Chapter 8
ANDREI
I'm not watching her.
I tell myself this as I stand at the second-floor window overlooking the lawn. I tell myself I'm reviewing security protocols, making sure the perimeter is properly monitored. Not watching Liesl Baumann walk through my gardens like she owns them.
But that's exactly what I'm doing.
She looks lighter, out there, like the weight she's been carrying since she was brought here has lifted just enough to let her breathe. Her hair catches the morning light, all gold and honey, and her body looks achingly perfect in the tight leggings and long tank top that she’s wearing.
I can see the curve of her breast, her hip, and I remember exactly how they felt against my palm.
How she felt soft and taut at the same time, yielding and tight simultaneously.
Would she feel that tight around my…
I grit my teeth and shove the thought down, even as my cock thickens.
I’ve spent more time jerking off over the last several days than I have since I was a fucking teenager.
I can’t get out of bed in the morning without rubbing one out, and by the time I make it back to bed in the evening, I end up doing the same.
In the shower, in bed… hell, yesterday I had to stop and jerk off at my desk, just because I saw Liesl walking outside, the sun illuminating the perfect curves of her body.
Curves that I want to strip naked and press against my own hard muscle, until I find out exactly how well she fits against me.
I have a meeting in twenty minutes with Viktor about the Volkov situation, and intelligence reports to review.I have tTerritory disputes that need addressing. A war brewing that requires my full attention.
Instead I watch her tilt her head back and close her eyes, a slow smile spreading over lips that I remember all too clearly what they felt like against mine.
Fuck.
I turn from the window and force myself to move toward my desk. I have work to do. Real work. Not standing here like some lovesick fool watching a woman who should mean nothing to me.
She's a captive. A complication I'm managing until her father is dealt with and she goes home.
That's all. That's all she can be.
I make it three steps before I'm back at the window.
She's walking along the path that winds through the gardens. The guard follows, keeping a professional distance.
Good. That's good. Exactly what I want.
Except it's not what I want at all.
What I want is to be down there with her, walking beside her, watching her discover my grounds. Hearing whatever thoughts are making her smile like that.
The realization makes my jaw clench. This is weakness. Distraction. Exactly the kind of thing that gets men in my position killed.
I need to refocus, and remember who I am and what's at stake. I need to stop thinking about the way she looked at me in the library, the way she came apart against those shelves with my name on her lips.
I need to stop remembering how she fucking tasted.
My cock throbs, and I’m on the verge of reaching for my zipper when my phone buzzes. It’s Viktor.
Viktor: Volkov's men were spotted near the docks. Three of them. Watching our shipment routes.
I type back: Handle it. Quietly.
Viktor: Already done. But they're getting bolder. Testing boundaries.
Andrei: Let them test. We'll respond when the time is right.
Viktor: The men are asking when that will be.
I stare at the message. The men are asking. Translation: the men are questioning. Wondering if their pakhan is too distracted to deal with the building threat.
They're not wrong.
I pocket the phone without responding and look back out the window.
Liesl has stopped again, this time near a bench.
She's saying something to the guard that’s with her.
I can't hear the words, of course, but I can see her expression–open and friendly with that sunshiny warmth that seems to radiate from her even in captivity. That effervescent optimism that makes my teeth grate together. It’s so unlike anything that’s ever been a part of my life before. It’s fucking irritating, her naiviete.
And it also makes me feel drawn to her, in a way that I’ve never been drawn to anyone else before.
The guard responds, and says something that makes her laugh. The sound doesn't reach me through the glass but I see the way her whole face lights up. The way she touches his arm—just briefly, casually, the kind of gesture that means nothing.
Nothing… but my vision narrows, suddenly laser focused on her hand on his arm. Him smiling back at her. Responding to her warmth with his own.
He says something else. She laughs again, brighter this time.
The rage that floods through me is instant and viscera, and completely irrational.
I’m out of my office before I can stop myself, heading down the stairs and through the hallway to the doors that lead out to the back gardens. My men step aside when they see my face. They know better than to get in my way when I look like this.
I hit the back door hard enough to make it slam against the wall.
Liesl and the guard both turn at the sound, and see me storming toward them. Her smile fades when she sees me, and he goes rigid. He immediately steps back from her and puts proper distance between them.
