 by Shandi Boyes.jpg)
Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Arrogant. Untouchable. Deadly. He is a man who knows what he wants, and for some unfathomable reason, he wants me. But I am not a free woman. I’m on the run, and have as many secrets as the domineeringly mysterious stranger, though you’d never guess that when I toss caution to the wind for a deal too good to be true. I refuse to be bought… but being wholly consumed by someone convinced I deserve better doesn’t come with a price tag. It only turns costly when I learn more than my heart is on the line
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
NATALYA
Polina:
Drinks at Rule’s Taproom? 10 p.m. Entertainment is on me ;)
After following Polina, my friend and boss, to the SUV my bodyguard imported to Russia like they don’t already have emasculating cars, I type a message to the man Polina assumed I was contacting when I seconded her cell phone.
Polina is “dating” Vasily Cabanow, a seedy business owner who busts a nut every time a female under the age of twenty-five enters Polina’s boutique clothing store. I use the word “dating” loosely because despite her assurance she has a “thing” for Mr. Dishonorable, I know her better than that.
We’ve become close over the past six months. She wasn’t given much choice on her army of foot soldiers when everyone she cared about abandoned her within days of each other, but whatever. If I can forget she’s as old as dirt, she can look past the fact I’m a bad influence.
I won’t lie. It’s been a fun few months. Polina’s worldliness has matured me a smidge, and I’ve reminded her that thirty isn’t anywhere close to ancient.
Polina:
Going out with Nat. Call you when I’m home safe and sound and snuggled in my bed with nothing but my pillow between my legs.
My fake gag about Polina’s jaded love life turns real when Vasily’s reply pops up on the screen of Polina’s phone.
Vasily:
I’ll meet you at the end of Novaya Avenue at ten.
Polina:
In the morning?
Surely he can’t mean tonight. By the time we reach the entertainment district of Kronstadt, it’ll be time for Polina to go home. An early dismissal could ruin plans I’ve been ruminating over all week.
Polina will never admit it, but she’s a lightweight. After a couple of glasses of wine, her lips could sink ships. That’s how I know she isn’t with Vasily because he makes her kitty purr. She might have everyone in her now minuscule inner circle convinced she’s a virgin, but I know the name she moans when she’s ringing the devil’s doorbell.
It isn’t Mr. Anal, who kills my mojo more than the micro dick I’m confident he shoves into his trunks each morning.
Vasily:
Funny. See you soon.
“Probably just enough time for you to remove your tongue from the ear of the latest fool you’re schmoozing,” I gabber under my breath while plonking my scarcely covered backside onto the leather seat next to Polina and across from Taylor and Millie.
“What was that?” Polina asks, making me realize I said my statement out loud.
“Um…” Taylor, my roommate and best friend, gives me a sympathetic look when my nose screws up. Thinking on the spot will never be my strong point. “I said your hair looks pretty.”
If honesty were graded and this were my final exam, I’d have a big fat F marked next to my name.
Don’t get me wrong. Polina is gorgeous. Her face is timeless, her body rocking, and she has tits that seem to defy gravity, but her hair hasn’t worn its voluptuous waves in months.
The last time was a couple of weeks after the day she thought dark storm clouds would keep her consumers away.
I wasn’t meant to be working that day but had put away enough funds for a sexy little number. I got more than I bargained for when I attempted to sneak in via the back entrance of the boutique.
Polina was being taken hard and fast against the outside wall of her boutique.
This is the part of the story where I’m meant to say I walked away and gave Polina and Yev the privacy they deserve.
I can’t say that if I don’t want my grade to drop below an F.
What? I bet you never turn a blind eye to fireworks, and neither do I.
I didn’t stay for the final bang, but I watched long enough to get the adrenaline running through my veins as potently as it does when Saka, my bodyguard, makes good headway with the traffic.
We arrive at the nightlife district of Kronstadt with almost twenty minutes to spare.
Yev’s apartment is further away from this part of town than Polina’s boutique, but my message would have any red-blooded man interested. It was provocative yet tasteful. My personality to a T.
I’ve only just stuffed Polina’s cell phone into the middle console with Taylor’s, Millie’s, and mine when she says, “Hold on. I want to see what Vas said before you store my phone away.”
The gags keep coming, but only as long as it takes me to come up with a lie. “He said something about cruising by later and to have fun.”
My last three words ruin it for me. With her brow arched in silent interrogation, Polina confirms, “Vasily Cabanow told me to have fun?”
My nod is weak and pathetic and sees me called out as a liar in under a nanosecond.
“All right,” I yell while re-snatching Polina’s phone out of her hand.