Chapter Ten
Elena
“Leonid.” I gasp his name like I’m seeking his permission to breathe. I wasn’t expecting him to come back tonight. I wonder when he came in and…
Fuck.
He knows I’m wearing his shirt.
Given how possessive he is, he doesn’t seem like the type of guy who’d be happy with others touching his stuff. My mind whirls as I try to come up with a solution for the mess I’m in.
Would it work if I ripped off the shirt and tossed it under the bed?
I’m a good liar, at least to the best of my knowledge.
I could gaslight him and tell him he’s crazy for thinking I’d even want to touch his clothes after he forced me into marrying him.
What sort of insane woman does he think would want to wear his shirts after everything he’s done?
On second thought, that doesn’t sound like a good idea, because I am an insane woman.
Mustering my courage, I step back and glance up at him. His eyes are pinned on me with a stare that looks nothing like the murderous glare I anticipated. It’s dark, filled with barely restrained lust, but I’m fairly certain that might be my imagination.
“I…” I mutter, thinking of an excuse, but my brain doesn’t come up with anything good. “I…wasn’t expecting you home tonight.”
He tilts his head. “Is that so?”
I nod. “I had nothing to wear. I couldn’t walk around the house naked, and since I was kidnapped, I didn’t get the chance to pack any clothes.”
His lips twitch, his eyes darkening as he inches toward me with slow, controlled strides that make my spine stiffen.
I’m not sure how to act around this man, whether to fear him or not. But whatever’s making my heart race right now isn’t fear. It’s something more embarrassing…and more intense.
When he reaches me, he cups my cheeks, his hands so warm that I find myself leaning into his touch before I can stop myself. “You don’t need to explain yourself, ptichka. What’s mine is yours.”
“I didn’t mean to cross…” I trail off as his words sink in.
Did he mean what he just said, or is he trying to make me lower my guard?
“Wear whatever you want,” he continues. “I’ll have Artem drive you to the store tomorrow. Buy everything you need. Don’t bother looking at the prices.”
My brows knit with shock rather than annoyance. “You’re going to let me out?”
He nods and lowers his hand from my face. “You’re my wife now, not a prisoner. But I’ll warn you, don’t try to run, or I can’t promise your best friend or parents will be safe.”
A shiver runs down my spine, a fresh wave of rage taking over whatever I felt just a couple of seconds ago. For a moment, I almost forgot I was standing in front of one of the most dangerous men in the world—a man who took me captive, then forced me to marry him.
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise, my love,” he drawls, his deep voice as husky as if he’s making a promise of love rather than threatening to murder the people I love the most. “And I always keep my promises.”
My throat tightens, my toes curling as I clutch the hem of the dress shirt I’m wearing. If I had a knife on me, I’d drive it straight through his chest and see for myself if his heart is truly made of stone.
But since I’m defenseless, I suck in a breath and remind myself to remain calm before it costs me more than just my freedom.
I think back to Tatiana’s advice. Maybe I can’t escape Leonid, but I can at least try to negotiate the terms of my forced marriage.
Leonid’s eyes leave a trail of heat as they work their way down to my chest. I follow his gaze, and my heart begins to pound even more erratically when I see the way my nipples are poking against the cotton fabric of the shirt.
I’m suddenly too self-aware, curling my fingers tighter around the hem of the shirt to stop my arms from flying up around my chest. Inside me, there’s a burning need to be claimed by Leonid.
For him to touch and tease me until I’m gasping on my knees and begging to be used by him. That can’t be right. He just threatened to kill my best friend and my parents, but those dark thoughts still overtake my mind somehow.
I hate that I want this man despite how much I despise him.
Even more, I hate the pang of disappointment I feel when he turns around and walks out of the bedroom.
I follow him without a second thought, and my breath catches when we burst into a room that’s right beside the one I was originally supposed to stay in.
A dark mahogany desk sits at the center of the room.
There’s a black leather chair right behind the desk, and a black leather couch across from it.
Everything’s in black, like it’s the devil’s own office.
Floor-to-ceiling glass surrounds the office, giving a clear view of the city at night.
From here, I can see the skyscrapers glinting against the sky.
“Your study matches your lack of personality,” I hear myself say without thinking.
Leonid barely smiles. He rounds the desk and slouches into the chair. It’s hard not to notice the way his shirt strains against his biceps.
