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Over the next few days, I kept my distance from Mila, using all my available willpower.

I was dancing on a razor’s edge to keep my bride a secret from her loved ones.

It wasn’t too difficult to trick Nat into believing Mila was enjoying Rome so much she had decided to stay a while, as long as I managed to follow along with the messages she sent.

Keeping things as simple as possible and not committing to anything she mentioned that I couldn’t figure out from previous messages was working so far, but the ruse wouldn’t last forever.

Eventually, it would start to seem odd that Mila wasn’t returning to Milan, or Nat might decide she’d head down to Rome and join in all the fun Mila was supposedly having.

Her brothers and their wives were all inundating her with messages, too, and so far, I’d been able to put them off with claims of being incredibly busy.

It was morbidly hysterical when her brother Aleks—the man I would have been pleased to see hanging by his toes—had ended his last message with ‘Love you,’ and I’d had to answer it back.

After only a few days, I learned quite a bit about Mila’s family dynamic.

Whatever my feelings for the Fokins were, they cared deeply about each other.

That was something I knew very little about.

When my parents divorced, I was only twelve, and my brother was a couple of years younger.

Our harsh and demanding father and my free-spirited, wayward mother might have loved each other passionately at one time, but they were too different.

She hated the Bratva, but not the fact that we followed our own laws. She was perfectly fine with crime.

She hated the rules, the hierarchy, the fact that no one crossed my father, not even her.

Especially not her. She left, taking half his fortune and Kolya with her.

Even with my father’s ruthless methods of child-rearing, I never envied Kolya’s overly indulgent upbringing.

The few vacations I was forced to spend with them were insufferable, and we became estranged over the years.

When she had a health scare a few years back, Mama wanted to make amends and had moved to LA to spend time with me.

It was a tumultuous time, and I was constantly cleaning up her messes to keep her out of trouble.

As soon as her health cleared up, she was gone again, chasing after a shallow life I cared nothing about.

Learning about a somewhat stable and loving family through Mila’s texts was eye-opening and made me feel small stabs of something I didn’t quite understand.

I finally told them Mila was about to start an ambitious new project and wouldn’t have time for much chit-chat, only sending them the briefest possible updates so they wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong.

Having unexpected feelings for Mila was one thing; having them about her family was quite another.

It was time to go back to the original plan, which had only been to grab the youngest Fokin sibling and hold her for ransom.

The payout is the complete annihilation of her brothers and the return of what they stole from me.

Uncle Eldar had thrown a monkey wrench into that plan, and I’d sent him packing back to Moscow in disgrace. He was not too happy about it, used to being in charge while I ran things from LA. The old man truly didn’t understand that he’d gone way too far.

It was because of him and the selection of men who’d been part of the bidding war for Mila that I had been forced to marry her. There was still no telling if those men had finally given up the idea of purchasing my innocent bride, but they were plenty upset about losing at the time.

Had I honestly been forced to marry her, though?

It wouldn’t have been difficult to send the message that she was mine in some other way.

A way that was less pleasant for me and a lot more painful for them.

And I still called the priest in the middle of the night, because Mila had to be mine, and everyone had to know it.

Everyone except her brothers. While I should have been quick to rub their noses in my victory, now that was the last thing I wanted to do.

The fact that my archenemies were now my brothers-in-law would have made me laugh if this suddenly wasn’t so serious to me.

The original plan was out the window, and nothing was simple anymore. Not if I intended to keep Mila.

Which I did.

My woman was intoxicating, infuriating, enticing, and most confusing of all, I actually enjoyed our conversation that evening after the meeting.

That was the last time she’d spoken to me, and I craved more.

Almost as much as I craved her body. Once wasn’t enough, but seeing her come close to crumbling in the pool made me swear she’d be making the next move.

The sight of her lush body slicing through the crystal water had me almost bursting from wanting her. The sound of her voice cracking and the tears that shimmered on her lashes had nearly knocked me flat. That wasn’t going to happen again.

However, I was tired of the silence between us.

I could see that she was bored and lonely, too.

As soon as I finished my work, I slapped my laptop shut and went to our room.

She’d been ordered to sleep beside me, and she was being dutiful, if clinging to the opposite side of the bed to maintain maximum distance could be counted.

In order to fulfill my promise that I wouldn’t let the quarry get run into the ground, I had been printing out her emails and contracts and letting her do as much as possible without gaining access to a phone.

I found her sitting at the desk near the window of our room, twiddling her thumbs and staring at the trees swaying in the breeze outside.

Some papers rested under her elbows, completely ignored.

Just like she ignored me when I headed into the closet and selected a dress at random.

She looked hotter than hell in anything, so it hardly mattered which one.

“Put this on,” I said, holding it up for her to see. “I’m sick of wasting Rome.”

She barely glanced at me before telling me where to go. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't one of the city’s famous hotspots. “Enjoy the nightlife,” she snipped. “On your own.”

I continued staring at her until she looked my way, and our eyes met. Mine meant business.

“This isn’t negotiable. We’re having some fun, damn it.”

My tone was light, but the look I gave her seemed to tell her to take the dress and get ready.

Which she did. Good, we were finally on the same page, even if the scowl she gave me as she dragged her feet into the bathroom was harsh enough to peel my skin off.

Well, I’d just have to show her I was right about this. We would have a good time.

My first instinct was to take her to the most exclusive club in the city. I wasn’t used to going to places I didn’t have a stake in, but rolling up in the right car, wearing the right watch, and flashing enough euros would get us the VIP treatment I was used to.

The problem was that Mila was used to it as well, and something like that wouldn’t impress her. She’d grown up with as much wealth as I had obtained over the years and was used to people fawning all over her.

What did she like? What would make her show me that beautiful smile I’d gone too long without? It was hard to get to know someone who refused to speak to you. But I had her messages and a watchful eye.

She loved fine things, especially clothes.

I’d noticed her examining the seams of the new outfits I ordered in for her and running her fingers over the fabrics with appreciation.

And the girl loved to eat. I could work with that.

While she was getting ready, I went downstairs and found one of the local guards and began grilling him on places to go.

Of course, the first thing he said was the popular club I’d already discarded. “No, something to do with style or fashion,” I said impatiently.

He gave me a look that said I was out of my mind if I thought he knew anything about that. “I can call my wife,” he suggested. “If it’s that important.”

“It’s incredibly important. Get her on the phone right now.”

Between her and the chef who came in every other day to prepare meals for us, I ended up with a plan that I felt confident Mila would enjoy. It was crazy how much I was hoping she would.

Now, to put it to the test and see if I could get the light back in my wife’s eyes. And maybe something more.