Page 14 of Darkest Sin

“Good. And I’m offering to kill Antoni for you. Then he’s no longer a problem.”

“And what happens to me? With you?”

“I’ll expect you to marry me in return. I want you, Natalya. I want you to be mine. Say you’ll be mine. I really don’t want to have to drag you out of here and lock you away in my mansion. I would much prefer you agree to be my bride.”

All the air leaves me. “You’re dangerous.”

“I never claimed to be anything else. I have done a lot of bad things in my life, Natalya, but taking you against your will is not something I want to do. I am offering you a choice. I’ll kill Antoni if you agree to be my bride.”

I lick my dry lips and his eyes go right to them. What would happen if he just kissed me right now? Would I hate it? Or would I lean into it?

“Can you promise to keep my sisters safe?”

“I promise I won’t hurt them.”

“No. I mean, can you promise to make sure they’re never forced into a marriage they don’t want.”

He frowns and slowly shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t promise that. I don’t control everyone and everything in this city. But I can offer you a chance to not have to marry a rapist. I’ll kill Antoni, you be mine. You’ll live with me.”

“Will I get to see my sisters again?”

“They’ll still be under your uncle’s control, so that will make it hard.”

“Then why not just kill him?”

His laugh is low and dangerous. “You have a dark side to you, don’t you, baby?”

I shiver at the pet name. It’s so intimate. For some reason, it makes me want to press my legs together. “Answer my question. Please.”

“So polite,” he murmurs, taking the box out of my hands and placing it on the floor. He stands chest to chest with me. I can feel the heat radiating off his body. “I could kill Denis. But I know he’s more heavily guarded than Antoni is. Antoni is cocky. He thinks he’s untouchable. It will be easy to kill him. Denis will be harder. I can try but I can’t promise that I’ll kill him. But I can promise to kill Antoni. So what will it be, baby? Do you agree to be my bride?” He places his hands on either side of my head, trapping me in.

Except, I don’t feel trapped exactly.

I gasp when the front of his shirt brushes the front of mine. We’re standing so close. Other than when I’m dancing, I’ve never been this close to another person before.

I know that this is a good offer. If Antoni is dead, then Denis can’t force me or Sasha to marry him. But what happens if Denis just finds another man to force Sasha to marry?

If I’m married to Antoni, then I have no power. Antoni is loyal to my uncle. There is no way to stop him.

But with Mikhail… there is a way. Mikhail clearly is not loyal to my uncle, which means he might be able to kill him one day and save my sisters.

That’s assuming Mikhail isn’t a danger to my sisters. I don’t know for sure. And I’ll never know until I take the plunge and agree to be his bride.

I have to make this decision without knowing all the outcomes.

Because of that, I have to go with my gut.

“Ok,” I whisper. “I’ll be your wife.”

He smiles. “Good choice.” He backs away from me, letting me breathe. “Return home. I’ll take care of Antoni. And then I’ll come for you.”

“You won’t be able to get into my house. It’s too heavily guarded now that Denis is there.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you out. Killing Antoni is my way of saying you can trust me.”

I let out a slow breath. “I’m still not sure I can do that.”

“Then why agree to be my wife?”