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“Good. Because right now, you’re my daughter. But if I start to think you’re working against me, I’ll have to excommunicate you. Then you’ll be nothing more than a threat. You know what happens to those I deem threats, don’t you?”
Tears roll down my face but I can’t let him hear that I’m crying. “I’m not a threat,” I say. “I’ll go h—back to the apartment and find something right now.”
“Good,” he says, jovial now.
I stare down at my phone as the call ends, afraid as though he could reach through it to grab me. I stumble out of the stall and rinse my tears away, leaning against the counter until I can face the guards without them knowing anything’s wrong. I’ll have to get something to Papa by tonight—I let out a sob when I remember it’s our date night that Alexei promised me.
The feelings he invoked when he so sweetly asked me out as if we weren’t already married is a stark contrast to the terror that’s still clogging my throat after Papa’s threats.
What am I going to do? It’s an impossible choice. Everything I’ve ever wanted—nursing school, a chance at freedom away from the ruthless violence of the way I was raised—or handing over a man I’m beginning to feel things for, a man who’s infinitely better than my father.
And those feelings for Alexei are already much stronger than I can admit, but they’re there, rooted deep and growing. I just don’t know what will happen to either of us if I allow them to blossom.
Chapter 6
Alexei
I glance over at my wife as we sit at a stoplight on the way home from our date. Sera looks as gorgeous as usual in a simple, dark blue dress that makes her pale eyes shine. It also hugs every lithe curve she has. Her hair is up in some kind of knot and strands fall against her neck, just begging to be brushed away so I can kiss her there.
She smiles at me, but it’s subdued. In fact, the entire dinner she was more reserved than usual, while also getting distracted and flinching at every passing waiter. As much as I tried to draw her out of her shell so that we could have one of the rousing conversations I look forward to so much, she kept drifting off somewhere else. I even asked about what medical books she’d been reading lately, and that couldn’t crack through the shell either.
So much for our first date.
We pull into my building’s underground garage and she doesn’t seem to notice when I put the car in park and turn off the engine.
“Sera?” I ask, reaching to touch her elbow.
She seems to snap out of a trance and smiles again, and again there’s no light in her eyes. She makes no move to open her door. It’s as if she’s lost and I’m determined to find her.
“Is there something wrong?” I can’t stand it if she’s truly unhappy.
Everything I’ve learned about her tells me she’s a good person. She comes from vast wealth and power yet only dreams of going to school to learn how to help others.
“I’m fine,” she says listlessly.
Fed up, I turn and take her hands, warming them between mine. “No, you’re not. I think I know you well enough to see when something’s bothering you.”
For a moment it looks like she’ll speak but only shakes her head. In that moment, I realize I’ve been yearning to see her true smile even more than I’ve been yearning to get my hands on her. That smile of hers is now the most important thing in my life. Her happiness is my main objective. Squeezing her hands, I make the decision to lay it all out on the line.
“We’ve known each other a little over two weeks, and yes, neither one of us really wanted this marriage.” She flinches but I barrel onward. “It’s unorthodox. Some might even say fucked up.”
I pause, hoping she’ll laugh, but instead, a tear rolls down her cheek. Frustrated, I swipe it away. “Sera, I don’t care how it started. This is how it’s going to go. I want us to get to know each other better. I want you to know you can trust me. That I’m loyal to you as your husband. No matter how I came to be that, I take it fucking seriously. Your dreams don’t have to be pipe dreams. I’ll help you in any way I can—just tell me what you want so I can make it happen for you. For us. Just tell me, because I’m going to stay by your side no matter what.”
Her eyes are wide, more tears streaming from them. Oh god, did I go too far, too fast? I swore I wouldn’t push her and here I am, making all sorts of demands instead. I start to apologize but the first breath is cut off when she lunges across the center console, flinging her arms around my neck.
Her mouth is hot and eager against mine as she holds onto me. I slide my hand around her neck to bring her even closer, and tangle my fingers into the knot in her hair. She tastes like dark chocolate and coffee and smells like the light, springy fragrance she uses. She fills my mouth and nostrils and hands and it’s like a dam has broken for both of us.
She keeps climbing onto me and I jerk the seat back to make room for her. By the time she straddles my lap, her skirt is up around her hips, and we both laugh against each other’s mouths when she accidentally honks the horn with her ass. Then she grows serious when she settles on my rock-hard bulge.
“Oh,” she says, looking into my eyes with curiosity.
“That’s been like that almost all this time,” I say gruffly. “You don’t know how much I want you, Sera.”
She eases herself back and forth against my stiff cock, her eyes fluttering shut at the sensation she’s giving herself. “Maybe I do.”
Overcome, I grip her hair and pull her head back so I can claim her mouth, plunging my tongue inside her. She’s still moving against my cock, so much so that I think I might just have to rip her panties off and sink into her slick cunt right here in the car.
Except this will be her first time. “We’ve been married over two damn weeks and my wife’s still a virgin,” I growl, holding onto her hips.
