“I’m fine,” I say for the tenth time in the last five minutes.
Vas narrows his eyes at me and gives a clipped nod. He’s pretty much an asshole, but he was helpful in getting me away from the madness of what happened tonight.
Anton.
Dead.
I’m trying to tap into the feelings that allow me to feel sorry for him, but I can’t. He deserved it. He was a predator. But what kills me are the screams of horror that continue to haunt me—screams that came from my sister as she watched the one she loved be brutally murdered in front of everyone.
I shudder, but that makes my sore body ache. The fall down the stairs hurt, and I know I’ll be wearing bruises for days, but overall, I’m fine. I just want to change out of this ruined dress and soak in a hot bath.
My mind keeps drifting to the look on his face.
Amber eyes blazing with hate.
I close my own to try to focus on them. He was angry for me. Killed Anton for me. I know it with every ounce of my being. He wanted revenge. To slaughter the man who hurt me. Despite all the fighting and death this evening, a small inkling of warmth provides me comfort.
Tomorrow, I’ll check on Diana, and then I’ll go to him.
“You’re staying here now,” Father says, as if reading my thoughts, as he enters his office where Vas and I have been waiting. I jerk my head up and pop my eyes open. My neck aches in protest. He tucks his cell phone into his pocket.
“W-What?”
“Diana has made a mockery of our name, and I will not put my other daughter at risk. I need to clean up this mess.”
Sitting across from me, he gives me a smug smile, then pushes the ledger across the table. “Besides, you have work to do here. Work that doesn’t seem to get done the correct way in your absence.”
Vas stiffens from beside me. For a moment, I feel sorry for him. Father’s love is fleeting, and Vas will soon learn that. I hope he enjoyed his time in the limelight because now he’ll spend the rest of his life not being good enough for Leonid Volkov. None of his children ever are.
I start to reach for the ledger, but wince in pain. Vas reaches past me and grabs it. He settles it in my lap before sitting rigidly next to me, his focus on me.
“I can help you with the books, but tomorrow, I want to go home,” I tell my father, my voice slightly cracking. It’s not often I stand up to him.
He sneers. “Don’t be foolish, child. You’re never going back there. I’ll send Vas for your things, but you are home now. Safe. And you’ll do as you’re told until I can arrange for your marriage to Artur Voskoboynikov.”
“I’m not marrying him!” I screech.
“Irina,” Vas utters beside me as he touches my knee.
I swat him away. “No, I am not like Diana. I will not be forced into marriage with someone I don’t love.”
Father laughs, and it’s cruel and mocking. “Love? You’re a Volkov, dear. We don’t love. We do business, and we’re good at it. You, child, are a pawn in this and you’ll do your part. You’ll all do your parts.”
“You promised us,” I choke out, my tone accusing. “You promised us both that we were just as good as the men of our world. That we can rule the empire and marry whom we chose.”
He slams his palm on his desk. “Enough. Your mother filled your head with that nonsense, not me. You will marry who I determine benefits us the most.”
“No—” I start again, but Father waves me off.
“You’ll do as your told,” he snarls.
“I need to go check on Diana,” I bite out as I stand. I’m still weak and dizzy, and the room spins. Vas rises and wraps an arm around me to keep me from crashing to the floor. He may be an asshole, but right now, he’s the best asshole in the room.
“Diana is safe,” Father says. “I just got off the phone with Yegor Vetrov. She is to stay there for the time being. Hopefully, she’ll be able to use her charms on one of the Vetrov men and redeem the shame she’s brought upon us all.” He scowls at me. “The eldest has always been sought after. Not even little Vika Vasiliev could land Veniamin. But your sister will try if she values her family reputation. She owes us a debt. And now the Vasilievs will want retribution. We need to strengthen our name with that of our allies. Then we can finally squeeze out the Vasilievs. We’ll become the most powerful family with Vas running the front here, Diana marrying Veniamin, and you marrying Artur.”
“I’m not going to marry Artur!” I cry out, my knees buckling.
Vas hugs me to him and breathes against my hair. “Shut up, Irina. Just let it go for now.”
I squirm against him, but I’m too weak, and Vas is built like a machine. “Please, Father.”
