Page 26 of Beautiful Sinner

She comes running into the room. “Yes?”

“Escort Mr. Sidorov out. Please.”

“You are going to regret this, little girl,” he threatens as Mrs. Green walks him to the door. It’s at that very moment that Viktor returns home.

With Connor at his side. They all stop in the foyer, staring at each other.

“What is happening?” Viktor asks.

“Your sister insulted me,” Grigori says.

“He tried to touch me without my permission.”

Viktor’s face contorts into pure anger. “You need to leave, Grigori. I will not have any man take advantage of my sister like that. Go.”

“But – who will marry Julia then? It should be me.”

“Or it could be me,” Connor offers. I go still. He can’t be serious. But the look in his eyes tells me that he’sveryserious.

Connor wants me and by the look in Viktor’s eye, he doesn’t seem mad at the idea.

Chapter Five

Julia

“It can’t be him,” Grigori huffs. “He’s Irish. Your sister should be with an established Bratva man, like me.”

Viktor pinches the bridge of his nose. “I haven’t made a decision about Julia and marriage. I want her to be ok with it.”

“Thank you,” I say. “Because I am not ok with marrying Connor.”

“Why do you say that?”

Connor gives me a dark grin that sends a shiver down to my toes. “Yeah, Julia, why do you say that?”

Damn him. I can’t tell Viktor the reason I don’t feel safe with Connor: that he tried to pressure me to take drugs when I didn’t want to because to admit to that would be to admit to beingat Dante’s club. Connor saw me talking to Matteo, though he doesn’t know we’ve spoken multiple times. I can’t say any of this.

“I just… barely know him,” I explain to Viktor. “I don’t want to marry someone I barely know.”

“I get that,” Viktor says. “And no decision will be made today.”

“But-,” Grigori objects. “Are you actually considering marrying Julia to an Irishman? I just can’t believe it.”

“Connor is a new ally. It’s worth considering.”

“But I’m the one with the money!”

Viktor sighs. “I know but Grigori, you just tried to touch my sister without her consent. I don’t want that for her.”

“But we were to be married. A married woman lets her husband touch her.”

“But you and Julia aren’t married so you were not supposed to touch her.”

Connor smiles smugly and it only makes me want to hit him. “Yeah, old man. You should really go. Julia wants to marry someone young. Someone handsome.”

Matteo’s face crosses my mind. If only it could be him, but I know that’s absurd. Even if I had the chance to be with Matteo, that doesn’t mean he’d want to be with me.

“Careful, boy,” Grigori snaps. “I have enough power in my pinkie finger to take you down.”