Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
ARTEM
M y little bird had a broken wing.
Grasping her wrist in one hand, I felt carefully around her shoulder with the other.
She cried out and attempted to break free.
I wrapped an arm around her waist and held firm. Her small body twisted in my grasp, her hips brushing against my cock. Jesus.
She was afraid, injured, and covered in tire grease and dirt…and yet.
The moonlight filtering through the cracked window cast shadows across her face, highlighting the fear in her eyes—and something else. Something that made my blood run hot.
My fingers splayed open over her abdomen, searching for warmth through the thin T-shirt she wore. Anger like bile burned the back of my throat. She should not be standing in this run-down cabin in the middle of the night wearing next to nothing.
She should be in a bed, warm and safe. My bed.
The thought intruded without warning.
My gaze traced the delicate curve of her neck where her pulse pounded, a frantic rhythm that echoed my own. The cabin creaked around us, the very walls seeming to hold their breath, waiting.
Ignoring my body's response to her vulnerable nearness, I focused on the task at hand.
Taking a firm grip, I manipulated her arm, popping the shoulder back into its socket.
Viktoria screamed in pain as she turned away from me and bent forward, pushing her hips against mine.
A rush of possessiveness flooded through me as she involuntarily curved into my body. The scent of her clouded my senses, and I nearly forgot who I was. Who she was.
After grasping her waist, my right hand moved over the slight ridges of her spine until my fingers delved into her soft curls. Closing my hand, I pulled her back against me by her hair.
My lips grazed the delicate shell of her ear as I commanded, "Breathe through the pain."
Her body trembled. "I can't. Oh god, it hurts."
"I know, moya ptashka ." My little bird.
The endearment fell from my lips unbidden, too intimate for this moment, yet somehow not intimate enough. Rain began to pelt against the roof, enveloping us in a cocoon of sound, separating us from the world outside.
My hand shifted to caress her throat before wrapping around her neck, cupping the base of her jaw. Using my grip, I turned her to face me. Tears glittered in her gaze, her eyes shining sapphire bright.
"Look at me."
She tried to turn her face away.
My voice deepened with authority. "Viktoria. Look. At. Me."
Each word fell like a stone between us, heavy with unspoken implications. The power I wielded over her in this moment was nothing compared to what I wanted.
Her full lips tightened as she inhaled and held her breath.
My thumb caressed the edge of her jaw. Fuck, she really was quite beautiful. "That's it. Good girl. Keep your eyes on me. Now breathe."
Her head shook as she kept holding her breath.
I leaned in close. My lips almost touching hers. "I said breathe."
The inch between our mouths was charged with electricity. Her defiance, even now, stirred a primal need within me. I could crush that hint of rebelliousness, but I found myself wanting to preserve it, nurture it, even as I demanded her surrender.
She opened her lips. For the barest of moments, we shared the same air.
One breath. Then two.
Her eyelashes fluttered, dark crescents against pale skin. Every subtle shift of her body against mine registered like a brand.
The sharpness in her eyes faded as the worst of the initial shock and pain ebbed. I knew from experience there would be a throbbing soreness for several days, but at least the worst of her agony was over.
She stepped back, away from my touch, swiping at the tears on her cheeks. "Please, can I go home now?"
The sudden distance between us felt wrong, leaving me cold where her warmth had been. Outside, a branch scraped against the window.
I searched her face as my brow furrowed. I didn't like the idea of her leaving.
At my silence, she backed away another step and raised her right hand, almost as if to ward me off. "Please. I promise. I won't…I won't say anything about what has happened here."
Of that I had no doubt. Especially once she learned of her father and brother's fate after this night.
That didn't stop me from securing a more definitive solution. "I will let you leave?—"
"Thank you."
I stepped closer.
The floorboards groaned beneath my weight, a warning she heeded, her eyes widening. The small cabin seemed to shrink around us, pushing us together even as she retreated.
She continued to back away.
After a few more steps, her back hit the wall.
My body followed, caging her in. "You did not let me finish. I will let you leave, but I cannot grant you your freedom."
She gasped. "Please, I?—"
"Do you have someplace to go? Somewhere that is not under your father's roof?"
She nodded but did not speak.
I placed a hand on the wall beside her head, close enough to feel the heat radiating from her skin. The dim light caught tiny silver flecks in her eyes, turning the fear into something more complex, more intriguing.
I cupped her jaw. "I need an actual response."
She sniffed. "Yes. I have my dorm room."
Despite the chill of the room, her cheek was warm beneath my palm. "Your dorm?"
"I finished my associate's degree and only just transferred to a four-year college to get my degree in Political Science."
"And your father allowed this?"
Her spine stiffened and she bristled. "He didn't approve, but I've worked to save my own tuition money as well as applying for every scholarship and grant I could find."
Her pride in paying her own way was evident and admirable…but it ended tonight. "I will allow you to return to your dorm, but it will be under my protection."
"I don't need your?—"
"I haven't finished," I ground out.
She tried to lower her head, but I cupped her cheek to keep her gaze on me. My fingertips lightly traced the bruise there. Her father and brother would pay dearly for what they had done.
The mark on her skin was an affront, a desecration of the beautiful piece of art that was Viktoria. My thumb brushed over it with a tenderness that contradicted the fury coursing through my veins. Thunder rolled in the distance, echoing my silent promise of retribution.
"You may return to school, but only with my permission. From this point forward, you answer to me."
Some of her earlier defiance returned, sparking in her flashing eyes. "So I'm to trade my father's control for yours?"
"Precisely."
Her lips thinned. "Absolutely not."
I raised an eyebrow. "Then I shall take your father's suggestion and arrange a suitable marriage for you to someone loyal, who will ensure your obedience."
"No! Please."
"It is your choice, Viktoria."
She considered the conversation for a moment, then nodded.
Even trapped between my body and the wall, she held herself with dignity. I hungered for the moment when that dignity would crumble by choice, not coercion.
The corner of my mouth lifted. "Words, princess."
She sighed. "I agree to your terms."
Resisting the temptation to keep her in my arms, I stepped back. "I will arrange for you to return to your dorm. Although it is late and I know you’re tired, I'm going to have a private doctor visit to give you something for the pain."
"I don't want your drugs."
I tugged on one long curl. "And yet you will be a good girl and obey my wishes."
The strand of hair wrapped around my finger was like silk, a delicate tether between us. I let it slide free slowly, deliberately, watching her eyelids flutter as my knuckles grazed her collarbone.
She swallowed. “Okay."
"Good girl."
I shifted away and called out for one of my men. After giving him instructions to see Viktoria safely back to her dorm, she started to follow him through the door. I called out to her one last time.
She turned, and for a brief moment, I reconsidered.
It was within my power to keep her.
Like the thought of having her in my bed, it came unbidden.
I raised my arm to draw her back to me.
The look she gave me then, both wary and wounded, also held a spark of something undefined that nearly undid my resolve.
The silence between us stretched taut with possibility.
I lowered my arm and curled my fingers into a fist at my side. "Do not forget our agreement."