Page 35

For the first few moments, I couldn’t think at all.

I was just overjoyed to be off that stage.

I decided to use the last bit of fight I had left in me and refused to change into one of the tawdry, cheap lingerie sets, and when the burly guard came, he was none too happy about it.

Before I could ask what he was going to do about it, I found out.

Dragged onto that nightmare stage in my comfortable airport clothes, they were soon ripped off me in front of the jeering and catcalling crowd. I could barely see anything past the rolling strobe lights, and the only thing keeping me upright once I was stripped down to my bra and panties was rage.

I’d watch these men die if it were the last thing I ever did.

And now it looked like it wouldn’t be the last thing. Arkadi had found me in time, and I was safely enveloped in his strong arms. He wrapped me in his jacket and kept me close as I watched that foul place burn to the ground.

He smiled down at me and asked if I wanted to go.

The sound of sirens was getting closer, but the screams coming from the bar were much too satisfying to leave just yet.

He seemed to understand my need for vengeance and was enjoying it every bit as much as I was.

He let me take it all in until the smoke was too thick and the emergency workers were too close.

It was better that we weren’t seen, and Arkadi’s men had already all left. It was over. I was safe. As I began to realize how close I had come to being taken away by one of those evil men, I collapsed against Arkadi. He kept me from falling and cradled me in his arms like a baby back to his car.

As he turned on the engine and headed back toward Moscow, it hit me that, despite being rescued from such a nightmarish fate, I was still very much a prisoner.

We had remained silent during the drive so far, with him seeming to understand that I was in shock and letting me settle.

I was grateful for that, hell, I was grateful, period, but as I began to ease out of fight or flight mode, my emotions were more jumbled up than ever.

There was no possible way that Arkadi knew about this auction. Not with the way he burst in like an avenging angel, spraying fire and bullets in every direction. This one had blindsided him.

But he knew about the first one and had taken part. He was the highest bidder, for goodness’ sake. He might have been avenging me, but he was no angel.

I turned away from him, resting my forehead against the car window, taking in the sights of the city and trying not to sink into despair. As we got further into civilization, I recognized places I had been to many times before, with my parents, cousins, or brothers.

I was in Moscow. My parents’ home. Just a few blocks away from where we were was a shopping center that one of my cousins owned. This was my city as much as it was Arkadi’s.

Jerking upright, I clutched at the door handle. “I’m going to be sick,” I said, putting on a much better show than I did at the airport.

“Okay, hang on,” he said, his tone shockingly kind.

He pulled over as quickly as he could and unlocked my door, reaching to rub my back as I swung it open and leaned out.

Instead of heaving up my guts, I flung myself forward, barreling down the sidewalk at a dead run, not caring that I wore next to nothing under Arkadi’s jacket.

My bare feet slapped painfully on the pavement, but that was the least of my worries.

A car door slammed behind me, far behind me. I was flying, I was going to make it to a place where someone knew me.

But no, no, I wasn’t. Arkadi grabbed me before I could turn the first corner, swinging me around to slam against him as I was brought to an abrupt stop.

I could hardly breathe from the exertion and the fear of what I’d see when I looked up at him.

I expected to see fury in his dark eyes, but it wasn’t there.

Not even a scowl. Something else was written all over his face that I couldn’t quite understand.

It looked like anguish, but surely that couldn’t be right.

Another thing I expected was a string of curses or admonishments at my stupidity, but he was silent as he walked me back to the car.

We’d already put on a bit of a show. He was probably just waiting until we were out of the public eye.

In the car, I braced for an earful. There was only silence from him for the rest of the drive, and I was too disappointed and confused to speak.

Was I upset that yet another attempt to escape had been foiled, or because he wasn’t talking to me?

We finally pulled past a gate and down a long private drive, stopping in front of a luxurious modern mansion.

White and black, it looked like six massive cubes of glass settled on top of and next to each other, with narrow pools running on either side of the front entryway, their reflections making it look like part of the house was also on the ground.

It was fantastic, and briefly made me forget that I was about to get shouted at.

