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My body is tense and stiff as I try and control every single physical urge that is rushing through me. I want her. I want to take her right now, but I can see that for some reason, she is not comfortable. She’s backed away from me, and the look in her eyes is one of horror.

I push myself away from her and she quickly climbs off the bed.

I can taste her on my lips, the erotic scent of her is on my skin. My cock is so hard it's aching.

She rushes into the bathroom and shuts the door, and I roll onto my back and breathe out a very heavy sigh of annoyance. What the hell just happened?

I climb off the bed and march through to the other room, going into the ensuite and pulling the shower handle on. I step beneath the water and try to clear my head, but it’s not working. All I can feel is her soft skin, all I can see when I close my eyes is her beautiful body.

I reach down and grab my cock. If I don’t sort myself out, I won’t be able to get anything done today.

After the shower, I feel a fraction better, but I’m still annoyed. I don’t understand why she stopped.

But I guess I do.

She is a prisoner here. Why would she want to be intimate with me?

But then why the hell did she start it this morning?

“Fucking woman,” I mutter, wondering if I will ever understand her.

Besides, she is not here to be understood. She is not my guest. She is part of my plan for revenge on her father.

I head back into my own room with a towel wrapped around my waist. She is still in the bathroom. I shake my head. Whatever. She can hide in there all day if she wants to.

I get dressed and head out. I have meetings to get to, and Maxim asked me to stop by his office to go over some of our new clients' requests.

Penny makes breakfast for me, and I sit in the dining room thinking about Sasha. I don’t want to be thinking about her, not like this. Not in a way that suggests I might have a soft spot for her. Because I don’t. I definitely don’t.

***

At Maxim’s office, I sit in the chair at his desk while he talks about things I should be paying attention to.

“So the product is going to be more expensive if we ship it the way he wants us to ship it. We need to convince him he’ll be saving money by using our carrier. If he still wants to use his carrier—well, at least we’ve given him the option, you know?”

I look up at him.

“Leon? Did you hear a word I just said?”

“Yes, his carrier, more expensive.” I mutter.

“Where’s your head this morning? You seem distracted.”

“Sorry, man, I am. I don’t know why.”

He chuckles. “I might know why.”

“Why?” I ask, snappy and agitated.

“Are you used to having a female living with you?”

I roll my eyes.

“Listen, I also wanted to talk to you about what happened at the party. Rico Nunes is not going to be a problem anymore. That guy was in a state after you left. All he wanted to do was tear Sasha apart.” Maxim shakes his head. “But I’ve sorted him out. It definitely won’t happen again.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.” I sigh. “Yeah, I’m not used to having a girl in the house.” Leaning back in his office chair, I fold my arms across my chest and roll my head to try and ease the tension in my neck.

“Have you already started your plan, having you been torturing her?”

His questions catch me off guard, and I clear my throat, wondering how to answer it.

“I have been,” I confirm. But I know that the Dubrovs' version of torture is not at all what I have been doing to Sasha. I can’t tell him that, though. I don’t want to come across as weak. My entire plan was to make her life an absolute misery. A living hell.

What have I been doing? Taking away her luxury. I mean, honestly, can I even call that torture?

“So, the entire circle of allies knows that she’s your wife now. They know what’s going on. Rico obviously made such a scene that it caught everyone’s attention. They are all talking about it amongst themselves. Danil is sure to find out where his daughter is sooner rather than later because of that.”

“No, our allies won’t give that information to Balakin. I trust them.”

“But what is your plan from this point on?”

“Just be patient, man. I’m taking this slow. It’s a slow burn. I have her, that’s what counts. At the moment, her father is probably going crazy wondering where she is. I want that. I want him to be suffering with worry and stress over his precious little girl.”

Maxim seems unconvinced. He stands up and paces around his office.

“If you don’t want Balakin to know where she is yet, why did you bring her to the party? It seems risky.”

