Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Fucking brat. We’ll deal with that later. She’s a few paces from the courtyard with no possible escape. She’ll trigger the security lights and alert the guards.
I’ll have to find another way to keep her shackled.
I take off at a run and reach her just as the blare of a second alarm sounds. She swivels to me, her eyes momentarily widened.
“Jesus,” she mutters.
I walk toward her, my steps deliberate and measured, flanked by my men.
“You have no idea how badly I want to drag you across my lap and whip that ass until you’re screaming for mercy,” I mutter as I reach her. I deftly nab her wrists, secure them to her side, and toss her over my shoulder. “If only you didn’t fucking like it.”
“Oh, do I?” she says in a teasing tone. This is a game for her, a fucking game as if lives and entire kingdoms don’t hang in the balance. My resolve snaps, and I crack my hand against her perfect, taut ass. “Mmm,” she croons. “Do it again please.”
I clench my hand into a fist, itching to spank her again, but not if she’s begging for it.
“You don’t know when to quit, do you?”
She sighs. “I will never stop trying to escape. You won’t be able to keep me here forever. You know that.”
“As if your brother will come and rescue you? I don’t think so.” We’re steps from the house now. She may have tried to escape twice, but she hasn’t gotten very far. “We investigated your background. We know where you stand with him.”
I take the steps to my back door.
I battle growing respect and reluctant admiration for her spirit. I can’t afford to show weakness, though.
“Oh? You think you know everything now, do you?”
I squeeze her ass in my palm, remembering how she almost caved when I turned her on. Maybe that’s my key.
I spank her again, this time lighter before I run my palm along her ass. “Not yet, but I will. I do know this.”
“Mmm?” she says in a low, seductive voice. I didn’t know a woman could flirt while lying over my shoulder, but she does it with perfection. “What’s that, handsome?”
I take her off my shoulder and slide her down the length of my body. My cock stiffens. I pull her to me and firmly grasp her chin in my hand. “There are other ways for me to keep you bound to me.”
She blinks, confused. I don’t bother to explain but take her by the hand and march back into the kitchen, where my brothers are still waiting, chatting among themselves. I sit down and hold her in front of me, my grip on her wrist firm and unmovable.
“Ah, you found her,” Mikhail says. “Well done.” He clicks his tongue. “You’re playing with fire, Isabella.”
“Your point?” she says haughtily. “It’s the best type of play there is, Pakhan.”
I stifle a smile. This girl is ballsy as fuck.
Viktor releases a long-suffering sigh. “My wife would agree.”
Wife.
Yes.
Wife.
Mikhail looks at me, as if the realization hit him the same time it did me. “Having a hard time keeping her restrained, are you, Lev?”
I nod, a wicked smile spreading across my face. “Yes and no. I could chain her to the bed. I could keep her suspended in my basement. I mean, it’s an excellent view while I work out.”
Isabella rolls her eyes, but she’s tense.
“I need a way to bind her to me permanently.”
“Yes,” Mikhail says, nodding, as the rest of them sit up straighter, our next move clear. “There are other, more effective ways to shackle her to you, aren’t there? It’s time, Lev.”
I nod. The others in my family have done their duty.
Mikhail married Aria when he’d been newly inducted as our leader. She’d infiltrated our ranks and needed protection, their union mutually beneficial. Aleks married Harper in an arranged marriage between two families. Nikko married Vera, another strategic power move to align both families, and Viktor’s marriage to Lydia had a similar impact on us.
None of the unions we’d forced, arranged, or otherwise compelled were out of love but necessity. Every marriage strengthened our family and deepened our roots here in The Cove. Every child our family welcomed became a thread in the intricate tapestry of our legacy, binding us together and solidifying our reign.
It’s my turn.
Conventional methods aren’t going to keep Isabella bound to me. I need something permanent. And if I know her and her dedication to the mafioso life, the best way to ensure that is to make her mine, whether she likes it or not.
“You’re thinking what I am,” Mikhail says, his gaze locked on mine.
I nod and grip her wrist tighter. “Of course. Vows. Marriage.” I put my mouth to her ear. “She takes my name and I knock her the fuck up.”
Isabella stills. A low murmur ripples through my brothers.