Was this the real Arkadi or just one of the many facets of him that I’d never understand? I had the urge to ask him if he wasn’t afraid to live behind all that glass, but there was no doubt in my mind that every inch of it was bulletproof, much like he seemed to be.

He came around and opened my door, motioning for me to follow him in, seeming too tired to hoist me over his shoulder. Was I even disappointed about that? I lagged behind, watching the hard lines of his back as he pushed open the front door, tucked behind some geometric topiary.

Inside, it was cool and sparsely decorated, but everything seemed to have a purpose.

A few people scattered at the sight of him, and he called to one of them that they could all go home.

A search party? I didn’t dare thank them, not with the tension that hung in the air.

And not when he was just waiting for them to get lost so he could tear into me.

Since I didn’t know the layout of the house, I only followed him in mute suspense, down a hallway and up a floating staircase to a bedroom. At that point, I was too stressed out to take in the surroundings, and Arkadi seemed to take up all the space, anyway. This was it.

He gripped my shoulders and looked at me for a long time, finally uttering one single word. “Why?”

Was he joking? “It was the same man who was in charge of the auction the last time,” I said, stunned that he was so honestly confused. “Can you tell me you don’t know that man?”

His shoulders slumped. “He’s my uncle,” he admitted in a strained voice. “ Was my uncle. Now he’s my enemy.” When I tried to shake out of his grasp, he held on tighter. “I obviously had nothing to do with this, Mila.”

Sickened, I ducked and jerked away. “But you had everything to do with the first one,” I reminded him.

Now, it was his turn to look stunned. “I didn’t,” he said. “I’d never have anything to do with something like that.”

He was so adamant that I almost believed him.

“But what about the passport?” That perfect fake that looked exactly like me.

“You’re saying you didn’t have anything to do with the kidnapping?

It was all just a coincidence, and you just happened to show up to—” I cut myself off, unable to speak about the fact he’d bid on me, won me in that auction.

How I would have loved to believe it was true, but it didn’t add up.

He was silent for a long time, searching my face, which I kept as still as a death mask. He seemed to know what I wanted to hear, but would he say it or admit the truth?

“I ordered my uncle to keep eyes on you,” he said after a deep sigh. “Nothing more. I meant to grab you myself and use you against your brothers.”

So he’d chosen to tell the truth, and it hit me so hard I almost crumbled. Why did it hurt so much when I knew it all along? Hearing it from his own mouth shouldn’t have made any difference.

He grabbed my arms as I sank to the floor, holding me upright. “Listen to me, Mila. I’m not going to do that anymore.”

“What?” I managed to get past the lump in my throat.

“I’m not fighting with your brothers anymore. That’s over.”

“Then why am I still here? Why don’t you let me go?” I pleaded.

The look on his face tore into my heart, and everything turned upside down. He reached for me, and I didn’t recoil.

“I can’t,” he said raggedly, pulling me close and breathing into my hair. “I can’t let you go. You’re mine.”

I tilted my head back to see that his eyes were full of sincerity, and the band around my chest loosened.

Something else coiled, lower, and I sighed when he slid his fingers into my hair.

My fingers curled into his shirt, and I pulled myself closer, almost slamming into him as I opened my mouth for the kiss I craved.

He wanted me, and I needed him. The past few hours disappeared, replaced by nothing but frenzied desire. I believed him, and that was enough for the moment. He wasn’t responsible for either auction, and he’d saved me from both. Our tongues tangled as he lifted me up.

The walls in there were also glass, but with a swipe of a button on the wall, blinds moved swiftly and silently shut, encasing us in a brooding, dim light. His dark eyes flared when he pulled away to glance down at my body, my chest heaving against his.

“You’re mine,” he repeated.

I nodded, reaching to grab his hair and bring his mouth down to mine again. “Kiss me,” I demanded, wrapping my legs around his waist.

“You couldn’t stop me,” he answered before parting my lips with his tongue once more.

He was right, but it was my own lust that kept me from trying. There was no place I would have rather been, nothing I wanted to be doing more than holding on to Arkadi and letting him transport me to that place that only he could.