Page 7 of The Pakhan’s Accidental Bride

He can't have been serious. Can he?

I roll over, punching my pillow, trying to get comfortable. It doesn't work. Every time I close my eyes, I see him. Those dark eyes. That scruffy beard. The ink crawling up his neck. The way his body felt pressed against mine, hard and solid and so perfectly male, it made my brain short-circuit.

I've never reacted to anyone like this. This is different. Intense. Almost frightening in its immediacy.

"You're being ridiculous," I tell myself. "He was joking. It was all just… a game. A way to help you out."

But he kissed me like it wasn't a game.

I finally fall asleep sometime after three, and when I do, I dream of dark eyes and dangerous smiles.

Monday morning comes too soon. I drag myself into the office, still half-asleep, and try to focus on my work. It's impossible. Every time I sit down at my desk, my mind wanders back to Saturday night. To Emil.

I don't even have his number. I didn't think to ask for it. He said he'd be in touch, but how? Does he even know where I work?

"Kiera, I need these files copied," my boss says, dropping a stack of papers on my desk.

"Sure thing." I grab them, grateful for something to do with my hands.

The morning drags. I make copies, answer phones, fetch coffee, and run errands. All the usual secretary duties that I've been doing for two years while I wait for my chance to actually design something. Anything.

I'm just settling back at my desk with my lunch when Melissa from Accounting appears, a newspaper clutched in her hand. She's got that look on her face, the one that says she's got gossip and she's dying to share it.

"Kiera Walker," she says, her voice loud enough to carry across the office. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were engaged?"

My stomach drops. "What?"

She tosses the newspaper onto my desk, folding her arms across her chest. "It's right there. In the announcements."

I look down at the paper, my heart pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears.

There, in black and white, is an official engagement announcement.

Emil Nikitin and Kiera Walker are Pleased to Announce their Engagement.

The world tilts sideways.

4

EMIL

The knock on my office door is hesitant. Three soft raps, like whoever's on the other side is afraid I'll bite their hand off if they knock too hard.

Smart.

"Come in," I say without looking up from the contract I'm reviewing. Some bullshit about shipping routes that needs my signature.

The door opens slowly. One of my counselors steps inside, and I can smell the nervousness on him before he even speaks. He's a thin man, mid-fifties, with graying hair and wire-rimmed glasses that make him look more like an accountant than someone who helps run a criminal empire. Which, I suppose, is exactly what he is.

He's carrying a newspaper tucked under one arm.

I set down my pen and lean back in my chair, watching him. He shifts his weight from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable. Good. People should be uncomfortable around me. It keeps them honest.

"Pakhan," he says, his voice carefully neutral, "I apologize for the interruption."

"Then why are you interrupting?" I keep my tone mild, but there's steel underneath. He hears it. His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows.

"There's something you should see." He steps forward, moving carefully like he's approaching a sleeping bear. When he reaches my desk, he sets the newspaper down and takes a quick step back, putting distance between us.