Page 158 of Ruthless Rustanovs

Sola fumed long after Ivan left her alone in the solarium. Mainly because he’d been right. She had been watching him swim. But only for a little while, just a few furtive moments, when she thought he couldn’t see her. But obviously he had seen her.

After today’s little peep show, she hadn’t expected him to show up in the solarium—where she’d been trying desperately to distract herself from thoughts of her sexy captor.

And seriously, could he have looked any sexier?

she wondered, with an inner groan. She’d thought he’d been something to watch when he was swimming, muscles rippling as his strong body sliced through the water like a knife through butter.

But up close and personal? In an open robe and in tight black swim trunks, water dripping down his torso toward his heavily yoked waist…

She’d barely been able to hide her reaction to him. Prattling on about opera, afraid to meet his gaze, lest hers accidentally stray down that magnificent body.

A magnificent body she definitely should NOT want. You know, because of the whole he locked your mentor, an elderly man with a sick husband, in a jail cell and then basically forced you to stay here against your will thing? she reminded herself snidely.

What had Brian called him? A brute—yes, he was a brute, she reminded herself as she stomped up the stairs to her room. She’d meant every word she’d said about him being a spoiled brat…and she had no idea why she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

With a frustrated huff, she grabbed her coat off the bed and headed back downstairs. So determined was she to show him he wasn’t the boss of her, she had her coat zipped up and the Thermalite gloves she’d stored in its pockets on her hands before she even reached the front door.

Stupid Russian brute, she thought, marching angrily down the hill. Trying to call her out for ogling him. Trying to use food as a way to get her into his bed. Well, she’d show him. Hannah’s food was great, but she’d been meaning to try that lamb stew at The Thirsty Wolf all week, anyway.

Yet when Sola walked through the bar’s main entrance, she found Lorraine there, alone.

That’s odd, she thought to herself, frowning.

Even stranger, Lorraine was placing what appeared to be a large iron door against the wall where the bottles were shelved.

At least the large rectangle with hinges looked like it was made of iron.

But it couldn’t possibly be because as tough as Lorraine was, she would never have had the strength to lift something that heavy at her age.

However it sure looked like that was exactly what she was doing.

Suddenly, the older woman stopped her work and sniffed the air. Then she quickly turned, her eyes widening when she saw Sola standing just inside the door.

“Sola? What are you doing here?!”

“Um, I was hoping to get a bowl of lamb stew,” Sola answered as her eyes continued to scan the rest of the room.

Not only was the main bar empty—and it was never empty, at least not that she’d ever seen—but all the metal chairs in the dining area had been placed upside down on the round, wooden tables.

Even weirder, the chairs were strung through with what looked like some sort of very thin, silver chain.

It was as if someone had taken a delicate silver necklace and threaded it through the backs of each chair. But why? Sola wondered.

“We’re closed on full moon nights, Sola. Everything is,” Lorraine’s voice rang out across the bar, interrupting her confused observations.

“Oh yeah…” She’d completely forgotten about the full moon night rule, despite Ivan reminding her about it earlier in the solarium.

Sola once again cursed her Russian captor. There was no way she would have forgotten about the curfew if he hadn’t made her so angry.

“Hannah didn’t make you dinner tonight?” Lorraine asked, her tone agitated, bordering on bewildered.

“She did,” Sola quickly assured the perturbed bar keep. “But...”

She trailed off, not quite knowing how to explain that thanks to an argument with her captor, she’d been shut out of the house’s kitchen.

Lorraine didn’t seem all that interested in her explanations. “It’s after five o’clock, Sola! Far as I can tell, there is no reason for you to be wandering around town after curfew.” Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, her expression stern and almost parental.

“I’m sorry, Lorraine. I know I shouldn’t be out, but…

” Sola trailed off again because truth be told, she hadn’t really thought it would be a big deal if she bent the rules a little.

Gregory and Hannah had been rather vague when she asked for more details about the full moon nights.

Just a bunch of stuff about traditions and the original tribe who settled here hundreds of years ago.

But again, Lorraine didn’t give Sola time to ruminate further.

“Look, the full moon could rise any minute now,” she told Sola, with something that sounded an awful lot like panic wobbling her normally strong voice. “I’ve got to get down to the basement. I could—” she cleared her throat. “I could get in trouble for harboring someone after curfew.”

She could get in trouble? What?

“Lorraine,” she started.

