“What?” I gazed at her in disbelief. Levan was leaving the family? His father was letting him? How the hell was that even possible?
“Yeah,” she nodded. “Obviously, I’m not saying that Maxim’s going to do the same. He’s more… well… involved and important to the business, but all I’m saying is that I was very surprised when Levan told me that Maxim was willing to marry you.”
She suddenly realized how her words must have sounded, and her hand went to her mouth in apology. “That’s not what I meant to—”
“Relax, it’s okay,” I said and patted her on the shoulder in amusement.
“No, no, I have to explain what I really meant. What I was trying to say was, Maxim is very much his own man so I had a very hard time ever picturing him agreeing to marry a woman he has no interest in. Even after a short time of knowing him I can see just a request from his father for him to marry you would not have been enough to get Maxim to do anything. Yes, he works closely with his father and according to Levan will take instructions from his father where the older man has more experience, but never on anything Maxim does not personally agree with. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is underneath that distant, aloof exterior he is a great guy. He is just as fiercely loyal and intensely passionate as Levan.” She wrinkled her brown eyes. “Maybe even more. You know what they say about the silent ones. So, why not give him a chance, eh? He might not be as bad as you think.”
“What are you two cooking up?”
We both looked up then, startled by the sudden bass voice. It was Levan. Then my gaze fell on the person that stood beside him, and my heart jumped in my chest.
Every single time I laid eyes on him, I was stunned all over again by how handsome he was. How regal… how imposing. It stirred things in me that, God’s truth, made my toes curl. Especially now. He was dressed quite casually which was as rare as sights went. His crisp white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar. The sleeves folded to just below his elbows, revealing strongly-veined, tattooed skin that belonged to a man from another world.
Bianca meant well, but there was just too much bad blood between us. It wasn’t just the man I was against, but his world and everything it represented.
As much as he made my blood race he was not the man for me.
Chapter Twenty
Maxim
She was here!
When my father requested all of us fly in for the dinner, I was certain she wouldn’t show up but here she was, dressed like a bride.
Her white dress fit her like a glove, curving and dipping in all the right places and the neckline was low enough to reveal the gentle swell of her milky-white breasts. Her hair had been pulled back from her face and I missed the wildness of her hair, but it did make her look even more delicate and fragile. Her skin was like fine porcelain and her eyes, effervescent as they stared at me defiantly. Her lips were plump and painted the kind of sinful red that made me almost willing to swim across a few seas just so I could suck them into my mouth. To taste her… to have her body pressed hard against mine, and those slender fingers fisting my shirt as she fought to hold on to her sanity.
Suddenly, it was hard to breathe as I felt myself harden. Not to cause embarrassment that would be too hard to come back from, I gave her a hard look and walked away.
“Maxim,” Levan called, but I continued towards the study. I needed a drink. But as I passed the lounge, I heard my father call my name. I retraced my steps and entered the lounge room to see that my father had opened his best bottle of whisky, drinking it with Freya’s father.
It was a sight to behold indeed, given that for the latter part of the last two decades they hated each other so much they couldn’t even bear to be in the same room together. I slipped my hands in my pockets and stood before both of them.
“How are the wedding arrangements coming?” her father asked.
“I believe that question will be more suited for your daughter, Sir,” I answered. “She seems to have a mind of her own.”
“A mere woman with a mind of her own?” my father scoffed.
“She is no mere woman, she probably has a stronger mind than any of us here.”
There was a sour look on Igor’s face. “My daughter is like a highly-strung horse. She just needs a firm hand.”
“What exactly is the problem here?” my father asked with a frown.
“I think it’s best if you hear from her yourself,” was my response. “No one speaks for Freya.”
Then I continued on my way towards the study where I poured myself a generous amount of whisky. It calmed my nerves, but did very little to take my mind off the girl in the kitchen. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with me and that alone made her unique.
I went to stand by the window. Outside the garden was lit with many lights. The water drops from the waterfall sparkled like diamonds.
At that moment I wanted her so badly I could feel it burning inside me. The fire inside of me I wanted to burn inside her too, but then I thought of my bad-tempered father coming face to face with the tigress he had called a mere woman.
I downed the rest of my drink and frowned. If I was not careful there was a very real possibility this marriage would be called off before the night was over.
Chapter Twenty-One
Freya
“So what date have you and Maxim decided to set for the wedding?”
I choked on the honey cake that had been sliding down my throat, and had to hit my chest for some relief before I lifted my gaze to meet the hard, cold eyes of Mr. Ivankov.
Say what now, or something else equally irreverent sounded in my head, but I noted the watchful, cautious gaze of my father, and decided to tread carefully.
“I … uh.” I looked at Maxim who had his eyes fixed on me as though in a dare. So, of course, I said exactly what I wanted to. “As a matter of fact I have no plans on marrying Maxim. I’ve relayed this to my father and Maxim, very clearly.”
“Freya!” my father called menacingly.
I dropped my fork and stared my father down. “What? What do you expect from me? You didn't even have the kindness to tell me that you were bringing me here to make marriage arrangements for me. I thought you wanted me in Moscow to recuperate, after being stabbed just for being seen with Maxim. And now you all want me to marry him?”
“What exactly about my son do you object to?” his father asked.
I looked the Don right in his fierce eyes and felt a sliver of concern at how this would affect my father and his plans, but he hadn't thought how this would affect my life and my plans so that was his problem to handle. I took a deep breath.
“Your son is a wonderful man. Any woman who gets him should consider herself very lucky, but I just don't want to get married,” I replied, “to anyone.”
“Every woman must get married,” he said, a perplexed frown on his broad forehead. “Every woman must have a man by her side, to provide for her, to protect her—”
“Well, I was right in front of Maxim when I was attacked and he couldn't do anything about it. I could have died that day!”