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The absolute shock of Arkadi actually joining in the bidding made my head spin.

Why? Wasn’t he just there to watch the show and enjoy my destruction?

It would be right on brand for him to torture me like that.

No, he’d apparently become even more ruthless than I thought and was going to be the one who destroyed me.

Because he just won.

There was no possible way this was happening.

The huge number rang out like a gong, stopping the others from making another peep.

Why did that somehow make my heart stop trying to beat its way out of my chest?

I wasn’t relieved that I wasn’t going to be the plaything of some complete stranger, was I?

Because that meant I was about to become the plaything of my family’s worst enemy.

But he wasn’t an unknown quantity and must have had a reason for this. Maybe I could find a way to control him, or strike a deal. I had to pray he had a reason for this beyond utterly crushing me and my brothers into the dust.

It wasn’t likely, though. Still, I had to keep from panicking and racing off the stage like it had just been set on fire, because he was jumping up on it.

I’d only be grabbed by the giant brute backstage and tossed into Arkadi’s arms like a sack of groceries.

No, I’d at least go out with some dignity.

He pulled me roughly to him, turning so I could no longer see the crowd of furious losers.

Good. I’d already committed as many of their faces to memory as I could, so I could seek them out and have them murdered when I found a way to settle things with Arkadi.

I didn’t need their disgusting eyes on me anymore.

“I’ll kill you for this,” I promised him. Maybe not the best way to start negotiations, but I was boiling over with fury.

And then he kissed me. His mouth claimed mine, urgent and forceful. He pulled me closer to his big, hard body, his hands roaming all over my bare skin. There was no way I could ever control this man, and by how he held onto me, there didn’t seem to be much chance of a deal, either.

How long were his lips on mine, his tongue exploring my mouth? He finally broke away, leaving me breathless, too weak to offer up any more futile threats.

“I believe you,” he said, his dark eyes hard and unreadable.

What? I was so addled, I hardly remembered I just swore to kill him.

Without a backward glance at the angry mob behind him, he picked me up and hauled me backstage.

So much for dignity. Everything I clung to was disappearing fast. Backstage and in the hallway, he put me down roughly, grabbing my shoulders to keep me from collapsing.

Adrenaline still coursed through my veins, but was receding, making me feel sick and weak.

He looked down at me and ran his hand across the top of his almost military-short black hair, glossy like raven feathers.

As always, he was impeccably dressed in a bespoke suit of the best fabrics, every line of his jacket molded perfectly to his broad shoulders.

He was big, too big, taking up most of the narrow hallway, and I was much too close to him.

I tried to take a step back so I didn’t have to crane my neck, he was so damn tall.

He tugged me close again, keeping his hands locked on my shoulders, his fingers just short of too rough. His eyes swept my body again, the muscles in his jaw working.

“Get dressed,” he snapped angrily, as if I were the one who chose to be half naked.

Before I could point out which room I’d changed in, he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over me.

I wasn’t a short woman, but it still hung halfway to my knees.

While I never would have been grateful to Arkadi Mikhailov, I was glad to be covered and slipped my arms into the sleeves, clutching it closed around me.

Arkadi smirked, the confusing look gone before I could decipher what it meant.

He tugged on my arm, swiftly leading me toward the back.

It seemed it was time to go, and I wasn’t sure if this was a case of getting out of the frying pan only to be in the fire.

His firm grip was unbreakable, and I was surrounded by enemies. I guess I had to choose the fire.

The old man whom I’d tried to negotiate with before the auction came rushing back, berating Arkadi.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His face was twisted with frustration, and he called Arkadi a fool. I waited eagerly to watch him get his head taken off for such a feat of stupidity, but Arkadi only leaned close and barked at him to wait for orders.

“And they better be followed to the letter,” he growled, once again picking me up.

Storming out of the bar, Arkadi tossed me into a car outside. As soon as he closed the door, I reached for the handle, ready to jump out as soon as he rounded the car to get in on his side.

He only stood there, gazing in at me through the window, and shook his head.

“Don’t,” he said. “I’m not in the mood to chase you.”

So, did I want my worst enemy and the man who’d just bought me to be in a worse mood than he already was?

Short answer, I didn’t give a single damn.

As soon as he was rounding the front of the car, I took off, my bare feet slapping painfully against the rough gravel parking lot.

I don’t think it was even a second before his arms were locked around me like iron bands.

He turned me to face him, his hands pressed against my back. Snaking his fingers in my hair, he tugged my head back so I could see every ounce of fury in his eyes.

“I said, don’t.”

His breath was close enough to warm my lips, and I remembered the taste of his tongue wrangling with mine, like rich coffee and a whisper of mint. He kept me crushed to him for a beat, letting me know exactly who was in charge, before putting me back in the car.

This time, I stayed there. As scared as I was, I refused to show it, keeping my head up as he took off.

We drove in silence, and I was shocked to see it was only dusk.

It had seemed like an eternity since I’d been snatched off the street at lunchtime.

Sneaking a glance at his stony, chiseled profile, I broke first.

“Why did you do that?” I asked.

It was obvious by the old man’s impertinence that they were close, and also evident by his reaction that Arkadi winning the auction hadn’t been part of the plan. So why did he jump in and beat all the others?

“Those other men who were bidding on you would have used you in a way you would have never recovered from.” His voice was cold as ice, but his ire didn’t seem directed at me. “If you even survived at all.”

“Am I supposed to be grateful to you?” I asked, turning to look at the highway stretching out in front of us.

He didn’t answer, and I sat and stewed, becoming increasingly fearful again.

Did he want to hurt me worse than the other men?

Did he want to drag out my suffering before finally giving what was left of me to my brothers?

My brother Nik once told me that suspense won’t actually kill you, but at that moment, it felt like he was wrong.

I couldn’t stand the heavy silence that hung between us, and not knowing what lay ahead for me.

Finding the courage to look at his terrifyingly stony profile again, I asked the question that was flaying my nerves.

“So now that you’ve got me, what are you going to do to me?”

Arkadi turned, freezing me like a bug caught in amber with his dark stare. His slow smile stole the tenuous grip on my sanity.

“I’m going to marry you.”