Chapter 8 #2
I shake my head. “Her lying was very subtle. She probably is a doctor.” I swallow hard, staring at my arm. "It’s when she inspected me that she lied. First, she expressed concern about my safety and played it off like that was her job. It wasn’t. Second, she lied about my arm. My arm is not okay."
"Fuck," Ollie says. This time, when he runs his hand through his hair, it sticks up on end. "Jesus." He shakes his head, disbelieving. "Alright, I’ll look into it," he says. "You're safe. Do you believe that she's a threat to you?"
"No, I didn't get that vibe at all." I look away, my voice betraying my emotions. "You're the one who tells other people they're insincere, aren't you? You’re the one who thinks everyone else is lying.”
Like me.
"The fuck, Renata?" he snaps. "You know that's not true."
He sits on the edge of the bed, his large frame causing it to sink. "You're safe here. I'd bet my life on it. No one's going to hurt you. Take the pain relievers she gave you.” I nod, my throat tight. I’m not going to fight him this time. I’m too tired, too weary.
“Then strip. I'm going to run a bath for you, and I'm going to bring you some food. You're going to be my wife, Renata. We might as well pretend that you and I like that idea."
Maybe I do. Maybe I fucking do. Why would he know?
I've never been on this floor before. From here, out the window, I can see houses beyond us, but the Romanov family home and headquarters are firmly established right here in The Cove.
I know we're going to get married soon, probably tomorrow.
Does it matter? Does anything matter? I feel as if I want to throw everything to the wind and just forget about it.
Exhausted, I head to the bathroom and do what he said. The hot water feels good. I allow myself to sink into the tub and imagine it’s washing me clean of everything.
I close my eyes and dip my head back. The hot water on my scalp is soothing. I sink beneath the surface and let it take me.
I could… just end this. I could stay under the water and never come up again. I hold my breath and contemplate what that would look like. A few moments of struggle… the water would fill my lungs, and I’d… sink… never to surface again. And then all of this would be over.
Ollie knocks at the door. I ignore him.
I want it all just to go away. It’s heavy and painful, and I am so damn tired.
I surface and gasp for air, my lungs expanding.
“Renata?” His tone is sharp. “Are you alright in there?”
“Yeah.” I try to sound normal like I wasn’t just fully under the water contemplating drowning myself. “What do you want?”
At the sound of his deep voice, I’m suddenly very, very aware of the fact that I’m naked, and he’s standing just on the other side of that door. That I’m here. Still breathing.
Still fucking breathing.
“You hungry?"
I swallow. "Yeah. Starving."
“Finish up. Get dressed. I’ll get you something to eat for now, but later you’ll eat with my family.”
When I don’t answer, the door flies open. I gasp and sink into the water.
Not as far as I went before.
He stands in the doorway, all alpha male perfection, and I’m vividly aware of the contrast in power between us.
I swallow… hard.
“Go ahead, cover yourself up with water. It doesn’t make any difference. I’m going to see you naked whenever or wherever I want.” His eyes narrow on me. “Did you hear me?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
When he gives me a sharp look, I decide it's time to push boundaries a little bit. "Yes, sir. That better?"
"Yeah, Renata.” He pushes off the wall and heads my way. “Much better. I like it when you obey me. I like it when you submit." He rubs his thumb across the apple of my cheek and down to my lips. "I like it." Then I bite his thumb, and his eyes flare with temper and excitement.
"To think. You're going to be my wife. Who would have expected?"
I turn away. My eyes feel so heavy, and I know it's just exhaustion, but also the weight of carrying what I have for so long. All of it. When I close my eyes, I see my brother's face, and Ollie's—one threatening me with death, the other with life.
The back-and-forth roller coaster of my emotions between the two men is killing me. I’m halfway between waking and sleeping when the smell of fresh food wakes me. The world could be falling down around me, but when I’m hungry, I know only one master. I blink, surprised to find I’m still in the tub.
Ollie sits beside me. Watching.
“Were you making sure I didn’t drown?”
“Someone had to.”
He did.
“Get out of the tub,” he says in a soft tone that disarms me all over again. Heat thrums through me at the low sound of his voice, the primal need and want he isn’t even trying to mask.
I step out. Water cascades down my body in rivulets, and Ollie doesn’t miss a thing. My nipples pebble under his hard glare. I shiver, and this time, it isn’t just fear.
He holds a thick, plush white towel like we’re at a hotel, and he’s here to serve me. I swallow and lick my lips.
