Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90084 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90084 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
“Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“Not exactly.” He paces away from me toward the windows. “Distracting you, more like.”
“From what?”
He nods as the door opens and several men come inside. I watch them carry boxes up the steps and disappear onto the second floor. A sinking, nervous feeling makes me put my second glass of vodka back down on the table.
“Valentin,” I repeat, a little more urgently now. “From what?”
He ignores me and drifts to the doorway. The men return and one of them pauses in front of his boss. They speak Russian and I have no idea what they’re saying, but soon the men are gone, and Valentin’s taking me by the arm again.
“I assume you didn’t tell your mother about our arrangement,” he says in a scolding tone. “Maxim tells me she wasn’t happy when they arrived at your house.”
“Hold on a second. Your men were at my house?”
“Apparently, she gave them a whole lot of trouble, actually. Which is quite frustrating.”
I drag myself from his grasp before we can start climbing the stairs. I feel absurd in my wedding dress, but the vodka’s loosening my tongue and giving me a little confidence.
“When did you expect me to tell my mother about me and you? When she was crying on the bathroom floor? Or when you dragged me here and shoved me in a wedding dress?”
“Sometime between those two things would’ve sufficed.” He presses his lips together and turns on me, looming like a skyscraper’s shadow. “Understand something, Karine. You are mine now. You are my wife. You are my queen. Which means you will play by my rules.”
“That wasn’t the deal.”
“That was exactly the deal.” He turns away. “Now come, let’s get you settled.”
I don’t like that word, settled, and reluctantly follow him up to the second floor. He leads me into a beautiful and large master bedroom with modern furniture and expensive-looking minimalist decorations. Everything is a shade of black and gray. Sitting at the end of the big bed are several boxes, each of them labeled with my name.
“You may unpack yourself, if you wish, or I can have Nikkita do it for you.”
His voice sounds distant as I drift to the boxes and bend down to peer inside.
One has all my shoes in it. Another has my pants, my dresses, my underwear. All my clothes, most of the stuff from my room, even a box with the majority of my toiletries, everything neatly packed and labeled.
Horror fills me. It’s like looking at crime scene photographs of my own murder.
“You moved me in?” I ask, looking up at him.
Valentin studies me from the doorway. “What did you think would happen?”
“I don’t know. I wanted some time to explain to my mother—”
“Now you can see why my men had trouble.”
Shit. Mama. Valentin’s goons probably came into the house and traumatized her all over again. “I need to give her a call.”
“Not yet.” He advances on me.
I stand and face him, getting angry now. “She’s probably worried. I’m sure they scared the hell out of her.”
“Maxim explained the situation, since you were unable to do so yourself. Your mother is confused, but she knows you’re safe.”
“This is crazy. Let me call my mom.” I look around for my phone, but I don’t see it anywhere. I left it with Nikkita when I put on the wedding dress earlier, and who knows where it disappeared to.
“You live here now.” Valentin approaches, his eyes locked on mine. “You may speak to your mother shortly. First, we’ll get you settled.”
“Valentin, I’m serious. Let me call her.” I try to brush past him, but he catches my arm and pulls me against him. I let out a gasp of surprise at his firm grip, but he doesn’t hurt me.
“There’s no going home,” he says softly, almost gently. There’s something in his expression, like he almost feels bad about this part, but that doesn’t change the frustration filling my chest.
This is all wrong.
I should’ve told Mama before I left. I should’ve let her know what my plans were, but it happened too fast, and Valentin didn’t tell me that he was going to start moving all of my things here.
Now I’m his wife. I’m his wife, his actual wife, and while I did it for a good reason—to save myself from debt, to keep my mother protected from her own brother—it feels like too much.
Everything’s happening too fast.
“I just want to check on her,” I say, looking back at him, unable to take my eyes away. Valentin’s beautiful in a terrifying and intense kind of way, and it’s difficult to make myself hate him.
Even though I really should.
“She’s safe. I have men posted on her house as we speak, and once you’re settled here, I’ll arrange a visit.”
Reality hits me hard. I gave myself to this man—to this monster—and now he’s treating me like he owns me.