Page 13 of Thorns of Love

My lungs burned. I wasn’t a jogger like Aurora. She was a nutcase to put her body and lungs through this madness.God, if I make it, I’ll run every day,I lied to him and myself.I’ll go to church too. Every Sunday.

The building was within my grasp. Just a bit more and I’d be there. I reached the building, my palms landing flat against the glass and I started banging on the glass.

“Let me in,” I shouted breathlessly.

The men looked at me like I was crazy, then shared a glance among themselves. Slowly, one of the guards stood up and walked to the door. One step. Two steps. He was so fucking slow, I’d wager I ran the distance from the plane to here faster than he walked from five feet away.

Finally the door opened. “Let me in,” I begged. “That crazy idiot is kidnapping me, and I have to call my brothers.”

His eyes flickered behind me and he smiled. What-the-fuck… “Mr. Konstantin,” he greeted and my heart sank. “You lost your cargo.”

I slowly turned around, like living in a dream, or rather nightmare, and saw Illias casually walking over with a smile on his face and his hands in his pockets. It was like Mr. Rogers strolling through Central Park, for fuck’s sake.

“Hello, Daniel,” Konstantin greeted him pleasantly. “You’re right, I did lose my cargo. She’s a bit on the wild side and we had a little pre-marital dispute. But we’ll resolve it before the day‘s over.”

My mouth dropped.This motherfucker–

“Fuck you and your pre-marital shit,” I snapped. “You are crazy if you think I’ll marry you.”

I gritted my teeth. Couldn’t a single fucking man get down on his knees and ask the right way? Adrian’s proposal, possibly even less romantic than this, flickered through my mind in snapshots, mocking me.

Illias dismissed the security guard with a nod and he promptly disappeared inside, the door closing behind me with a firm click putting an end to my feeble plan for escape.Traitor.He was certainly not a hero to a damsel-in-distress.

The two of us stared at each other in silence. Illias slipped his hands in his pockets and took a step toward me, the scent of citrus filling my lungs. That alone was enough to make my thighs quiver. I could blame my hormones, but it’d be a lie. This man had a way of reeling my body to him, then commanding it with a simple look.

“We’ll marry, moya luna.” His eyes trapped me, promising dark pleasures and my pulse fluttered. “Sooner than you think.”

My jaw clenched. “No.”

“Yes.”

“Konstantin, take me back to the city,” I warned, my voice low.

“I told you, it’s Illias.” His voice was rough as he took another step forward. The slightest muscle tightened in his jaw and I took a step back. “Or your beloved.” A soft snort escaped me. “Your husband. Your love. Your soulmate. Take your fucking pick, but stop calling me Konstantin.”

He took another step forward. I took one back. “Make me.”

Dark eyes pierced me, then without warning he scooped me up into his arms. “You’re lucky we’re expecting, or I’d put you over my shoulder and carry you like a sack of potatoes.”

My hands wrapped around his neck instinctively. My traitorous fingers pushed into the short hair at his nape.

“Who says I’m pregnant?” I challenged. My pulse beat wildly as his eyes darted to me briefly. The crazy, possessive look that lingered in those dark depths was enough to make a woman lose her panties. Or maybe her mind. “Maybe it’s someone else’s?”

His expression turned cold and he stopped in his tracks. “Let’s get something straight,” he growled. His words were rougher than usual. “Let another man touch you and I will destroy him. Once I’m done with him, there won’t be a trace of his line left on Earth.”

My bravado slipped and he must have noticed it, because his next words were spoken softly. Vehemently. “I will ruin you, Tatiana. Break you. Then put you back together.”

The air escaped me in a rush as he brought his lips an inch from mine. “Do you know why?” he rasped, that Russian accent thicker than I’ve ever heard before. I shook my head. “Because you’re mine. You’ve been mine for a very long time.”

With that, he resumed walking towards the plane.

“Besides, moya luna,” he purred softly. “I know nobody has touched you because I’ve been in your shadow all along.”

Now that was a way to shut me up.

SEVEN

KONSTANTIN