She turned to me then, looking supremely disappointed. “Really? I would have thought you read all the time.”
“Why would you think that?” I asked, enjoying her enthusiasm but not about to take part in it.
She shrugged, turning away again. “You have such an expressive way with threats.”
I chuckled. I had put on quite a show at Luigi’s house. “Maybe I can get you to give me some recommendations,” I said.
She didn’t answer, only brushed past me, weaving to the left to keep her book stack from toppling. I plucked a handful off her pile and caught up with her as she hurried back to her room. Had I found the key to her heart?
Wait a minute. Who said I wanted her heart?
She rushed toward the bed, keeping her back to me, probably trying to pretend I wasn’t there as she laid out her treasures. As I placed the rest on the bedside table, I could sense she was wishing me out of the room with everything she had.
“Goodnight, Mrs. Bocharov,” I said, staying close to her side.
Her head flew up, and she gasped at hearing her new name. She was so damn gorgeous with her lush lips parted, I couldn’t help but claim that kiss I was cheated out of. She was so stunned, she dropped the books that remained in her arms, and they tumbled around our feet. If the decorator had seen her rare editions in such a state, she would have had a fit. I didn’t care at all about the ancient pages getting torn. Lilia’s sweet mouth was finally on mine.
I expected a knee to the balls and was even braced for it. She remained stiff as I ran my hands down her arms and slid my palms against her sides to tug her closer. No crippling kick made me jump back, and I moved my hands lower, splaying my fingers across her taut little ass.
Another gasp flew out of her mouth, warm against my lips. I moved my hands back up, and up some more, until my thumbs brushed the undersides of her heavy breasts.
Now she began to melt against me, her lips parting to my tongue. She tasted like the mint leaves my cook always used as a garnish. She was naked under the dress, and when my thumb stroked across her nipple, it rose to a tight peak. The soft sigh turned to a low moan as she stumbled closer to me, her hands clumsily clinging to my shoulders.
This perfect little virgin was mine, bought and paid for, and damn it if my cock wasn’t rising against her firm belly as shepressed against me. She was mine, and I wanted her more than I wanted to win the entire territory of Los Angeles for my own.
With a groan, I pushed her away and left the room before I lost control.
Chapter 9 - Lilia
For the few minutes I was let loose in Gavril’s library, I almost forgot who I was dealing with. I was so happy to have something to read to keep myself centered that I let myself believe he might actually be human.
Then he kissed me. Long and hard, taking my breath away. Lost in the illusion, completely out of my mind from shock, I didn’t pull away. Worse than that, I was starting to enjoy it. No one had ever kissed me like that before. Sadly, it was probably more accurate to say no one had kissed me, period, but there was the time one of the teenagers who helped unload shipments at my uncle’s bar stole a quick smack when I wasn’t paying attention.
I shrieked, and he got a real smack in the mouth by my cousin Rurik. Needless to say, the experience didn’t leave me quaking like this one did.
And then Gavril just shoved me away and stalked out the door like he was trying to toy with my already shredded emotions. I was breathless with something I couldn’t explain while he was touching me; now I was breathless with fury.
He wasn’t human. He was a beast. My enemy. I couldn’t forget that again.
If only I still wasn’t reeling from the feel of his mouth on mine as I stared at the door he just stalked out of. The lock clicked, and I kicked one of the books I dropped during his surprise attack. Immediately feeling bad, I rescued the first edition of Jane Austen, and sank onto the bed.
I was still in shock, completely unprepared for any of this, especially not a masterful kiss by such a handsome man. Italmost seemed impossible that I wasn’t in my own room back at Aleks’s house. Everything seemed unreal.
“Shock,” I said aloud.
That’s all it was. The crazy attraction that had me clinging to Gavril when he kissed me was nothing more than a reaction to shock. People did crazy things when they were pushed to their limits all the time.
Once again, I wished I had taken part in the kidnapping-preparation training that Masha had enjoyed so much when we were kids. But Masha was Masha, and I was… weak. No one in my family would ever say so, and anyone outside the family would suffer if they did. There were always different words to describe my personality, which was so antithetical to Bratva life.
Sensitive, delicate, shy. I wanted to believe there was nothing wrong with being the way I am, but now I knew the truth. Now it was too late, and I was trapped with a man who wanted to bring on my family’s demise, and he wouldn’t have any qualms about using me to gain that end.
Still, he hadn’t harmed me yet, and I was alive. That meant there was hope to get myself out of this with minimal damage to my family. Gavril had married me under the guise of keeping me safe, but from whom? His own people?
I didn’t buy it for a minute, but for the moment, I did seem to be safe. Perhaps the kiss he forced on me wasn’t some kind of punishment or warning. Maybe he couldn’t help himself, the same way I couldn’t when I got swept up under the onslaught of all those new, delicious sensations.
Okay, I could use that. I was plenty smart, and if Gavril was actually attracted to me, I could use that to my advantage. How many books did I have under my belt? I must have read thousands in my lifetime, many that involved twisting strategies.All I had to do was think three steps ahead of him, and his physical advantages wouldn’t matter. I could get myself out of this if I stayed calm.
No more panicking, no more shivering with fear. After all, a man who had a library like that couldn’t be all bad. I didn’t believe him for a second when he told me he didn’t like to read. He already proved he had a bizarre sense of humor, taunting me that he forced me to marry him because it would be fun for him.
