Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Images of his face buried between my thighs flash before my eyes, and lust sings in my blood.
“Not if the world were on fire,” I say between gritted teeth.
He scoffs as if he knows it’s a lie. And the worst part about it is, I think he might be right.
Suddenly lightheaded, I put down my glass of water and sit on the edge of the bed. “You’re really serious about this.”
Lev looks unfazed. “Like I said, every contract has its terms and conditions. You choose to stay, and this is what the conditions are.”
Out of nowhere, nausea hits like a wave, and I have to run to the bathroom to vomit. This is all too much.
I wretch again until my stomach is empty. God, why am I nauseated all the time? Oh, that’s right, I’ve been goddamn kidnapped.
Thankfully, Lev stays out of the bathroom, so I don’t have to suffer the indignation of him seeing me slumped on the floor with my head buried in the toilet.
Climbing to my feet, I drag myself over to the sink and splash cool water on my face. I rinse my mouth with water and then with the mouthwash I find in the medicine cabinet.
Feeling better, I walk back into the bedroom, where Lev is sitting in a wing-backed chair in the corner. He looks calm and collected as he waits.
“Feel better?” he asks.
I decide in that moment that I hate him. “Yes,” I manage through gritted teeth.
“And I take it that you’re staying?”
I can’t even speak to him I hate him so much. All I can do is nod.
“Good.” He stands. “Now get some rest. Tonight is our first public appearance as the happy couple. So I suggest you do whatever you need to do to make peace with it in your mind.”
He walks toward the door but stops.
“Oh, and one small thing you might do well to remember, Miss Masters… you break your half of the agreement, and it will force me to break mine.” He fixes me with those dark-as-night eyes. “And I can guarantee you, mine will hurt you more than what you could ever do to me.”
Lev leaves and I sit on the edge of the bed to try and process my new reality.
He really expects me to fake date him?
Oh boy, this situation just keeps getting better and better.
I lie down and sink my head into the impossibly soft pillow, my mind scrambling to process my new reality, my body heavy with exhaustion, and before I know it, I fall into a deep sleep.
It’s not until there is a knock on the door a few hours later that I wake up.
Sitting up, I watch as Enya walks in, carrying a dress on a hanger.
“Hi, Brooke.” She smiles sweetly, and her two dimples appear. “I’m here to help you get ready for the family dinner in town.”
Still dopey from sleep, I rub my palm into my eyes. “Family dinner?”
Ah yes, our first public appearance as the happy couple.
I climb off the bed, and Enya’s beautiful blue eyes sweep over my jeans and T-shirt. “It will be a formal dinner.”
I push my hands into my jeans pockets. “Right, I forgot.”
She lays the dress on the bed, then indicates for me to join her at the antique dresser where she begins to brush and style my hair.
“I imagine you’re going to have so much fun,” she gushes with an enthusiasm I wish I could share. “It’s being held for Mr. Zarkov’s uncle, and there will be lots of family there.”
Great, while I’m barely able to cope with one Zarkov, now I’m going to be in a room full of them.
Enya mistakes my lack of enthusiasm for nerves. “Oh, don’t worry, they’re really nice.”
“You’ve met them?”
“Not all of them. But Feliks and his brother, Maksim, are here a lot. So is their father Boris, he’s Lev’s uncle. It’s his birthday they’re celebrating tonight. There is another uncle, Vadim, but he doesn’t come to the house. I don’t think he and Lev get along. Well, according to the staff grapevine, anyway.”
“What else does the staff grapevine say about Mr. Zarkov?”
She smiles at me in the mirror. “You don’t need to worry about him. What you see is what you get.”
That’s what I’m afraid of.
What I see is a monster.
“You mention his uncles, but what about his parents?”
Enya’s smile drops. “They’re both dead.”
I feel the words so profoundly because I know exactly how it feels to lose both your parents. I touch the owl charm on my bracelet. It’s a gut-wrenching loss that changes you.
“A car bomb almost twelve months ago,” Enya explains. “That’s why Lev became the pakhan.”
My hatred for Lev dampens slightly. He might be a monster. But I understand his pain.
“You must be very special for Mr. Zarkov to take you to such a family dinner,” she says, changing the subject as she weaves a strand of my hair around a curling wand. “He doesn’t usually attend with a plus one.”