The house was cold and silent. Heavy room-darkening curtains were pulled tight over all the windows. Several men dressed in all black holding semi-automatic weapons greeted Vaska with a nod but said nothing. I rubbed my arms as a chill raced up my spine.
“Where is Emma?” I asked.
“In a minute, first you and I need to talk,” responded Vaska.
“I’d rather see Emma.”
Vaska gave me a sad smile. “Then once again I’m forced to disappoint you, krasotka.”
Wrapping his strong fingers around my upper arm, he half escorted, half dragged me past the kitchen and into the living room, then up the stairway. He chose the first bedroom on the right. He pushed me over the threshold before barking an order in Russian to the man guarding the hallway as he slammed the door shut. He then leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest.
I paced deeper into the room, feeling the tension like a thick smoke that was slowly encircling me, cutting off my air.
Vaska pierced me with that dark stare I always found so terrifying yet mesmerizing. He inhaled a deep breath, which he seemed to let out through clenched teeth. When he spoke, his voice was deep and calm, as if he were measuring each word carefully. “The time for playing games is over, Mary. First thing tomorrow morning, I’m taking you to the courthouse and we are getting married.”
No proposal.
No down on one knee.
No declaration of love.
No ring.
Just an ultimatum.
No, not an ultimatum.
An ultimatum would imply I at least had a choice to make.
I reached for his signet ring, which I still wore on a chain around my neck. The warmth of the silver offered little of its usual comfort. “So this past week, when I thought we were making a genuine effort to get to know one another to see if this relationship could work and whether or not I was going to live with you—to you it was just a game?”
He straightened to his full height.
Out of instinct, I shifted further into the room, placing the king bed between us. Like the rest of the house, heavy curtains blocked out all the sunshine. Only a small lamp on a bedside table illuminated the room. Its weak rays cast Vaska’s harsh, angular face into deep shadow, giving him an almost sinister appearance. He nodded. “Yes, I was just humoring you. There was never a chance of me letting you go.”
Hysterical laughter bubbled up inside my chest and threatened to choke me. “Well, at least you’re honest.”
“That makes one of us,” snapped Vaska.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I fired back.
He stormed across the room, cornering me. As my back pressed against the wall, he raised his arms and his palms went to either side of my head, caging me in. “Yes, honest,” he bit out the word like a curse. “From the very first moment I met you, I’ve been nothing but honest with you—about my profession, my intentions, my feelings for you.”
I scoffed as I rolled my eyes. “Yes, that you wanted to fuck me.”
His gaze traveled to my mouth, then back to my eyes. “Yes, I wanted to fuck you. You were by far the most beautiful creature I’d ever laid eyes on and when you opened that sweet mouth of yours and nothing but fiery sass came pouring out, I wanted to fuck you even more.” He shifted his hand to my throat, pressing his fingers against my jaw, forcing my head back as far as the wall would allow. “And the moment I fucked you, the very moment my cock sank deep into that tight pussy of yours, I knew you were mine. Not for a night or a weekend or a few months of fun. Mine. Forever mine.”
He rubbed his thumb across my lower lip, smearing my matte blood-red lipstick. “This mouth opened on a sweet gasp and all I could think was how I wanted to be the one to breathe oxygen back into your lungs. I wanted the clothes I bought to be the only ones that touched your skin. I wanted the food you ate to only come from my fingertips. I wanted, no, I selfishly craved, to be your everything. I have never hidden that fact from you. You’ve known my intentions from the start. I love you, Mary. I never thought I was capable of that emotion until you and I know you love me too. You’re just too scared to admit it. To admit you fell in love with the wrong kind of man.”
I inhaled deeply through my nose, trying to calm my hammering heart. It didn’t work. I could smell the sexy spicy scent of his cologne and feel the warmth of his body as it pressed against my hips. I closed my eyes, trying to block him out. “This can’t be love. It’s too much. My whole life has been turned upside down because of you.”
He slammed his fist against the wall over my head before wrapping his hands around my shoulders and pulling me close to him. “Goddamn it. Open your eyes. Look at me.”
I obeyed, meeting his intense sapphire gaze.
He squeezed my shoulders tighter, pressing me closer as he loomed tall and powerful over me. “Yes, Mary. This is love. It’s messy and inconvenient. I’m not the knight in shining armor you imagined as a little girl. But I am the man who would fight the devil himself to keep you by his side. Who would give his last living breath to protect you. I swear to God there will never be a moment in your life you won’t feel wanted and cherished and loved by me. Just say it, please, Mary, say what I want to hear. Say what I know you feel, but have refused to admit.”
I slipped my arms between his and swiped at the tears on my cheeks. I could feel myself falling but still resisted the final fall. “All we do is fight.”
“That’s not true. We fight and we fuck, and we laugh and we eat good food and drink good wine. We’re both passionate, stubborn people determined to suck the marrow out of life. You can fight me all you want, but stop fighting us.”
Before I could respond, there was a soft knock on the door. Someone called out something in Russian. Vaska lowered his head before releasing me with a resigned sigh. Bitter cold rushed in where there had been warmth. He opened the door. The same guard spoke to him in rapid, hushed tones.
Vaska nodded. He looked over his shoulder at me.
I hadn’t moved. As strange as it sounded, I wasn’t sure I could stand let alone walk on my own without Vaska by my side, holding me up. My stomach clenched. The cruel reality of what might be happening crashed down on me. I opened my mouth to tell him I loved him, but I couldn’t form the words.
He left without saying another word.
I fell to my knees and cried.
I did not know whether it was hours or minutes later that I became aware of Emma’s arms around my shoulders. She spoke in soothing tones, but I didn’t hear a word. I allowed myself to be led out of the room and downstairs. She sat me in the center of the sofa and wrapped a blanket around me. I stared blankly ahead as she spoke to one guard. She was using broken English so I could only assume the four or five guards I had seen so far mostly spoke Russian, but I heard the words tequila and Doritos before the guard turned and headed out the back door.
The sofa dipped as she sat next to me. She wrapped her arm back around me and lowered her head to my shoulder. “Reinforcements are coming.”
“Am I making a mistake?”
She answered without hesitation. “Yes.”
I huffed, then cast her an exasperated glare. “Don’t sugarcoat it, just give it to me straight.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. I will, because I know you’d do the same for me. Look, Vaska is a good man. Did you know he’s the one who convinced Dimitri to get back together with me after we broke up?”