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“That’s true,” I said evenly as I recalled the way her eyes shone when she said she would refuse to comply with me. “If nothing else, she’ll be a fun fuck.”
I looked away at the rising sun, but instead I saw the heat in Elia’s eyes when she stared back at me in defiance just hours earlier. That look had sent my cock stirring to attention, and I was surprised by the surge of lust coursing through me.A fun fuck indeed.I was going to enjoy that particular part of our marriage.
And nothing else.
Chapter Four
Elia
Guests in tuxedos and cocktail dresses flitted back and forth at the event, mingling in a comfortable buzz, courtesy of the open bar’s never-ending stream of booze. A jazz band’s smooth notes hovered just enough over the din of conversations. There was an air of calm as the guests chattered and laughed. But as for me? My teeth were set on edge. Because everywhere I turned was a cruel reminder of why I was even here.
This was my engagement party.
“I still can’t believe you brought me to this,” Lana said as we walked in. “You know it’s only going to piss him off.”
I looked over at her and smirked. “I know, but that’s the point.”
I hadn’t told Lana about my unexpected meetup with Aleksey just a few hours earlier, or the events that precipitated it. I figured I didn’t need to add to her list of worries.
“If I’m going to do this.” Lana shook her head. “I’m going to have to get a lot drunker than I am right now.”
“You and me both.” I flagged a waiter down and grabbed a pair of vodka martinis. “Cheers.”
Instinctively, my eyes searched the crowd, looking for a sign—any sign—of my brother’s murderer.
My fiancé.
That word still didn’t sit right with me. And I hated even thinking about Aleksey Korolev like that. By all rights, I shouldn’t ever call him that. It felt dirty. Almost forbidden.
And then, at what could only be the worst possible time, I spotted him, drink in hand. Dressed in a navy suit with the collar of his dress shirt flicked open to hint at the bands of muscle underneath. My eyes traveled from his broad chest to his chiseled face, taking in the shadow of a beard on his jaw and the slightly crooked nose that just seemed right on his face and then, finally, his eyes.
Cold and emotionless, like sapphire chips of ice. They were different from the fiery eyes that dared me to challenge him last night as he held me. And even though I couldn’t mistake the shadows rimming his eyes, I couldn’t deny just how goddamn handsome he looked in spite of it. He was exactly the type of man other women drooled over: tall, dark, and dangerous.
And all I could see on his handsome face right now was a look of mild disgust mixed with boredom.Almost as if he doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do.
“Earth to Elia!”
Lana’s voice startled me and I, stunned and a little flushed, broke off from staring at Aleksey.
“What?”
She raised an eyebrow at me, eyeing me with concern. “You alright? You were breathing pretty hard just now.”
I didn’t say anything in response. Instead, I gave my head the slightest of tilts toward Aleksey. Lana’s gaze followed, and a gasp rose up from her.
“Son of a…” she muttered. “That’s really him.”
“In the flesh,” I said.And about to be mine forever soon.
She locked arms with me, giving me a gentle squeeze. “I’m right here with you all the way, you hear? You’ll get through this. I promise.”
I turned my gaze back to Aleksey just in time to catch him staring back at me. Suddenly, my heart leaped to my throat, and I felt a wave of static rush through me. It passed under my skin and through every nerve ending, every fiber and corpuscle. In an instant, the blood in my veins heated up and burned, having been ignited by a switch of tension that flipped so suddenly that it left my head spinning.
All I wanted was to be elsewhere, but I was incapable of looking anywhere else in that moment. Anywhere other than him. His tongue darted quickly to wet his lips, and the urge to dig my fingers into something took over me. And I knew that he felt the same, even if no word was exchanged between us.
From across the room, he stepped closer. Each deliberate movement sent another small jolt through my legs. I found myself matching him, step by step, as if hypnotized. His eyes commanded, and my body obeyed. My stomach flipped, and I wasn’t sure if it was from anger or something else…
Something dangerously carnal andhungry.
