Page 20 of Sacred Vow

“But you just gave me rules for sitting in your meeting.” This man has my mind spinning.

“No. I gave you rules for the entire time you’re inside this building.” He arches a brow. “You think you can handle those two things?”

“Just those two?”

“Complete obedience and silence.” He frowns. “I have my doubts, but trust me when I say you do not want to cross me here.”

“I’m capable of taking care of myself, Andrei. I’ve been doing it for years.” I swing my legs out of the car and climb out. He doesn’t move out of the way, so my chest brushes against his as I get to my feet.

His eyes narrow on me. I sigh and force myself to look away from him. Because if I keep looking into those eyes of his, he’ll see how much being close to him affects me. It’s not fair how easily my body responds to him. It’s wrong to be betrayed by my own body.

Andrei moves his hand from the door and cups my cheek with it.

“You’re not on your own anymore, Isolde.” He brushes his lips across mine, tempting me with his sweetness. But I’m not fooled. I know the monster beneath the surface.

His hand slides behind my neck, tightening his hold as he deepens the kiss. His tongue sweeps past my lips, devouring me. The tips of his fingers squeeze my neck, and I fall deeper into the dominating kiss. He rests his other hand on my hip, gliding slowly around my torso and down until he is cupping my ass, pulling me against his hard body.

My insides soften. Again, my body rebels against me and reacts to his touch. I’m not even sure which of us I’m more enraged at by the time he gentles the kiss and releases me.

“Behave, Isolde, and I’ll reward you for being a good girl.” He runs the fat of his thumb over my lips. I lick at them when he steps back, tasting his remnants.

I clear my throat and lift my chin. Maybe I can make him believe his touch has no effect on me. “And what’s my reward?” I step away from the door so he can close it.

After he shuts it, he snags my hand and leads me toward the entrance, where two men stand with their hands folded in front of them. What is this place that it needs guards at the front door?

“Your reward will depend on how good you are.” He squeezes my hand as we approach the doorway. A reminder, I suppose, not to speak to them, and to simply follow Andrei like some empty-headed fool.

Viktor greets us when we step into the building. Immediately he starts talking to Andrei in a low voice while I have a look around the foyer. I’ve never seen anything so extravagant. A dazzling chandelier hangs centrally, illuminating the space with a warm glow. The high ceiling is adorned with intricate mahogany molding, matching the wood of the large round table in the center of the foyer and the staircase off to the left of the small entranceway.

“This place is beautiful.” I pull away from Andrei and step to the gilded mirror hanging over a floral arrangement on a side table.

“Isolde,” Andrei snaps my name, and I spin around at the sharpness of his tone. In my hurry, I bump into the table and a crystal bowl topples, rolling to the edge. By some miracle, I catch it before it falls to the marble flooring and place it back on the table.

When I turn back to him, his left eyebrow is peaked, and Viktor grins.

“You scared me,” I explain, walking back over to him. “You didn’t need to say my name like that. I wasn’t breaking any of your silly rules.”

He picks up my hand again, lacing his fingers through mine. “There are a few men inside I wasn’t expecting. You’ll go upstairs now.” He squeezes my hand.

“You dragged me all the way down here just to lock me in an office? Look at this place. I’m sure I’ll blend in fine. I’ll wait for you in one of those rooms.” I point to a room where a loud cheer just went up.

“We just talked about this. When I say that you need to go to my office, what do you do?”

I roll my eyes at his little test.

Using my hand, he yanks me to him and spanks my ass twice with an open palm. My face heats. I stumble back from him a step. His expression is hard. I look over his shoulder to Viktor. His face is blank, like he didn’t just see Andrei spank me.

“Answer me, Isolde. I told you to go with Viktor up to my office. What do you do?”

A small part of me wants to tell him to go fuck himself, but I’m not exactly sure where I am in the city. And there’s two apes guarding the front doors.

“I go,” I answer through clenched teeth.

He nods with a small smile. “Good girl.” He squeezes my hand gently.

“Andrei. Viktor.” A man comes out of another room. “I thought I heard you out here.” He walks to us with a forced grin on his unshaven face. When he gets closer, his gaze sweeps over me. The look in his eye changes from false welcome to hunger. The top two buttons of his shirt are undone. Unruly hair peeks out from the shirt and exposes the thick gold chain hanging there.

“I assume everyone’s here then? We can begin?” Andrei drops my hand and takes a small step in front of me.

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