I know better.
"You're the last brother to get married," I say, my voice husky. “Aren’t you?”
He's going to want children soon, very soon. It’s how the Romanovs operate.
My brother is going to get in touch and demand I tell him everything I know.
I'll need to have something to give him, but I'm not sure what.
"I do wish that you would—" I turn around to face him and stifle a gasp when he's suddenly right in my space, his green eyes burning into me.
The towel falls to the floor, forgotten.
Unnecessary.
He grabs my wrists and pins them above my head, backing me up until my back hits the bathroom door. My skin burns under the heat of his gaze.
"No one is watching us in here,” he reminds me.
I smirk at him. "Only if your brother is a much bigger creep than I thought."
His mouth descends on mine, branding me, annihilating me. I melt under the heat, his tongue tangling with mine. I reach for his clothes as he reaches for my naked body. His hand fists in my tangled, wet hair. When he pulls away, he grabs my chin in his big, rough hand and holds my gaze.
"Did you betray us?" he growls.
I want to slap him. I want to claw at his beautiful, heartbreakingly handsome face and make him scream. I want to shake him until he sees the truth.
Instead… my voice breaks. My heart aches. I blink back tears of fury and tell him the truth. "You know I didn't.”
"Then who took you from here?"
I pinch my lips together. He grabs me by my shoulders and gives me a hard shake. My teeth rattle, but I still manage to glare at him.
"I can't answer that question, and you know it."
He curses in Russian and shakes his head. “I need your body checked. What if you’re hiding something on your person?”
“Like in… a body cavity? Oh God. Ew.”
Panic slices through me.
"I could have my brother search you, but I don't want anybody near you.
Do you understand?" His hand is on my jaw, his grip firm.
"You belong to me, Renata. I was the one who went down to Colombia to find you. I was the one who questioned you. I was the one who bled for you.” He shakes me again. “Do you understand me?" he repeats.
My eyes widen, and I nod, not knowing what to say. Tears prick my eyes.
"You're going to be my wife soon, Renata. From now on, I expect you to act like it. Am I clear?" Bright-green eyes hold my gaze with his, the tone of his voice implacable.
When I don't answer right away, his huge palm cracks against my naked ass. I scream, choking on my breath as he shakes me again.
He’s losing his mind and is going to snap, a man pushed to his absolute limits.
"You'll do what I say. I know who you're dealing with. Everyone else believes your brother is dead. I know better, don't I?"
Shit.
I look at him pleadingly. If there’s any chance we are being watched, I can't risk acknowledging this.
“He’s dead,” I whisper. I blink, and a tear falls down my cheek.
We’re all dead. Renata Carerra, the little girl who grew up in Colombia under her parents’ thumb.
Ollie Romanov, the boy who grew up a homeless scrapper on the streets of New York before the Romanovs took him in. Carlos, the brother who once loved me.
He kisses down the side of my jaw, down to my neck, and bites my shoulder. A moan escapes my lips, and heat blooms between my legs.
"I believe that you were taken against your will," he whispers in my ear. "But I don't know why you're back here and not dead. I don't know what his endgame is, but I know this—anyone who comes near you has to go through me first.”
I nod and swallow. "Good girl," he whispers in my ear. "You’re going to be punished for disobeying me… for everything." He spins me around to face the door and plants both hands flat on the surface. This is a large, spacious room, but there's not enough air in here, no matter how hard I breathe.
It's too much. I shiver against the door.
My fierce determination to survive has protected me in a world that constantly threatened my safety, and I am haunted by feelings of guilt for what I've done.
But if I'm a survivor, I will survive again. I will not let Ollie Romanov take all that I am, and I will not let the fear of what my brother will do hold me back. Just minutes ago, I considered ending it all. There’s a certain freedom in staring death in the face and not giving a fuck about it.
I have to protect myself. I have to find my brother. I have to make sure that I'm not destroyed in the process. So I tilt my head to the side and catch Ollie’s gaze over my shoulder.
My voice is shaky. I don’t recognize myself.
"I don't know what you mean. Why don't you clarify it for me?”
Ollie’s palm slams against my ass, and heat floods my veins. Again, he spanks me, and I have to swallow the pulse of unharnessed need that filters through my veins.
Spanking kink? Yes, sir.
He spanks me again, this time plunging thick fingers in my pussy before he slaps my ass again. I can’t think straight.
He spins me around and pushes me to my knees.
Oh, hell yes.