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Ivan drops his eyes to mine, lips thin, and shakes his head. I swallow and nod, recognizing the look in his eyes.
When the shopkeeper comes over, her eyes taking in all of Ivan and heating, he dips his head and whispers in her ear.
I swallow the hot fizz of jealousy that sparks inside me. We might be married, but he’s made it clear this week that it’s in name only. If he wants to fuck her right here, there’s very little I can do about it.
She heads off in a rush and returns with a cart of clothing on hangers. Then leaves. Alexei and Ivan thumb through the clothing, pulling dresses off the rack. Occasionally, they’d look at me, assess me, then go back to their work. I have no patience for this shit.
After what feels like an eternity, I go toward the shop windows and stare at the bookstore across the street. I don’t read much, I didn’t get the chance growing up, so maybe it’s why I love books. But because I love them, I can never have them. It was always one more thing my father could use to hurt me.
When Ivan is satisfied with his selections, he leaves Alexei to handle the final arrangements. He stands beside me with his hands in his pockets. “Do you want to go in there?”
I shake my head and swallow hard. “No. I’m fine. We should get back. It’s still not safe, right, not while my father can get to us?”
He raises an eyebrow. “I doubt he’s waiting in the bookstore to pop out and murder us in the biography section.”
He takes my arm, gripping my upper bicep, and hauls me out the door, across the street, and into the other store. To anyone else, I might look like a petulant child being dragged along. But I feel the care he uses as he grips me, the softness to his much wider step, so I don’t stumble. He leads me deep into the store. “Pick what you want but be quick. I want to leave as soon as Alexei is done paying.”
I start in the fantasy section even though I find the huge tomes intimidating. But they are huge and give me so many pages to savor. I grab two books with colorful covers and go find Ivan.
He closes the screen of his phone when he spots me. “That’s it? No.”
I fumble after him as he enters the aisle again. He takes a second to check what I’d grabbed and then selects five more books.
Five more books I don’t have room to pack if I run. “I can’t pay for this. And I don’t have room for it.”
He says nothing as he leads me to the register, pays, and then takes my hand to head back to the car.
Once we are tucked inside, he stares out the window while Alexei drives. “You need to learn you are my wife. You want nothing. You need nothing. And you take anything you want. When you understand that, we’ll be on the same page. Until then…I won’t be able to give you what you want.”
26
IVAN
She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life. Standing at the mirror, she smoothes the folds of the blood-red dress I picked out for her. Her eyes are wide and too bright behind the makeup she’s already applied. I take her in, her scent, and let myself relax. I’m going to need that tonight.
I’m content to watch her, but she doesn’t like the loaded silence. “Alexei has good taste.”
I make a noise of agreement. She doesn’t need to know I picked this dress specifically because of how I want to peel her out of it later. It’s better that I don’t since things have gotten more complicated between us than I anticipated, but I can’t help the desire to at least see her in it. The dress molds to her curves and then flares out at the bottom, giving her hourglass shape even more obscene proportions.
When I can pull my eyes away, I adjust my already perfect bowtie and meet her eyes in the mirror. “Ready?”
“Do we have to go? Will we gain anything by giving my father exactly what he wants?”
I turn her to face me and scan her features. “We don’t have anything to lose. Best case, we learn something, and I can kill everyone. Worst case, I just kill everyone.”
Her eyes are wide and starting to brim with tears. “You don’t…”
I tilt her chin and stare at her full, bright red lips. I desperately want to kiss her, but I don’t want to mess up the makeup she took her time applying. “I’m not planning to kill anyone, at least tonight.”
She sags against me, using my chest to balance her weight. “Okay. Okay. That’s good. Yes, let’s get this over with so we can get out of these clothes.”
