Page 27 of Stolen By the Bratva

MILA

Iwoke up the next morning still tied to the headboard. He’d left me enough slack that I could bring my hands down to sleep with them at my chest, but he hadn’t budged an inch about removing my gag.

He’d untied me in the evening so I could go to the restroom, but he gave no indication of letting me talk. Instead of fighting the point, I eventually gave in to sleep. My body was simply too tired to stay up. I hadn’t slept the night before the wedding. I’d been running on fumes, charged with stress. Between his letting me have food and water, then…

I squeezed my eyes closed at the memory of him playing with me. His rough fingers touching me where no other man ever had, his mouth demanding my kisses as he fingered me so expertly. I’d never come for a man before. Only myself. And damn, what a difference it was. Shame hit me, but it didn’t last long. I should’ve been humiliated that he’d gotten me off so quickly. I should’ve been furious that my kidnapper thought he had any right to touch me so intimately.

More than anything, though, I should’ve been livid that he manipulated me in my attempt to trick him. He was no stupid soldier, young and clueless when a woman was within reach. Alek was an older, wiser man, and that was what irked me most. He’d humored me, seeing through my attempt to con him into untying me. Of course, it couldn’t have been that simple. Still, I’d tried. I couldn’t just give in. I had to keep my head up and fight for a way out of this predicament.

I turned my head on the bed, finding him still asleep. We were both fully clothed. He still wore his suit, minus the jacket and shoes. My bloody, ripped wedding gown still covered my body.

Minus my panties. I glowered at the ceiling.

He’d lain next to me without touching me. It was probably another way of keeping tabs on me. If I so much as fidgeted, the mattress would give my actions away.

While he slept, I considered my options. That was a pragmatic approach to what I could do next. Thinking about his kisses and how he unabashedly got me off like that… Those thoughts wouldn’t do me any good.

I was stuck here. I couldn’t run, not while I was tied up, and he’d made it clear that he had no intention of untying me.

I couldn’t call for help. I had no phone. Nothing. Even if I had a phone, I wouldn’t have known what to say. I didn’t know where this crummy apartment was in the city. Or if it even was in the city anymore.

Rescue didn’t seem like a reality I could count on, but I had to admit it wasn’t necessary. On a simple basis, I didn’t need to be rescued. I wasn’t in harm’s way. I had to believe that Alek wouldn’t seriously hurt me. He was rough when he kissed me and filthily demanding when he played with my pussy. These scraps of fabric weren’t comfortable around my wrists. But he was taking care of me.

In more ways than one…

I rolled my eyes at the ceiling, still thrown off at how easily he'd made me come and how… good it was. I’d practically passed out from the euphoria of that release, and I hated that he’d done it. If I were to ever find a man to be intimate with, I’d want?—

What am I saying? What I want? I’d never had a chance to actually think I could have what I wanted. I was a pawn and always would be.

Alek hadn’t been cruel, though. He saw to my pleasure. It had been on his terms. I didn’t have a chance to stop him, but?—

Oh, just stop thinking about it already!

I knew if Geoff or Andrey—or any other man—had me tied up and at their disposal, they would have shown no mercy. Alek wasn’t upfront with what he did want from me, and it felt like I was due an answer.

Wriggling my lips, I loosened my gag until I could push it away from my lips. My tongue felt fuzzy and dry, both from fighting the gag and with the need for water.

“Alek.”

He didn’t stir, and I almost found it comical that he could sleep that soundly and deeply.

I turned the other way, glancing at the clock. I’d never slept in this late, and I despised that this time with Alek was feeling a lot like freedom. I was bound, but he was generous in ways he couldn’t understand.

He gave me food without question, unlike the strict diet I’d faced at home.

He let me come in his hand without expecting anything in return, unlike my greatest fears of what I’d encounter as Andrey’s wife.

He allowed me to sleep in, with no demands to get up and serve him.

“Alek.” I twisted my hips and kneed his thigh. That did the trick. He stirred, rubbing his face as he scowled at me.

“What?” He glanced at my gag hanging loose under my chin.

“I want to talk.”

He rolled his eyes and sat up. “Then talk.”

I opened my mouth but he cut me off.

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