Chapter 10 Cristian
CRISTIAN
I watch Valentina twirling among the flowers, her face alight with joy.
She's captivating, and I'm a dead man walking for allowing this fantasy to continue.
What the fuck am I doing?
I'm a trusted soldier, handpicked by Don Dante to protect his sister, and here I am, playing her lovestruck fiancé.
If anyone from our world saw us right now, her hand in mine, I'd be executed before sundown.
And Valentina?
God knows what punishment Alessandro would devise for her betrayal.
Or worse, Maksim.
I should end this charade immediately.
But when she looks up at me with those storm-gray eyes, I’m utterly powerless.
"These would be beautiful for the boutonnieres, don't you think?" She holds up a sprig of a white flower, her fingers brushing mine as she places it in my palm.
"Perfect," I manage.
I was assigned to keep her safe, ensure that no harm comes to her before she's handed off to Maksim as a peace offering.
Yet somewhere between her reckless flirtations and vulnerable confessions, my protective instinct transformed into something beyond duty. Something possessive.
The thought of Maksim touching her makes my trigger finger itch.
The idea of Valentina suffering that man’s sadistic ways makes me want to burn his entire world to ash.
She stands near a trellis of climbing roses, examining them with delicate fingers.
The same fingers that clutched my shoulders in the car, that trembled under my touch. My body hardens at the memory.
But this isn't just about physical desire. If it were only lust, I could master it.
No, this is something more.
I love how her sharp mind challenges me.
How her courage against impossible odds commands my respect.
How her sweetness feels like a gift I'd kill to protect.
I've survived in this life by maintaining control, by remaining the impassive soldier.
Never wavering, never questioning, never wanting beyond my station.
Yet Valentina has me wanting in a way I never thought possible.
"Cristian?" She's watching me, head tilted slightly in concern. "Are you alright?"
No. I'm not alright. I'm falling for the one woman who could destroy me.
The woman promised to our most dangerous enemy.
The woman I'm sworn to protect but can never have.
"Just thinking about security at our next stop," I lie, schooling my features into professional detachment.
But when she slips her hand back into mine, warm and trusting, I’m lost in her again.
When she finishes picking flowers, I guide Valentina toward the car, dropping her hand as we exit the florist's shop.
She clutches a small bouquet of sample flowers for Maksim's approval, but her smile has dimmed now that we're heading to his mansion.
Reality sucks.
"Are you sure we need to go?" she asks, hesitation in her voice. "We could say the florist kept us too long."
I open the car door for her. "He's expecting us. And you know how he gets when he doesn't get his way."
The drive to Maksim's estate feels like we’re driving to our own execution.
Soon she'll walk down the aisle, a vision in white.
But it won't be me waiting for her.
It'll be Maksim with his cold, soulless eyes.
The same hands that have tortured men to death will take hers.
He'll place his ring on her finger, claiming what I never can.
I swallow hard from jealousy I have no right to feel.
But my mind keeps betraying me.
I see her in his bed, in his home, bearing his children.
I see her beautiful spirit dimming under his control, her fire reduced to cold embers.
I see the bruises he'll leave on her skin when she inevitably challenges him.
And I see myself, standing guard outside their door, forced to listen as she becomes his in every way.
My heart constricts with a pain so visceral, it feels like a sledgehammer to the chest.
"You've gone quiet.” Valentina’s voice pulls me from the dark spiral of my thoughts. "What's wrong?"
I force myself to meet her gaze, knowing I can't reveal the truth burning inside me.
That I fantasize about putting a bullet in Maksim's brain before he can touch her.
That I dream of stealing her away.
"Just thinking about this change in plans," I lie. I seem to be doing a lot of that lately where I’d never dared to before. "Going to Maksim's estate wasn't part of today's security assessment. Makes me uneasy."
"Is that all?" She arches a brow as if she doesn’t believe me.
"I also feel…" I hesitate, allowing a fragment of truth to emerge. "I shouldn't have indulged our little game at the florist. I've made you vulnerable."
Her fingers brush against mine on the console between us. The simple touch sends electricity through my veins.
"I asked you to play along," she reminds me. "And for a few minutes, I felt normal. Happy, even. Don't regret giving me that."
I wish I could tell her everything.
How I'd give my life to spare her from what's coming.
How watching her walk into Maksim's world is killing me.
How her touch is both salvation and torment.
Instead, I say, "My job is to protect you. Back there, I forgot myself."
"Maybe forgetting is exactly what I needed." Irritation laces her tone.
