Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
After she falls asleep, I cover her with a blanket and silently step out of the room.
I get a text from a maid informing me that Konstantin is out of danger and asleep. Yulia is staying by his side tonight.
Releasing a relieved breath, I go to Kirill’s room. I’ve got Konstantin’s blood all over me from when I carried him earlier, and I need a change of clothes before I report to night duty.
The moment I open the door, black energy grabs hold of me before a hand wraps around my mouth. A muffled squeal leaves me as I’m dragged inside.
A dark, ominous voice whispers in my ear, “Shh. I need you to shut the fuck up, Sasha.”
29
SASHA
My mind goes blank.
The worst part isn’t my lack of reaction or thinking. It’s how suddenly my body takes charge of the situation.
The moment I’m pulled inside, I don’t go into hyperaware mode or tense for a fight. It’s far from that.
I recognize the touch and drown in the familiar masculine scent that I couldn’t grow immune to even if I tried.
The door closes with a quiet click, and then I’m pushed inside. The feral power of his strength leaves me breathless and with no choice but to match his steps.
Or try to.
He’s too fast, too unpredictable, and that awakens a dormant beast inside me.
My calf hits a hard edge, and I gasp as I stumble straight onto the soft surface of the mattress.
Then he’s on me.
His hand imprisons my wrists over my head, and his knees lie on either side of my stomach.
I get the first look at his face since he ambushed me, and I wish I hadn’t.
It’s tight but blank. Dark but emotional.
There’s nothing scarier than a calm Kirill. He becomes a force to be reckoned with, lacking any restraint or moral codes. Not that he ever had either of those, but he at least makes the effort to pretend that he does. Right now, though?
There’s no hint of that part of him. He’s fully set on destruction, and I happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“What…” I trail off when he shakes his head once.
“Shhh, don’t talk. I’m this close to becoming a pure fucking animal, and if you keep talking, this situation will turn very ugly, very fast.”
I swallow, but a ball gets stuck at the back of my throat. This is the first time I’ve heard him use that low tone of voice. It’s firm and collected, but a frightening hurricane lurks beneath the surface.
“Now, Sasha…” His voice deepens further to a subtle threat. “Have you finished being the benevolent one and making sure Konstantin is all safe?”
“Yes, I have, actually.” No clue how my voice sounds so neutral under the circumstances. “One of us had to do it since he’s your brother.”
“Have I asked you to look after my brother?” His menacing tone shakes me to the core.
I probably should keep quiet, but that doesn’t guarantee he’ll stop this.
No matter what I do, if Kirill has something in mind, then he’ll get to it. So I might as well get these chaotic emotions off my chest.
“I don’t need your permission for everything I do.” I try to wiggle my wrists free, but it’s impossible to loosen his iron-like hold. “Unlike what you like to believe, you’re not my keeper, Kirill.”
A cruel smirk lifts the side of his lips. “If you find solace in these delusions, then, by all means, keep believing them, but the reality is the following: you are mine to do with whatever I please. You’re my fucking property, Sasha. Is that clear?”
Hot moisture stings the corners of my eyes, but I refuse to show him the damage his words inflict on me. While I’ve always known Kirill to be a methodical, cold-hearted monster, this is the first time I’ve witnessed it firsthand.
Everything that happened in the past and the semblance of safety I felt in his arms was nothing more than my wishful thinking. He’s only ever thought of me as something he can own. An addition to his collection. I’m not, by any means, part of his ambition. Hell, I might as well be the toy he wastes time with until he takes over the position he’s working to obtain.
“I’m not your anything,” I say with a calm I don’t feel. “And I’m certainly not yours.”
A muscle clenches in his jaw and his eyes darken behind the glasses. “Is that because you already belong to someone else?”
“Someone else?”
A long pause drifts between us as the dim nightstand light creates shadows over his sharp features. “I’m picking up where I left off earlier. I need a name.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. I need the name of the man you were talking to on the phone earlier.”