Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
In no time, he’s turning me into a masochist who can’t get enough of him and his ministrations.
What the hell is he doing to me?
Frustrated at myself, I yank a towel off the rack, wet it, and wipe between my thighs. I remove my ruined panties and throw them in the trash since they’re not usable anymore. It takes me some time to make myself presentable again.
Kyle thought he could subdue me with this, but obviously he doesn’t know the Rai he left behind while he disappeared to God knows where.
I exit the bathroom just as he opens the room’s door. I catch a whiff of his last sentence: “…on my way. It’s all going according to plan.”
Or so he thinks.
Kyle won’t feel the disaster until he’s caught in the middle. As I promised, he’ll pay for the whole shit show he inflicted upon me today.
17
Kyle
I find Adrian in his car downstairs.
He lifts his chin in greeting, and I do the same as I slide beside him.
We don’t take off right away, though. He looks through the window and makes sure all his guards are in place. It isn’t a surprise since he’s known to be careful. It’s his silent strategic nature that’s allowed him to be one of the strongest pillars of the Vory, if not the deadliest.
“Where are your guards?” he asks.
“I don’t need them.”
His light grey eyes flicker a little. They’re muted a dull cloudy sky, but at the same time, they’re intense, hard, and merciless. It’s strange how they add to his ruthless personality. He doesn’t show it often, but when he does, it’s game over.
His general appearance is different from the rest of the leaders. His jet-black hair and trimmed beard are always meticulous, and yet seem rebellious. He can pass as the least Russian-looking or the most, depending on whether he speaks in an American or a Russian accent. He uses that tactic a lot when he does his thing for the brotherhood.
“Underestimating your opponent is a sure way to be defeated before you even get started, Kyle.” He uses the American accent.
“They can’t reach my level.”
“Arrogance is another way to lose.”
“Stop the philosophical bullshit. I did get myself a guard after Igor insisted.” I search the crowd for a bleached-haired brat. “There he is.”
Adrian raises an eyebrow. “He looks like a kid.”
“That’s because he is one. Barely twenty, newly recruited orphan, school dropout. I’m teaching him the ways of the Bratva.”
“How would you teach him something you don’t believe in?”
“Hey.” I pretend to be offended. “Just because I don’t sing the Russian anthem doesn’t mean I’m not part of this holy union.”
“We don’t sing the Russian anthem. Do you even know why the Bratva started?”
“Sure do—USSR and World War bollocks that I’m not interested in hearing about. What I am interested in, however, is your love story with the Italians. What made the overly distrustful Luciano family trust you so much? It can’t be your non-existent charm.”
“It could be something similar to why Rai married you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Blackmail.”
I smile even though I want to snarl.
“What?” He picks up on my change of mood. “She would’ve never married you of her own accord. Even Sergei knows that. Which brings me to the question: what will you do once she figures out who you are?”
“She won’t.”
“And if she does?”
“So what if she does?”
“She’ll turn your life into hell.”
I have no doubt she would do just that.
The image of Rai’s defiant expression earlier comes to mind, the way she stared up at me even when she was suffering. The way she slapped me to prove a point. That woman is made of hard steel with incomparable tenacity. Nikolai developed the Russian endurance in her bones, and it fucking shows.
But if there’s anyone who will melt that metal fortress and reach the person that’s inside, it’s going to be me.
The toys and the games are just the beginning, a preparation phase for what’s really going to come.
I will start with her body and end with her fucking soul. The more she defies me, the more tempted I am to break her in.
Which is weird, considering that’s not part of my mission. If anything, being tangled up in Rai Sokolov might compromise what I came back to do. And yet, whenever she looks at me with those challenging eyes, all I can think about is taking her up on it.
“Speaking of the princess,” Adrian says, and my first knee-jerk reaction is to punch him in the throat. Only I am allowed to call her Princess.
I stare through the window, and sure enough, Rai marches toward us with sure, confident steps. Her makeup and hair are fixed, and she looks ready to take over the world.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one day she does—when I’m out of the picture, of course.