Page 86 of Shattered Empire (Shattered World)

I pulled myself up from the ground, not bothering to dust myself off since I was still soaking wet and brushing at wet hay was as useless as mopping rain.

“Krasnyy,” he whispered.

“No.” I shook my head to clear my thoughts before facing him. Even wet and covered in dirt, he was still the most handsome man I had ever seen. Devilishly rogue. He looked like a fallen angel. The devil in a three-piece suit. “You don’t get to call me that.” Pain and sadness shredded at my insides.

How could he do this to me?

Leave me like that?

I really had meant nothing to him.

“No.” His voice was adamant, his face serious as he gazed down at me with an emotion I couldn’t quite pinpoint. “You mean everything to me.”

A mirthless laugh slipped past my dry, swollen lips. “Then why did you do it?” I nearly sobbed. “Why did you draw up those divorce papers? Why did you take Serena to the gala? Why did you let me believe you died?” By the end, I was screaming, my voice gravelly and hoarse. I pushed at his chest with every accusation, and he took it. He let me move him. The immovable force.

“I’m not going to apologize for the mistakes I made, Ava,” he whispered to me. “I made my choices, and I don’t regret them.”

His words were like a slap to the face, and I physically recoiled.

“What I do regret,” he told me, his eyes still soft as he stared down at me, allowing the space to stay between us. “Is not seeing that the mistakes I made hurt you so much and how much that hurt me.”

“You really expect me to believe that?” I bristled. The gall of this man. “Do you know how many times I opened myself up to you? Even after you forced me to marry you, I opened myself up to you. Even after you lied to me, I opened myself up to you. Hell, I even opened back up to you after you shut me out and called me a traitor. And youstill, still shut me out again and again. The gala? That was the last straw, even if you hadn’t faked your death. And this time—there won’t be any fixing it.”

He smirked, pushing himself closer to me, invading my space with his warmth and smell.

“Do you honestly believe I am giving you a choice, Red?” His eyes sparked like thunderstorms. “Because I’m not.”

“Fuck you.” Turning on my heel, I dashed out of the barn toward my father’s Ferrari. The rain was pelting down from the sky, and within seconds, I was soaked to the core. I didn’t care. I was too hurt. Too angry.

Growling, I searched my pockets for the key fob, coming up empty.

“Looking for this?” I spun around to see him dangling the key fob in his hand, a smug smile stretched across his ugly mug.

Okay, it wasn’t ugly.

Not in the slightest.

No. I was pissed at him and not thinking about how handsome he was.

“Are you going to give me the key?” I asked, my voice dulled by the howling wind and rain. The fucker smirked and shook his head.

“Okay then.” I flipped him off and began my long walk back to civilization. Fuck him.

“Where do you think you’re going, Mrs. Dashkov?” The wind had dampened his steps, and I hadn’t heard him approach. “I’m not done with you yet.”

“Go to hell,” I spat at him.

“Only if you’re there with me, baby.” He smiled down at me.

“Sure,” I told him sweetly. “I’ll be the one roasting you on a spit.”

“I love it when you talk dirty to me,” he growled before his hand shot out to grab the back of my neck. His mouth came down on mine with enough passion and fury that it honestly might have melted the polar ice caps. Excitement and desire rippled through me as his tongue forayed into my mouth, taking no prisoners, and leaving nothing unexplored.

Okay, I was mad at him, sure. But that didn’t mean we couldn’t indulge in a little hate sex.

That’s normal.

Right?

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