I reclaimed my arm from his grip. “No need to drag me around like a child either. Where are we going?”
“Get you cleaned up before the matchmaker arrives.”
“I haven’t agreed.”
Kirill narrowed his eyes at me before turning around and heading up the staircase. “Like I said, I’m not the one who’s going to convince you. I don’t have enough patience, and I’d rather not murder my bride before the ceremony.”
I bit back a smile. If he had meant to insult or scare me, it didn’t land that way. He was irritated. Good. That squinting of his eyes was a giveaway, which he quickly disguised as he resumed ascending the stairs. I followed him. “Now, is that the way my betrothed is supposed to behave?”
Kirill didn’t answer me, but since I had a view of his back, I observed his bearing. Broad-shouldered, ramrod straight. His posture spoke of military training. Background information was sparse and, I bet, buried under layers of lies. There were unconfirmed reports that he had spent his adolescence in Siberia.
He led me into one of the bedrooms. I was surprised to find the purse and the shoes I’d lost at the club.
“My men collected those after Viktor threw them away.”
I rushed to my purse and checked its contents. Wallet and keys…but my phone and?—
“Why do you have lockpicks in your purse?” he asked.
I gave a nonchalant reply. “They come in handy.”
“Sato has them. He’ll return them to you when you leave.”
“What’s the matter? Afraid I’ll snoop around?”
“Viktor destroyed your phone.” He ignored my baiting and tipped his chin toward the bathroom. “You can wash up there. Margo will bring clothes for you to wear.”
“When will she be here?”
“You have a couple of hours.” He checked his phone. “She’s scrambling to draw up the papers, and she said you have a few hours to sleep.”
I held my tongue and didn’t argue that I hadn’t agreed yet. Kirill didn’t specify what type of marriage he was looking for. Ideally, it would be a marriage in name only, and we could do whatever we wanted—separately. I might even move to Europe for the duration of our union.
Once divorced, even Margo wouldn’t have any say anymore because my covenant with her only applied to the first marriage. Wait, I wasn’t considering marriage to him, was I?
“And you? Where will you be?”
A wicked amusement danced on his mouth again. “Are you going to miss me?”
I rolled my eyes.
He approached like a predator stalking its prey. I held my ground. He couldn’t hurt me. Not with the matchmaker coming by later, but it didn’t mean he didn’t rattle my survival instincts. He brushed the back of his fingers down my face, and I gave an involuntary shiver.
What the hell?
“This might be fun,” he murmured.
“I doubt it.”
“That sounds like a challenge, but I will have to take a rain check. I have to make sure my tech guy made it look like you left the club with me in the surveillance footage.”
Deep fakes were becoming craftier and more advanced, and organized crime used them for extortion. It was hard to believe what you saw anymore.
“Margo will take care of the press,” he added.
“Wait, what?”
The satisfaction washing over Kirill’s face eliminated every advantage I thought I had with him.