We fall silent as the car approaches the gates of Maksim's estate.
I straighten my shoulders, my face hardening into the mask of the loyal soldier, not an easy feat when inside, I want to burn this place down and everyone in it to save this brave woman beside me.
Suddenly, she tenses. “Is Alessandro sending more men?”
My jaw nearly cracks. “No. He doesn’t want to give the appearance that we don't trust Maksim.”
Her gaze jerks to me. “But we don’t.”
No, we don’t, and it makes me resent Alessandro even more.
Pain flickers in her eyes, and I know without asking that she feels abandoned by her brother who is compromising her safety to appease a monster.
I wonder if I could convince Adriano to get rid of his brother, knowing he doesn’t like this arrangement.
Or maybe I could call Luca.
He’s a one-man slaughtering machine and very loyal to his sister.
"I've got you," I assure her, covering her hand with mine. "Nothing will happen to you under my watch." God, I hope I can live up to that vow.
The gates swing open, revealing the sprawling Morozova estate.
The Gothic architecture looks like something from a nightmare.
Guards stand at attention, their eyes tracking us as we approach the residence.
This is so fucking wrong.
I’m delivering her straight to a viper's nest with insufficient protection.
Maybe I should have been clearer with Alessandro about the way Maksim looks at her.
Like he’s eager to ruin her, to break her.
Maybe he wouldn’t have agreed to this demand, or hell, the arrangement altogether.
Or would he?
The cold calculation of the Mafia sometimes means sacrificing those closest to them.
"Ready?" I ask, my hand checking my weapon.
Valentina straightens her spine. "As I'll ever be."
Maksim's men open our doors before I can cut the engine.
It's a power move to remove my control as her protector right from the start.
I exit first, positioning myself so I can scan the surroundings while keeping Valentina in my peripheral vision.
"Welcome to my home," Maksim calls from the entrance.
He doesn't descend the steps to greet us.
Another power play.
Making Valentina climb to him, reminding her who is boss.
Valentina clutches the flower samples as we approach, her spine straight.
Pride surges through me at her composure.
She walks like the queen she deserves to be, not the sacrifice she's being forced to become.
"Mr. Vasiliev." She greets him formally, offering the floral arrangement. "I've selected these for your approval."
Maksim barely glances at the carefully chosen blooms. "Beautiful," he dismisses, keeping his gaze on her face. "But I've had a more interesting thought. The gardens are particularly stunning today. I'd like to show them to my bride personally."
My muscles tense. I don’t like the idea of a private garden tour. What game is he playing?
"The gardens?" Valentina's voice remains steady, but I catch the slight widening of her eyes.
She senses the trap too.
Maksim's smile doesn't reach his eyes. "You’ll be mistress of this estate soon. Time you became acquainted with it… intimately."
The way he says "intimately" makes my trigger finger itch. I get the feeling he’s testing boundaries, seeing how far he can push before either I object or Valentina submits.
The bastard is enjoying this game entirely too much.
"Come." Maksim gestures to Valentina, then points directly at me. "You keep ten paces behind us. You don’t need to hear private conversations between a man and his bride."
My jaw clenches tightly. "With respect, sir, my orders from Don Dante are to remain at his sister's side at all times.” I work to keep my tone professional yet respectful, even as I imagine ripping his arms off.
Maksim's eyes harden. "And my orders, in my home, supersede all others. Unless…" He tilts his head. "You're questioning the terms of our arrangement? Perhaps Alessandro should know his soldier doesn't respect the alliance he's brokered."
Valentina's eyes find mine, a silent warning in them.
We both know what's at stake if I challenge him directly.
Not just my life, but the fragile peace between our families.
Hundreds could die if this alliance crumbles.
"Ten paces," I concede, feeling like a fucking traitor to my duty to Valentina.
Maksim places his hand possessively on the small of Valentina's back. She stiffens but doesn't pull away.
The sight of his fingers splayed across her body makes me want to break each and every one of them and shove them up his ass.
As they walk ahead, I follow at the prescribed distance.
Ten paces might as well be a mile if something goes wrong.
At this distance, I can see them but can't protect her from a sudden movement, can't intervene if his hand slides lower, can't hear what threats he might be whispering in her ear.
I scan the area, hyperaware of every guard positioned throughout the garden.
Their eyes track us.
There’s too many of them.
If shit goes badly, I’m a dead man.
Hopefully, I’ll have time to kill Maksim before my own demise.