“It is done. I’ll negotiate with Iosif to see if Ivan will marry you instead. That would be better than Artur, but I cannot make miracles happen. This is the best we can hope for at the time.”
A loud crash resounds from somewhere in the house, then several loud gunshots. I scream in horror and Vas drags me to the corner of the office out of the line of fire. He draws a weapon with his free hand and points toward the door. Father already has his piece pointed at the door.
The hairs on my arm stand on end as though a storm is coming. I can feel the charge in the air. The crackle and hum as the entity nears. My heart leaps in my chest, and I try to pull away from Vas.
“Irina,” Vas hisses.
A beast enters the room. Wild and untamed. Dark hair hanging in his eyes, his face splattered with blood.
Vlad.
He carries a machine gun and keeps it pointed at my father as his violent eyes search me out. The moment his lock with mine, they flash with relief. I let out a sob and reach a trembling arm in the air.
“Irina, come,” Vlad growls, his voice low and deadly. I’ve never seen him like this. As though he’s a demon recently escaped from hell, determined to wreak havoc on the earth.
I start to pull away, but Vas hugs me tighter to him. “No,” he snaps back.
“She’s not yours,” Father snarls to Vlad. “You’ve sent Diana away, and that’s that.”
Vlad’s eyes flare with fury and the vein in his neck throbs wildly. He’s utterly breathtaking. A dark prince come to save his princess in distress. “That’s not that,” Vlad seethes. “Your whore of a daughter made a fool of the Vasiliev name, Leonid. She can rot in hell for all I care, but that is not that.”
I wince at his hate for my sister, but my need for him overshadows it for now. “Vlad,” I murmur.
“Give her to me. Now,” Vlad hisses, his rage barely contained. If they keep pushing, I am afraid my father is going to eat a bunch of bullets.
“You will not come into my home, boy, and—”
Vlad’s eyes darken. “Don’t test me, old man.”
Sensing the impending explosion, Vas pushes me forward toward Vlad. I stumble, and Vlad rushes over to me, collecting me in his free arm. My arms wrap around his solid frame, and I bury my face against his chest.
Warm.
Safe.
Protected.
“You can’t just waltz in here and take my daughter!” Father bellows.
Vlad’s tone is icy as he spits out his words. “The hell I can’t, Volkov.” He kisses the top of my head. “You owe me a fucking wife.”
He’s silent the entire way home, but he’s calmed considerably. The moment we got into his car, his fingers laced with mine and he hasn’t let go. Everything hurts, and I’m worried about Diana. Father said she was to make advances on Ven. That has my nerves settling a bit. Ven is her friend, and I don’t think he’d hurt her. It’s probably the safest place she could be. My thoughts are still jumbled as Vlad pulls up to his estate. He climbs out, then stalks around the car to fetch me. I start to walk, but he doesn’t allow it, scooping me into his powerful arms. He’s still quaking with fury, and I crave to calm him in any way I can.
“Vlad,” I murmur as I stroke the dark hair from his eyes.
He closes them and stops. The snow falls heavily and sticks to his hair and lashes. He’s beautiful. A beautiful, furious monster. All mine.
I run my fingers through his hair and angle his head down. My lips brush across his. He presses a hard kiss to my lips, but then pulls away. Anguished amber eyes meet mine.
“I need to clean you up and assess how badly you’re hurt,” he says, his voice a low, guttural sound in his throat.
“I’m fine,” I murmur.
His gaze intensifies. “If you’re fine, then I’ll clean you up and fuck you until you’re not fine.”
I smile at him. “I’m sorry.”
Dark brows furl together as he regards me. “For what?”
“Sorry that things couldn’t be easy from the get-go. Sorry that everything else had to happen to get this.”
He leans his forehead against mine. “I’m not sorry. Not even a fucking little bit. I have you now, and nobody will ever take you away from me. Not your father. Not mine. Nobody.”
“Take me home then,” I whisper.
And he does.
Vlad leans against the bathroom counter as the shower heats up. His bathroom is much nicer than mine. A walk-in shower with four showerheads on the slate-tiled walls. I’m giddy just thinking about how it will feel on my sore body.
