The fear was back. My insides turned to ice.
Chapter 8 - Gavril
It was a pleasant surprise when Lilia held it together after I took care of her guard. After the way she’d been acting, I expected her to lose it again at the first sight of blood, but perhaps my frightened little fawn had a backbone after all.
The sarcastic laughter I was faced with was pretty nice, too, showing me what she might look like when she smiled. If she ever smiled. Not that I could blame her for being less than thrilled after what she’d been through. And it hadn’t affected her appetite, either, another sign of hidden strength.
Maybe Lilia wasn’t what she first seemed, and I was eager to uncover more of her layers. I had enough guards posted around the house that I was sure she saw on our trip to take care of her guard, that she had the sense to get through the quickie wedding ceremony without any fuss.
If she was even present at all during the rote reading of the vows, she didn’t try to find a way out of it or get away from me.
Neither one was happening.
That ineffable something about her that I could sense despite her trembling fear intrigued me. Keeping her close, so close she was now Mrs. Bocharov, had nothing to do with how important she could be in taking down the Petrovs. Her family would do anything to safely rescue one of their own, but that wasn’t what I wanted right now. The war between us could wait.
I wanted to learn more about her. Everything, in fact. From the flare of desire at seeing her gorgeous body encased in a snug, discarded dress of an old paramour, to the fact that she was clearly scared half to death but was still trying to stare me down, I wanted to know her. Hell, I just plain wanted her.
Thankfully, I had some time, since her guard succeeded in his objective to throw her family off the trail before I caught up with him. That alone might have kept him alive, since it was working in my favor, and we could have called it even at the beatdown I gave him once it was confirmed he’d been the one to bring her to Luigi. That he deserved. I didn’t like double agents, especially since I had my own to contend with.
It was the look of fear and disgust on Lilia’s face when she saw him again that sealed his fate. I could almost feel her sense of betrayal as if it were my own. It made sense since she was mine now. Hurt one of mine, and I hurt you back, harder.
Now she was arguing for me to return her to her family, and clearly furious once she realized it wasn’t happening. I had to tease her a little, hoping to see a real smile on that angelic face of hers. Hearing that marrying her was going to be fun for me wasn’t making that happen.
It hit me swiftly that it was remarkable she was still standing after being put through that vicious circus at Luigi’s house. I wanted to bring a smile to her face, but she still viewed me as an enemy. Ultimately, she was right. There could never be peace between my organization and her family, no matter how much I wanted her.
That was a tough pill to swallow. Almost as difficult as putting off our wedding night. As much as I would have loved to take her to my bed and feel the sweet curves beneath that dress, I was only going to take her back to her own room.
Denied even a kiss to seal the marriage. Since she ducked her chin at the last second, my lips only brushed her forehead. Staring down at her pouting mouth had me yearning to try again.
“Come on,” I said, nodding toward the stairs.
What I wanted and what she needed were two entirely different worlds. Right now, she needed to recover from the trauma of the auction and understand that she was safe as long as she was with me.
Why the hell that was so important was beyond me, but it was.
Lilia paused, her feathery blonde brows furrowing, then she slowly dragged her feet to follow me as I stepped out in front of her. I slowed my step, not because I thought she would bolt, but because I feared she might falter again.
“I’m not going to melt into the floor,” she muttered, as if reading my thoughts.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” I said.
Her eyes shot to mine, stunned that I might actually be human. I smiled at her. She didn’t smile back. How long would it take to wring one from her? And what would I have to do to earn it? And really, why the hell did I care?
As we headed down the hall, she glanced into the open doorway of my library. It was a ridiculous waste of money buying all those leatherbound first editions my decorator insisted on. Everyone must have a library, she insisted, filling it with overstuffed couches and glass-shaded lamps, dark curtains hanging from the windows. And rows and rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, each and every one crammed with books. Except for the one time the decorator dragged me in there to show off her handiwork, I had never returned. A waste of time as well as money.
Lilia slowed down, looking at the books in a way I wouldn’t have minded her looking at me. Another second and I would have had to wipe drool off her delicate chin. I took her arm, but she shrugged it off, still gazing into the library.
“Would you like to choose something to read?” I asked.
And there it was. Her smile. Radiant, glowing, it nearly knocked me out. The woman was beautiful when she was in hysterics. Smiling, she was a goddess. My goddess.
She scurried in and began grabbing books randomly, stacking them as high as she dared in her arms and even jamming one under her chin. I laughed, as delighted as if she had given me that kiss I still craved.
“You can take your time to choose, I’m not in a hurry,” I told her.
She barely glanced at me, adding one more to her pile. “I like to read everything,” she said, returning to silence as her eyes ate up the titles on the shelves before her.
“I don’t read anything that isn’t a report,” I admitted. “And those better be concise.”
