Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
KOSTYA
I got up and stretched, ready to go hunt down Marina and drag her back to this room before she got some crazy idea in her head.
She needed to be back in this bed with her pert ass pressed against me.
I enjoyed having her in my arms, knowing she was safe.
I had just fallen asleep when she tried to crawl over me.
She made her case, and although I didn't like having her out of my sight, she had a good point. Once I had her in my hands, she didn't alert anyone. She didn't cause a scene.
Marina may not have grown up in a bratva family, but she was close enough to know better.
There was nowhere she could go.
No way for her to run.
If she tried to hide, I would simply find her and then take my time punishing her again .
Then the train stopped.
It fucking stopped.
Dammit.
I could hear the bells of the crossing not far off, and I knew, I just knew, she was going to pull some shit.
As I rose, movement outside the window caught my eye.
"Motherfucker," I swore as I ran out of the room to the doors at the end of the carriage, which were still open.
Without a moment of hesitation, I jumped from the train.
When I got her back in our carriage, I was going to spank her until she couldn't sit for a month, then I was going to put her on her knees and choke her with my cock until she learned to obey.
It took only a moment to find her.
My little rabbit was trapped in the mud.
When she saw me, our eyes met and locked for a moment, then she tried to run.
The mud slowed her down, but that didn't stop her from fighting like hell to get away from me. It only took me a few seconds to catch up to her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her underneath me.
The impact knocked the air from both of us, my body crashing against hers as we slid through the thick, cold mud. It clung to us like a second skin, seeping through our clothes. The raw scent of wet soil and her vanilla perfume filled my lungs as I struggled to keep her pinned.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I demanded.
"Getting away from you," she bit out .
She struggled under me, lashing out with her hands. Her fingers curled into claws as she scratched and bit at me, trying desperately to throw me off of her body.
My grip slipped in the slick mud, and she used the opportunity to buck her hips, nearly dislodging me.
The sudden friction sent a jolt of heat through my core.
I grabbed her wrists tighter, my fingers digging into her skin as I pressed her deeper into the mud. Her chest heaved against mine with each furious breath, the thin fabric of her sweater clinging to every curve.
It took me a few minutes, and I probably had several scratches running down my cheeks by the time I got her wrists pinned above her head in the mud.
Her hair was splayed out in dark tendrils, mud-streaked and wild. Every inch of her fought against me—her legs thrashing, her spine arching—each movement more intoxicating than the last.
"Stop struggling," I yelled, ignoring the way my cock ached as I held her down.
Rage painted her face, and it was fucking beautiful.
Her lips parted, revealing clenched teeth, a bright contrast to the mud spattered across one cheek.
Our bodies slid against each other with every movement, the mud creating a maddening friction between us.
Fuck, why did I enjoy her fighting me so damn much?
"Do you not realize how many people are trying to kill you right now?"
"You're one of them.” She lifted a knee and if I had been a second slower, she would have nailed me square in the balls. I caught her thigh, pushing it down and inadvertently wedging myself between her legs, our bodies locked in a primal struggle for dominance.
God, she was feisty.
"I'm protecting you," I snapped. "If I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead."
She let out a bitter laugh, wild and desperate. "No. You're a sadistic son of a bitch like the rest of them. You like to play with your prey. I'm not your captive. I'm not some mouse you get to toy with before you shoot me in the head." Her voice broke with fury. "Let me go. I won't be a pawn in whatever twisted game you and Solovyov are playing that got my sister killed."
"I did not kill your sister."
The words burned coming out of my mouth.
"If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't be here, chasing you through the fucking mud," I said through clenched teeth. "I would have taken care of you the second you stepped foot into your apartment. Or I could have shot you on your way to work. What kind of man do you think I am?"
Her lip curled in disgust. " The kind of man who kills his wife and then fucks her sister ."
Red-hot fury flashed through me.
I could have screamed the truth in her face. I could have told her that Veronika was a selfish bitch who had fucked everyone but her own husband. That she had gotten herself killed.
But that would have shattered something between us I wasn't ready to break.
She could hate me.
She could lie to herself, tell herself she didn't want me.
It didn't matter .
Because I wanted her.
And I would not let her death stain my hands the way Veronika's had.
I clenched my jaw and forced myself to breathe. Then I dragged her to her feet.
While we argued, the train had begun to move.
"Fuck," I swore again, gripping the top of her arm hard. We were absolutely nowhere, in a fucking field in the middle of the goddamn night. My cell phone didn't even have a goddamn signal. The only signs of civilization were the dim lights of a farmhouse about a quarter of a mile away.
"What was your plan, moy zaichonok ?"
She shrugged. "I was just trying to get away from you. Maybe hitchhike to New York."
Hitchhike.
I sucked in a sharp breath, the cold air burning my lungs as I fought to control the rage trying to claw its way out. So many things were on the tip of my tongue—none of them kind.
Are you fucking stupid? Are you suicidal?
The urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake some goddamn sense into that infuriatingly beautiful head of hers was nearly overwhelming. But I wouldn't.
No matter how much she tested me, no matter how many times she pushed the limits of my patience, I would never hurt her.
Unless she begged.
And one day, she would.
I was going to spank her until she learned, until she understood exactly what it meant to defy me. I was going to punish her in every way she deserved.
But not now.
If I touched her now, it would be out of anger, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop myself.
That would have to wait.
The middle of a frozen field, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the goddamn night was not the place or time for this. With my luck, we'd get bitten by a rattlesnake or some shit and end up dying out here before Solovyov even realized we were missing.
And I would be damned if Var got to find my corpse and laugh, knowing my end hadn't come at the hands of an enemy, but at the mercy of Mother fucking Nature.
What else could possibly go wrong on this mission?
I had built a reputation as a man who got shit done. Every mission I took was meticulously planned, every contingency accounted for. I executed flawlessly.
I was in and out before people even realized what had happened.
And yet, here I was.
Because of her.
Marina threw me for loop after loop. The shit that I was going to hear for just being arrested was going to follow me for years. Then the embarrassment from needing Var to come and untie me. I hadn’t been this useless when I was still wet behind the ears.
Time after time, she'd done something rash, something I hadn't even considered. And I considered everything at all times. Every contingency was planned for. That was what made me so good at what I did .
She just stood there glaring daggers at me as if I was the crazy one who jumped off a train and stranded us.
Several more deep breaths were required to calm the fire in my veins enough to form some kind of plan.
"Not a fucking word," I ground out as I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.
Mud slid down her body, cold droplets marking my face as she pounded her fists against my back, the delicious pressure of her body against mine a stark reminder of our mutual captivity.