Too fucking late.
“You.” I glare at him, my voice icy cold. "Inside. Now."
His face goes white. No doubt he’s thinking of the three guards I shot less than a week ago. He glances at Liesl and then back at me. "Pakhan, I was just—"
"Now."
He moves, and fast. At least he knows better than to argue when I use that tone.
Liesl watches him go and then turns to me. "What's wrong?" Her lips pinch together, and she looks irritated with me.
"Go back to your room."
"But I still have twenty minutes—"
"Now, Liesl."
She flinches. Just slightly, but I see it—the way my tone hits her. Confusion crosses her face. "Did I do something wrong?" she asks quietly.
My jaw clenches. "No. Go inside."
She hesitates, and opens her mouth like she wants to argue. Then she closes it and nods, and walks past me toward the door.
I watch her go. I see the way her shoulders curve inward as the lightness from earlier vanishes.
Fine. She needs to learn the way of the world, the reality of the situation she’s in. She’s not here to make friends with my men.
She’s mine.
I grit my teeth together. She’s not, I remind myself. She’s not mine, she’s just a captive. Just someone I’m forced to deal with until her father is dealt with.
I stalk back inside, where the guard is standing, shifting nervously from foot to foot. I pin him with an icy glare. “My office.”
He follows without a word.
I close the door behind us when we walk in. I don't sit or offer him a seat. I just stand there, letting the silence stretch until I can see sweat forming at his temples.
"How long have you worked for me?" I ask finally.
He gulps. "Three years, pakhan. I worked for your father before you. So… a year for you. Almost." He stops talking when he sees my eyes narrow.
"And in that time, have I ever given you reason to question my orders?"
"No, pakhan."
"Have I ever been unclear about expectations?"
He swallows again, hard. "No, pakhan."
"Then explain to me why you thought it was appropriate to have a conversation with my captive."
He winces. "I was just being polite. She asked about the gardens. I answered."
"She asked about the gardens."
"Yes."
"And you felt compelled to engage. To smile. To make her laugh."
"I didn't think—"
"No. You didn't think." I move closer and watch him fight the urge to step back. "You didn't think about what message that sends. You didn't think about boundaries. You didn't think about the fact that she is not a guest. She is a captive. My captive. And you do not get to be friendly with her."
"Pakhan, I meant no disrespect—"
"But you showed it anyway." My voice drops. "She is off limits. Completely. You don't talk to her. You don't smile at her. You don't respond to her questions beyond what is absolutely necessary for security. Do you understand?"
"Yes, pakhan."
"You're reassigned. Viktor will give you new duties. Someone else will escort her walks."
His face pales, probably imagining what he’s going to be assigned to. Maybe something that gets him killed. "Pakhan, please. I didn't mean—"
"Dismissed."
He knows better than to argue. Pushing back now would only make things worse. He nods, and leaves quickly.
I stand alone in my office, my hands clenched into fists and my heart pounding like I just ran a mile. The thought of him making her laugh, o of her touching his arm, giving him that warmth that should be—
Mine.
There it is again. That word. That claim I have no right to make.
There’s a sudden knock at the door, jolting me. "What?" I snap.
It opens, and Liesl stands there—no guard, no escort. Just her.
"You shouldn't be here.”
"I know." She steps inside anyway and closes the door behind her. "But I needed to talk to you."
My jaw is so tight I’m going to crack something if this keeps up. "About what?"
"About whatever just happened out there.
" She moves closer, cautious but determined. Through the haze of tumultuous emotion, there’s something in me that admires it, like I admired her reactions that first morning, while she was tied to a chair and still managed to be brave.
"He didn't do anything wrong. He was just being friendly.
If anyone's at fault, it's me. I asked him questions. I engaged him in conversation. I—"
"Stop."
"But—"
"Stop talking, Liesl."
She stops and just watches me. Waiting.
I should tell her to leave. I should remember that getting close to her is dangerous for both of us. Instead I move toward her. I’m not thinking straight, and the words that come out of my mouth just prove that, but I can’t seem to stop any of this.
"You think this is about fault," I say quietly. "You think I'm angry because someone broke a rule."
Her brow wrinkles. "Aren't you?"