Most of the violence has left Vlad’s glare, but sparks ignite here and there. I’ve never seen him fully unleashed until tonight. Knowing, finally, the monster that lives within somehow comforts me rather than scares me. With slow, shaky movements, I remove my dress and let it fall to the floor at my feet. His eyes skim over my body, flickering every time he sees a bruise inflicted from the fall and not his mouth. Once he’s done assessing, I remove my bra. My panties are still missing from earlier. I’m bare and all his.
With a satisfied nod, he starts tearing away at his ruined suit. Piece after piece gets tossed to the floor until he’s completely naked in front of me. His cock is thick and proud, jutting right at me. I admire the way his muscles ripple along his tattooed chest with each breath he takes. The two-headed imperial eagle. His brother’s name is written into the feathers of one bird’s neck and his own name is on the other. Viktor and Vlad. Often, over the past month, I’ve lingered my fingertips over his muscled flesh and wanted to ask questions. One day, when I think he’s ready, I’ll ask and hope he’ll answer.
He prowls my way and slides an arm around my lower back. Lifting me up, he carries me until we’re under the hot spray. I let out a moan of joy. It feels good against my battered back. He sets me on my feet and gathers up my hair in his grip, tilting my head back. The water runs through my hair and down my face, smearing my mascara over my cheeks. I know I must look a fright.
Vlad doesn’t care.
Vlad sees past the paints and dresses and shadows.
Vlad finds me.
Hot water rivulets run down his face, taking Anton and Ven’s blood with it. Under the sprays, we let the night of horrors wash down the drain.
“I’ve been drawn to you for so long,” he admits, his voice husky. “I played Father’s games, but I was a selfish boy. I wanted things I wasn’t supposed to have.” His nose runs along mine. “I wanted you.”
“Always?”
“In some capacity or another since the day I met you. When you were a child, I just wanted you to paint me. To make something ugly and destined for destruction to be beautiful. Just once. I wanted to be something beautiful and worthy even if only for a moment. To capture the real me in one instant and lock me there. I wanted to be yours, then and forever. It didn’t make sense, but my heart whispered these things to me. Promised I’d have you one day. You’d do more than paint me, you’d paint yourself all over my soul.”
I run my fingers through his slick hair and part my lips. “I’m yours,” I assure him. “I always watched you. Crushed on you from afar. A beautiful man I had no business wanting. But I did. I wanted you so badly, Vlad.”
He groans as his lips crash to mine. His strong hand grabs my bruised ass, and he lifts me. I willingly wrap my legs around him and invite all of him into me. Slippery between us, his cock ruts until it slides in deep. Both of us moan within our kiss, desperately needing this union more than anything else in our lives.
“I’m going to marry you, Irina,” he murmurs against my mouth as he rocks against me. “You’re going to get off the pill, and I’m going to fill your stomach with my children. We’ll be everything they don’t think we can be. A powerful force. A match strengthened by our family names, but bound by something much deeper.”
I kiss him hard. We’ve always been more. A silent buzzing below the surface. Something powerful just waiting to be unleashed and revealed. Vlad and I were meant to be. I know this deep down in my heart. And although the thought of marriage and being a baby machine never appealed to me—with him, I want it all.
He fucks me raw and beautifully in his shower. With the way he makes love to me, I know he’s making promises. Vows so palpable, I can feel them running through my veins straight to my heart.
This is us.
We’re a unit now and unstoppable.
His father, my father, the entire world…they are just stepping stones. Insignificant and unworthy.
Strong fingers slip between us, and Vlad rubs me in the expert way that has me losing my mind. My clit throbs for him, and he plays it like an instrument. Soon, I’m screaming in ecstasy, and his seed pumps into me, violent and out of control. My pussy clenches around him, trying to milk his very essence from him.
As his cock softens, he pulls away to pepper sweet kisses all over my face until I’m giggling. In a rare, stolen moment of beauty, Vlad smiles at me. Real and breathtaking. All for me. Only for me. My heart races out of my chest.
“I love you,” I breathe, my eyes pinning his.
His gaze darkens, and he leans his forehead against mine. “The way I feel for you is far more powerful than love, little shadow.”