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“I am her friend. I know you don’t like that, but I can’t change it. I care for her as if she were my own family. I would die willingly for her. If you replace me, would the man you put in my shoes do the same?”
I smile. I do believe Victorio has just challenged me. I’m not sure the man knows who he is dealing with.
“Every man in my employ would die for the charge in their care. That’s the duty of a paid bodyguard, is it not? That’s why I pay them more than any other offer they could receive. You have been enjoying your raise, correct?”
“It’s been nice, but honestly, I’d rather work for Mr. Korslova. It has never been about money to me. A man who can be bought by money will always be open to a larger offer.”
Fuck, I’m starting to like this asshole myself.
“Point made,” I answer grudgingly. I respect him. What he just said is a philosophy I’ve always lived by and a reason that I never trust my safety completely to the men hired to keep it. I always watch my back. Admittedly, I haven’t known how to tackle that now that I have Emilia in my life. It has been a weakness that I’m not entirely comfortable with and probably why I haven’t moved our relationship into a physical one—despite her being twenty. I’ve always struggled with this issue and not allowed myself to think of Emilia as anything other than a child on the verge of womanhood. That has all changed since last night.
“Other men may jump in front of a bullet for Emilia, but most would hesitate. I wouldn’t.”
Bastard.
“Fine. However, I expect you to keep me apprised of these attacks and before you put your neck on the line again, I’m going to warn you that I rarely feel as generous as I’ve already been with you.”
“Mr. Petrova—”
“I need to know what is going on in Emilia’s head if I am to protect her. Nothing can get in the way of her security. Am I clear?”
“Are you only planning on safeguarding her physically or…”
“Nothing about my relationship with Emilia is your business. That’s nonnegotiable. I will tell you that her happiness is foremost on my agenda but that’s where our discussion ends. I will demand a weekly update on Emilia, and I trust in these meetings that I won’t have to deal with yourresistanceagain.”
“We’ll talk in our next meeting,” he responds, not really giving me an answer about him withholding information. I frown.
I guess it is possible to hate and like a man at the same time.
CHAPTER16
Emilia
“Can you sit still?” Zoe reprimands as she combs her fingers through my hair that she’s just put loose curls in. She’s doing her best to make sure I look pretty tonight. I’m resisting all her efforts. The truth is, I don’t want to look good. I don’t even want to go. It has been three years since I became strangely engaged. I say strangely because I knew it, everyone knew it, but nothing really changed. I’ve barely seen Niko. We go to some public dinners together. Other than that, nothing truly changed…until last night.
I’m still reeling over the kiss that Niko and I shared. I haven’t told Zoe yet. I’m not sure I want to. She keeps trying to get me to make moves on Niko to see if there’s something there to build on. She knows I’m attracted to him and in Zoe’s world, that should be enough. Until Niko kissed me, I would have told her that she’s crazy. Now, my brain is mush. I’m so nervous about tonight. I can barely contain it. I’ve struggled trying to keep myself calm, but as time ticks away, the harder it is for me to focus.
“I can’t. I’m a mess. I don’t want to do this. I’d rather spend the entire night with my annoying cousins and even Dante than go to dinner with Niko tonight,” I lie. Panic is laced in my words. Zoe will think it’s over the fact I’ll be spending time with Niko. The truth is that for three years, I’ve resigned myself to trying to find a way out of this marriage. Now, all I want is more time with the man—more of his lips on mine and his hands on my body.
“Is that why you’re making me join you?” Zoe asks, pulling me from my thoughts—which is probably a good thing.
“Yes! I need you. I never know what to say around Niko. My brain cells just die, and words refuse to come out—at least ones that make sense.”
“Oh, my Lord! You better learn how to talk to the man. You’re going to be married to him in less than a year. You’ll have to be alone with him at some point, you know.”
She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I blush because I’ve already been thinking about that. Heck, last night I spent timedreamingabout that very thing. That’s the real reason I’m dreading tonight. What if Niko can somehow tell that I’ve fanaticized about him making love to me? That I got off to thoughts of him touching me before I went to sleep last night?
I don’t want to tell Zoe any of that. Not right now. I’m just not ready. It’s too personal and I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with all the changes in my thoughts about Niko. So, instead I decide to continue to let her think I just want to end any connection with Niko. That seems safer.
“It’s not like I have a say in anything. He didn’t even ask me to marry him. My father showed me the contract one day, and it took me a year to even see Niko after that. We have the occasional dinner and talk at business luncheons or parties, but that’s it. I have no idea why he signed the contract to marry me. I assume it’s to climb the ladder in the family. I’m so tired of being part of ‘the family’.”I want Niko to want me like I want him…I don’t tell her that. “Other than my father and Dante, I don’t think any of my family likes me,” I finally add, hoping to divert her attention from Niko. I should have known that wouldn’t work.
“I doubt that’s it. Niko doesn’t seem that type,” she argues. “If that was a reason, he would get married to someone like Alexandra Rochester. Her father has a little more power than yours, right?”
“I wish he had,” I lie, the thought eating at me to the point I want to hurl. Instead, I school my face and fluff a few of the wayward curls Zoe put into my hair.
“Girl, you are crazy. Niko is hot as hell, and I know you think he’s sexy.”
“Scary is more like it.” I hate deceiving her but in for a penny, in for a pound—or whatever that saying is.
