Page 1 of Darkest Desire

Chapter One

Nico

Iknew the first time I saw her, I had to have her.

The way she spoke so confidently. The fire in her eyes. The bravery.

I knew then that I could make an alliance and gain a wife in the process.

Sasha Petrov captivated me when I first saw her months ago and now I’ve come to collect.

Now I’ve come to make her mine.

Sasha

The sneer on my uncle’s face isn’t anything new. He’s been continuously frustrated since he first moved into my family’s home.

Since he first invaded, I should say.

After my dad died a year ago, he forced himself into my home and hasn’t left since.

“Happy birthday,” my mom, Tatiana, says as she sets the cake down before me. Twenty candles are on the cake.

My younger sisters, Irina and Anastasia, clap for me as I blow the candles out while my uncle Denis continues to look unhappy. He hates celebrations. He hates seeing me and my family have any sort of fun.

The occasion is marked with some sadness though. My older sister, Natalya, isn’t here with us. She’s married to Mikhail Novikoff, a Bratva man, whom Denis hates. My uncle hasn’t allowed her over since she tried to save us by taking us away to live with her. That plan failed and me and my other sisters have been stuck with Denis for a whole year.

Natalya and I always had a strained relationship. She was so focused on her ballet while I floundered through life, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. It caused tension between us.

She preferred to spend time with Irina, who’s also a ballerina, leaving no room for me.

But after she married and tried desperately to save us, I’ve warmed up to my older sister and for the first time, I actually miss her. I wish she was here for my birthday.

“Just one more year and you can legally drink,” Anastasia, my youngest sister says with excitement. At sixteen, she tends to think of only partying and having fun since she’s been deprived of it her entire life. All my sisters and myself have been.

Our father, Lev, who was killed a year ago by mafia members, had strict dating rules for us: no dating at all. The plan was always to find us a Mafia man to marry. Natalya found Mikhail.

And now it’s my turn to get a husband.

Denis locks eyes with me across the table. He’s a less handsome version of my father. Where my father was strong and tall, Denis is weak and short. He’s a pale comparison.

A slow smile creeps across his face and I shiver. I know what it means. It means he’s going to marry me off to a man of his choosing. Soon.

I knew this day was coming but I’m not sure I’m going to take it as graceful as Natalya did. I’ve never been a rule breaker myself but I’ve also longed for freedom. Longed to just live my life for myself.

But my life will belong to the man that Denis chooses for me.

Mom cuts the cake and hands each of us a piece. When she places a plate in front of Denis, he grabs her wrist.

“You did a good job with the cake,” he says.

Mom tries to tug her wrist free but he’s not letting go. I’ve seen the way he looks at my mom. I’ve seen it for the past year. He wants her.

But she refuses to give herself to him.

“Thank you,” she says through tense lips. “Now I’d actually like to eat it.”

Slowly, he lets her go and she sits down next to Ana, acting as a force between her youngest daughter and her brother-in-law. Denis has hit Ana in the past to keep us in line.