“Because now our allies know that I have her and that I have the leverage against that asshole. I guess I was making a statement. Introduce her as my wife and show them that I am in control.”

“Well, it certainly caused a stir. That’s for sure. A lot of people are asking a lot of questions,” Maxim says, pulling a bottle of sparkling water from his small office fridge. “You want one?”

“No, thanks. Well, let them ask questions. They’ll see what I’m up to soon enough.”

Maxim returns to his chair behind his desk and leans back, stretching his legs out in front of him. “OK, just keep me in the loop. It’s good to know what’s happening on your side so that if Balakin does try anything we can be ready.”

“Oh, I’ll be ready.” I smile darkly. “That asshole is going to get what’s coming to him. You don’t tear someone’s family away like that and not see the karma of those actions.”

The rest of the meeting with Maxim, I do my best to focus and get through it without thinking about Sasha and what did, or didn’t, happen this morning.

Once we sort out what we need to go through I head out, ready to get home. I want to know what Sasha is up to. I have my guards watching her every move, so I know she can’t get out of the house, but I am just curious what she’s been doing since this morning’s awkwardness.

I also want to know how she is going to act towards me after all of that.

I drive back towards home and realize that I don’t even know how I am going to act towards her. I still feel a lot of tension and possibly some confusion. Because, again, she started with me this morning. I didn’t do anything to force the issue, even though I definitely wanted to. No. No, she is here for one reason, and one reason only.

I need to stop letting my mind and body wander like this.

I park outside and see Chiara’s car in the driveway. My guess is that Maxim told her what happened at the party and she’s here to check on Sasha.

In the kitchen, Penny lets me know that the girls are out on the patio despite the colder weather.

When I walk outside, Chiara is her usual friendly self. Sasha seems awkward and stiff. But I can’t take my eyes off her. The more I look at her, the more the images of what happened this morning flash through my mind.

“I want to take Sasha shopping later this week,” Chiara says, standing, ready to leave.

I turn towards her. She wants to take Sasha out without me. I’m not sure I like that idea. Even if I send a guard with them, it’s risky.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Let me know,” Chiara replies before heading out.

I walk closer to Sasha, standing right in front of her and looking down at her. “Shopping?” I glare at her.

She is here to be tortured, not to go shopping. I am meant to be making her unhappy, yet she is sitting out here on the patio having an afternoon chat like it’s a girls' tea party.

“She just invited me. I didn’t ask,” she replies defensively.

“I see. So you don’t want to go shopping?”

“I—um—no, maybe. It would be nice to just get out a little. But I don’t have any money, so I guess it would just be to walk around. That’s all.”

“The house isn’t big enough to walk around in?” I know I’m just trying to push her buttons.

“That’s not what I said.” She sighs in frustration, pushing off the chair and standing up, forcing me to take a step back, which I don’t like.

“What did you say, then?”

“Nothing. I don’t want to go shopping. Forget she even asked,” she huffs, then turns her back on me to storm off. But before she leaves, I grab her arm and spin her back towards me. She’s right up against my chest when she turns, and she gasps with fright.

“Dinner is at seven sharp this evening. I expect you to join me,” I say, looking down at her as waves of heat bolt through my body.

“Um, yes, okay, dinner. I’ll be there,” she stammers, shifting uncomfortably. I like to watch her squirm against me, but the problem is it’s turning me on.

I am supposed to be enjoying her discomfort, but not in a sexual way.

I release my grin on her arm, and she breathes a sigh of relief and steps away from me.

She pulls her top straight and then shoots a glare of defiance at me. Except in her eyes I see fire, heated sexual desire. She’s annoyed. And if I’m not mistaken, it’s because she is also turned on and doesn’t want to be.

“Can I go now?” she snaps.

“I’m not stopping you.” I gesture towards the door she wants to storm off through. and she spins on her heels and does so.

I chuckle as I watch her walk away, my eyes grazing over her beautiful body.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.

