Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sasha
The entire reception is surreal, but as the afternoon wears into evening, Ryker leans down and whispers in my ear, “It’s time to go.”
I instantly tense. More. I was already wound tight as a clock, but now… “We don’t have to. We can stay.”
He lifts a single brow, and I have to be honest, it’s just comical enough that I exhale, releasing some of the tension. “You must be tired, it’s been an exhausting day.”
It has. And I’d very much like to take this dress off. Maybe when I do, I’ll feel more like myself.
Though, I doubt it. I woke up this morning, thinking I was attending my sister’s wedding, and planning my own escape. Instead, I’m more trapped than ever.
I’m married to a man who is on my top five worst men list. Of course, the other names on the list are my brother and my father, so I guess it makes some kind of sick sense.
The only other man I’m more afraid of is my father’s hitman, Sver. A cold-blooded killer, he’d cut me down without thought if my father ordered him to do so. Naturally, I grew up under Sver’s watchful shadow. Because why would I be able to trust a single man in my life?
Saying our goodbyes, I start for the car, Dimitri’s eyes boring into my back.
I don’t look back at my brother. For one second when I was signing contracts, I thought he’d actually taken my side. Cared about me.
Then…he’d tossed in that bit about him determining my happiness in the marriage and I just knew… This was about some deal he was trying to make happen.
I’d seen our father make moves like this a thousand times.
Dimitri isn’t saving me. He’s got a new angle he’s playing. I give my new husband a sidelong glance. A day of standing next to him and he feels less like a coiled snake.
But I know the truth.
He’s waiting to strike.
He helps me down the stairs and into the passenger side of a waiting car.
I’m relieved to know there’s no driver.
Though it means we’ll have to be alone, at least he’ll be driving. I look at him through my lashes so he doesn’t know I’m looking. His profile is raw and dangerous, his cheekbones and slashing brows make my breath catch.
I’m married to this man. He’s free to…
I swallow down a lump, my stomach fluttering with nerves. But for the first time, I realize there is a hint of something else. Excitement? Interest? I can’t name the feeling, the fear still beating too strong.
Within fifteen minutes, we’re pulling into the parking garage that is all too familiar.
My prison.
With a sigh, I wait for Ryker to step out of the car and come around to help me out. I’m not leaning into the chivalry, this dress has worn me out.
He opens my door and helps me out of the car. I let out an audible sigh as I start to hike up the hem again. Would anyone care if I just ripped the bottom of it off?
But in hearing my sigh, Ryker sweeps me into his arms. For a second, the feel of his arms, the tipping of the world, scares me, and I let out a strangled cry, my hands grasping the only thing solid I can find, his shoulders.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he rumbles, carrying me toward the elevator.
I blink at him. Is this the traditional carry-the-bride over the threshold thing? Is the elevator a threshold?
Or was he just trying to keep me from escaping?
Like I could in this dress?
Is he actually helping me? He clearly has noticed how much I’ve struggled to move today.
I’m too tired to worry so I sink into him, my eyes closing as I relax my body into his.
He doesn’t say a word as the elevator opens, and we step inside. He holds me all the way up and I hear the ding of the bell, the doors sliding open, but I don’t open my eyes again.
I have no idea if this apartment is any different from the one I lived in just a few floors below, but I don’t really care.
I should be filled with dread. I’ve never even been on a date and now I find myself married.
But it’s like the future doesn’t exist. Or I just refuse to acknowledge that it does. Instead, I just enjoy the moment. The feel of his strong arms.
For just a second, I suspend belief, and I paint the whole situation with a different brush.
I’m not in my sister’s dress, I’m in one of my own, and Ryker isn’t the man who frightens me half to death.
He’s my big, huge protector, who has me wrapped in his strong arms because he wants me so much, he’d do anything to keep me safe.
The need rises up in me, threatens to overwhelm me. I want to be free, not chained to a man.
But this one niggling question makes my stomach squeamish. What would it be like to be protected by a man who actually cared?
One who could wrap me up in a way that didn’t feel like a prison, it would just feel…safe.
I shake my head. It’s a stupid thought. I know that happens for other women, but they aren’t like me.
I’m not a woman that any man has ever loved…
He turns and I open my eyes. We’re in a short hallway, which is similar and yet different from our apartment downstairs.
The wood trim is beefier, with a deeper, richer grain.
The floors a high-end wood, I don’t know the name, and the doors are a stained mahogany.
He opens the door straight ahead and flicks on the light.
A large bed fills the room, dominating the far wall.
I tense to see it. This is our room. Our bed.
He sets me down and I land on my feet, stiff and unsure.
“Why don’t you take that dress off?” he rumbles as he strides away, opening a door I’m guessing leads to the bathroom.
Nothing would make me happier than to take off this dress. But I hesitate because I have no idea what I’ll put on after.
My hesitation is short lived however, because I’ll be damned if I’m sleeping in this dress. But as I reach back, I can’t get to more than the first few tiny buttons.
I’m starting to panic, like I’m going to be stuck in this dress for the rest of my life when a set of strong hands touch mine.
I let out a cry, twisting away in shock, but I finally manage to do what I’ve feared all day and tangle in the skirts.
Before I can correct, I’m falling.
But I only make it halfway to the floor when I’m stopped short, Ryker’s massive hands grasping my waist.
My wide eyes meet his as I stare up, my body dangling halfway to the floor like he’s dipping me.
“What are you doing?”
“Catching you.”
“Oh. Right. Why were your hands on my back?”
“Because…you were obviously struggling with the buttons.” He quirks his brow again, the look softening him in ways I never imagined.
“You were helping me?” I ask, which is a stupid question. He’s just said as much.
“You’re mine to protect, wife,” he rumbles deep and low. This time, the word wife does something to me deep inside.
I flutter.
Melt.
Yearn.
I didn’t even realize my hands had come to his biceps until I flex my fingers, feeling the thickness of the muscles under my fingertips. “Really?”
“Really. Was your brother not clear? This entire arrangement is for your protection.”
“My brother?” But the moment is lost at the mention of Dimitri.
My protection is a farce, a cover for his business interest. And Ryker hasn’t even pretended. Which I appreciate, but it means I know the truth. None of this is for me.
At least he’s been honest. He will protect me for now, and once my father is neutralized, we’ll part ways, both of us hopefully richer.
I’ve never been very good at undisclosed motives and so I’m thankful that I know the deal we’re making right from the start.
It helps.
“I need to ask you…” I start, licking my lips…
His gaze catches my tongue and goes dark again. I stiffen away as best I can.
He must feel it, because he eases me up and then turns me around. I resist for a half second before he clasps my shoulders. “I’m just going to undo the buttons.”
With a small nod, I turn, his fingers coming to the row of tiny pearls. I tip my head forward, his touch light enough, that I actually find his fingers relaxing.
“Sasha?”
“Yeah?” my eyes are closed, my body relaxing.
“They’re not coming undone.”
“What?” I ask, lifting my head in confusion. This dress will not let me go.
“Do you care if I rip it?”
“Rip the dress?” I think it might give me great pleasure to tear this thing to shreds. “Go for it.”
“All right,” he answers and then with a quick jerk, the dress gives, the cool air hitting my back.
It feels so good, that air.
But also, something strange has happened. This time, a jolt moves through me that isn’t fear.
And this time, I can name it.
It’s excitement.
Raw, untethered, and powerful. It throbs between my legs, and I think I might want him to keep ripping…