Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90084 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90084 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
I grab it from his hand and put the picture back. “You didn’t answer my questions.”
“I assume this is your brother, Luka.” He nods at a picture of Luka when he was six years old wearing a soccer uniform and beaming out from underneath his floppy black hair. “I don’t see any of you though.”
“I’m not photogenic. Did you come here to go through old family pictures or something?”
“Strange, that you wouldn’t be included.” He glances at me, eyebrows knitted.
“How did you know my brother’s name, anyway?” I’m tempted to scream at him, but I’m also too afraid of what he might do.
Valentin’s handsome, but he’s also big. He looms over me and his arms are the size of my head. He could crush my skull with one massive hand if he wanted to. And I remember what Merrick said: a fuck-then-murder kind of vibe.
He’s not wrong about that.
Right now, I’m a little bit more worried about the murder.
But only by a little bit.
He turns away from the pictures and sits down at the kitchen table. “Join me,” he says, again with that commanding tone.
I remain standing. “I didn’t invite you in here. You’re a total stranger. If this is about the mix-up from the other day—”
“I’m here to offer you a job.”
That shuts me up. I grind my jaw, frustrated, but he’s only staring at me with a strange, neutral expression, almost like he’s bored. Like he barges into strange houses all the time.
“What kind of job?” I ask cautiously. “And who says I need one?”
“I assume you weren’t posing for Merrick for free. And something about you suggests that was your first time. Which, if I can follow the logic, suggests you need money. Am I wrong?”
I open my mouth and shut it again. I say nothing, only glare at him. I’m beyond furious, and honestly a little embarrassed again, but he’s absolutely right.
I really need money.
The stack of bills in the middle of the table isn’t really helping much right now.
“The girl Nikkita mentioned,” he starts, and I interrupt him.
“Your housekeeper, right? She said you were waiting for someone named Natalya?”
Valentin’s eyes narrow. He tenses and leans closer. “Please, do not interrupt me again.”
I gape, shocked at his sudden dark turn, but the look he’s giving me shuts my mouth again. The guy has a stare like an atomic bomb, like he’s contemplating how he can most easily eviscerate me.
Either that or how quickly he can tear off my clothes.
Murder and fuck vibe.
God damn it, Merrick. I hate him for putting that in my head.
“Are you going to pull a gun on me again if I do?” I blurt it out despite my fear, and I’m not sure which of us is more surprised.
He leans back in his chair and crosses his powerful arms. “I should not have done that, but in my line of work, it’s smart to be cautious of strangers. Even beautiful, naked women.”
Heat rushes into my cheeks and down between my legs. “What’s your line of work?” I ask, when what I really want to say is you think I’m beautiful?
“Importing and protection services,” he says, deadpan.
“I don’t really have any importing or protection services experience.”
His head tilts and he licks his lips. “I never said I wanted to hire you for that.”
“Then what’s the job?”
“That girl, Natalya. She was coming to negotiate a union between her family and my own. However, it turns out she went missing and likely has gone on the run somewhere in Europe. Which means I need to find a replacement. You could say this is a way to save face and to ensure there aren’t unnecessary conversations happening behind my back.”
I try to process what he’s saying, but it doesn’t come together.
A union between families? On the run in Europe?
It doesn’t sound like he’s talking about a job right now.
“What exactly would my role be?” I ask him, afraid of the answer. My heart’s racing and my fingers tingle with nerves.
“You will be my wife.” He studies my reaction. It’s so ludicrous, I don’t have one. “It will be a temporary arrangement. You will stand in for Natalya. You will smile and attend functions as needed. You will live in my house—”
“I’m sorry, hold on a second. This is insane. You’re seriously talking about getting married?”
He leans forward again, jaw working. “What did I say about interrupting me?”
“I know, it’s just—”
“If you do it again, I will hold you down against this table and spank your ass raw. Do you understand me?”
Oh, holy shit.
I go completely still. His terrifying blue eyes continue to keep me pinned in place. I squirm, thinking about his rough hand slapping against my naked ass, his hard mouth against my ear, calling me all sorts of degrading, nasty names.
Because I am a broken freak, that is wildly appealing.