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Chapter 3
“Did you really think you could fool me?”
I startle awake and find a shadow looming over me. With rough hands, it rips the blankets from my body, leaving me naked in the frigid air.
“So,thisis your game,” the specter growls, brandishing something in his fist.
A photograph? Whoever took it must have been only able to capture their subject from afar. In the dark, I can barely make out anything of substance.
Anything other than a small figure sporting a mop of brilliant blond hair.
My brain shuts down, refusing to connect the dots. It’s like I’m sleepwalking, processing everything two seconds too slow. Mischa’s anger. The unfamiliar boy in the photo. The torn remnants of an envelope sprinkled over the floor…
“No!” Reality slams into me all at once, and I lunge from the bed, snatching at the picture. “No!”
“Oh,yes.” Laughing, Mischa steps back, dangling the photo beyond my reach. “Are you really that fucking stupid? What did Sergei promise you? A happily fucking ever after with your precious Robert and his goddamn spawn—”
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” I lash out with my nails drawn, striking any part of him I can reach. His skin is iron, reinforced by steel muscles, and each blow hurts me more than him. Regardless, I slap and punch and bite.
It’s all I can do.
“Stop it!” Abruptly, he retaliates, grabbing my wrists. “Enough!” I can barely hear him above the rush of blood surging through my ears. “I said enough!”
“Why would you do this?” I’ve been shouting at him all this time. The same broken words, over and over. “Why? Why?”
My knees buckle, and he lunges, looping his arm around my waist. Even as I struggle, he remains the only force keeping me upright.
“Stop,” he growls.
“Why?” His chest is the only refuge. My tears sink into the cotton of his shirt as I wrestle one of my hands from his grip and slam it harmlessly against him. “Why? I let it go… I didn’t listen. Ican’tlisten. Why? Why?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why? Why? Why—”
“I’msorry! Do you fucking hear me?” He shakes me so violently that my head rears back and forth against my shoulders. When I go limp, he grits his teeth and something in his expression gives way. Guilt? “I’m sorry, all right?”
“Rip it up,” I demand, squeezing my eyes shut. “Do it now. Rip it up!”
“Fuck… Okay!” He sighs.
But I can’t breathe until I hear the telltale hiss of paper tearing. Suddenly, all the tension leaves my body, which sends me crashing to my knees.
“Hey!”
Fire engulfs me from above. I’m in his arms again, held stiffly as if he half expects me to continue attacking him. But all I can do is grip his shoulders, sinking my nails in.
“Don’t ever mention him—never,” I rasp. “Never. Never—”
“I won’t.” His voice drips into my ear, callously mocking. “I’ll just talk aboutyou.”
Stung, I try to twist from his reach, but his arms tighten like a bear trap, crushing me to his chest.
“I’ll talk about how good you feel when you drop the nun act.” His mouth slips into the space between my shoulder and my throat, nuzzling the tender flesh there. “So good. Too good. I never taught you how to bite.”
Against my will, my limbs relax, which leaves me at his mercy. In response, his fingers catch at my hair, sinking through the tangled strands, surprisingly gentle.
“And that mouth. I will teach you how to use that properly.” His voice deepens to a merciless hum. “I’ll have you on your knees every fucking day, Rose. But you’re so damn selfish. I’ll have to use mine first, won’t I?”
