I narrowed my eyes. “There are all kinds of criminals. Good and bad. Useful and selfish. You think everyone wearing a badge is better than me?”
“Oh, spare me. Robin Hood in a three-piece suit.”
“You like the suit, though.” I couldn’t help but let out a grin.
She flipped me off. Elegant as ever.
And then—
She grabbed the pen.
“What are you doing?” I asked, in utter and complete disbelief. I mean, this is what I had wanted the whole time, but to actually see her agree set even my wildest imagination on fire.
She didn’t look up. “Signing. Before I change my mind.”
I didn’t breathe until the pen dropped and she stepped back like the thing had burned her.
“I hate you for this,” she muttered.
“I know.”
But I couldn’t stop the way my chest clenched as I looked at her. The heat. The fight. The fire that hadn’t dimmed a single bit.
She could hate me all she wanted. She was mine now. And I wasn’t letting go. Not again.
Chapter 4 - Alisa
Of all the ways I had imagined my married future, calling Dante Lebedev husband wasn’t one of them.
Yet here I was, three days in as his wife, walking around the place like it was mine.
I stepped into the dining room to grab myself some breakfast and immediately froze.
What the hell? I thought he’d have left for work already. But as they say, god has a funny sense of humor.
Because Dante sat at the head of that ridiculous mile-long table, reading a newspaper while sipping his coffee like he didn’t have a care in the world. Which, of course, he didn’t. Men like him made their problems belong to the world, not the other way around.
Three days of marriage, and I still couldn’t believe this was my life now.
I turned on my heel with the intention of getting out of here before he noticed me.
“I don’t bite,” I heard him say. “Unless you ask nicely.”
I turned and crossed my arms in front of me, giving him a pointed glare. “Funny, I thought sharks did their biting without permission.”
“Remind me what kind of sound a shark makes again?” He cocked his head at me.
“I couldn’t say,” I said coolly, then nodded at the vase in front of him. “But maybe if I dunked your head in that, you’d get a taste of what homereallyfeels like.”
He held back a smile as he rose. “The breakfast is good. Stay.”
“No thanks, I’ll eat in my room.” I shook my head as he started to walk toward me. “I’m still training myself to stomach food in the presence of the Russian mob.”
He reached closer, and closer, and closer. So close, in fact, that I remembered thinking I should step back and walk out of here, but I stood frozen like a sculpture.
I didn’t know why, but Dante always brought me to a standstill, waiting to see what he’d do or say next.
And then, he was right in front of me, so close that I had to look up to keep my eyes on his face. He smelt different, I remembered thinking. Probably bought himself expensive shampoo now.
