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I nod. The earrings were both a gift and a means of keeping tabs on her. A tracking chip is nestled in them. If she tries escaping again, I will know. I know she wants to make her way back to her family, but I can’t risk it. Katerina, one of her guards, already paid them a visit under the guise of a social worker through the hospital. And it’s only a matter of time before Paige makes that attempt to see them again.
“She should have a phone too,” he says. “As a backup, we can map wherever she goes.”
“Then get a phone.”
Dmitri stops pacing and looks at me. He won’t dare caution me on my tone. Instead, he disappears, jangling his keys down the hall, and in less than fifteen minutes, he returns with a new Samsung. Boxes of them are stacked in a locked steel cabinet in a room off-limits to the staff unless they want to end up in the basement or worse. He hands it to me but keeps hold of it until I give him a wary look.
“Be kind to her, Andrei,” he says. “That’s all she really wants. You owe her that much.”
Chapter 37
Paige
I don’t remember falling asleep. I barely remember getting into bed. But the duvet is pulled up to my chin, and my feet are buried deep underneath the covers. I stiffen as I realize Andrei is lying beside me, close enough to feel his warmth but far enough away not to touch. He moves in the bed as I hold still, and then I feel his hand rest on my shoulder.
I turn slightly, opening my eyes, but he can’t see my expression in the dark. His hand gently rubs my shoulder, and I wait for him to say something. Maybe he will tell me why he brought me here and why he wants me. Perhaps he’ll let me know his plan. I wait.
“I know you’re awake,” he says.
“I am.”
“Paige,” he says. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want.” I shift my body away from his and bitterly reproach myself for wanting too much. “I want my life back and to never think about this place again.”
He takes his hand away, and the void instantly chills my skin.
“Impossible.” His voice is flat. “Not until this is over.”
Sitting up, I reach out and switch on the bedside lamp. “And when is that, Andrei?”
I stare down at him. His eyes squint against the lamplight. The sheet covers his lower body, and his shirt is off. He places his forearm over his eyes, flexing his muscles unintentionally. I still want him, but not now. This comes first.
“Will there be another crisis when it suits you?” I ask hotly. “Am I your hostage, Andrei? Your prisoner? Your plaything? Or your wife?”
He moves his arm away from his face and stares at me. Those dark eyes have seen things I could never imagine. He sits up, the thin sheet falling off his body. Biting my lip, I look away, ignoring his muscular chest. I want to trace his muscles with my fingertips as I stare into his eyes and search for the soul hiding behind the frost. I want him to hold me hard against his fit body as he kisses me and then enters me.
I want him to give a damn aboutme, not just keeping me alive for his secret plan that he refuses to share.
“You are my legal wife,” Andrei replies. His words are cold, without affection, as if he’s talking about his car or his house. Andrei owns me like he owns them, except he treats them better.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s for your own protection.”
“What about the other pakhans’ wives? Do their husbands lock them up for protection too? Do they have to keep them under lock and key away from their enemies?”
Andrei’s mouth tightens, and for a moment, he looks as if he wants to lash out. But he won’t. In the few weeks that I’ve known him, I have learned one thing: he’ll never hit a woman in anger. Instead, he stares at me intently. But I know better than to wither under his intimidating gaze.
“Then tell me what you want, Paige.”
I get out of bed and look down at him as if I’m calling the shots. His hair falls carelessly into his eyes as Andrei pulls the linen sheet off his body. Ridges of hard muscle tempt me, and I can see his thick cock bulging in his pajama pants. My nipples tighten in response, and I feel the soft fabric of my gown pressing against them.
His eyes never shift, but continue drilling into mine as he awaits his answer.
“I want that door to stay unlocked,” I reply shakily. “I want a car with a driver. I want the other things a pakhan’s wife has or should have. I want people to know I’m married to a powerful man who’s not afraid of anyone.”
“You have all of that and more.”