I bite my lip and swallow.
“I see you’ve recovered from being caught wearing my clothes,” he says, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“You said what’s yours is mine.”
The small smile on his lips stretches into a wide grin. I don’t know how the man switches so quickly from being cold and terrifying to being a bantering, annoying bastard, but part of me likes it. The other part of me, however, wants to slap the smile right off of his face.
“So you’re using my own words against me?”
I shrug and turn around to take in the rest of the office. The wall is dominated by a large painting of a man with a half his face burned into a skeleton and hiding a devilish grin, while the other half looks normal, with a cigar pressed to his lips.
Despite his poor taste in color, he has an eye for art.
“I’ll use anything and everything I find against you, Leonid.” Having had my fill of glancing around his office, I stop moving and shift my full attention to him. “Why did you make me move into your room?”
He leans forward and steeples his fingers in front of him. “My house. My rules.”
Frustration bubbles inside me, but I keep it down with a flash of a smile that barely reaches my eyes. “How do you manage to keep your dirty business running with such a nasty attitude?”
He grins. “My gun always does the talking.”
My breath hitches with how easy it is for him to confess something so heinous like it’s normal. “Do you think human life is worth that little? How do you sleep at night knowing you’ve killed so many people?”
“I don’t.” He leans back in his seat, swiveling slowly from side to side and watching me with a look that’s so calm it turns my blood into ice. “Being a cold bastard is the only way to survive in this world, ptichka. It’s the only way I can keep my people safe.”
His people.
I should be even more terrified of him, but instead I’m wondering if I’m one of the people he cares about. If he’d fight and kill to save me if I was ever in trouble. But I know the answer to that well enough. My death would make his life a lot easier.
Somehow, that fact slithers through my chest like a butcher’s knife. I’d be nothing more than collateral damage to Leonid.
Why do I want to be something more?
I clear my throat. I can’t become an emotional mess, not now. “There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
He gestures to one of the chairs across from him. “Shoot.”
“Um.” I pause, clamp my eyelids shut, and breathe for a second. When my eyes flutter open again, Leonid’s watching me intently. “So, I was thinking…I don’t want to be a housewife now that we’re married.”
His brows lift, but he doesn’t interrupt.
“If you’d allow it, I’d love to return to my job as a charter manager.” My heart pounds too fast, but I don’t let that stop me. “I had a life before all of this. I want to know I still have control over my life. That I’m not a bird in a pretty golden cage.”
I expect him to slam his fist on the desk and rain down hell on me for daring to make such a request. Instead, all I see behind the desk is a flicker of softness in his eyes…and something that looks like understanding.
“Do whatever you want, ptichka.”
I blink twice, certain I misheard him. “What?”
“You can return to your job, as long as you don’t try anything funny,” he says. “I took you against your will and forced you to become my wife. It’s a fair bargain.”
I scrutinize his face for a sign he’s joking, but he looks goddamn serious. How could he give in so easily?
“Do you mean that?”
He heaves a sigh and rises to his feet. Next thing I know, he’s walking toward me, stopping only an inch away. “As my wife, the first thing you need to learn is that I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
“I just didn’t expect you to agree so easily.” I raise my head to look at him. “Aren’t you worried I’ll run from you?”
His gaze locks onto mine. “I’ll always find you, ptichka. Even if you run to the end of the world.”
***
A week later, the familiar scent of saltwater hits me the moment I step into the marina.
The docks creak beneath my shoes. Seagulls wheel overhead, and engines rumble farther down the harbor.
I let the morning breeze hit my face and rustle my hair as I draw in a deep, long breath, reveling in the feeling of normalcy—or at least something close to it.
Smoothing my hand over my blazer, I head toward the office.
“You’re back,” Jimmy says, grinning from behind the desk.
Just like Henry, Jimmy’s one of those guys on the dock who I was close to. He’s about sixty, with ginger hair and one of the most contagious smiles around here.
I smile back at him, maybe even wider than I should, because I’m not just happy to see him. I’m so excited to have some of my old life back that it takes a good amount of discipline for me to not be jumping all over the place.
“Miss me?”
He curves his thumb and index fingers until they’re almost touching. “Only a little.”
We both laugh before I move toward the inventory station. The routine I’m used to comes back quickly. I check manifests, confirm arrivals, review charter schedules, and answer emails.