Page 43 of Devil's Vows

But, even if memories gave her pause, her initial physical reaction to me spoke volumes. She yearns. A girl poised on the brink of womanhood, longing for permission to dive into the sea of female desire and find fulfillment in the right hands. Her husband’s hands…and only her husband’s hands.

Suddenly, there’s more to my quest for sons, for a mother for my girls, for a wife. I will have my way, but my sweet little bird will know only pleasure from here on. Every desire she has will be met, every vile memory erased by the loving, tender, capable hands of her husband.

My hands.

That look in Gabriella’s eyes still haunts me the next morning when I get dressed for work. Something is growing in me, theintense need to protect her, just like I want to protect Milana and my daughters.

I peer into the treasure box, wanting to hug Irisha and Katya before I head off to work. But they are still asleep, and I won’t wake them. If they went to bed early, they’ll be up soon.

I walk out and past the security gate, which I never bothered to lock, just in case…just in casewhat? Sheneeded me?

Don’t be a fucking idiot.

But I slow down. Her door is ajar. It’s still dark out, the first hint of a new day barely on the horizon. I push the door open, quietly, expecting her to still be asleep, but she’s already dressed and on her knees by her bed, praying. A faint line of light from the bathroom’s half-closed door casts her in a soft glow as she presses the small golden cross to her lips, quietly whispering to it.

I’m not a religious man, but this stirs me somehow. I wonder what she’s so intensely praying for, because even if she’s noticed me, she hasn’t stirred.

“Gabriella,” I say after half a minute.Moya ptichka.

She snatches in a breath, completely startled as she turns to me, still on her knees, clutching her cross to her chest, mouth perfectly open in an inviting O.

Fuck my life.

“Mr. Petrov.”

I hold my hand out to her. “I have to get going, and the girls will wake up soon. You need to go to my room.”

“Yes. Yes, sir.”

She scrambles up by herself and ignores my hand. With just a handful of words, she’s drawn the line back, splitting us back into employer and employee. Whatever happened between us last night, my little bird is going to keep this professional.

We’ll see about that. A small, quiet smile wants to ghost over my lips because she doesn’t stand a chance against me.

“I’m going to be late tonight and be gone the whole day. Yuri will be here.”

“Must he be?”

“Yes, for now.”Until you’ve earned my trust.

Until I’ve earned yours. After last night and seeing that fear in her eyes, going fast is no longer an option. I’ll have to let her set the pace. Irisha and Katya will be this age one day, and I wouldn’t want to hand them over to monsters, so I refuse to be one.

Now that my eyes have adjusted to the little light, I notice tear stains on her cheeks. What the hell? For what…and why? I wish I could pull her to me and ask, but she’s distant now, maybe even regretting everything that happened last night. That’s the last thing I want for her, but breaking down her walls is going to take time. Still, I pad closer, reach out, and with a soft sweep of my thumb, brush at the tear stain.

She steps away, eyes downcast, an apologetic woebegone smile on her lips as she wipes at the spot where I touched her. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Coming to live here threw her into the deep end. She might have left with me ‘willingly,’ but she had no choice. She needs reassurance, not only from me, but from her brothers, too.

“I want you to phone your family today, Gabriella. I want you to speak to them every day,” I say, not done with my instructions. “You must reassure your brothers that you are safe. Can you do that for me?”

She looks at me, and then her gaze sweeps down my body, a mimic of last night’s slow inspection, as if she wants to reconnect with every line of ink, every bullet wound on my body, this time being bolder and trace them with a fingertip. The notion is wildly erotic and I latch on to this beam of hope. If she could desire me, think and maybe even fantasize about me, about us, my way is paved.

“You feel safe here, don’t you, Gabriella?” I ask when she only licks her bottom lip and says nothing. “Gabriella?”

“Yes, it’s only that Yuri swapped my phone?—”

“For a simpler one. I know. So you can’t send videos and photos from the house. Yuri needs to be close for now, just until the girls are comfortable. They’ve known him since birth and he’s like an uncle to them.”

She nods. “I understand. It’s not like I’m used to any of this in any case, but it won’t be new for my brothers.” She gives a dismissive wave at her bedroom, encompassing the luxury that turned out not to be bulletproof.