Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
KAYLANI
Goran stood by my bedroom door.
It was closed, but downstairs, the house was alive. Footsteps, voices, glassware clinking as those arriving put on their party faces, acting like this was just a normal gathering.
Inside my room, it felt like the world had narrowed. The walls pressed in, making it difficult to draw a full breath.
But I stood still in front of the full-length mirror, hiding the nervousness.
Goran looked out of place here. Not because it screamed feminine, but because I knew just how impure our thoughts were. He was as deadly as a sin that strolled into church.
“Do I look okay?”
I didn’t care about the men downstairs. I wanted to look beautiful to him.
The corner of Goran’s lip twitched, but he didn’t move closer and pull me into his arms.
“You look incredible, as always,” Goran said, his voice even.
“God, I hate you sometimes,” I swore, marching to the center of my room and glaring at him. “Why are you like this?”
His hazel eyes turned hard.
“You think I like this?” His voice was rough, sending a shiver racing down my spine. “You think I want to see rich men with power, money, and influence all trying to win your heart like it’s a fucking sport?”
I crossed my arms. “You acted like you didn’t care for the last few days while I was a mess.”
He took a step closer. Just one. Enough that my pulse betrayed me.
“Lani, I’ve trained my entire life for this job. I can sit in a room with a bomb about to go off and not show anything on my face. It doesn’t mean I’m not dying inside.”
My bottom lip trembled.
“I’m sorry.”
I hated that I was taking my trepidation out on him.
“You’re shaking,” he said quietly.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
I laughed under my breath—a humorless sound—and looked down at my feet.
“I’ve ridden in arenas with thousands watching. I’ve negotiated contracts that older men thought I couldn’t read. I can handle dinner. But it feels different this time. Now that we’re married, I just…it feels like betrayal. I don’t want to do this.”
He took another step, and I held up my hand to stop him. If he touched me, I would crack. Goran’s jaw flexed, but he obeyed. That might have been the cruelest thing of all.
I smoothed my dress, grounding myself in the familiar motions of armor, habit, and control. I wasn’t fragile, and I refused to be seen as such.
“I will try not to provoke my father. I won’t flirt with them. I’ll ask smart questions, and I’ll listen to what they say and what they try not to say. I’ll remember everything,” I said as if I were reading from a set of battle plans.
Goran didn’t respond. He just calmly stared. I wanted to yell at him for remaining the perfect soldier, which was ridiculous.
“I’m not walking into this like prey.” I rolled my shoulders, meeting his eyes. “I’m not offering myself up. I will survive. That’s it. I want you to know that.”
His eyes softened enough for me to glimpse the emotion he kept buried under his mask.
“I know. That’s what terrifies me.”
A knock sounded, and the moment broke. I quickly plastered the rest of my perfect, princess armor into place.
Goran turned and opened the door. To my surprise, my brother Ronan stood on the other side. He looked at Goran, then at me. If he suspected anything inappropriate, he didn’t say.
“Ronan, I wasn’t expecting you to attend dinner this evening.”
I stepped forward to greet him.
“Last-minute decision. I thought you might want an escort.”
Ronan held out the crook of his elbow for me to take.
Keeping my eyes off my husband, I took the offering. But I couldn’t ignore the weight of Goran’s stare. It was like a deadly, alluring caress, promising to burn me as he followed a step behind.
GORAN
I’d gotten used to this world. I knew that I would never really be part of it, no matter how close Nathaniel and I were. No matter how many years I worked for him. I was and always would be the chauffeur’s son.
But tonight, as I stood behind my wife, everything was different. The doors opened, and all eyes were on us as Kaylani and Ronan made their grand entrance into the dining room.
It was too bright, too formal, and there were far too many men who believed money made them untouchable. Six men and their companions turned in her direction, and in an instant, the energy in the room turned tense with hunger.
Every instinct in me screamed that this was a mistake. That no matter how controlled she appeared, this was a room designed to break women into manageable pieces, and these men were born and bred to make it happen.
I didn’t notice their wealth at first. I saw their posture. The look in their eyes. The way they offered their hands as they introduced themselves. Each little nuance was filed away and cataloged, revealing exactly what kind of male they were.
One appraised her like stock. One remained seated, leaning back like he was already bored. One smiled too widely. Two talked too much. And one…waited until her focus was fully on him.
This man didn’t rush or stare openly. It wasn’t necessary. He watched her the way predators studied routines—calculating how long it would take for him to get her alone.
“I’m Julian Harrington.” He held out his hand. “I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”
“I can assure you that I have not,” Kaylani said, looking at his hand as if it repulsed her.
His eyes flared with a buried rage, and all my muscles tensed. I didn’t know if she realized how dangerous he was, but I could feel it thrumming through the room.
Julian smirked. “You look ravishing, Ms. Mikhailov, or may I call you Kaylani?”
“You may not.” She smiled and walked away.
Julian’s reaction made me shift my hand closer to my gun.
As if sensing another predator, he looked directly at me, his expression morphing.
One moment, he appeared ready to grab Kaylani and throw her out the window.
The next, he was smiling, acting as if her words were humorous.
But there was nothing remotely funny about what I saw.
