Chapter 7 - Sergey
Katya fought harder than I ever expected her to, and for some reason, it has me more turned on than it should.
I knew she wouldn’t come quietly or willingly without some leverage behind me, not with the amount of fire she has tucked away inside her, but I wasn’t prepared for the way she needled at my patience. For every sharp word that left her mouth sounded more defiant than fearful.
Even so, I didn’t miss how the panic lingered in her eyes when she assumed the worst of me. She probably thought I was there to attack her or do something unspeakable.
It sounds ridiculous in my mind, given how badly I’ve wanted to have her this close. To break the invisible boundary between the stalker and the stalked. But of course, it’s all the same to her.
Worst of all, I wasn’t ready for how much I liked it. The combination of her fear and determination to fight me to the bitter end.
She tried so hard to get away from me in the condo, but it wasn’t enough. She twisted in my grip, refusing to give an inch despite being overpowered. She looked at me like she hated me…like she wasn’t necessarily afraid of me, but was more so operating out of raw instinct.
It’s both infuriating and intoxicating.
Now, she sits across from me on the jet, silent and unmoving like stone. Her arms are crossed tightly against her chest in silent protest, I imagine.
Kat hasn’t said a word since we left New York, and while I don’t expect her to, given everything that has happened, a small part of me is disappointed by the silence.
She’s pretending I don’t exist, and it’s driving me crazy.
But, as annoying as it is, I can’t be completely bothered by it. Not while my plan has mostly unfolded as expected, and I got exactly what I wanted.
With the paperwork signed and filed, and everything said and done, she has become one of us.
Kat is my wife now.
Legally, she’s bound to me and our business. She’s tied to me in a way Yuri won’t be able to ignore, and so long as that tether is strong enough, it should pull him right into the open.
As much as I want to focus on the triumph I should be feeling, and all the ways my assignment has prevailed, I can’t focus on it. Not with her sitting there like none of this is truly reaching her while she stares out the window.
Her quiet defiance has me wanting to poke at it even more.
After a moment of watching her, I hum to myself. “You’re awfully quiet for someone with so much to say earlier.”
Kat doesn’t say a word. She doesn’t even turn to look at me. She lets that heavy silence hang between us.
Faintly amused, I stare at her. “Still mad?”
Her fingers tighten against her arms while they remain crossed over her chest. Of course she is. I took her freedom, and for someone like her, that would likely be worse than death.
I don’t entirely love how angry she is, but I won’t deny it brings me a sense of satisfaction knowing things are movingalong as they should, and once we get to Vegas, I’ll have nothing left to worry about.
You can’t get any closer to a surveillance target than marrying them, right?
“Or are you trying to figure out how to kill me mid-flight?”
I’m pushing it, I know that. But I can’t help it. She makes it too easy.
And that’s what gets her.
Kat finally looks at me with a glare sharp enough to cut if I were any closer.
“You think this is funny?” She asks, not afraid to snap at me.
Having those eyes on me stirs something in my gut, and I grin at her. “I think anger looks good on you.”
She almost deadpans at that, seemingly pushing back whatever reaction threatens to rise to the surface. But, being as stubborn as she is, Kat presses her lips into a tight line, and she shifts subtly in her seat as if to put more distance between us. “Go to hell.”
