs, but the beast is there, blocking my path. His massive frame fills the staircase, and his dark eyes watch me with that same blank expression he always wears. How the hell did he get behind me without making a sound?
I'm trapped.
Panic floods through me, and I do the only thing I can think of. I turn and run down the stairs, trying to get past Andrey. If I can just make it to the door, if I can just get outside, maybe I'll have a chance.
But I don't make it three steps before his arm wraps around my waist, yanking me back against his chest. The jewelry box slips from my grip and clatters down the remaining stairs, landing with a crash on the marble floor below.
"Let me go!" I thrash against his hold, my elbow connecting with his ribs. He grunts but doesn't release me. If anything, his grip tightens.
I kick backward, my heel connecting with his shin, and he laughs, actually laughs, like this is some kind of game.
"You're feisty tonight," he says against my ear, his breath warm on my skin. "I like it."
I throw my head back, trying to hit his face, but he anticipates the move and shifts to the side. My fist swings toward his jaw, and he catches my wrist with his free hand, pinning it against my body.
"Stop fighting," he commands, but I don't listen.
I twist in his arms, managing to get one hand free, and rake my nails down his forearm. He hisses, and for a second, hisgrip loosens. I take advantage of it, wrenching myself away and stumbling down the last few steps.
But the beast is already there, moving with surprising speed for someone his size. How did he slip by us on the stairs without my seeing him? He catches me before I can reach the door, his hands like iron bands around my upper arms.
"No!" I struggle against him, but it's useless. He's too strong, too solid. It's like fighting against a brick wall.
Andrey descends the stairs slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. There's blood on his forearm where I scratched him, and he looks down at it with something that might be approval.
"Take her back to her room," he tells the beast.
Matvey nods once and starts guiding me toward the stairs. I try to dig my heels in, try to make myself as difficult as possible, but he just lifts me off my feet like I weigh nothing and carries me up the stairs.
"Put me down!" I shout, but he ignores me.
Andrey follows behind us, and I can feel his gaze on me the entire way. When we reach my room, the guard I knocked out is gone. Someone must have found him and moved him. Matvey sets me down inside the doorway, and I immediately try to bolt past him, but Andrey blocks my path.
"Leave us," he tells his beast.
The beast hesitates for just a second, his eyes flicking between Andrey and me, then he nods and steps out into the hallway. The door closes behind him with that familiar click of the lock engaging.
I back away from Andrey, my chest heaving with exertion and fury. "You can't keep me here. You can't force me to marry you."
"I can, and I will." He moves toward me slowly, like he's approaching a wild animal. "But I'd rather have your cooperation."
"You'll never have it." I grab the first thing I can reach, a book from the nightstand, and throw it at him. He dodges easily, and it hits the wall behind him with a thud.
"Are you done?" he asks, his voice maddeningly calm.
