Page 34 of Brutal Vows

God, if it is⁠—

All those days locked up in Ivan’s compound and I didn’t even think about this, too consumed by my own mess. Now it’s too late.

“We cruised north during the night.” Luca’s voice drills through to me. “We could have sailed around for a few more days, but I told the captain to head home.” He reaches out, touching my forearm. “Are you okay, Milana?”

“Yes…yes, of course.” But I can’t look him in the eye. Not this man, who seems to read me like a book. “Where are we going once we’ve anchored?”

I stand and go behind the bar to help myself to a glass of water, desperate to put some distance between us. Anything to keep busy.

“My apartment. It’s mostly ready for you.”

My next cage. I can’t wait. “Can we go outside? Watch going into the harbor? We can see the Boston cityscape from the deck.”

Anything to end this discussion and enjoy my last bit of freedom.

“Sure. It’s going to be chilly.”

“I’m okay.” It will be the perfect excuse to head back to my cabin and hide away.

He opens the door for me, and the cold breeze that flows over the ocean from the speed of the yacht cuts through my thin sweater, but I head for the railing as I take deep breaths of the salty air.

I stare at the horizon, willing myself to calm down. And then he’s behind me, his hand on my back, sliding down my arm and to my waist as he tugs me to his chest, that warm, solid wall of male muscle I clung to on the bike ride yesterday.

“You’re not dressed for this, princess,” he murmurs, his deep voice right by my ear as his hand curves over my stomach to keep me warm.

“No,” I whisper back, too tired and fragile from our earlier conversation to battle my body’s response to his touch.

I close my eyes, in wonder that I fit him so perfectly, snug between his arms, his body heat spilling over me. Every fiber of my being should object, but like this, holding me tight yet gently, all I feel is his strength and the fact he’s basically holding me up, if unwittingly. I loathe how he makes me feel safe like this, only wanting to lean back against his solid chest.

“You see the tallest building?” he murmurs in my ear, his breath sending chills of a different nature down my neck and beyond, to where the arousal he sparked yesterday stirs again.

Oh, God. This is the last thing I need. But he said I’d be begging, and I can see it now. I won’t be able to resist him in the long run. Not when he is gentle and kind too, and more considerate than the Bratva brutes who crossed my path. But I bet in time, he’ll show his true colors. All men, in my experience, are the same. I warn myself to brace for disappointment.

I look and spot the building. “Yes. The brown one.”

He squeezes my hand before letting go to point toward the city. “Just in front of it, there’s a smaller one, and somehow squeezed in between them, another taller one. Not as tall as the tallest. You see it?”

“Yes.”

“That’s ours.”

“Yours?” I ask, leaning back to glance up at him.

“Yes, princess. Told you we’re in a different orbit than your dime-a-dozen Dons.”

“Ha,” I chuckle. “It’s just an office building?”

“It’s mostly offices. We’ve kept the top two floors for our personal use. Renovated the whole lot some years ago.”

Raindrops fall, cold little stabs to my exposed skin, but they will hide the tears I am battling to contain. I turn my face to the sky, praying Luca won’t notice. I’ll have to escape an entire tower? Kill me already.

He slides his hands to squeeze my hips, and all I want is to follow the quiet command and turn into his embrace, but he lets go and takes my hand instead, leading me back into the cabin.

“Let’s go inside before we get soaked. I better call for a car and not give you a hell’s ride to our high rise, which was the original plan.”

“Thank God,” I say, and there’s a smile in my voice. I’m back in control of my emotions.

An hour later, we finally walk off the yacht onto the marina, our shared umbrella low, rain coming down in sheets. Someone has our luggage, I’m clutching my purse close, and Luca’s arm is wrapped around my shoulders, steering me to where an SUV is parked. He tilts the umbrella in such a way that nobody can see our faces, but I don’t think anybody is out to get photos of us in weather like this. Still, he is wearing sunglasses and a cap and has pulled my rain jacket’s hood low over my face.