***

For the rest of the afternoon we both manage to avoid each other. She spends the majority of her time in the library, reading, and I spend the majority of my time in my home office, pretending to work, but really just feeling distracted and wondering what she is doing.

At seven, I head downstairs to the dining room, looking forward to dinner with her, even though we aren’t really talking.

She is already seated when I walk in, and I sit in the chair opposite her. She steals a quick glance up at me, and then her eyes drop back down to the plate settings in front of her.

“What were you reading?” I ask, fixing my eyes on her because it seems to make her uncomfortable.

“ A Frozen Kiss .”

“A love story?”

She laughs. “No, a murder story.”

“Mm.” My eyes narrow at her. “I didn’t take you for a murder mystery kind of girl.”

“Why not? My own life is full of it,” she shrugs.

“Your life is full of murder? But then why would you also want to read about it in your leisure time?”

“My life has been full of some dark things. And I like to read about it because at the end of the book, the bad guy gets caught, and he has to pay for what he’s done. It gives me closure. Some kind of satisfaction that people don’t just do what they want and get away with it.” Her eyes lock with mine and she speaks with confidence, as though she is challenging me to tell her she’s wrong in some way.

Then, when she realizes how much she’s said, she seems to shrink into her chair and look uncomfortable again, waiting for a backlash of some sort.

My eyes soften towards her. My face relaxes and my shoulders drop. “I like reading science fiction,” I say casually, needing to continue talking to quiet the wild and inappropriate thoughts that are circling in my head.

She tucks a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear and tilts her head towards me. “You read?”

She sounds sincerely surprised, and it makes me crack up laughing.

“Of course, I read. Why wouldn’t I read?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I guess—I mean, in my house I was the only one who ever read.”

“Why do you like reading?” My eyes follow the shape of her lips, the rosy color of her cheeks, the way her neck curves down to her shoulder.

“To escape,” she says simply.

“Escape what? Your life of luxury?”

She shakes her head and looks at me as though I’ve lost my mind. Even when she pulls weird faces, her expressive gestures, she is still incredibly beautiful. “Luxury?”

The chef walks in and places our dinner in front of each of us. The rich aroma of lamb stew hits my senses. “Perfect choice for this weather.” I nod in thanks and he smiles then leaves us alone again.

I look over to Sasha and catch her staring at me. She quickly looks away as the air between us fills with tension.

It’s like someone left a live wire pulsing static electricity between us.

She picks up her fork and mumbles, “It looks delicious.”

I watch her as she opens her lips and makes a small bit of lamb, letting the fork drag from her mouth slowly. The things I want to do to that mouth.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

“What?” she asks quickly, sitting straighter and looking nervous.

“Jeez. Why are you so tense?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” I tilt my head in confusion.

“I thought you swore.”

“I did.” I continue to stare at her. Her green eyes are bright with confusion, then curiously, then her eyes drop to my lips.

Her eyes flare open, and she quickly drags her gaze away. I grin.

She is feeling it, too. Maybe that’s why she’s so edgy at dinner tonight.

While we eat, I think to myself that my entire plan to torture her is not going at all how I wanted it to.

I think I need to change things up, clear my head, maybe just distract myself for a bit.

“Tomorrow we are going shopping,” I say, and her head shoots up, her eyes watching me with suspicion.

“Shopping?” she asks cautiously.

“Yes, you know, when you go to a mall, and you walk around, and you buy things?”

She rolls her eyes. “You want to go shopping?”

“No, you did. So I will take you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have to explain anything I do.”

She shakes her head and looks back down at her plate.

“I’m done. Thank you. I think I’m going to bed.”

“Go ahead. I still have some work to do.”

She stands up and leaves. I don’t have any more work to do today, but I can’t face following her into that bedroom right now. The entire dinner was so sexually tense that I don’t trust myself not to grab her and—

What the hell.

Have a drink. Calm down.

Wait till she’s asleep and then go to bed.