Kaylani sat, and I took up my post right behind her seat, my back pressed against the wall.
I became the statue, the shadow that would spring to life and kill anyone who so much as laid a finger on her in a way she didn’t want.
I was already far too tempted to rip their eyes out for looking at her like she was food.
Dimitri arrived with Helena, and everyone stood for their entrance. Everyone except Kaylani. She didn’t acknowledge her father at all.
So much for not antagonizing him.
“Welcome, everyone. Thank you so much for attending this evening,” Dimitri said, making his way to the head of the table.
Helena stood by her chair, directly across from Kaylani, and I could see her pleading with her eyes for Kaylani not to start a fight. But I had a feeling that despite what Kaylani had said upstairs, she was going to create quite the stir.
Dimitri looked down at his daughter, but she was too busy buttering a roll to give him any attention. Internally, I cheered her on, though I worried what Dimitri might do in response to her blatant disrespect.
“Please, sit and let’s enjoy this wonderful meal that my lovely wife organized for us,” Dimitri said.
The man closest to Kaylani, who looked to be in his thirties, turned to speak to her.
“What are you taking at university?”
“I’m not,” she said, not sparing him a glance.
He looked caught between shock and approval, as if his brain couldn’t decide what she would want to see.
“Oh, I see.”
“No, I don’t think you do. I do not attend school because I work full-time for my brother Nathaniel.”
She didn’t mention that she was finishing the rest of her classes online and so far had received top marks, or that she was still taking extra art courses to further her skills.
“Oh, I see,” he repeated with a small smile.
A murmur of conversation rose around the table, but Kaylani grabbed her wine glass and tapped it with her knife. All eyes turned to her.
“Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? We all know why you’re here. This charade is to see if I’ll agree to marry one of you. But before I can do that, I need to know what role you expect a wife to play in your life?”
The room went deathly quiet. It was obvious that none of them had ever been spoken to like this by a woman.
Then the floodgates opened, and each man took a turn, trying to outdo the others. There were promises of jewels and travel, requests for a dozen children, and offers to sit by their sides. One after the other, they tightened the noose around their own necks.
As the room quieted, Julian spoke.
“I don’t believe in ownership,” he said lightly. “Marriage should be about mutual respect.”
I didn’t believe a single word of it. He was a liar, manipulator, and I would bet my life that he was some sort of -path. Psych- or socio-, it didn’t matter. They were two sides of the same coin. Dangerous.
He stood and walked over to grip the back of her chair.
I saw red.
“Don’t you agree,” he asked smoothly.
Kaylani stiffened. Not enough for the room to notice, but enough for me. Violence surged inside of me. All I could picture was ripping his head from his body.
“I do, and yet you show me little by invading my space without my permission. I’d advise you to return to your seat before you’re the first I reject.”
“Your father said you were high-spirited. I can see that he was telling the truth. I quite enjoy a challenge.”
Julian’s fingers grazed her shoulder as he removed his hand from her chair.
“Don’t touch me,” Kaylani ordered, glaring at him.
I tensed, ready to lunge for the asshole.
“My apologies,” he said with a laugh.
Kaylani turned to face her father.
“I’m going to be honest with you, Father. I find this entire meal disrespectful. Not only do you insist on trying to sell me off like I never mattered to you, but you have it set up like a public auction. Is that all I am to you? A possession that can be sold off to the highest bidder?”
“Watch your mouth, daughter,” Dimitri growled.
Kaylani stood.
“I am not a prize to be won,” she said, voice shaking. “And I will not sit quietly while men debate my value and what I should and shouldn’t be allowed to do like it’s theoretical.”
Dimitri rose. “Sit down.”
“No.”
That single word cracked the room open.
As soon as his arm flinched, I moved, but I didn’t reach her in time to stop the smack that rocked her sideways.
Kaylani stumbled, and I caught her before she fell. Helena gasped. Ronan looked shocked and angry.
But Kaylani didn’t wilt under the pressure or humiliation of the moment. She straightened, rolled her shoulders, and scanned the stunned faces around the room.
“The answer is no. I’m sorry he has wasted all of your time.”
“I warned you there would be consequences. I wasn’t joking,” Dimitri seethed.
She met Dimitri’s eyes.
“Well…I guess you can make that three children who never want to see you again.”
Kaylani turned for the door.
“Get back here,” he ordered.
She didn’t falter as she left the room.
I followed, heart hammering, anger so hot I could envision turning around and shooting Dimitri right between the eyes.
Kaylani marched outside, and I opened the back door of Nathaniel’s SUV. She climbed in, and I closed it behind her.
When I got in the driver’s seat, she stared straight ahead, breathing like she was barely holding herself together. I wanted so badly to comfort her, to put ice on her cheek, but I couldn’t—not here.
“Where do you want to go?”
Her eyes found mine in the rearview mirror.
“Anywhere. I don’t care as long as it’s not here.”
Her voice cracked just enough to hurt.
I nodded and started the engine. I could deal with predators like Julian. I knew their tells. But Dimitri was worse. He would never forgive the humiliation of losing control of his daughter.
Kaylani walking out hadn’t ended the game. The stakes had just gone up.