Page 7

CHAPTER 6

ANASTASIA

Maybe I shouldn’t have played so nice.

It’s been three days of me pretending to tolerate the old freak, but now he’s starting to act like I really like him.

Eww.

What is he, forty years older than me? Just, why?

Tonight he has me sitting closer. Maybe he might start letting me eat better?

Except now I’m able to smell his cloying cologne with the stench of stagnant cigar smoke tainting it.

Everything about him is repulsive. But it’s also because he kidnapped me .

That’s hard to look past.

“Come, dear. Sit next to me.” He grabs the leg of my chair and screeches it over the marble floor so that my knee brushes his under the table.

“Let’s see how nice you really are. Will you bite the hand that feeds you?” He picks up a piece of rich meat and holds the morsel in front of my lips. “Open wide, malyshka .”

My spine stiffens. I am not his baby girl.

But I have to be.

Obediently, I let my jaw drop slack for his thick fingers to push the dripping bit into my mouth.

Oh fuck, it tastes so good, I can’t stop the moan that escapes.

Weeks of nothing but lettuce and bland ass chicken makes this divine tidbit resemble heaven on my tongue.

Ivan leans closer and wipes a drip from my chin that he licks off of his own thumb. “See how good I can treat you? You’ll be making that noise for me every night.”

I’m going to puke.

“So—” I might as well before he pushes any further. “—do you think my mom will make it to the wedding?” My breath catches in my chest when he leans away.

A knot forms in my throat that I can’t swallow around.

I wish he would just answer me!

Instead, he pulls a dollop of mashed potatoes onto the tip of his nicotine stained finger and holds it in front of me.

“Show me how badly you want to know the answer.” His lecherous grin bares his teeth as he stares at my mouth.

Why won’t he tell me?

If I don’t do what he asks, will I ever know?

I’ll find out at the ceremony, but there’s no way I’m going to survive until then. My only choice is to escape or die trying.

My tongue darts over my lips nervously with indecision.

No, I can’t do this.

Shaking my head, I try to back away from his hand.

But his other snakes out and grabs my jaw, forcing it open.

“You’re going to take everything I give you.” His hot breath festers over my skin before I feel the wet lick up my cheek.

Then his finger drives into my mouth, far enough that I begin to gag.

“That’s it. Get used to choking on me.” He smears the mush into the back of my throat.

Jerking my head away, my palms push against the table until I can gain the leverage to bite his intruding digit.

Grabbing my knife, I swing around and lash the tines across his face.

He yanks himself from me, stemming the sudden flow of blood.

“You fucking bitch,” he growls, pressing a linen napkin against his jowls.

I don’t want to wait for him to lash out.

Kicking my chair out, I run upstairs to my room as fast as I can.