Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Say something. If you don’t say something right now, you’re going to give in tonight and then it will all be over.
He moved his hand to her back and bent her until she relied solely on his strength to keep her off the ground. And then Dmitri’s wicked, wicked mouth closed around her nipple. The weight of the beaded design seemed heavier with his tongue flicking the engorged bud, making his touch that much hotter. She couldn’t hold back a moan as he moved to her other breast.
Dmitri dragged his mouth up the center of her chest, the only part of her not caged in the dress, stopping at the thick collar. He flicked the hollow of her throat with his tongue. “This is my favorite part of the dress.” He ran his thumb over it. “This, more than anything else, marks you as mine.”
A collar for a kept pet.
It was as if he’d doused her in icy water. Keira went rigid and shoved Dmitri away. She almost fell when he released her, but she regained her balance at the last second. They stood mere feet apart, breathing hard and staring at each other. I am no one’s pet. She slashed her hand through the air. “I might be your wife, Russian, but I’m not yours. I’ll never be yours.”
She could actually see him replacing his aloof mask, piece by piece. It took the space of a heartbeat to hide the desire and rough edges, to cage the beast. Then there was only the icy gentleman-murderer looking out at her. He smoothed his shirt down. “You may fight it all you want, but you were right before—you sold yourself to me the second you walked down the aisle. You are mine. You will always be mine. There’s no escaping it.”
Once upon a time, he’d told her that he couldn’t offer her love. She’d accepted that—love was a pipe dream in her world—but a loveless marriage and an… ownership… were two different things. Keira drew herself up straight. “Good night, Russian.”
Nothing flickered in his expression. “I’ve changed my mind.”
Keira froze. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You have a week. After that, you’ll be in my bed.”
The blood rushed out of her head, leaving her swaying despite her best efforts to keep it under control. “I disagree.”
He didn’t give an inch. “I’m not fucking you, Keira. I gave my word and I’ll keep it. But you are my wife, and the current arrangement no longer holds, so you’ll sleep next to me as if you were my wife in truth.”
Another choice, taken from her.
Another man, thinking he knew best.
Another head of a family, expecting her to follow his orders like a good little solider.
Well, fuck that.
She’d forgotten, for a few seconds. Forgotten that he was the enemy, forgotten that she couldn’t let her guard down—not even physically.
Keira had been playing at rebellion before now. A part of her had still believed that she’d get her happily ever after despite all signs pointing to the contrary, and she’d been hesitant to do anything she couldn’t take back. But, as Dmitri had told her time and time again, he wasn’t Prince Charming in the guise of a beast. He was the beast.
No one was coming to save her. There was no ending where the princess got out of the tower and exchanged vows with her one true love. It was time to put those childish dreams behind her, once and for all.
It was time for Keira to save herself.
Dmitri waited for confirmation that Keira was safely in her bedroom before he went to his office. Tonight didn’t go as expected. A vast understatement. Kirill and Sasha’s absence didn’t bode well, though he was happy Ivan made an appearance. Things would fall out with the family back in Mother Russia as they would, but he couldn’t count on any assistance with the Eldridges. That was to be expected. He hadn’t intended to ask for help in the first place.
A threat against his wife was a threat against him and everything he stood for. He’d been careful with his handling of Alethea before now, but he couldn’t afford to do so any longer.
He also couldn’t afford to wait for Aiden O’Malley to pull his head out of his ass.
“Mikhail.” He didn’t raise his voice, but he didn’t have to.
The man in question stepped into the room and closed the door behind him at a nod from Dmitri. He frowned. “Yes, sir?”
“I need the name of the man who delivered the package here.” Either he’d done it because Mae paid him or because she had blackmailed him. The why didn’t matter as much as the threat this mystery man posed. Dmitri prided himself in the loyalty of his men, and Mae had pulled that assurance out from beneath him. There were only two men he was reasonably sure weren’t guilty—Mikhail and Pavel. Everyone else was suspect.