But the older woman was already backing away toward the iron door.

“I’ve got to go,” she said, again. “But I’ll call Hannah and Gregory first thing in the morning.

You stay here—do not leave—until they come to get you.

Help yourself to anything in the kitchen.

I think I have a few blankets in the office for you to sleep on.

But do not open this door. And do not open the front door, either.

Keep it locked. No matter what you hear.

Remember, Hannah or Gregory will come round to get you first thing in the morning. ”

“First thing in the morning?!? Wait, what?!?! I don’t understand. Lorraine, wait!”

But it was too late. The older woman had disappeared through the heavy metal door with an echoing slam. The next thing Sola heard was the clicking and sliding sounds of locks engaging.

“Lorraine?” she called out. “Lorraine?!”

No answer, just the fading thumps of feet descending the basement stairs, faster than she would have thought a woman Lorraine’s age could move.

What the…?

Seriously confused, Sola stood in the now silent bar, trying to decide what to do.

Lorraine had been adamant that she not leave the premises until the next morning.

But Sola honestly had no idea why Lorraine expected her to wait here all night for someone to pick her up when she’d been walking herself home for a week now with no problem whatsoever.

And there was no way she was going to spend all night at The Thirsty Wolf, waiting for someone from the house to get her the next day.

Mind made up, Sola opened the main door and walked out into the cold evening.

She slowly began to head back up the town’s main road, then up the hill towards the manor.

The return walk was a lot slower going. Not only because it was uphill, but because the wind was blowing directly in her face.

Filling her eyes with tears and pushing her back, almost as if it didn’t want her to reach the house.

Or maybe the weather was just a reflection of her mood.

She didn’t much feel like going back to the house.

It was nearly six o’clock and her stomach was grumbling loudly.

She could just picture Ivan in the kitchen.

Eating the delicious meal Hannah had prepared.

Gloating, because she’d be going to bed hungry.

Plus, she wouldn’t be able to have her usual nightcap, which in her state, might bring on all kinds of troubles after she went to bed.

God, she hated whining. She’d learned a long time ago to accept that the world wasn’t fair. But she’d never come as close to feeling sorry for herself as she did right now, fighting the bitterly cold wind in an attempt to return to the manor-shaped jail cell—

A low growl interrupted her troubled thoughts, and she snapped her head around. Was that a dog? She peered carefully into the surrounding trees until she spotted a large shape just a few feet away from where she stood.

No, not a dog. This animal was way bigger.

Maybe a wolf? It had a pair of green eyes that seemed to glow under the light of the full moon.

For some reason that she could only chalk up to fear-based delusions, the eyes put her in mind of Gregory.

But these eyes definitely weren’t kind like Gregory’s.

Especially considering they were paired with a fierce, growling muzzle.

Sola tried backing away slowly. The house was only a few meters from where she stood. Close, but in the deep snow, so far away…

Did she dare risk making a run for it?

She didn’t have time to ponder her predicament for very long. The wolf suddenly advanced towards her, it’s teeth bared threateningly.

And Sola made up her mind in less than a split second: she screamed and ran. As fast as her snow boots could carry her. Faster than she’d ever run before, thanks, in part, to the massive boost of fear-based adrenaline that shot through her nervous system.

Not fast enough though. She could feel the wolf at her back. Closing the distance between them a heck of a lot faster than she was closing the distance between herself and the door.

But then the manor’s front door suddenly flung open, bathing the dark scene in light as a massive figure sprinted toward her.

“No, no!” she screamed, when she realized what Ivan planned to do.

But it was too late. The wolf was in mid-air, leaping toward her, but instead of sinking it’s teeth into her back, it collided with Ivan.

Sola watched in wide-eyed horror as the Russian caught the wolf by the throat mid-leap, and punched it. Yes, punched it. Once. Twice. Then a third time.

What. The. Good. Jesus. Her brain was still having a hard time computing what she just saw, even as she watched the gray wolf fall to the ground, knocked out cold.

Then Ivan was grabbing her by the arm. “Come, Sola!” he yelled, yanking her back toward the house.

Somewhere in the distance, another wolf growled. And beyond that, multiple wolves began howling repeatedly. Their eerie cries intermingling and sending twin jolts of fear and awe up her spine.

I’m coming, Russian dude. You don’t have to ask me twice!

Sola was, for once, incredibly happy to follow wherever the Russian brute led.