“Yes.” Anton remained just as expressionless as my brother. “A new premium product, now yours. Shipped directly to your port. A show of trust, for you to do with what you will.”
“I—”
“This one is in your name. Not the Thorpe name. Nor the Volkov name. We look forward to seeing what you do with it.”
I didn’t miss the subtle, threatening undercurrent in Anton’s voice, but I also noticed the way my brother’s throat was working. His own vodka line, in his name, not attached to our family. Knowing the Volkovs, there were probably countless invisible strings attached, but the fact was, this was the first time Ryker had been given anything that our family hadn’t engineered.
I met Anton’s icy gaze. “Why?” The word slipped from my throat before I could pull it back.
A humourless smile curved over his lips as his eyes slid to my brother’s. “Because we all have to make the best of a bad situation.” His gaze snapped back to mine. “You will receive your gift later.”
My gift.
The gift neither of us wanted.
The engagement ring.
“Nova.” Anton’s voice was strong and steady, carrying through the ballroom from our position in the centre of the dance floor. He gazed down at me, his eyes never leaving mine, as icy and unreadable as ever. I swallowed hard as he took my hand in his. My other hand trembled as I smoothed down my pale blue silk dress, subtly shaking it out so thehem was no longer caught on my shoe. This was it. My mother had briefed me on some of the Volkov customs, and I knew he wouldn’t be expected to go down on one knee for the occasion. “Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?” He repeated the words in Russian and Swedish, honouring both his parents. His father was Belarusian and the Pakhan of the Volkov Syndicate, not to mention a key associate of the Kozenki Bratva. His late mother was Swedish, and it was rumoured that she’d also been a minor royal.
I heard murmurs of approval from the surrounding crowds, and I exhaled, trying to ground myself. “Y-yes,” I whispered, unable to hide the tremor in my voice. With that, Anton slid the ring onto my finger. It took everything I had to remain still, to stop the tears from falling.
My gaze dropped to my hand. The ring was a heavy, foreign weight on my finger, a shackle binding me to him. A perfectly cut diamond solitaire, glittering ominously under the chandeliers.
“We will dance,” he said to me, his voice low, and I nodded. What else could I do? All it took was a quick gesture with his hand, and the music began again. Sweeping me into a simple waltz, he murmured something under his breath, but the ringing in my ears was too loud for me to make it out. All I could see was my hand, the diamond catching the light, refracting into countless tiny rainbows as we spun around the dance floor. All I could feel was the weight of my responsibilities, the physical reminder of something I’d have to see every single day.
The waltz finally ended, and Anton dipped his head, raising my hand to press a kiss to it. “I know you do not want this,” he said softly, “but we must do what is right.” His gazeslid over my shoulder, and something flashed in his eyes that I couldn’t read.
“Jayesh,” he said. “Come and dance with my bride-to-be.”
17
JAY
Volkov had that same taunting expression in his eyes that had been there during our training session. Holding my head high, I stepped onto the dance floor and made my way over to where he stood with Nova. My mouth was dry, and my heart was hammering, but I remained outwardly impassive. Or so I hoped. Volkov could apparently read me like a book.
When I reached them, Volkov withdrew his arm from around Nova’s waist and took a step back, inclining his head.
Fuck. I could feel all the eyes boring into me, a sea of trained killers ready to take me out if I dared to disrespect one of their own. Nova was holding herself completely still, as uncomfortable with the attention as I was, although I was sure it wasn’t for the same reason.
I cleared my throat as I held out my hand. “May I have this dance?”
She placed her hand in mine. Her fingers were trembling. Fucking hell. This was excruciating. Casting my gaze around, my eyes connected with a pair of familiar blue ones that widened at whatever expression my face wasmaking. I could see his brain calculating the situation instantly. He liked to play the joker, but he was clever. He worked on his instincts, and they rarely let him down.
Dan gave me a short nod and then strode over to Liana, dropping into a sweeping bow. “May I have this dance, my lady?”
Normally, Liana would have rolled her eyes at his antics, but perhaps she was aware of how uncomfortable Nova was, because she replied with a simple “Yes” and let him lead her onto the dance floor. As they passed Ryker, I saw Dan kick the side of his foot, and I almost smiled at the savage look Ry shot him. Still, he took Dan’s none-too-subtle hint and invited Kayla, one of Dan’s cousins, to join him. I noticed how he refrained from touching her.
When Volkov clapped his hands for the music to begin, the crowd suddenly came alive, couples swarming the dance floor to the sound of violins. Surrounded by dancing couples, I finally allowed myself to take Nova in. She was staring at a fixed point somewhere in the vicinity of my throat, biting down on her lip. Her fingers were still trembling, and as I drew her closer, placing my hand at her waist, I wished I could pick her up and carry her out of there, away from everything and everyone who was forcing her into something she didn’t want.
No, Jay. She’s not yours. You don’t want her; she hates you. Look at the giant fucking diamond on her finger.
Gaslighting myself wasn’t working, so I let myself pretend for a moment. Pretend that she was mine, that there’d never been any animosity between us, that we lived in a world where we could have freedom of choice.
She was so fucking beautiful. The subtle shimmer of her skin enhanced her light makeup. Her satiny blue dress skimmed the gorgeous lines of her body, dropping to thefloor, cocooning her as she spun, while her blonde hair, swept away from her neck and piled on top of her head, drew my gaze to her exposed throat. I wanted to kiss it. To kiss her until she was breathless. I would have given anything for her to really be mine. To take back every cruel word I’d said. For her to behappy.
A memory hit me, hard and fast.
“I hope no one tries to dance with her.”
